I don't know how I got to this place
The only thing that I know is that I must collect them all
Maybe this way, somehow, I can find a way out

The Boy was a great lover of gum. It was not unusual to see him chewing endlessly on those fruity flavors, especially the pink ones.
He liked those—the ones so artificially flavored that his taste buds had long since dulled.

Every afternoon, he waited for his mother, eager not just to see her, but for the hope that she would bring him more gum.
That day, he decided to challenge himself: to break his own record. Last time, he had reached seven. Could he make it to ten? Thirteen?
He opened his small but spacious tin of gum and began.
As he played in the yard, he placed one piece after another into his mouth, savoring the dense, sticky sugar.

When he reached the seventh, just like last time, he felt proud. It was getting difficult, but he wouldn’t give up.
Eight. "Can I reach ten?"
Nine. His mouth could barely hold any more, but he refused to stop.
Twelve. Just one more…
Thirteen.

He had done it. His jaw ached, but the satisfaction was immense. He wanted to run and tell Mom. But then, he realized something was wrong.

Chewing was impossible.
Swallowing, even more so.

His mouth was a prison of sugar and gum.
Air was starting to slip away. He tried to spit it out, but the sticky mass wouldn’t budge. He tried pulling it free with his hands, but it wouldn’t work.

His hands trembled.

And then, he tripped over the edge of the pool.
His body plunged into the freezing water.

He kicked, flailed his arms, but it was useless—he couldn’t reach the surface.
His body: exhausted.

Oh, poor Boy.

The pain in his jaw.
The desperation to breathe.
The fear of not knowing how to swim well in the deep, without Mom.

Oh, poor Boy…

But in the end, the desperation faded, and with it, the fear.
Because the air was gone, and with it, his consciousness.

When he realized again, he was simply floating. His mind was elsewhere.
His mouth no longer hurt.
His body was no longer tired.

And when he came to, he found himself in infinite darkness.
"Where am I?" he whispered. "Mommy?"

He moved as best as he could. Around him, strange, unfamiliar rooms.
He looked at his hands, but they were gone.
"Is this a dream?"

He wanted to leave, to escape, to go home. But then, he saw something that brought his happiness back:
Gum.
Lots of gum.

"I’ll take them all and bring them home!"

The Boy didn’t fully understand where he was. Something inside him told him that something was wrong… but it didn’t matter.

First, he had to collect all the gum. Then, maybe, he would find the way out.