Vanessa received a mini saddle with a cross embossed on it that came from Chris's imaginary ranch, which made her believe that Chris had a nice ranch. Chris also describes his house as “made of tree…the leaves were firm and green.” He even described the lake near his home as “more like an inland sea.” However, when Vanessa first visits Chris' hometown of Shallow Creek, she is greeted with a house made of trees but it's basically an old shack. Chris also goes overboard with his horses. He told Vanessa that he got two horses called Duchess and Firefly, which he described as elegant horses meant for racing. However, when Vanessa arrived at Shallow Creek, it was revealed that Chris only had plow horses which Vanessa described as "mismatched as a team". Vanessa realized that the horses Chris had told her didn't even exist and this made her realize that these horses were from the illusory world in which Chris lives. Chris's life can be compared to the elegant horses he describes in the middle of the story because in the beginning of the story he has a