Jonathan - 20 Year Old man without a home

Jonathan was hungry and tired, but he knew that this was only temporary.

John's parents each had died -- his mother having died of a burst blood vessel in her head, his father having drowned in his bottles -- and his uncle didn't want him, so Jonathan was out on the streets for several years now, barely getting by on charity and garbage digging.

Then one day, as he walked by a junkyard fishing for anything valuable, something strange happened. As he walked by an old television, it suddenly turned on and began playing a commercial. While the would have ignored it, the fact that an old junkyard television turned on without even being plugged in made him a little curious, with a commercial about a hotel that could literally do anything for its occupants peaked his interest.

Greetings, salutations, shalome and good morning.

Here at the Fantasy Hotel and Resort, we have everything you need to enjoy a break from the hard and unforgiving world of adulthood.

With only the reasonable price of $100 for the first night, you, your friends and family can stay for as long as you want, with all of the gourmet food and luxuries you could possibly imagine. You want to experience the greatest indoor amusement park in the world? You want to enjoy a day at the beach with white sand and clear skies? Enjoy a good night's sleep in a condo-level suite every night, every want and need catered by your very own nanny -- anything is yours as our guest!

"But Mr. And Mrs. Hotelier," you might ask, "how can we afford such luxury, and how is all this possible?"

Using the same naturally-occurring sorceries that gave Walt Disney the push to make Disney World, we at the Fantasy Hotel and Resort have created a true magic kingdom where all of you can re-experience the true magic of childhood all at once for as long as you want!

Come to the Fantasy Hotel and Resort, and be reborn!

[-WARNING: Fantasy Hotel and Resort is not responsible for any magic-related amenities that may occur during your stay, including food poisoning, headaches, temporary vampirism, mad-minotaur disease, severe diaper rash and eternal infantilism.-]

While $100 was a lot to a man with no money, the idea of a warm bed and hot food indefinitely with only $100 as an admission fee sounded much richer. He had spent a month doing odd jobs and skipping meals and that $100 came fairly quickly, with a long pilgrimage to the commercial's address.

Turns out a trip from Texarkana all the way to the very tip of Florida was a long one on foot.

By the time he saw the resort, it was as though he had died and gone to heaven. The hotel looked like a cross between Cinderella's castle and a wedding cake in Las Vegas. He was shocked there weren't more people in this corner of the country, but he was certain this was due to whatever magic that somehow broadcasted the commercial.

He felt very out of place in the hotel. The inside looked like the kind of historical hotel you would see in a movie, with velvet carpets, old-timey bellhop uniforms, crystal chandeliers and oil paintings of famous people he doesn't recognize.

There were various tourists waiting in line. Some of them were alone, some in pairs, some with children. I found myself waiting in line and before I knew it, I was being waited on by a woman. She had bright-blonde hair, bright-red lips and the kind of teeth you see in old 50's ads.

Her nametag said "Mrs. Hotelier." She was in the commercial.

"Hello there, sir. Welcome to the Fantasy Hotel and Resort. We were worried you would miss your reservation," said Mrs. Hotelier.

"I uh, was I supposed to...? I didn't make a reservation."

The woman gave him a coy look.

"You saw the ads. You came. You have a reservation." She did some typing into an old-fashioned cash register. "That will be 100-US."

He dug through his pocket and managed to empty them of the various 1's, 5's and the countless coins that made his clothes feel so heavy on his malnourished body, all adding up to $100 exactly.

She didn't seem to mind the well-worn condition of his money, nor did she need to count it as she stuffed it all into the cash-register. She then reached under the desk and pulled out a massive leatherbound book. She opened it in the section held by a large red bookmark. She gave him a pen.

"Sign here, darling."

While he took the pen, he hesitated. There was a part of him -- the part of him that read and watched a lot of fantasy for recreation in his youth -- that believed that signing his name here was a bad idea.

He had nothing left to lose beyond his name and, if it existed, his soul.

Good thing it was worthless.

He signed his name at the bottom.