My tinyboatsession journey had taken me to a faraway land, behind an ocean, over a sea, through a delta covered in spatterdock, up a river to a desert and over foothills into the depths of the mountains. I had long lost count of the day.

At sea I had grown so hungry that I ate my flippers. On land I’d walked off the souls of my shoes and chewed the leather as a kind of jerky. My companions had long given up or died along the trail.

I nearly died, but fortune favored me with the discovery of a Waffle House nestled in the hollow of an old oak tree run by gnomes. They rode raccoons through the forest and forage for mushrooms and golden goose eggs for their blue-plate specials.

Revived by the culinary competence of these diminutive yet big-hearted forest dwellers, I continued my journey up towards the jagged mountains beyond. Summating a glacier, I found myself surrounded by Yetis. Assuring me they meant to harm, they invited me to their small commune where they made organic vodka. They insisted I try some. I felt I could not refuse. After several hours, I realized several days had passed. Bidding farewell, I glissaded to the snowline. Unable to slow my speed as I hit the dirt and tumbled. I awoke sometime later, covered in pine needles and moss, to find myself in a most delightful valley.

In front of me was a small lake. On its far shore were rock cliffs glowing in the sun. Fir trees lined the shore. Boulders emerged from the water like the heads of giants with lichen green hair. In it floated a canoe and it that the most unlikely couple...

Covered in reddish-brown fur was a figure like a man. Its face was half-man and half-beast with a mouth set in a fearful fang-filled grin and in its massive hands… held a ukulele—I had never seen one play a guitar that small. Across from him was their even stranger companion—a unicorn, well-appointed in a ball gown and a puffy jacket, its hooves a violin and its face set with a look of concentration.

I was enchanted. Crouching behind some reeds, I watched the rare duo. The pluck of the strings caused ripples to emanate from the hull. After several songs, so taken aback by the magic of the moment, I finally could not restrain myself and let loose a hearty “Bravo!”

The music stopped. My stomach turned as the magical beasts fixed me with a gaze. I was undone! Images too horrible to contemplate filled my imagination. I ran. Jumping over fallen trees and ducking branches till the loamy soil gave way and the last thing I felt terrific crack upon my head.

I awoke with an inhale as if bursting from water. I was… in my bed. My mind was full of shattered remnants of a wondrous and terrible dream. Starving, I walked downstairs to find a warm waffle on a plate and a shot of exceptionally cold vodka. The back door was ajar. The handle was gooey with fresh waffle batter. I peered out the door. Nothing. I shuddered in the draft and shut the door. Then I turned to the waffle. Surely it was only a dream? -Jordan & Clarabelle