Chapter 7: Finding Himself

Ever since their first date, Danny and Emily decided to have a date every Friday. It wasn’t always a show and dinner. Sometimes it was a romantic walk through the park. Sometimes a carriage ride. Sometimes they would stay home and have a special dinner on his patio. But they always ended the same way, with Danny and Emily cuddling on the couch and talking.

Danny had often wondered how he got so lucky to have her as a best friend. But now, to see how much he loved her, and she loved him back. He knew he was truly blessed, for they had a fairytale romance that even fairy tale characters dream of. They knew they would be married someday, but they didn’t feel the need to rush it. They had their whole lives ahead of them. For now, they enjoyed holding hands, kissing, and cuddling. But they didn’t go all the way yet.

Sometimes they would even take a nap together. This way, they could have an adventure in their dreams and wake up in each other’s arms. They don’t sleep together at night, they still have their separate bedrooms, and they are still virgins. They decided all of that would wait for marriage. And Danny knew that once that day came, he would fall asleep every night. That way, they could wake up every day in each other’s arms.

As best friends, Danny talks to Emily about everything. She knows about the essentials and can recognize each one when they visit her dreams. Even though she can’t understand them, Emily talks to them every time she sees them. She also knows about Lancel. She was just as surprised to find out he was Walter’s son. Not to mention Walter’s underground apartment and the dream chamber. But one thing that disturbed her was this mysterious group.

“Please be careful, Danny,” she said. “You never know what they will do next.”

“It’s not the group I’m worried about.” He said. “Whoever’s behind all of this is really the dangerous one. When I was in their dreams, I had access to their minds. None of them have the capability of developing this kind of technology. But there’s this guy that they seem to worship. Someone named Walker. Some of them call him Walker from the dream. But most of them know him as the dream-walker.”

“Just promise me you’ll be careful, Danny,” she said. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“I promise I’ll be careful.” He said. “But it’s getting late, so I’ll let you get to bed. I love you.”

“I love you too.” She said.

Then she went to bed, leaving Danny to think. I’ve learned so much in the past few weeks. He thought. And most of it seems to have to do with medial energy from this medial realm. So, what do I know about it? I can feel it. I can control it. The veil of Dreams is made of it. Where does it come from? He thought for a moment. I guess it comes from the medial realm. It’s the only thing that seems to make sense.

I can feel the medial barrier, and the energy radiates from it. Also, if everyone else is attached to someone on the other side through a medial spirit, but I’m not, do I have a medial spirit? I think I need to go into the medial realm myself. If Lance used to be like me, then I think he knows how. I need to talk to Lance immediately, he thought. So that’s what he decided to do.

Rather than making a new door, he went to his room and used the one there. He was in his dream office. He looked at his desk. His bobblehead doll was still there. But now, there were bobblehead dolls of Lancel, Walter, his mother, and Emily on the desk too. That’s weird, he thought. Did I do that, or did Lance? Never mind, he thought.

“Lance. Can you hear me?” He said.

“I can hear you,” Lance said as he appeared in Danny’s seat behind his desk. “Is everything okay? “He asked.

“Yes,” Danny replied. “I’ve just been thinking. “You’re not from this realm, are you?”

“No, I’m not,” he said. “How did you know?”

“I’ve been thinking about the things you’ve told me,” Danny said. “It’s the only thing that makes sense to me. You’re like me., I can feel it. But you’re different, and you said you don’t have dreams here.”

“You’re right, Danny,” Lance said. “I was like you, and I was from the left realm. But this is my home now. I couldn’t go back if I wanted to. And before you ask, yes, I know how to get to the medial realm.”

“How do you know I was going to ask?” Danny asked.

“It’s the question I’ve been waiting for,” he said. “Unfortunately, I can’t explain it to you. And I can’t show you because I can no longer do it.” He explained. “What you need is a guide, and I can point you in the right direction. This is the dream you need.” Then he touched Danny’s forehead.

The field seemed to stretch on forever. He looked around. There were no trees or any significant landmarks as far as he could see. The grass was mostly green and had long stalks topped with copper-colored grains. When the wind blew, there appeared to be gentle waves rolling across the land. The vast ocean of grass was knee-high and dotted with patches of flowers in every direction. He could hear birds and crickets, but no matter how close he looked, he couldn’t see them anywhere.

He took a step forward to start what promised to be a long journey. As he walked, he noticed that everything looked the same. The scenery didn’t change at all. He didn’t know where he was going or how far he even walked. He had nothing to determine the direction or distance. There were still no landmarks. And though it was bright out here without a cloud in sight, there was no sun in the sky.

Somehow, he didn’t expect to see one. This was starting to seem familiar to him. He didn’t know how long he had been walking or if he was even getting anywhere. The scenery was playing tricks on his mind. While walking, it seemed like he had walked for miles. But when he stopped, it didn’t look like he moved at all. He was experiencing a strong feeling of Deja vu now. I really need to get out of this field, he thought.

Then, without any warning at all, he found himself at the edge of a cliff. Where did that come from? He thought. It was like the ground just fell away. Looking down from the top of the cliff, he saw a huge forest from miles above. Even from this vantage point, there didn’t seem to be an end to the forest. At the base of the cliff, there was what had to be a giant lake. From this distance, however, it wasn’t much more than just a puddle.

Now it came back to him. It was the dream he had just before all of this happened! Thinking back, however, Danny realized that this was a recurring dream. He has had this dream at least once a year for as long as he can remember, and every time he would completely forget it by the next day. But now, for some reason, Danny could remember every time he had dreamed it. And now, he was starting to realize its purpose.

Standing at the edge of the cliff, looking down at the lake, Danny felt like there was something about this lake. He still didn’t know what it was, but he had an overwhelming feeling that he wanted to be there. So, Danny leaned forward and allowed himself to fall over the edge. I do this every time, he thought as the ground raced up to meet him. Knowing what was happening, though, didn’t override the fear that he felt while falling. He was just starting to panic when he noticed that the ground was advancing slower than it had been. What’s going on, he thought? Am I slowing down?

He realized that he was indeed slowing down. The farther he fell, the slower he got until about two feet from the water, where he just stopped. Before he could form another thought, however, he started to fall down. There was no other way to describe it. It was like gravity had reversed, and he was falling into the sky. All around him were animals, plants, and even large rocks and trees falling up with him. Or maybe, they were being sucked into the sky. All he knew for sure was that it felt surreal as everything rose up and swirled around over his head, then disappeared into the sky. He wasn’t sure why that surprised him after experiencing it so many times. He guessed that maybe the panic had made him forget momentarily.