As I lowered my head to the pillow to catch some sleep, I heard a strange noise outside my window. I slowly got up and walked towards it, but saw nothing. I had a bad feeling that someone was lurking under the fire escape. I tried to keep that thought out of my mind so I could fall asleep. As soon as I went back to my bed, I heard another noise. It sounded like a loud crash. I tried my hardest to ignore it, but couldn’t resist. I needed to see who or what stood outside my house.

I went to my widow, looked down, and saw a tall figure in a hooded black jacket, carrying a small wrapped package. The figure silently creeped up and down the street. Suddenly, he stopped and looked straight up at my window and right at me. I ran to grab a flashlight to see who it was. I was shaking as I switched on the flashlight and shined it out my window.

When I peered down, the figure was gone, but the package was not. I sat there trying to decide if I should go and grab it. My curiosity dragged me out the widow and down the fire escape. I hurried and grabbed the package. When I was back in the comfort of my room, I untied the string, and ripped the package open. A small note sat at the bottom of the package.

I wearily opened the note to see one short word, written in small letters, "run." I was filled with panic. I didn't know what to do or where to go, but my gut told me to leave right then and there. I grabbed what I could and dashed out of my house. After I was a few blocks away from my house, I heard a huge explosion and instantly knew that my house was gone. I was too shocked and upset to do anything else, so I just sat down to regroup myself. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something move, and there it was, the same little package sitting under the street lamp.

I walked over and unwrapped this package to find a second folded up note. This time, it had an address on it, "437 Maple Tree Avenue." I knew exactly where that was, but I was a bit reluctant to just walk up to the house. I didn't know who or what would be waiting for me, but since I just lost basically everything and had nowhere else to go, I had nothing else to lose. I turned and headed towards Maple Tree Avenue. All of a sudden, I noticed a tiny shack in the middle of the street that was never there before. Even though I was set on going to the mysterious address, I couldn't just walk away from something that could potentially help me. I walked over to the door and there sat a third package.

I unwrapped it and the note said, "Find the key, and you may enter." I slowly pushed the door open and there were hundreds of those little packages. I had to find that key. I started tearing open package after package finding absolutely nothing. I searched and searched and searched, and still found nothing. The more I searched, the more I lost hope of ever finding the key. I decided to open a few more and finally, I opened the last package I was willing to open, and found a small brass key. I knew that it must be for the house on 437 Maple Tree Avenue.

I got back on course and headed two streets over to Maple Tree Avenue. 433, 434, 435, 436, and finally, 437 Maple Tree Avenue. It was a larger size house that sat right on the corner. I walked up the steps, pulled the key out from my pocket, and unlocked the door. I slowly pushed the door open and walked in. At first, I thought that no one was there, but then I noticed a small older lady sitting on the living room couch. She didn't seem to notice me, but I felt like she was here for a reason. So I walked over to her and decided to ask her a few questions.

"Excuse me," I began, "I was just wondering if you could tell me why I was sent here?"

She slowly looked at me and nodded, not saying anything. She got up and walked over to the kitchen then grabbed a fourth package off of the counter top and handed it to me. With that, she just walked back to the living room and sat back down. I unwrapped the package, hopefully the last one, and unfolded the note. It said, "To find the solution to your recent problems, go to the park."

I was ready for this to be over, so I ran out the door onto the street in the direction of the park. I ran and ran until I saw the last thing I wanted to see, the man from outside of my window, holding the dreaded, yet, familiar little wrapped box. He was starring right at me as I walked towards him.

When I stopped in front of him he said, "This last note will explain everything," and he handed it to me. I opened the box and pulled out the last note. As I unfolded the note, my eyes flicked open and I realized that the whole thing was just a bad dream.