Theodore woke up abruptly from his horrid dream, wiped his eyes and then opened them slowly. She was sleeping soundly, how beautiful she was, how elegant her face was when she was asleep. Oh yes, his wife Anna was the most precious thing to him and he’d never let anything happen to her.

He turned to look at his alarm clock. 05:59. How annoying, he thought. Only a minute remained before the alarm would start blaring its obnoxious tone. He decided he’d wake up his wife on his own, it was less odious that way.

He shook her gently.

“Hey Ann,” he whispered, “Anna, wake up.”

Anna growled in discomfort then turned to face the other way, her auburn hair now covering her tanned face.

“If you wake up now, I’ll make you pancakes,” he said with a sly smirk.

She raised her head instantly, still half asleep, her emerald eyes slightly open. The word ‘pancakes’ must have tricked her subconscious into waking up. Either that, or it was just a really good deal – she should know, she was a businesswoman. She got out of bed sluggishly and dragged her heels on her way to the bathroom.

“I love you,” Theodore said, playfully.

She tried to respond but only a sleep-drunken murmur came out.

“Yeah, she loves me too,” he assured himself, with a chuckle.

He paused to think on the dream he had. It had felt so real. In the dream he really didn’t know Anna and they had never married: in fact, in the dream, his raven-coloured hair was still short and he had no house, no job, no wife or kids, not even his tattoo. It was like a trip back in time to when he met Anna in church before it collapsed and they were some of the few who survived.

He was now looking at his tattoo of an ahnk on his wrist. He, Anna, and other survivors got them to commemorate the ones that lost their lives on that day, in their belief that they were in a better place now; they were in paradise.

He got up from the bed and walked over to the bathroom to brush his teeth. As he entered, he heard his wife singing in the shower. He smeared toothpaste on his brush and joined her, both singing loudly in perfect unison. His tune was cut off by a distortion in his reflection in the mirror, a trickle that showed blue patterns that were really familiar to him. It was like a glitch.

Anna slid open the shower door.

“Morning, Mr Fitzgerald,” she said, in a joyous tone.

“Morning, Mrs Fitzgerald,” he responded, still looking at the mirror, confused.

She wrapped herself in a towel, walked over to where Theodore stood and bumped him with her hip.

“Scoot, pretty boy, it’s my turn.” She took her toothbrush and started the process herself.

Still discombobulated, he brushed back his long, dark hair and started scratching his head as he backed away, slowly but carefully looking at the mirror.

He went to the girls’ room and opened the door slowly. He shook his youngest, Auggie, and she woke up immediately, her auburn hair loose on her face but her green eyes piercing through.

“Time to get up, get ready for school,” he said gently into her ear.

This one is just like her father, he thought. He walked over to Agnes, her older sister and twin sister to their son, Allan.

“Aggie, wake up,” he whispered. She turned her head and wailed.

And this one is Anna’s reincarnation, he thought again.

“Make sure you guys wake Allan, OK?” he said, as he backed out the door.

Auggie got off her bed and ran to hug him. Mid-hug he picked her up and placed her on his hip.

“Hey, Princess, sleep well?” he asked.

“Yes, Daddy,” she responded in a deep bass voice, like a grown man talking into a radio.

“Huh, what did you say?” Theodore asked, frightened by his daughter’s breach in girly pitch.

“I slept well,” she reiterated in her normal voice.

Theodore, now freaked out, put the little girl down. She immediately dashed through their halls and into their bathroom. He just stood there perplexed.

“You want more syrup, Allan?” Anna asked her son, who seemed down for some reason, as she fed Auggie next to her, who always insisted on sitting on Daddy’s lap.

“No,” Allan said with a sigh.

“You okay, my boy?” Anna asked across their round breakfast table.

They were outside that morning on their front porch.

“Mary hasn’t responded to his request for her to be his partner for the matric ball next week,” Agnes interfered.

“Shut up, Aggie!” Allan yelled, his cheeks red.

“It’s okay, Allie, your dad was a shy one too. I’m the one who asked him out, can you believe that?” Anna said, in a mock-whisper. “Isn’t that right, honey?”

Theodore was deep in thought.

“Theo, Theo!” Anna said, snapping him back to reality.

He shook off the daydream. “Anna, do you think this is real?” he blurted out.

“What?”

“We were abducted in the church, 20 years ago, remember?” he said, deep concern on his face.

“I thought it just collapsed,” Aggie said, finishing up her pancake.

“No, we were abducted by aliens!” Theodore said, now agitated.

Tell us: What do you think is going on?