Kevin put the gun on the table while he explained everything

We are both characters acting out a dream in our own imagination

Our real selves are still asleep in bed

The only way for this dream to end is to kill the main characters

I was having difficulty understanding all this

Look Kevin, if we are imaginary characters then we don’t exist in reality 

Which means we cannot be killed like normal living beings

You are exactly right said Kevin, our characters can only be killed in our imagination

This is never going to work Kevin, there is no way I am going to shoot you

Kevin walked over to his bedside table and pulled out a second gun

He placed one bullet in the chamber of each gun and handed one to me

I took the gun and asked him what we were supposed to do next

Take the gun back to your apartment and put it by your bed

When you go to bed this evening wait until exactly midnight and shoot yourself

I will do the same at precisely the same moment

Then tomorrow we will both wake up from this dream

I could not think of a better plan to escape from this eternal groundhog day

I took the gun and shook hands with Kevin before returning to my apartment

Just before midnight I got a text from Kevin saying see you on the other side

Picking up the gun, I counted down the seconds with the barrel at my temple

Pulling the trigger at midnight before everything went black

I woke up in bed not knowing if I was still stuck in the fourth dimension

There was no gun on the bed and no signs off trauma

I got dressed and raced down to Kevin’s apartment but there was no answer

Maybe he was still sleeping I thought so I went back to my place

I could not get onto my balcony because all the balcony furniture was piled up inside

A new paint job had magically appeared on the balcony walls and railings

I called the front desk to find out what was going on with the building

Spencer answered with his usual joyous voice

Welcome back Sir, we missed you, how did you enjoy your three year assignment in Europe?

It was err great I stuttered,  but why is my balcony furniture piled up inside?

Oh that was brought in during the building renovation while you were away

I will send somebody up to put it all back outside

OK thanks I said, one more thing, do you know if my friend Kevin is home?

Spencer fell silent for a moment then his voice went uncharacteristically somber

I am very sorry Sir but your friend Kevin passed away more than a year ago

You obviously did not hear the sad news Sir

He tragically took his own life, he shot himself in bed

I thanked Spencer and hung up before checking the date on my phone

Sure enough it was three years ahead of my last memory

I must have spent those three years stuck in the fourth dimension