The Missing Piece by Sarah

She awoke with a start. Her dream that was so clear just seconds ago was quickly dissolving into incoherent fragments. Running through trees; being in an empty concert hall; trying to find something. Looking at the clock, she marveled that she had only been asleep a quarter of an hour. How could a dream taking place over many hours occur in just a few minutes of actual sleep time? Such a puzzle. Where did her mind go, when she dreamed, that was so disconnected from time in the real world?

There was that sound again. That sound that had awoken her. She peered into the living room and saw the cat batting futilely, trying to reach a catnip mouse. She scooted the chair from the wall to retrieve the mouse, and saw something stuck to the wall. Ah, the missing piece of the wooden airplane that had been missing for months. Without this piece, the plane would not fly straight.

She put the piece back onto the airplane and gave it a toss.