In Which the Dream is Revealed

Chapter 23 of The Time-Teller

Chapter 23

In which the dream is revealed

“Little Megan?”

“Daddy?” Megan rubbed her eyes absently.

“Megan,” the voice sounded relieved.

“Gethin…” Megan tried to move her arms. She could not even make out vague outlines. The room was bright and everything seemed to reflect off of the utter whiteness of everything else in a blurred confusion of shapes and images that were unfamiliar to Megan.

“Honey,” her father’s voice spoke as if concerned. “I can’t make out what she’s saying, but she seemed to wake up for a moment there. I thought she would never talk again.”

“Daddy?” Megan’s mind rushed around possibilities. She didn’t understand what was going on.

“I’m here, my little Megan, and your mommy’s here too. Don’t worry everything is alright. You’ve been asleep for twelve days.”

“Twelve days?” Megan tasted the words as if they were burnt rubber. “I don’t understand. Where’s Pyralis? What have you done to him?”

“Who?” her father’s voice answered confused. Megan shut her eyes. The brightness of the room was painful.

“My… I don’t… Was it all a dream?” Megan’s breath caught in her throat as she grasped the sudden reality of it all. The last days seemed to blur together in her mind as if they would soon fade from her memory like any other dream. She began to forget the exact layout of the places she had been, and she knew that in a few days she would not even recognize the face if someone from her dream walked up to her.

“Megan, are you still awake?” her mother’s voice seemed to speak to her from far away before she drifted back into sleep.

She did not dream, and she knew vaguely in the back of her mind that she was asleep until finally she gathered enough energy to open her eyes. Now she could see more clearly, and the white curtains swung ominously in the wind from the large open window. Outside on the balcony, her father stood talking to her mother, her mother, who had not died.

“Dad?” Megan tried to call him. Tears were swelling up in her eyes. The dream was over. She felt as though she had been freed from a long term in a dark prison. Her parents turned to look at her. Her mother smiled, and Megan realized suddenly how much she had loved her mother and father. How could she make them so wicked in her own dream world? She sighed.

“Megan,” her mother said. “The doctors said you might never wake up again.” She was on the verge of tears, and wisps of long hair, which had somehow escaped her mother’s long ponytail, fell about her face in a stunning and beautiful manner.

“Mama,” Megan choked. “What happened?”

“There was a fire, and your father saved your life. Our whole house burned to the ground, but he didn’t leave even when your room collapsed. He wouldn’t leave until he had his baby in his arms. Oh, my little girl, I thought you would never talk to me again.”

“Well, that explains the fire in my dream…” Megan said absently. “Mama, I dreamed you were dead.” A tear fell slowly down Megan’s cheek into the sterile hospital bedding.

“It’s ok; I’m here,” Megan’s mother swooped down and kissed Megan on the cheek. Megan felt an awful ache in her side. She lifted up the covers of the blanket and moved the hospital gown off her side to reveal a large burn, which covered a portion of her side.

“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry,” her mother’s voice invaded her thoughts.

“Yeah…” Megan felt strange. All the memories of her dream seemed to be fading from her mind, and somehow, she wished they would stay in her mind.

“I’m sorry about your things. Most everything was lost in the fire,” her father spoke once more. “But, we had a lot of insurance, so I’ve been looking for a new place for us to settle down. Do you have anything specific in mind?”

“Well,” Megan thought for a moment. “I don’t know…” She felt overwhelmed. It seemed odd to talk about buying houses and insurance after all the things, which had occurred within Megan’s dream.

“I’m sorry. You just woke up. I’ll wait ‘til later,” her dad smiled. “Your mother and I are renting an apartment until you’re allowed to leave the hospital, but most nights, we spend here.”

“Really?” Megan smiled and sighed. “You know, I dreamt you were evil.”
“You dreamt your father was evil?” Megan’s mother laughed. “And I was dead! Oh Megan, that sounds awful. We’re both right here, and you’ll forget all about it.
Everything’s all right now.” Megan turned away from her mother and closed her eyes.

“It was a really long dream.” After a few hours, Megan drifted into a restless sleep. Soft voices haunted her, and images of man she barely recognized with a long goatee and a scar across his face floated in and out of her semiconscious mind.

“What are you?” a strange voice drawled into her half dream. “You aren’t completely human… Any trained wizard could smell that that is not human blood.”

“Who are you!” Megan sat up quickly, and her side sent shooting pains all through her body. She looked around… no one. The dark hospital room made her feel trapped and alone. “Daddy?” She whispered. There was no answer. She lay back down and tried to stay awake, but she could not keep the sleep away.

“You are kin to me,” a learned voice spoke to her.

“All I can do, listen.”

“Find us!” a soft voice called out to her.

“Huh?” Megan asked groggily.

“Megan, find us. Remember to find us. Remember what I taught you. Let the memories come back, young one, from a time long ago.” Megan rubbed her face into her hands and lifted her feet over the side of the sterile hospital bed.

“I keep remembering that dream…” she thought about walking around, but decided with the amount of wires attached to her, it might not be the greatest of ideas.
“I don’t know why it’s bothering me… I barely even remember what happened… There was a mean man, who took me away from my family, and there was an old man… What else?” As soon as Megan thought she had a grasp on the dream, it faded a little more from her mind.

The next morning, a nurse came in, and gave her a small bowl of something, which looked white, gooey and completely unappetizing.

“We have to get your body used to eating again,” the nurse sat on a little chair beside Megan’s bed. “So, how does it feel to be awake?”

“Odd…” Megan replied truthfully. “I’ve been asleep for so long… Reality is almost surreal.”

“A lot of people say that. I’m surprised you’re awake at all. With the way your charts looked, you should have been asleep for much longer. I guess you’re a real fighter.”

“I guess?” Megan closed her eyes. “Can I go to the bathroom?”

“Yes, of course. Would you like a dish or are you well enough to stand up?”

“I’ll stand. Thank you,” Megan half smiled. The nurse held out a hand for Megan to take. She helped Megan wheel all the objects her cords were connected to into the small hospital bathroom. “I figured you would like a nice real bathroom. I’ll wait outside in case you need anything.” Megan nodded. Then, she sat on the edge of the miniscule excuse for a tub careful not to bother her painful burns. The cool air of the bathroom made her feel more awake, and she was amazed that she didn’t realize she was dreaming all that time. It seemed so obscure now.

“Stuff like that just doesn’t happen,” Megan laughed to herself. She stood up carefully, and leaned on the sink. Then, she stared into the mirror. She had a small burn on her neck.

“I look like a dead person,” she said as her eyes scanned her own pale complexion. “I can’t wait to go outside again.” She turned on the sink water and felt its coolness rush over her fingers. Then, she cupped her hands and filled them with water. Slowly, carefully, she bent over and dipped her face into the water in her cupped hands. Then, she looked back up at her reflection in the mirror.

“Wow,” she whispered. “My hair is really long…” she ran a finger through her snarled hair. “Twelve days?” she shook her head. “I guess I’m just out of it…” Megan stopped mid thought. She stared at her reflection in the mirror.

“My eyes,” she said softly. Her eyes seemed as if they didn’t belong to her but to someone else she knew.

“They’re the same as…” Megan tried to grasp at a thought that seemed to be trying to escape her mind. “My face shape… My nose… Why do they look like they aren’t mine?” Megan touched her face. “It’s somebody else… I look like somebody else… Probably my parents, no. I don’t look like my parents.” Megan stood up straight, and her eyes suddenly took in her whole image in the mirror. “My father! I look like my father. I have his eyes… My real father. Pyralis! I’m coming!” Megan was almost screaming hysterically now.

“Is everything alright in there?” the nurse’s voice came in through the door. “Megan?”
Megan concentrated… She had to leave the nightmare, which Gethin had used to consume her mind. She had to tell Pyralis the truth about ten years earlier.

“How dare you show me an illusion of the woman I thought was my mother, the woman you killed!" she hissed. "I won’t be tricked so easily, Gethin.”