It has now been three weeks since the night Anton and I got trapped in that crazy dream. To be honest, things were a little awkward between us for a few days; he was very quiet and more distant than usual. I wasn’t really sure what to make of it, having seen a very different side of him in the days leading up to the dream and in the dream itself. While he did kind of come around eventually, I still felt like there was something bothering him deep down. If I were to guess why, I’d think it was because he was ashamed to have shown his more “sensitive” side to me; to have been so open about how he really feels. Actually, the more I think about it, I’m pretty positive that’s what it was. He cycles between emotions so quickly! One second he’s so sensitive and then the next he gets all embarrassed and puts on an air of stoicism and tries to pretend I’m inconveniencing him just by existing. Even though it’s not anything new, I can’t help but feel kind of down about it. Whatever. I don’t think I’ll ever understand him, no matter how hard I try to.
Today was an especially long day. I’ve started practicing magic with Jodie again two days a week and she takes our lessons very seriously. I’m exhausted, to say the least, and there’s nothing more that I want to do than sleep for a long, long time. It’s really not all that late, and since tomorrow’s Saturday I could stay up all night if I wanted to, but I figure it’s no use trying to stay awake if I can barely keep my eyes open. I sleepily undress and put on some pajamas, and I fall asleep practically the instant I get cozy under the covers of my bed. I sleep for a few hours, but after a while I wake up feeling quite parched. I turn to look at the clock. Midnight. I decide that, even though I’m still dead-tired, I’m going to pour myself a glass of water before I go back to sleep.
I get out of bed and carefully tiptoe down the hallway. I figure Anton’s probably asleep by now since he hasn’t had any research papers or anything keeping him up these past few nights. I have to be quiet as a mouse, ‘cos he’s a very light sleeper and even the littlest noises wake him up. I’m the complete opposite; I could sleep through anything.
I make it to the kitchen and get a glass from the cupboard, pouring myself a cup of water from the sink. I fill it up all the way, so that if I get thirsty again in the night I don’t have to pour myself another one. As the sink water runs, I hear a low groaning noise coming from the living room. I turn it off, and go to investigate. The noise sounded like it came from the couch… I tiptoe to it, and frown at the sight before me.
“Anton…” I mutter under my breath frustratedly.
He’s slumped over the couch in an awkward position, a mess of tangled limbs and hair, and he’s very obviously black-out drunk if the empty cans of shitty cheap beer littering the coffee table are anything to go by.
“Jesus Christ,” I continue, wincing at the smell of alcohol emanating from him, “You’re gonna be so hungover tomorrow.”
He twitches at the sound of my voice, but is otherwise unresponsive. Even though seeing him in such a pathetic state is pissing me off something awful, I choose to leave him as he is. I mean, it was his choice to get drunk, so he can clean up all those cans when he wakes up (whenever that is). Maybe if it was earlier and I was feeling more awake and sympathetic I’d clean up for him, but all I want to do is go back to sleep. So when I go back to my room that’s exactly what I do. Or at least, I try to. But I can’t.
I groan as I get out of bed reluctantly. Being nice is seriously so irritating sometimes, I think to myself as I sneak into Anton’s room. I’m careful not to disturb anything as I grab his blanket off his bed. I walk to the living room couch, not at all trying to be as quiet as I was earlier. I gingerly drape the blanket over him, and go to the kitchen to fetch him his own glass of water. After all that is done, I feel as though I can finally fall back asleep for real.
I wake up in a forest clearing under a clear sky and bright sun. Enormous pine trees all stand guard around a lush circlet of wildflowers and tall grass. It’s a dream, of course, but it doesn’t feel like one at all. I sit up, brushing dirt and a couple loose blades of grass off myself and I look around. Doesn’t look like there’s much to explore here, the woods are thick and I don’t particularly feel like getting myself lost in them. It’s boring, sure, but at least it’s peaceful. I figure that, as long as I’m here, I’ll make a flower garland. I don’t think I’ll be waking up any time soon…
I crawl on my hands and knees, plucking the flowers I can find from the ground. Once I’ve gathered enough, I get to work intertwining the stems into a wreath-like shape. My hands don’t feel as clumsy as they do in real life, which is a blessing. With each twist, it feels like my hands are moving all on their own! If only I was this dexterous in reality… I can barely tie my own shoelaces sometimes.
As I start to lose myself in the progress of making the garland, a cool breeze sweeps through the clearing. It makes me shiver, and as I look up from my hands a few dandelion seeds blow through the air. They beckon me to follow them, and I debate whether I should or not. I mean, the last time I blindly followed something in a dream it led to me almost getting frozen and Anton getting turned into a statue, so of course I’m a bit wary! But, since Magdalena is no more, what do I have to worry about? I set down my craft and follow the seeds into the verdant sea of trees.
As I walk through the woods, the smell of pine is overwhelming. The sun can’t cut through the foliage above as the forest gets thicker and thicker, so the air is damp and cool and dark. It doesn’t feel scary at all, though, like it did in Magdalena’s dream world. I continue walking, and the deeper I get, more and more dandelion seeds breeze past me. They all seem to be headed to the same destination– a glowing, sparkling blue orb in the distance. Like them, I feel drawn to it as well, but I can’t explain why. I keep walking.
“Hong?” An echo-y voice breaks the ambience of wind whistling. It sounds just like…
“M-Maggie?” I gasp, stopping dead in my tracks.
All the dandelion seeds gather ‘round the blue orb and cluster it tightly. I blink and before I can even make sense of the whole thing, the orb’s transformed into none other than Maggie!
“Maggie!” I exclaim, “You’re okay! I thought I’d never see you again!”
“I figured I owed you an apology, Hong,” she takes a step towards me shyly, her voice is quiet, “I wasn’t trying to get anyone hurt. I thought I would be able to convince Magdalena to let you and Anton wake up, but… It is true that my task was to lead you guys to her. That’s what I was created for, but I realized very quickly that the both of you were good people. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt, I promise!”
A couple of tears begin to roll down her cheeks and she sniffles loudly. Even my own eyes begin to feel a bit watery.
“That’s why I helped Anton heal you after the dragon attack. That dragon was Magdalena herself! She can change forms, just like I can. I wasn’t supposed to heal you or help fight it, but I knew I couldn’t just watch her freeze everyone to death! I was hoping that when you melted her wing she’d melt away forever and we’d never have to see her again!”
“You have a big heart,” I finally reply, my voice trembling, “I owe you an apology, too. I’m sorry for not being able to protect you against Magdalena. When she appeared at the table, I didn’t know what to do! I got scared a-and–”
She smiles weakly, wiping her tears away.
“It’s okay. She’s gone now, and that’s all that matters. You see, you and Anton weren’t her only targets. She had a list of everyone that had ‘wronged’ her in life; she was planning to get revenge on all of them. So, thank you. You saved more people than you know by being brave and standing up to her. That’s something I was never able to do.”
“That’s horrible… It seems like Anton and I were in the right place at the right time, then!”
“Anton? But you were the only one that fought against her, right? A dandelion seed landed on the roof of her castle and through it I could see you guys fighting. Anton got turned into a statue.”
“Yes, that’s true, but he inspired me to be courageous so I think that he ought to get some credit here! And if it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have even been in the dream, anyway! It was kind of his fault we wound up there, you know!”
Maggie doesn’t say anything, she can’t argue with that. We stand in silence for a few minutes before she wraps her arms around me tightly.
“I can’t stay here for much longer,” she whispers suddenly, looking up at me, “Since Magdalena’s gone, I’m not supposed to exist. The dream she made doesn’t exist anymore either, so with what little leftover magic I was able to muster, I created this one just so we could meet one final time.”
I hug her back, sighing. She lets me go and straightens out the bottom part of her dress.
“So you’ll be gone forever?” I ask, frowning.
She nods, not looking at me.
“Maggie…”
“I know. I’ll miss you a whole lot, and I’m scared to fade away. But…” She inhales very deeply, “I came from memory, and to memory I’ll return. I didn’t exist for very long, but because of you, I experienced friendship and happiness. You showed me what freedom and bravery looks like, and I am very grateful. Thank you for being my friend, Hong.”
“I’ll miss you too,” I whisper so as to not burst into tears right then and there, “I wish you didn’t have to go.”
“The magic I have is running out, so when you wake up, I will no longer exist, and neither will this dream. We may never see each other again, or we might meet again somehow in another dream. Who’s to say? Dreams are strange.”
And with that her form turns blurry and she fades away, leaving behind a small pile of blue glitter that scatters as a strong gust of wind blows through the woods. I am alone again, and though I have every reason to feel mournful, for some odd reason a wave of relief washes over me. Although Maggie no longer inhabits a body, her spirit will live on eternally in the memories of everyone she had shared dreams with.