Was I dreaming? Music played softly, ensnaring my senses like a fog of burning incense, tendrils of it gripping my brain. I was guided to a room where I imagined I could see the music dancing in the air. My guardian pushed me into a seafoam green, latex cushioned chair. My eyes hung half lidded in the rapture the music elicited. I didn’t know why, but I was scared.

“You’re going to help us make music,” my guardian said. She held a set of metal pliers in her hands. I couldn’t gather my thoughts enough to process what was happening. “Just relax, it’ll be over before you know it!” Her voice was cheerful and went with the music perfectly, but there was something about it that made me shiver.

“No,” I protested groggily. “I should go, my mommy will wonder where I am.”

“Hush child,” she said. I struggled, but she held me down. I screamed as the silver pliers swam before my eyes. Pain bloomed in my jaw as she ripped out one of my molars, spilling blood down my chin. The tooth fairy grinned, “One down, 31 to go.”