Chapter 3: Becoming the dream

This time he found himself in a small meadow. The grass here was fairly short, just barely over his ankle. There were flowers everywhere, barely sticking out of the grass. Mostly red and yellow patches, with some blue mixed in. There’s a wooded area with a small creek running through it a short distance away. This is just what he needed. A nice relaxing walk to clear his mind. The song of nature was all around him. He could hear the sound of the water rushing by, crickets, frogs in the distance, and the sound of birds singing overhead. All in tune with the wind playing through the leaves in the trees.

If dreams are a creation of the mind, I wonder what I can do, he thought to himself. He never really thought to try. Dreams just flow, so whatever control you have is usually limited at best. Plus, it just changes as new thoughts enter your head. Okay, he said to himself as he noticed the sun behind him. It took a lot of concentration, but he moved the big yellow orb to the middle of the sky.

Then just to see if he could, he changed it from yellow to bright red. Then, he changed it to blue, then green, then back to yellow. Suddenly, he had a feeling he was being watched. Trying not to be obvious, he scanned the Treeline. There he was! The mysterious dark figure. He couldn’t see what he looked like from that angle, so he turned his head to get a better look. As he did, the figure started to disappear behind a tree.

Then, Danny said, “stop.”

He didn’t yell it, He didn’t raise his voice at all, but that one word seemed to resonate through the air above all other sounds. And everything just stopped! All the sounds, the wind, even some birds in mid-flight. For a minute, there was a look of panic on the man’s face. It seemed as if he couldn’t leave. So, he just approached Danny with a look of defeat on his face. But somehow, there was a look of pride mixed in.

“Who are you?” Danny asked.

“It’s not important. What you really want to know is what I know about you, and what I can tell you about your dreams.”

“Okay, I’ll bite. What do you know about me, and what can you tell me about my dreams?”

“Well for starters, I see you’ve already figured out that you can control your dreams,” He began. “What you haven’t figured out yet, is that you can control all dreams.”

“So, I can just go into anybody’s dream?”

“Sort of,” he said. “But not exactly. When you’re asleep, you enter someone’s dream by attaching yours to it. Then, they merge into one dream.”

“So, that’s what happened with Emily?” Danny asked.

“Exactly,” He answered. “Didn’t you notice; you started in an area outside of her dream that she wasn’t even aware of?”

“I never thought of that. Does sharing dreams have anything to do with me knowing how to do things that I never actually learned to do?”

“You catch on fast,” he said. “Basically, if it’s in the dream it’s yours. If they know how to do it in the dream, so do you.”

“Does that mean our dreams are merged right now?” Danny asked.

“No. I’m different. I don’t have my own dreams here. I don’t have time to explain it right now, but when the time is right, I’ll tell you everything I know.”

“Why don’t you have time to explain?” Danny asked.

“It’s a long story, and my energy is too low. I can’t stay here much longer.”

“Could you at least tell me your name, or what to call you?”

“My name is Lancel Kind, but you can call me Lance.”

Then, he was gone. Suddenly, it was as if the dream had unpaused. Everything came back to life around him, and the abruptness of the sound startled him. I forgot about that, Danny thought to himself. He looked up just in time to see the birds fly by again. He could have sworn that he felt them giving him dirty looks. Walking down the newly formed path, he thought about what he wanted to do next. He wanted to talk to Emily. He wanted to find out if she could feel the same about him or if she would be willing to try. I guess this would be a good time to try an experiment, he thought to himself.

He concentrated for a minute, then he said, “Emily.”

“Danny is that you?” He heard her say.

“Yes, it is,”

“Where are you? I can’t see you.”

“I know. You’re dreaming, and I’m not in your dream. Can I join you?” He asked.

“Please do,”

He turned left, and he was in a backyard. He knew this yard. He played here as a kid many times while growing up. He went through the back door into the kitchen. This is her parents’ house.

“Can we go somewhere else and talk?” He asked.

“Sure. But where?”

“Take my hand,” he said.

She did, and he led her through the other door. However, instead of entering the living room, they stepped out onto his balcony.

“This is better. Don’t you. think?”

“Yes,” she said. “I think it’s perfect.”

The scene here was a late evening in the city. It was just before sunset when the streetlights started to flicker on. The street was empty except for the occasional passerby. They are likely on their way home or to the entertainment district for a late dinner and show.

The air was fairly warm, but a light breeze played across the patio. Adding some liveliness to the scene were two birds playing in the branches of a nearby tree. Darting out, from time to time, in a game of tag. Then swooping around to land back in the tree. Emily liked this dream a lot. It seemed more real than normal dreams. But dreams with Danny always did. That’s one of the things she loved about him. He always seemed to make everything better.

“I’m sorry for interrupting your dream,” he started. “There is something important I want to discuss with you, and I don’t feel like I can wait.”

“It’s okay,” she said, “you’re always welcome in my dreams.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Now that I know that it’s your dream I’m entering, it just didn’t feel right being here without your permission. So.

“Danny!” She interrupted. “We’ve been best friends for as long as I can remember. There’s no reason to be awkward about dreams, conversations, or anything else. You know I love you, so quit stalling and talk to me.”

“That’s what I want to talk about,” he said. “I love you too. And when I say that I mean I’m in love with you. I don’t want to lose or change our friendship. It will always be the most important part of our relationship. However, I want more. I don’t mean to sound selfish, but I want everything you have to offer. I want to hold you in my arms, to kiss you, even start a family someday.”

“I know,” she said. “And I feel the same way, but I don’t want to make too many changes at once. We should just take one step at a time.”

“You’re right, there’s no need to rush. Can I take you on our first romantic date this Friday?”

“I would love that.”

“Does that mean I can kiss you?” He asked hopefully.

“No, I don’t want our first romantic kiss to be in a dream!”

Then, she disappeared. As soon as he woke up, his door flew open. It was Emily. She ran across the room, jumped onto the bed, and kissed him. It was a deep passionate kiss. She didn’t kiss him out of lust, but it wasn’t out of friendship either. As soon as she kissed him, he knew that she loved him as much as he loved her. Then, she just melted into his arms.

“That was the best wake-up call I ever had. I’m going to stay here more often,” he joked.

She just laughed and kissed him again. He never knew just how much he would enjoy having her in his arms like this. By the time they got up and got ready, Robert had already finished his breakfast. Danny was just finishing up making breakfast, and Emily was hanging on his arm with her head on his shoulder. When Robert came back in to grab his keys, he noticed them.

“What’s up with you two?” he asked.

“Danny asked me to be his girlfriend,” Emily said. “We have a date on Friday.”

“It’s about time, bro,” he said as he walked out the door.

Danny made the store hours eight to one Monday through Friday because his biggest focus is his lawn/home maintenance business. But his hand-crafted furniture is his biggest moneymaker. It’s also his passion and favorite hobby. He dedicates Wednesdays just to his furniture craft. Today he decided to finish up a little early. It was just after two o’clock when He gave Emily and Robert huge bonuses for the very successful grand opening.