In Dreams

In Dreams We Meet

She followed the form retreating down the hall, eyes taking in everything around her in the dim light.

"I know this place. It's not real, why am I here?" Her voice barely a whisper as the form faded and vanished.

Laughter echoed around her, followed by the murmuring voices of lovers and friends whispering to each other of shared secrets. She emerged into a room lined with mirrors, a familiar dance studio cloaked in shadows. She whirled as she felt something brush against her, but nothing was there. Forms danced past her, congealing in the shadows into the shapes of dancers, her eyes trying to keep up with their movements, but they stayed just out of her sight. As she looked back to the hall she had come in from, a familiar pair of eyes glowed from the dark, level with her own.

"Welcome." A soft familiar voice whispered into her ear. "To the world of your imagination." As the voice faded, so did the vision.

She sat bolt upright in the bed, head turning. Her eyes landed on the offending noise.

"Damnit," She muttered to herself as she turned off the alarm and poked the figure beside her. He stirred and yawned, slowly rising from the bed. She was awake now, and would not be able to return to dreaming, to understand what it meant. She shook her head slightly, drawing a curious gaze from the man dressing nearby.

"Bad dreams?" He asked, thinking that was the problem. He smiled slightly, pulling the button down shirt on. "I'll be home from work the usual time today."

He made small talk and she nodded, going through the typical familiar routine to get him out the door on time. She knew the answers to the questions too well by now, and could easily give them without thinking. She glanced at the clock as he left, and sighed. The young ones would be up very soon, and almost on cue she heard the voice of the youngest girl. She reluctantly got out of bed and dressed, while the child satisfied herself with some educational program on the living room television.

The day seemed normal, cooking, cleaning, routine. She went through the day with barely a thought to the dream from the night before, and collapsed onto the couch when the last child went to bed, long after he had done the same. Her eyes half closed as she watched some inane show on some random channel, and eventually it bored her into a deep sleep.

Her eyes opened to the darkness of a lavish room. The bed she laid in three times larger than the one she was accustomed to. Again, she knew the place, but should not have been here. She slid off the luxurious bed, and stood, to be faced with almost a mirror image of herself, with some major differences. She blinked and swallowed, trying to understand what was happening, while the woman before her smiled, the face so like her own, unmarked by the worries of having a family to be responsible for, her body untouched by the scars of childbirth.

"Welcome my creator, my self, I really should say." The blue skinned woman in front of her chuckled and reached out her hand. "I know you are thinking this is impossible, that you couldn't be here in Haven, but this is your mind, your imagination, and in your dreams anything is possible. Your creations all wish to speak with you, to help you understand why they haunt your mind so. We all have a purpose, and I am here to show you mine first. It is only fitting."

The mirror images joined hands, and walked to the bed, where they sat face to face. The creator facing the creation, her other self. As the blue one held the hand in her own, she spoke softly, confidently.

"I am you. Not the you that exists in the real world now, but the you that could have been. I represent your longing for freedom, for independence. I am the you without the burden of a family, without the responsibility to anyone but yourself. You have made me to do things that you can not, to live freely. I exist to live the adventures you long for, but can never have. I thank you for giving me that chance, for making my life as yours could have been."

The women embraced, and stood, walking to the door, stride matching stride.

"Now go to the kitchen, the next awaits you there." With a smile, Arania vanished into the shadows, and away from her sight.

She walked the halls, knowing exactly where she was going, and pushed open the kitchen door. Standing before her was a tall man in black, and she smiled. She knew this one well.

"Hello MusiKai." She spoke warmly, reaching to touch his arm. He turned and smiled at her, holding forth a cup.

"Your favorite, chamomile tea. Please, sit." He motioned with his free hand and she sat as he set the tea cup in front of her. A perfect gentleman always, as she envisioned.

"I am sure you can figure out for yourself what I represent. But I must speak the words for this to be done properly." His slow smirking smile graced his lips as he watched her sip, and listen to his voice. "I am the side of you that longs for romance, the romance lacking in your real life because of the real needs of those around you. I am the one who comes in your dreams and steals the kisses that leave you breathless. I am the one who rescues you from the castle while the dragon flees into the night frightened. I am the one who holds you in an embrace so tight, you have no fears. I thank you for giving me breath, for giving me the side of you that requires this. I give to you my gratitude eternal, and my devotion. I am there, in your head, in your heart, should you ever have need of me."

With this he leaned over and stole a kiss, leaving her swooning in the chair. "You need to visit the library next My Lady. There awaits another friend." And like a breeze, his fingers caressed her cheek and he vanished into the night.

She stepped into the library cautiously, looking around. She smiled as she saw a familiar furry form sitting curled into a black couch, her white hairs marking her spot. She walked closer, and heard the contented purrs she knew well, and missed dearly.

"Rowr. Greetings." The green eyes turned and landed on her face, the cat's lips curling into a smile. "I suppose I should get this over with, I am scheduled to go mouse hunting with Pye soon. I am the side of you that bears a great love for all beings, great and small. I am the part of you that nursed an injured possum until it was well enough to return home. I am the side of you that cared for Blaze when she was wounded and broken, feeding her broth until she could eat, gently petting her head while she hurt, whispering soft soothing words to her. I am the part of you that marvels at tigers and adores house cats. I am even the part of you that can not resist patting a friendly dog when it looks up at you with it's sad, loving eyes. I am the part of you that adores animals, respecting their wildness, and tending to their loving side. I thank you for giving me voice, for giving me this world to roam though I no longer am with you in your real world. I thank you for all of the ones who came before me and will come after. For your love and caring, we all thank you. The garden bears your next friend, but be warned, not all you see tonight are good."

With a rub of her cheek against the woman's hand, Meow vanished into the air.

She marveled of the beauty of the gardens at night, led on by a warm glow in front of her. Her eyes widened. This person should not be here, this was not her world, though she was no less important than her other creations.

"Hello Creator. You know who I am. I am Circe." She smiled a warm smile at her, floating globes of warm soothing light surrounded them, and guided her to her seat on the bench.

"I am the side of you that believes in magic. I show the world of myths through your thoughts, what could have been, what you may never know about. I represent the mysteries in the real world, the magic of a tree knowing just the right time to bloom, the mysteries of flashes in the night that have no explanations. I am the magic of your own feelings, protectiveness, respect for the things around you. I am the side of you that will always believe in fairies, and aliens. I am the side that will always believe in fairy tales. I am your childlike faith in all things you can not see, but know are there. I thank you for giving me this gift of vision, the gift of life within your mind and on paper. I thank you for sharing my story with others."

She smiled and finished, a hand touching the ground in front of them, producing a single rose. Suddenly everything was pitch black.

She whipped her head from side to side as from the dark hissing and menacing voices emerged, and a shadow made itself known to her sight.

"Yes, I am here. Did you doubt that I would exist. You created me after all." The menacing voice of the Master floated to her ears. She shivered, the dark making her cold, and scared. "Where there is light there must also be dark. I am your dark side. The side that smiles when watching a violent movie, the side that enjoys watching the bad guy beat up the good guy. I am the side of you that hates, that fears. I am the representation of all your baser emotions, lust, greed, anger. I am the yang to your hero's yin. The black to their white. The evil to their good. I am very much a part of you."

He reached out a black hand to touch her, and she shuddered in fright. Even in her own mind he does not have a face. She tried to turn and run, but tripped, like in one of the bad horror movies she was oh so fond of watching at night. She screamed out in wordless terror at all the negative emotions flowing around her. She struggled to rise, but felt a cold hand clamped around her ankle, dragging her back to the dark, to the bad thoughts that invaded her mind in her nightmares. She felt a sense of hopelessness as she accepted this was a part of her, and it had her.

Just as sudden as the hand clamped around her ankle, three pairs of hands wrapped around her wrists, light pushing back dark. She dared to look up and saw the faces looking down at her with love and gratitude. With their help she stood and turned to face the blackness.

"Yes you are a part of me, but you are a part I can control. You will never claim me, for I am not those feelings alone, I am all these things and more. Now go back to your hole in the ground, and wait till I need you for another face off in my stories." The three pairs of arms embraced her at once, and she felt a warm rough tongue lick her cheek. She smiled and closed her eyes once more, knowing so much more about herself than she did before.

She sat up, still on the couch, television playing some pay program. She smiled to herself and picked up her precious notebook, the place where she wrote down her thoughts and dreams. She set pen to paper, and did not stop writing until the children embraced her in their loving morning hugs.

"No, my friends, I thank you." She whispered to herself as she rose to face another mundane day, but knowing inside her adventures and romance was found with no limits.