^{Designed in Canva}

---

"Ugh, I'm so ready to just chill out," Ana said to herself as she stretched onto the grass, crossing her ankles and cracking open her favorite sci-fi novel. Being out here in this quiet meadow with the birds chirping and flowers swaying in the breeze was perfect for some uninterrupted reading time.

As she turned to the first page, Ana couldn't shake the odd tingling feeling that someone was watching her. She glanced up quickly but saw no one around at all. "Huh, weird," she murmured under her breath before shrugging it off and diving back into her book's adventures.

Original image taken from the announcement post of the contest

Ana became so engrossed in the story that she at first barely noticed the gradual dimming of the sunlight, as if storm clouds were slowly rolling through. But when she paused to stretch her neck and saw everything tinted in an eerie orange hue, she leaped up with a gasp - her paperback tumbling forgotten into the grass.

"What the heck? Where are the pretty flowers and green grass?" she exclaimed aloud. The vibrant meadow had completely transformed into a stark, arid landscape of sand and cacti under a burnt orange sky.

"Where am I? Is this some kind of lucid dream?" With her heart racing, Ana spotted a rickety mining town just down the slope. Half scrambling in bewilderment, she made her way closer, the dry air already making it hard to breathe deeply. She glimpsed a saloon and general store before her eyes locked onto the date on a pinned yellowed newspaper on the wall: August 7, 1848.

"No way, it can't be," Ana whispered. She whispered under her breath. Feeling lost and overwhelmed as her dreams collided with reality, Ana shuffled aimlessly down the street - very much aware of the suspicious glares and hushed murmuring trailing her.

Just as she nervously met the Sheriff's scrutinizing glare and quickly averted her eyes, Ana heard her mom's distant singsong voice calling “Wake up, my sleepyhead! I made pancakes!” Ana awoke with a jolt. She was back in her own bed, sun streaming through the window.

Catching her breath, she gradually realized it had all been a strange, incredibly vivid dream. As Ana sat up rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she noticed the sci-fi novel lying open beside her on the crumpled sheets. She had been reading the time travel story late into the night.

As Ana swung her legs off the bed, she figured with this story's time travel plot still fresh in her imaginative subconscious, she might find herself wandering the dusty streets of the Old West again soon. But for now - pancakes were calling!

---

I trust that you enjoyed reading this story. 😊

---

^{I would like to invite @ty-ty, @patjewell, @cruzamilcar63, @waterjoe, @senehasa, @damithudaya, @f2i5, @weisser-rabe, @enrisanti, and @paholags to join this contest through this link, if they have not already taken part in it.}

---

^{Author: @waqarahmadshah | Date: 25-Jan-2024 | Achievement 1}