Dreamwalker

A story for my Hime since I realize that I haven't written anything for her in a while :D

Dreamwalker

 

            Now Sarah knew that she wasn’t exactly what you would call “normal”. Oh sure, if someone was just to look at her they probably wouldn’t be able to tell. Nor would they probably see anything too amiss if they looked over reports of her life and experiences. Okay well, fine, she had had her fair share odd encounters in life, but not the type that people would probably freak out too much over. In fact, it would be incredibly unlikely for you to ever accidentally discover what set Sarah apart from other humans. Or for most people to believe her if she told them.

            The thing was that Sarah was what you might call a Dreamwalker. Or perhaps Dream-wanderer would be more accurate. As far back as she could remember when she went to sleep her dreams were never her own. Rather, when she closed her eyes she would slip into someone else’s dream for as long as they were asleep. Rarely did the dreamer ever realize that she was there(she liked to stay out of their way) and if they did then the other persons mind would usually panic and the dream would probably descend into a nightmare. Those were the worst. Still, there were over 7 billion people in the world and distance was never really an issue for the mind so she didn’t really encounter the people whose dreams she’d shared in real life. Though it had happened before.

            “Hey Hime! Are you ready?” called Rachel knocking lightly on her door.

            “Yes! Be right there!” Sarah called softly back. Rachel had been one of the first people whom knew and believed her about her Dreamwalking. Probably because she had accidentally stumbled into her dreams once by accident when they had been going to school together. Her friend, who she had still barely known at the time, had freaked out and promptly thrown her out of the dream faster then Sarah had ever experienced before. The next day at school Rachel had taken one look at her and her eyes had widened.

            “So that really wasn’t a dream! You were there!” she had said in awe and the two of them spent the rest of their next class passing excited notes back and forth about Sarah’s strange talent. After that Rachel invited Sarah to share her dreams some other time, “But only if I tell you beforehand. If you break into my mind without permission I kick you right back out again,” she had warned with a smile and a shrug, “I don’t mind you being there, but my dreams are kinda crazy usually so I don’t want to accidentally hurt you.” And Sarah had agreed because, yes, she had seen enough of her friend’s one dream to know that she didn’t want to face armies of wizard assassin’s or whatever without the person in charge of them realizing her friend was there.

            “C’mon Sarah, we’re going to be late!” scolded Rachel poking her head through the door now.

            “I know! Just a second…” Sarah said hurriedly zipping up her boots and grabbing her purse. Rachel gave her a quick hug when she got out before they hopped into the car and drove into town. A few weeks ago Rachel had talked her manager into giving Sarah a job at the coffee shop/restaurant where she worked. Frankly, Sarah wasn’t sure she would ever get used to the fast pace. The flurry of orders and a quick conversations left Sarah both physically and mentally exhausted at the end of her shift.

            “I am not sure working at a coffee shop is for me.” sighed Sarah as they pulled into their work place.

            “Give it another couple weeks before you decide.” Rachel urged gently, “Even if you don’t want to stay, it’s good to have the experience at least… it’ll help you get a job a somewhere you really do want to work.”

            “Yeah…” agreed Sarah as they went inside and changed into their aprons. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the job- it could actually be quite fun sometimes, especially if Rachel was working the same shift as her- but the customers were quite intimidating sometimes and some of her other co-workers were a bit intense. But, as Rachel constantly rejoiced over, there was free food, fun music, and very weird people.

            “So, any interesting dreams lately?” asked Rachel as they quickly restocked the supplies in wait for the next customer.

            “Um… I wandered into this 5 year olds dream the other day… it was all cotton candy clouds and ponies that would only eat marshmallows?” said Sarah thinking back to random dream with fondness.

            “Hahaha I am telling you Hime, you should write stories off of your dreams sometime. They’d be wild.” laughed Rachel nodding to a customer as they came in and taking their order.

            “But they’re not my dreams so it kinda feels… like I’d be stealing or something, you know?” said Sarah once the customer was served and had wandered off.

            “I could see that.” said Rachel nodding slowly in agreement, “But you know, most people don’t even remember their dreams anyway… so those stories would just be lost anyways. But whatever makes you comfortable.”

            “May I have a Iced Mocha?” asked a new customer walking up to the register before Sarah could answer.

            “Yeah sure!” smiled Rachel immediately before checking with Sarah, “You want to ring them up?”

            “Y-yeah, sure.” said Sarah bravely. And thus work continued.

*****

            After work Sarah fell into bed even though it was still afternoon.

            “Taking a nap?” asked her sister Alison from over her phone.

            “Mmhmm…” hummed Sarah letting heaviness seep into all of her limbs. She wasn’t sure is her sister responded again because had already passed out.

            When Sarah opened her eyes she immediately realized that she was in the dream of an adult. She was standing in what seemed to be an English garden next to manor so grand it almost looked like a castle. Looking around more closely Sarah took in the detail of her surroundings and the way that there was actually smells and textures.

            Too complex to be a simple dream… no, this was a memory.

            “What’s this? there is someone here?” came a surprised voice from behind her. Sarah jumped in surprise and spun around her hand clutching at her wildly beating heart. There stood a tall man with long braided blond hair dressed like a young noble of olden times, “I am usually alone here.”

            “Oh- um-sorry I-!” Sarah tried to get out as she panicked. Had he realized? That she was an intruder? She knew that just as the dreamer stood out from the rest of the dream, she too looked different to them… distinctly out of place, so to say. What was he going to do?! Then quite suddenly the man smiled a dazzling smile of delight at her.

            “You’re quite detailed. My mind must be truly extraordinary to be able to create something so exquisite from my subconscious!” he marveled admiring her proudly.

            “Oh, yes. I suppose so…” said Sarah uncertainly. Well, he seemed to be aware that he was dreaming and also used to controlling his dreams as well, which while unusual, wasn’t that weird.

            “Those lectures from Glen must have finaly sunk in I guess, “ laughed the man shaking his head, “But I could have sworn that I wasn’t that lonely be myself. Still, you seem nice so I suppose I don’t mind. Tell me Princess, what’s your name?”

            “Oh, um, I am Sarah.” said Sarah cautiously. She had never had someone react to her presence like this. She kept waiting for it all to blow up in her face but it seemed like he genuinely believed that she was a real part of his dream. Sarah wasn’t sure what she felt about that.

            “Sara, huh?” smiled the man stepping closer and Sarah noticed for the first time how almost unnaturally green his eyes were, “You really are a princess then aren't you?”

            “Huh? Oh, uh, I guess. My friends do call me Hime sometimes….” said Sarah feeling her face flush.

            “Hime?” asked the man curiously tilting his head.

            “Oh! It, uh, means Princess in Japanese.” Sarah hurriedly explained.

            “It does?” he said blinking and frowning at the sky for a moment, “I didn’t know I knew any words in Japanese…”

            “Oh! but You’ve heard it mentioned, and those things, um, sink into your subconscious.” Sarah said cursing her slip up in her head.

            “Ah!” he said his face brightening, “That makes sense.”

            “So it really was you all along.” Sarah tried to reassure him, hoping that she wasn’t making herself look to suspicious as she did.

            “I am pretty amazing, aren't I?” preened the blond for a moment and Sarah was stuck by how much her friend Yasmine would probably not like this man.

            “Yes.” agreed Sarah smiling too. And actually it was more then just idle flattery. He truly was amazing to have created such a complex world in his dream, and more then that, to have retained this amount of consciousness within the dream.

            “Well then Hime,” the blond said startling Sarah yet again by taking her hand and pressing a chaste kiss to her knuckles, “It's wonderful to meet you. I am Jack Vesalius.”

            Sarah felt like her face might explode from heat.

****

            “And you let him do that?!” Rachel demanded her eyes going wide as Sarah explained the encounter to her the next day at work.

            “Yeah…” admitted Sarah blushing.

            “Sarah! That’s really dangerous!” Rachel scolded her worriedly, “He obviously has a lot of control over his dreams so you should have been EXTRA careful around him. People’s morals and emotions are so much looser in dreams. He could really hurt you Sarah!”

            “No he doesn't seem like that kind of person!” Sarah assured her quickly, though she had thought of that too once she had woken up.

            “Well at least you’re okay.” Rachel said still fretting worriedly over what could have been.

“Yeah.” agreed Sarah thinking of the pleasant time spent strolling through dazzling gardens with Jack treating her like a Princess the whole time.

“Just be more careful next time you wander into a dream like that.” Rachel instructed before suddenly sending her a sharp look, “You’re not thinking of intentionally returning to his dreams again are you?”

“Um…” blushed Sarah thinking of how she had been day dreaming all day about doing just that.

“Sarah!”

“It’ll be fine!” Sarah tried to reassure her friend, “He is really nice! I think- I think if I am with him I’ll be safe.”

“I hear that but- gosh Sarah, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s dangerous!” said Rachel wringing the towel she had been using to wipe down the counters with nervously in her hand, “It makes me really nervous.”

“Trust me,” Sarah pleaded, “I really feel like he needs me. He seemed…. lost. Like really lonely. I can’t just leave him like that. At least not without telling him that I am leaving.”

“…it’s your choice.” said Rachel at last sighing, “I can’t force you not to go see him again, and I won’t try; you are an adult fully capable of making your own choices… but Sarah, please be careful.”

“I will.” promised Sarah, “It’s only a dream, if I don’t like the way things are going I can just wake up. It's not like Jack can find me in real life.”

Author's Note

Hope you like it! If so, I may continue :D

Reviews

[Sarah H. (Shadow Mage)]

Askfndjskvkelsmf
Oh my goodness, I really love this so utterly much. I love this dreamwalker idea, and I really love how you started it out - really the whole story!!
This is so perfect, I want to read more!!