The
young man wore a sleek dark brown coat, and black pants that kept the dream
cold at bay. With glamorous amethyst earrings and a glowing purple tiara,
Claudette completed here dream outfit with a purple leopard coat over deep
purple leggings and a set of onyx boots that crunched the snow under her feet.
“Do
we really have to walk this last part, JD?”
JD
looked to his left with a red nose and his cheeky smile. “Indeedly we do, Miss
Claudi. Portals by themselves are persnickety enough. A converging lucid portal
is as fragile as a soap bubble.”
“Which
is why I’m looking for a glowing bubble in the middle of a snow covered
mountain. Seriously, since when are dreams this cold?”
“What?
Do you think El Niño doesn’t affect the Lucid too?”
As
Claudette pondered on the implication of weather patterns in Raelity and their
relationship with Draem, a chorus of excited squeaks brought the kind woman
back to the cold mountain range. Up ahead, two large hamsters were squeaking to
JD and he nodded as he listened intently.
“What
are they saying?” asked Claudette.
“Come
here and you’ll understand.”
“But
I don’t speak hamster.”
JD
pointed to the ground. “Neither do I, but thank god for subtitle snows.”
There
being written at the speed of their speech, a little crawl of text was forming
beneath each hamster.
“This.
This is the place,” said the hamster on the left.
“Well,
actually, it could be a bit farther up the slope,” read the subtitles for the
hamster on the right.
“Tubby,
don’t be a fur ball. You know it’s here.”
The
hamster on the right took a deep breath to compose himself and even touched his
paws most Zen-like. “Peaches, you and I both know it can be a tiny bit
further.”
“Tubby,
darling, you know it’s here. You can smell it. I can smell it. Don’t be
difficult just to contradict me.”
“I’m
not contradicting you.”
“Yes
you are!”
“No
I’m not!”
“Oi!,”
said Claudette clapping her purple gloves together and causing both sets of
snow subtitles to go blank. “It is cold and you lot are the key to finding the
snow portal we’re looking for. So please, get on the same page.”
Both
hamsters looked at each other eyes agape; they were clearly not used to being
told what to do. Much to the approval of both JD and Claudette, they began to
squeak much more amicably.
“Do
you think it’s here?” asked Tubby.
“Smells
like we’re either there or near there,” said Peaches.
At
the mention of smell, JD had to interrupt. “You mean you smell your way to the destination?”
“Of
course,” squeaked Tubby. “How do you
get around? We use the General Position Smell System.”
“Well
we use maps and-” JD stopped mid-sentence and slapped himself on the forehead.
Fishing in his coat, he pulled out a box, which he clicked open. The liquid
center rippled, unaffected by the cold until a small heart shaped crystal
congealed on the surface and began to spin in circles on its edge.
“It’s
here,” he said turning to Claudette.
“Told
you,” said Peaches and Claudette looked sternly at both hamsters causing them
to behave.
JD
knelt down on the snow and looked for something in his coat. After some
rummaging, he pulled out a jade harmonica with several odd symbols etched onto
it. He started playing a lovely melody on it, causing both hamsters to look at
each other impressed at the beauty of the harmonica, especially since it
sounded more on the lines of a wooden ocarina than a metal wind instrument.
“I
do love it when he plays the greens,” Claudette said. “Love the blues too, but
sometimes you need to add a little sunshine to ‘em.”
“Ohhhhh…..”
both hamsters nodded, swaying their furry bodies to the melody.
As
JD played the bright tune, a circle of snow began to melt until a single steel
tube was revealed in the ice.
“There
we go,” said JD, picking it up and brushing off whatever snow remained on the
tube.
“What
is it?” asked Claudette.
JD
inspected the tube. “I believe…. this… is a…..” with a click a cover slid over
to reveal a panel with letters, “a cryptex.”
“Oh!
I remember those from Sherlock Holmes.”
“Sherlock
Holmes?” said Tubby with a squeak. “Only place I’ve seen something like that
was in that book about Da Vinci’s Code.”
“Great
book,” said Peaches.
“Terrible
movie,” said Tubby.
“Indeed,”
said Claudette. “But we would need a clue. I can see it has five letters, but
what can we have as a clue?”
“Well
you remember why we came here?” asked JD.
“The
parcel addressed to the Crayon Parlour?”
“Precisely,
my dear Claudette. Remember what the shop owner told us when she handed us the
package?”
“The
poem?”
“Aye,
luv. The poem.”
In joy’s delight
And elation’s kiss
Light euphoria’s night…
“With
a brigade’s bliss,” said Claudette as JD turned the dials until matching the
letters B L I S S. With a click the tube began to vibrate intensely and JD set it
down on the snow. He walked towards Claudette and very carefully led her by the
arm. “We should give that some space for it to do its thing.”
Knowing
better than to question him, she walked side by side and counted forty paces
before they stopped and turned around.
“Watch
this,” said JD with his typical Cheshire grin and they didn’t have long to
wait.
The
tube stood on its end and released a plume of stream with a loud whistle for
about ten seconds before it stopped and did nothing more.
“That’s
it?” squeaked Tubbs and Peaches at the same time.
Claudette
looked at them with her own cheeky smile. “Patience is often rewarded,
children. Especially in dreams.”
As
if waiting for the artist’s cue, a massive gong rang across the entire frozen
mountain. The tube then split open like a five petal metal flower, with each of
the petals extending to about eight feet each. Immediately after that, five
doors unfolded and stood upright all of their own accord.
Each
door was distinct in its material, shape and size. One door was soft thatched like
you’d see in a beach hut. Next to it was a door that looked like it would open
into a locker room. The next door was sophisticated with rich wood that you
wouldn’t be surprised if it opened into a library. The fourth door looked like
the interior of a sitcom. The fifth and final door looked like it opened into a
fun house.
From
the center of the metal flower, a panel opened from where five rambunctious
fairies sprang towards each door.
“Knock-knock
fairies?” asked Claudette.
“Well
they are effective,” said JD, amazed at how loud and fast they could unleash
their knocking assault on the doors.
The
first to open was the thatched door from which came a lovely woman with reddish
brown hair the color of lush brownie batter. She had kind smoky eyes and a
smile to match it. Looking into the doorway she came through, it was easy to
understand why she wore a sundress and why she let out a shriek as soon as her
sandaled feet registered she was no longer walking on sand but instead its most
chilly of counterparts.
“Son
of a !&*%$*@!!! That really hurts like a &*%$*@ #$&@*!”
JD
couldn’t help but gawk at the master sailor vocabulary the woman possessed.
Seriously, taxi drivers would have blushed at the things she had to say about
the meeting between her feet and the snow. The only thing that was able to stop
the cursing was the appearance of a 6’2” fish dressed in a ship captain’s suit
with a brown fur coat, matching boots, and a scaly smile.
“Madam,”
said Captain Phish while offering her the means to warm up.
“I’m
dreaming, aren’t I?” she said out loud.
“Indeedly
you are, Miss Blissy. Doesn’t mean it can’t get cold around here in Draem.”
“Oh
hi, JD… JD??!!! What the hell are you doing in my dreams?”
“A
dream, dear friend. And mind the language, kids are around.” He pointed to the
hamsters.
“Peaches
and Tubby!!” As she rushed and hugged them, the subtitle snow was having a hard
time making out anything they tried to say.
As
abrupt as it was loud, the locker door slammed open and out tumbled a man
wearing a jersey and helmet. If diving head first into the snow were an Olympic
sport, he would have surely medalled. Getting up on his knees, the man spat out
snow. “Touchdown!!!!...... I think. Where the hell am I?”
“Greetings
and salutations, Rick. And welcome to Draem. Small request, any chance to
moderate the language? Younglings about.”
When
Rick saw to where JD was pointing, he saw his wife and two four-foot versions
of his hamsters being hugged intensely by Sheila. “Tubbs? Peaches? Sheila?”
Little
or no thought went into his charge for a hug but his was the strongest of
embraces and the hamsters were starting to look a little blue when both he and
Sheila finally let go.
Looking
around, he remarked. “Where the hell are we?”
As
Sheila lovingly hugged her husband, she also felt the need to remark. “Beats
the hell out of me.”
Before
JD could get past the language induced cringes, the remaining three doors burst
open and three kids exited and bumped into each other.
“What
the hell is this?” said the older girl.
“How
the hell did we get here?” said the middle child.
“What
the hell are you doing in my dream?” said the youngest boy.
Taking
a cue from the endless cartoons he watched as a child, JD’s skin turned about
four colors before settling back into his normal pigmentation. “I suspect
language is hereditary,” said Captain Fish.
“Or
they’re one hell of a fine family, eh JD?” asked Claudette with as much cheek
as one grin could ever hope to hold.
Finally
back in control of his faculties, JD cleared his throat and addressed the
family. “Greetings and salutations to the Bliss Brigade, and welcome to Draem.
I am JD, the lovely young lady is Miss Claudette, and our scaly companion is
Mister Phish.”
“Captain Phish,” Corrected Claudette.
“My
thanks, milady,” said the common cod with his most regal of bows.
JD
paused for a moment before regaining his line of thought. “I’m sure you’re all
wondering why you’re here.”
“Actually,
I was wondering how you got into our dreams.”
Everyone
looked to Lucas, surprised by the boy’s calm demeanor.
JD
fumbled a bit before replying. “Ah, that. Well…. Some religions or races
attribute spirit animals to people. Although this is true, the same goes for
families and said animals have been known to help in searches.” Again he
pointed to the hamsters that had miraculously not rushed their family although
they may have also been catching their breaths after the hug onslaught from
Sheila and Rick. Sheila had been quick to figure out how to communicate using
the subtitle snow and they would have gone on and on if they hadn’t realized
how cold they actually were.
“Master
Estrada, it seems hospitality and manners dictate we invite your friends in
from the cold,” said Captain Phish.
“Quite
right,” JD said. “My dear Sheila, would you and yours humor us and come inside
to warm up and tell you why we’re all here?”
Sheila
really wanted to respond but her breath failed her as she looked from where she
stood. Although a ways away from the peak, the view was absolutely stunning.
The snowy peak she stood on overlooked an azure valley straight ahead, a dense
forest to the west of where they were and the dark indigo coastline. In the
distance, birds flew and a radiant sun shone with all the colors you could
think of.
JD
stood shoulder to shoulder and took a deep breath. “Welcome to Draem, Luv. Now
let’s get you warmed up in the Falkori.”
Still
awestruck, she could only nod and smile at the beautiful view. Leading her by
the arm, they walked up to the massive snow cat colored emerald green with huge
letters on the side that read S.S.
Falkori. On the side was a drawbridge leading up to an opening on the side
panel with a small crab that seemed to be in a foul mood and a large unfried
French fry.
“Chips,
Pincher, please take Miss Bliss and her brigade upstairs and get them warmed
up,” Claudette said.
Claudette
then led all of them up the gangway into the cozy interior of the Falkori. JD
stayed behind one moment and took a good look at the view. He breathed the cool
minty air and smiled.
“What
is this place?” asked a young voice.
JD
turned around and found himself looking at the Brigade’s youngest member. He
walked up to him and smiled kindly. “Well that’s actually a complex question.
Right now we are in Draem, which is one of the countries within the Lucid. The
Lucid is what we can call the world of dreams where all humanity beyond can meet.
In regards to specific location, we are right now on Mellow Mint Mountain. I
like to come here to cool off once in a while.”
Lucas
looked around, also marveling at the view although in his own quiet way. “This
is pretty cool. I’m just used to having dreams be like a movie where I’m mostly
watching.”
“I
know what you mean,” JD said, standing beside Lucas as they both enjoyed the
view.
“It’s
not often you have full control.”
“That’s
quite true,” JD said. “Anyway, we should go with your family. Plenty to do.”
“Ok,”
said Lucas innocently.
“It
would be great if you left the snowballs as well,” JD said with a smile and a
wink.
“How
do you know?” Lucas asked holding out two perfectly rounded snowballs.
JD
pointed to the snow at his feet. “Subtitle snow is not exclusive to hamsters.”
* * * *
Inside
the massive snow cat, a large window looked down the Mellow Mint Mountain. The ever-changing
layout of the Falkori was pretty simple this time around, well for the
Falkori’s standards, that is. A long twenty-foot glass pane in the front of the
vehicle, a wide area in the middle. Theater style seats were in front of the
windows for maximum viewing enjoyment, if you weren’t afraid of heights that
is. On the left wall was an assortment of beverages and snacks, though more
limited than at other times.
“My
apologies for the abridged variety of drinks and eats,” Claudette said. “But
coming so high in Draem, we could only bring what was necessary.”
Rick,
Ciara, Sheila, Zoe, and now Lucas all looked on the “limited” version of beverages
and snacks, a fifteen-foot long buffer for the senses.
“What
are those?” asked Zoe.
JD
walked up to see what she was pointing to. “Oh! Those are ginger claps. They’re
like ginger snaps but bigger and louder on the taste buds.”
“What’s
that?” said Ciara with her eyes popping out.
JD
came over to her side of the table and saw a creamy amber slab on the table.
“Ah yes, that’s maple marble. You chip what you want and pop it in your mouth,
where it proceeds to melt like a piece of maple heaven.
Meanwhile,
Rick was talking with Captain Phish who was telling him about some of the
sports played in Draem, including hip ball, which was a mid point between
football and handball; treble bass, which was a lighter version of baseball,
where pitches are higher. Right now he was trying to explain how cloud riding
was done when he noticed a large tarp next to the snacks and refreshments.
“What’s
under there?” asked Rick.
JD
walked over to it and grabbed the cloth. “That’s actually why I called you
here.”
With
an extravagant pull of the cloth, a four-foot pyramid looked at all of them…
literally. It was made of glass and slowly rotated on its base.
“That’s
Bob!” said Sheila, “and Linda, and Zander! JD! What is this?”
“We
got this with a message that told us we needed to meet to be able to open this
up.”
“So
what does that mean?” asked Sheila.
“Mom!
We gotta visit their dreams to help them,” said Lucas.
“Is
that true?” asked Sheila.
JD
smiled impressed at the young man’s intuition. “You’ve raised some smart people
there, Miss Bliss.”
Blushingly,
Sheila held Rick’s hand. “I had some great help.”
JD
put his hand on Rick’s shoulder. “I never said otherwise. Now about these
people, Lucas was right and then some. So the question is, where do we start?”
“I
think we should visit Bob first,” said Zoe.
“Why’s
that?” asked Claudette.
“I
dunno,” Zoe said honestly. “It just feel’s right.”
“Then
that’s where we’ll go!” said Claudette with curl bouncing flare. “Phish, if
you’d be so kind, set the course!”
The
tall fish saluted Miss Claudette before speaking. “Mum! Mister Bob happens to
be at the village at the base of Mellow Mint Mountain!”
“Excellent!”
said Claudette. “How long should it take to arrive.”
“A
little under four standard hours, Mum!”
“Rats!
Is there any way to make that quicker?”
As
they all pondered, their concentration was broken by a loud pop from the right
side of the cabin. Turning around to see what it was, a small dragon wearing a
pull over and glasses proceeded to wave hello.
“Figgis!”
said Claudette. “So nice to see you.”
The
small dragon was a bit bashful but still smiled in Claudette’s direction.
“’Ello, Madam,” he said in a kind, shy, and quiet voice. “Couldn’t help but
hear you and well, I do have a suggestion.”
“I’m
listening,” said Claudette.
The
shy dragon looked around before speaking up. “You do remember the plans to
connect the topside of Draem with the Treacle Tunnels?”
“Yes.”
“Well
there is a very quick way to get down the mountain, and well, it can be a two
birds one stone type of deal.”
“I’m
listening.”
* * * *
The
crisp sky shone above Mellow Mint Mountain with a
curious green dot more than three fourths of the way up said mountain. The
quiet Draem morning was interrupted by a loud roar, followed by a large
fireball that shrieked down the slopes and plummeted into the rich soil of the
Lucid. As the makeshift opening to the Treacle Tunnels stood gaping wide open,
there was a slick trail leading all the way up the mountain. A trail that
served as a massive slide for one massive snow cat dragon mobile.
Down
the mountain shrieked the SS Falkori on three massive skis being pulled by
three large plump dragons. At the coming onslaught, trees knew better than to
be stubborn and moved out of the way. Heads and wings tucked, the dragons were
aiming for maximum speed and achieving it. Even behind a thick glass pane,
whooping and cheering could be heard clearly as the Bliss Brigade loved every
second of their ride. Deftly, the three smaller dragons opened their right
wings simultaneously to turn to the right where they slid gracefully onto the
soft road that led to the village of Sans.
All
three kids agreed, “THAT WAS AWESOME!”
Even
Rick and Sheila had to admit at the fun ride they’d just survived.
“We’ll
have to go on foot from here,” said Claudette. “Captain Phish, please prepare
us for the next trip while we tend to business here. Figgis, please help the
captain.”
“Yes,
mum,” said the large fish and the small dragon at the same time, saluting the
young woman and her dark curls.
As
they got off the SS Falkori, the Bliss family looked at the large snow cat
dragon and could swear the steel structure growled as it smiled and winked at
them.
“This
way,” JD Said, leading the way to the village of Sans. The walk was pleasant
although brief and before they knew it, they were at the entrance of the
village or at least what they thought was the entrance.
“Is
this the entrance?” asked Sheila.
“Not
much of an entrance if you ask me,” said Rick.
“Well
they don’t call it the village of Sans for nothing or actually that is exactly
why they call it Sans,” said JD.
There
was a clearing in front of them, a little barn, a hut, some chatting
tumbleweeds, and not much else. It was as if a village had been there but was
there no longer. It was the village that was there but wasn’t, which is why
everyone jumped when they heard a bodiless voice.
“Who
goes there?” said a gruff voice not unlike a cowboy’s.
“Ah
yes,” said JD stepping towards the voice. “Who might you be? And where might you be?”
The
cowboy voice seemed to float around. “Well I am the San Sheriff so although I’m
not the sheriff, I am, but I’m not. Do you follow?”
Everyone
was looking mighty confused except Ciara whose focus was razor sharp as she
blew on her fingers in a most peculiar fashion before speaking up. “Are you
here?”
“Well
not really, if you ask anyone else but since there is no one, kind of hard to
do that.”
“So
if you’re not here, we can pass through,” she asked the bodiless voice.
“Well
I don’t see why not,” said the voice.
“Honey,
what are you doing?” asked Sheila.
“Mom,
take a bold step forwards. Trust me.”
“What
do you mean?” asked Sheila.
“Like
this,” said Ciara as she took a confident step forwards and then disappeared.
“Ciara!”
“I’m
still here, mom. You just need to take a bold step forwards.”
In
her confusion, Rick took her hand. “Let’s do as she says, Sheila. It’s not the
first time she has taken a step on her own and she knows best.”
Lucas
and Zoe grabbed their parents’ hands and on the count of three took a step that
almost looked like a collective electric slide. As they finished the step, the
sensation of melting through a veil came upon them as a town magically appeared
in front of them. Behind them were Claudette and JD and the look of joyful
surprise on Miss Claudi’s face threatened at becoming permanent. “How did you
know how to do that?”
Ciara
blew her fingers again, nervous at being put on the spot. “I recognized the
word sans from some information I
read up on typography.”
“Yes,
but how did you know what to do?”
“I
didn’t,” said Ciara. “Sometimes you have to boldly go where no one has gone
before, literally.”
JD
smiled heartily impressed at the young woman. Looking to the left of her, he
saw a man with a sheriff hat still a bit baffled at their appearance.
“Where
did y’all come from?” he said in his Texan Accent.
“Doesn’t
matter,” said JD. “We’re here to see Mayor Bob.”
“Who?”
said a voice beyond a gate. “Who? Who? Who? Who? Me? Me? Me? Me?”
When
the group walked up to the gate and swung it open, they saw a kind older man
walking about in a garden, back and forth with jittery movements that made him
seem like a poorly animated figurine.
“Hello-nice-to-meet-you-I’m-Mayor-Bob-Mayor-of-Sans-even-though-that-means-the-town-is-sans-mayor-but-you-know-how-things-go….
you…. are…. in…. the…. zone…. as…. they…. say. But enough of that how can I
help you be of assistance or assist?”
The
manic pace followed by slow down left everyone out of breath.
JD
stepped in front of the man and examined his eyes, his ears, his scalp, and
even asked the mayor to say ah. He
then said aha and pulled out a top hat, which he juggled and maneuvered along
his arms. When his act felt as if it had gone on a bit too long, Claudette
cleared her throat rather obviously and JD got the point immediately.
“Pardon
me,” he said and proceeded to pop the hat open. “Let’s see what we have here.
Voila!”
Everyone
was silent as JD held onto a glowing turnip. His face was far from the usual cheeky
confident Cheshire.. He was as baffled as the rest of them until the calls of
“mine, mine, mine” made everyone turn on the spot. An albino gopher with a
track suit, a huge gold plated clock, and a green bandana came bounding their
way, leaping in an intricate lucha libre-esque tumble, before snatching the
turnip from JD’s hands and running off with it.
JD
looked at the gopher speeding off in the distance and turned back to the group.
“Well at least that was worthwhile to someone. Anyone care to give the hat a
go? Obviously me and my touch are out of sorts.”
With
no hesitation whatsoever, Lucas stuck his hand in the hat, rummaged a bit until
he pulled out a little drumming monkey. The funny little creature looked around
at everyone, upon seeing the jittery mayor it jumped straight at him, to clutch
him in a diminutive yet very powerful hug.
Before
anyone could register the monkey’s movement, let alone react, the monkey sat itself
on the mayor’s shoulder holding a set of tiny bongos. He tapped them
rhythmically and although not a sound could be heard, the smile on Bob’s face
showed that there was certainly an effect from the monkey’s beat.
“Finally,”
Bob said. “You have no idea how crazy this has all been. I was all over the
place and felt completely out of sorts.”
Lucas
gave a little giggle.
“What
is it, hun?” asked Sheila a little surprised by her son’s laughter.
“Well
we were able to get the monkey off his back and in the right place.”
A collective groan came through prior to
everyone’s laughter.
“We’re
happy to have been able to help, Bob,” Sheila said.
“That
you did. Is there any way I can return the favor?”
“Actually,
good sir, you can,” said JD. “Would you happen to know the whereabouts of
Linda?”
As
Mayor Bob tickled his new bongo playing friend on the chin, he looked back to
answer. “I believe she’s at the Lucid Library.”
JD’s
eyes sprang open. “Oh my!”
“Is
that a problem?” asked Rick.
“Not
at all,” said JD, “It’s just a little far away.”
“How
far is far for a dream?” asked Rick.
The
young man swallowed deeply. “Well as with everything in Draem, it’s relative.”
Rick
pressed on, “Meaning?”
“It
could take a minute or a millennium within Draem. You see the Lucid Library
exists on all the lands within the Lucid.”
“I
don’t follow,” said Rick.
Claudette
then stepped in. “I think what my well intentioned yet excitable friend means
is Draem is just one of the dream countries within the Lucid. Am I correct?”
JD
nodded. “Precisely, and the Lucid Library is one of four points that converge
within the entirety of the Lucid. What some people refer to as the collective
unconsciousness.”
“Don’t
you think that’s a little complicated?”
“I
don’t think, I know,” said JD. “Dreams are magnificent things and to share one
is a rare gift since the Lucid is totally endless.”
“That
still doesn’t answer where the Library is.”
As
they pondered what to do, someone behind the group cleared their throat loud
enough to be heard and draw their attention. When they looked, a young man that
looked exactly like JD sat at a table a ways away, drinking tea and wearing a
cheeky smile. JD lost about ten shades of color.
“What
is this?” asked Sheila. “Two JDs?”
But
it wasn’t. The other man looked simultaneously younger, older, kinder, wiser,
tired, vivacious, calm, and maybe a little stern.
“More
like who is this?” said Claudette.
“Ok,”
said Sheila. “Then who is this?”
The
other man stood up and held out his hand. “My name is Fäet Odstein and your
friend is at a loss for words because in part I am the one that often supplies
those words.”
Looking
from one to the other, Sheila scratched her head. “So are you his master?”
“Nothing
that harsh,” said Fäet with a knowing smile. “I am his literary soul, the one
often charged with administrating his muses.”
“I
bet you have your hands full,” said Rick laughing.
“That
I do indeed. He’s a little random, but he means well.” Fäet sat back down and
stirred his tea. Slowly but conspicuously, the light around them began to
shift.
“Ok,
so why are you here?” asked Lucas.
“Why,
to help of course,” Fäet said, sipping on his tea and giving a nod. “I think
that should do it.”
“Should
do what?” asked Sheila.
A
silence then dominated their group as they took in their surroundings. They had
disappeared from the town and were in a grassy grove with countless pyramids of
different sizes that shone stark white.
“Where
are we?” asked Rick.
“The
Cane Cubicularum within the Lucid Library,” said Fäet as if anything he had
just said made any sense.
“How
did we get here?” asked Zoe.
Nodding
toward Fäet “He’s in charge here,” Ciara replied, before going back to blowing
on her fingers.
Fäet
smiled calmly. “The stories are the ones in charge, I am just here to help.”
“You
wanted me to change the topic,” said JD a little embarrassed.
Fäet
walked up to the young man and put a hand on his shoulder. “More than anyone,
you know that sometimes it’s better to have fun instead of complicating things.
There will be a time to explore the complexity of the Lucid.”
“Just
not now,” said JD.
“Just
not now,” agreed Fäet. “Oh and in answer to the question currently whizzing
around in your head, Xander is in the Patience Pavilion just beyond the hill.”
“Thanks,”
JD said. “I’m sorry I had to need your help.”
Faët
looked abashed. “My brother, you gave me life and a name. You’ve helped me more
than I can say.”
“If
you say so,” said JD still a bit embarrassed.
“I
do say so and as always, I put it in writing.”
JD
nodded. “Then we best be on our way?”
“That
would be a lovely idea, so your Bliss Brigade can finish their mission and I
can finish my tea.”
“Sounds
like a plan,” said JD.
“A
pleasure,” Fäet said and they walked in opposite directions.
“That
was a bit weird,” Zoe whispered.
“Well
so am I,” said JD with his trademark smile.
“There’s
Linda,” said Sheila.
Sitting
atop a fifty-foot sugar cube pyramid, there was a lovely young woman with a
slightly sad look on her face until she saw Sheila walking her way. She bounded
down the sugar pyramid. “Hey, hun! How did you get here?”
Sheila
opened her mouth to reply, but before any words came, her eyes caught the sky
above them.
“I
thought we were in a library,” Sheila said frowning a smidge.
“And
we are,” said Claudette. “Libraries here don’t necessarily need ceilings.”
“Huh,”
said Sheila awed at the beauty of dreams.
“What
are you doing here?” asked Linda, herself marveling at Sheila’s entourage.
“Well
we had to come to visit some of the people we care about.”
“So
you heard of my condition?”
Before
Sheila could answer, JD popped open his top hat. “We heard you might need some
magic.”
Sliding
his arm into the hat, he pulled out a deck of cards that flew clumsily from his
hands. However, instead of falling to the ground, a small cardnado formed.
Everyone went for cover except Zoe, who looked at the hat on the ground, then reaching
in she pulled out a golden lasso. Swinging it over her head she lashed at the
cardnado snatching up a single card.
Everyone
was amazed and somewhat confused, even more so when the small tornado of cards
collapsed into itself and landed in a tidy stack.
“Wow,
that was nuts,” Lucas said.
“Language!”
said Sheila.
Lucas
huffed. “Mom! What is wrong with saying nuts? You call Dad nuts all the time.”
Sheila
raised her eyebrow "I think you know that is quite different.”
“Ok,
ok, I’m sorry."
"It
was kind of cool though. You don’t see tornados made of cards every day.”
“Understatement
for the win!” Lucas said with a cheeky fist pump.
“Ha,
ha, ha……” said Sheila, as if she were barely amused, before giving a warm
smile.
“Anyone
care to know how Zoe just helped Linda?” said JD.
“What?”
said Sheila confused by the bit of news.
Linda
was smiling while putting her arm over the shoulder of a little man that looked
like the Jack of Hearts had just escaped a poker deck.
“Who’s
that?” asked Sheila.
Zoe
presented the small red skinned man. “This is Sulinman.”
“Who?”
asked Rick.
“Her
new bodyguard. He’s made of pure cinnamon which has been shown that it can help
regulate blood sugar.”
Everyone
stared at Zoe with their mouths open.
“What?"
said Zoe with a cheeky smile "I saw that online somewhere. When I smelt
the cinnamon aromas that came from the cardnado I thought I’d give my theory a
try.”
Their
mouths hadn't bothered to consider closing giving Linda ample time to thank Zoe
again.
“Honey,
you just have a wonderful way of surprising me,” Rick said.
“She’s
a veritable Wonder Woman!” said JD.
“No
spit,” said Sheila.
“Langauge!”
said Lucas.
“I
said spit,” defended Sheila.
“Yeah,
mom. But we all know what you meant.”
Caught
red tongued because she hadn’t used her hands, Sheila’s face blushed so much it
made her look like a human thermometer close to boiling point.
“Wife
of mine, for this occasion, I think our youngest caught you completely off
base.” Rick chuckled.
A
giggling over the hill brought them all back to the field.
“That
sounded like Xander!” Sheila said, surprised by the sound and happy to change
the topic.
“Let’s
hurry, mom!” said Lucas back on his mom’s side.
As
they all ran over the hill a sight took them all completely by surprise. There,
running around a field were at least eight small identical boys.
“Is
that Xander?” asked Claudette.
“Or
Xanders?” added JD.
“Well,
yes,” said Sheila a little puzzled.
“Sheila,
luv. It seems our dear Xander got a bit splintered. Not to worry, we just need
to grab all of them and huggle him together again.”
“How
do you huggle someone back together?” asked Sheila.
“Well
it seems to me that we need to have someone hug him together. You up for it,
Rick?”
Rick
cracked his knuckles and gave a sports loving smile. “Let’s do this.”
All
of them started skipping down the hill and laughing. The Xanders were all
chasing bugs with nets and as they leapt, the group found out that the
butterflies actually stuck to them.
“What
are these?” asked Ciara.
“Butterscotchflies,”
yelled Zoe.
“How
do you know?” asked Lucas.
When
they looked at Zoe, they didn’t need further explanation than the wing that
still stuck out from her mouth. Zoe caught one of the Xanders and took him to
her dad.
Lucas
and Ciara caught another. Claudette was even able to snag two by the hand and
made them dance into Rick’s arms. He held onto all of them, although it wasn’t
hard since they all turned to hug the huggable man. JD and Sheila caught two
more and before long all Xanders were all accounted for, all hugging Rick and laughing
with the beautiful joyous giggles only a happy child can express.
“Now
Rick, I’m going to need you to give them kids a real big squeeze,” said JD.
Rick
looked at Sheila and she nodded for him to do so. When he flexed, he felt one
pop after another until only one Xander was left.
“Oh,
that feels much better,” said the little boy.
Smiling,
JD pulled out his magic hat and twirled it intricately until flipping it and
popping it open in front of Sheila.
“You
may do the honors,” JD said.
And
with her family smiling at her, she reached into the hat, pulled out a headband
and she had to burst out laughing. “Is this-?”
“A
Miyagi-Daniel headband,” JD said with a smile.
Sheila
knelt down and Xander ran to her and jumped into her arms, giving her a hug that
only a child can give. She kissed his forehead and tied the bandana on his head
making him look like a little karate master.
“This
will help keep everything in its place,” said Claudette.
Xander
looked at the lovely Claudette and then ran to hug the sweet woman. Sheila
turned to look at JD. “Thanks,” she said.
With
a bashful smile, he gave a small bow. “My thanks to you, luv. It’s because of
you that we were able to bring a little bliss to these lovely people.”
JD
looked at Xander hugging Claudette, Sheila’s kids playing with the
butterscotchflies, and then Sheila hugging and kissing her husband. He gave a
funny little nod and looked up to the Draem sky.
Up
above he saw the SS Falkori floating like a massive blimp. From the port side,
Captain Phish leaned out and gave a show below. “Master Estrada! The pyramid is
doing something funny!”
“Define
funny,” shouted JD.
“Well
almost as funny as the hamsters dancing although after you left, they had their
way with the maple marble and are indisposed this moment after stuffing
themselves.”
“That
doesn’t really answer my question!” said JD noticing the glass pyramid had not
been mentioned.”
“I
think you’ll have to come up and see for yourself!”
“All
right! But it might need to wait for the next daydream, I need to pick someone
up first.”
“Righty-o!”
said Phish.
Taking
his sight back to his friends all around him, JD nodded contentedly for the
moment. “Not bad for a daydream.”
And
that’s when everyone woke up.