Stranger is with me. We’re by the Board and Stranger is asking me to concentrate, concentrate, concentrate. I focus on Stranger as hard as I can, and they don’t have the shape of a person anymore; they have no shape at all, but when I recall my impressions as I’m so used to doing when interacting with them, I start to feel a very gentle pull as this world stretches ahead of all the others. What I see is very slow; the seconds are hourish and the moments are still. Nikki is ripping the sole item, a pamphlet, off the Board and then reading it so quickly that while they do it seems like time is at its usual pace. When they finish they turn to Stranger and me and give a thumb’s up. Stranger stops inducing my time-slowing.

Nikki is victory, Nikki is joy. “We’ve won,” they say. They fall to the ground and laugh even though the fall was hard. They shout it over and over, “We’ve won! We’ve won! We’ve won!” They crawl towards me, push me down, and kiss me on the lips many times. Their excited screams, their pinning-stare that holds my eyes, become my world. I live in their happiness for those seconds; let it become everything I feel, see and think about. They’re happy. They’ve achieved what they wanted, and so we’ve achieved what we wanted. We’ve won. They’re happy and this sustains me. And this moment is still, these seconds are hourish, and I know they would have been regardless of my condition. “We only had to read the pamphlet,” Nikki tells me, “and the world becomes ours. And this is exactly what I expected. I can feel it. I can feel my ownership of this world – I can feel it absorbing the others, conquering them. It’s all mine. Every bit of reality is all mine.” I say nothing, but Nikki knows how I feel. They stroke my hair and close their eyes and look at peace. We stay like that for hours – actual hours I’m sure – basking in our victory.

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(my brother appears – and he says something to us – but Nikki ignores him. My brother stops existing because he’s realised that we’ve won – that illusions are illusionary even when seen from the past – and there’s nothing more for him to do)

Nikki flashes me a grin. “I’m just going rest here for a long while; I’ve got all the time in the world now. There’s nothing left to do.” They close their eyes and I’m tempted to do the same – but I must see the pamphlet first. I stretch over to pick it up and read:

Congratulations, Nikki Towers, on completing the seven-point collection events. Once you have finished reading this, you will receive your ideal world, free of charge, and immediately granted:

Anyone who sees this world has the illusory experience of exactly what they expect it to be

This world contains all other worlds, granting the owner ultimate authority

“I knew you could do it,” I say to Nikki, crawling into them, pressing my face against theirs.

“So, did I.” Nikki holds me. I hold Nikki. I can feel dulled vibrations of laughing, the faintest sensation of wetness of tears – I don’t know who from – and I start to share the qualitive experience of being Nikki, until that experience becomes just one more part of me.

“We really did win,” we say. “There’s nothing left to do.”