Welcome Home

Finally off work. I sat down in my recliner and began flipping through channels. 

There's never anything on after work.

I continued flipping until I heard a familiar laugh. A monotone laugh.

Wait a minute.. that laugh..

I quickly flipped back to the channel, turning up my volume. 

It's.... Welcome Home. I thought this show was cancelled.

The colorful characters lit up my screen. A huge smile spread across my face. 

A marathon none the less? This is amazing! 

I stayed up for hours watching each episode until I eventually felt my eyes begin to close.

Just as I began to drift off to sleep, I heard that familiar voice. 

"See you soon, neighbor."

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After what felt like hours, I woke up. My back was killing me. I sat up, pushing myself up from the grassy surface. 

Wait.. Grassy surface? 

My eyes shot open and I quickly took in my surroundings. 

This isn't my home.

I was laying in a field of bright green grass. I looked around more and noticed a small town a few ways down the hill I was on. It looked so colorful and.. familiar.

I quickly jumped up looking down at myself. 

These aren't my work clothes.

I was dressed in colorful clothes like a cartoon character. I felt my chest tighten and I couldn't breath. I fell to my knees, grasping my chest. 

What is happening?! 

I heard a familiar voice come up behind me. 

"Oh dear, are you alright?" I felt a hand on my back.

Barely breathing, I turned around. My vision was blurry, but what I saw was a very familiar blue and yellow shape. Before I could say anything, I fell forward. Everything around me went black as I felt the person try to shake me.

"Neighbor?"

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I woke up again, this time in a bed. 

Maybe it was just a messed up dream. That's the last time I fall asleep watching TV.

I opened my eyes to see a bunch of colorful characters surrounding me. I quickly jumped back, sitting upright. 

"WOAH, calm down. Everything's alright." I turned to see a large blue dog with colorful spots. I felt myself begin to hyperventilate again.

"Barnaby?" I questioned, gripping my chest once more. He smiled and nodded, tipping his hat.

I felt a wing on my back, and turned to see a big colorful bird leaning down to me.

"Hey, honey. Everything's alright, just take a deep breath." She smiled at me.

"Poppy?!" I looked around some more. 

These are Welcome Home characters. There's no way this is real. 

"Oh dear, it seems we've given our new neighbor a bit of a fright. Why don't you all step out of the room, and I'll talk to them one on one." Everyone nodded and exited except for the man who spoke; Wally.