The Dreams Keeper

by Paola Elena Ferri

  I want you to look further ahead, if you can. Can you see the hill top amongst the trees? We will climb up to there, but, do not worry: it is not steep so you need not be afraid. At first sight, it seems to have been built with a precise scope… and the island seems deserted, so, you may be asking: how can such beautiful and healthy trees grow, with such delicious and fragranced fruit? No-one looks after them, no-one takes care of them… and yet, let me tell you that it is not at all like that.

  What comes to mind when we speak of a beautiful garden and an apple tree? Many of you will likely think of The Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve, the apple which brought the Original sin, the condemnation of the human being. Isn’t that so? If you thought that, you are on the right track.

  We are not able to see, now, who is here. We cannot see this place for what it really is. But we will climb up that hill and go down the other side, where we will be led to a place that will charm you and leave you suspended in a peculiar sensation, not unpleasant but inexplicable, because it cannot be explained, but lived.

  But, going back to Adam and Eve… someone does take care of this apple orchard, someone we cannot see, because the vision has been forbidden during daylight. Only when the moon comes out, and only then, some of you will be given the privilege to meet those eyes. And that someone is the shadow that follows us constantly and that we are not allowed to see. It is the one who cannot be seen, who cannot be seeked, and who, if he wants, will show himself to you in due time.

  As soon as the sun sets, when the night falls and the moon appears, two creatures come out, almost from nowhere, and rest here, right where we are now. These creatures are similar to us in appearance, a man and a woman, and they do not wear any clothing. They are nude creatures, just like Adam and Eve were, in the Earthly Paradise. But they have not been contaminated by our Sin. These creatures belong to the Land of Dreams, and owe their life to those who hope and believe in the most important values. They live in the dark, not because they cannot enjoy the sunlight, but because, in expiation of those who were the architects of the original sin, they do not want to be the center of attention, but stay at the margin, at the service of the human being. During the night, by the intense light of the moon and of the stars, they take care of this garden, so that The Wanderers who come here can delight themselves, without committing a bad action, like the one narrated in the Sacred Christian Book of the Bible.

  Mind you though, religion has nothing to do with all of this. This island and these creatures are the work of human beings, who believed strongly in a noble ideal, but they are not gods and they are just like us. Despite this, they do not suffer from their condition, instead, they are content because, they exist thanks to those who fought to conserve intact their moral integrity, and pay back with their night’s work, every day, without ever a moan, nor the desire to enjoy the light…

  Despite the darkness, they are not blind, and their capacity to see goes beyond what we humans are capable of. They are here, right now, while I am talking to you, but they have learned how to camouflage themselves with our surroundings. In doing so, they ensure that all goes well, that we are content with what we have and that we do not miss anything.

  Do they sleep? Yes, they sleep, eat, live a life just like ours, but on this island, The Island of Apples, in the land of hope, the Land of Dreams. Do they have children? This depends on us. Each and every one of our good deeds brings to life a new creature, which becomes part of this world on the border of our Reality. All of our bad actions cause a miscarriage, a missed life, a shattered dream, a vain hope…

  Now, however, I have to tell you something else.

  Our friends, the ones who look after The Island of Apples, have left us a gift, a very important one. For each and every one of us. It is treasured in the little sachets inside the sack that Dawn gave to me, and now I am giving it to you to look at its content. There are small apples, so fragrant, so colorful…..but they cannot be eaten. They are The Wanderers’ fruits, the fruits of the seeds they brought back with them to the Reality, the seeds donated by He-Who-Waits… They are special fruits, whose utility may seem vain… But they represent a very important thing: it means that what we sow during our lives, all the determination, the goodwill, which we employ to make our strongest wish come true; all of this reaches the Land of Dreams and is listened to. The fruit is not edible, outside of this Land. But we can take its solidness with us, its presence. We can remind ourselves that the efforts we make every day produce fruit. And this island is proof of that.

  Give me your sachets now, so that I can watch over them together with what else you have received from this Land and who lives here. The time has come to head towards the hill. It will not take long. But once we get there, you will see things happen and hear voices that will surprise you. I will lead you up to the hilltop, but then, at a certain point, you will no longer be able to see me.

  You need not worry: I will still be there. But I am not the one who will teach you this part of the journey. Even the group will split up, like it happened with the Centaurs. You will be alone and will have to count only on yourselves and the trust you will place in everything that will support you.

  Let’s go.

  As we proceed, I want to tell you what will happen, before the temporary separation. We will reach the top of the little hill, where at first you will not be able to see what is on the other side. I cannot tell how all this will happen, but I can reassure you. There are no perils: the biggest peril is too much reasoning. When the mind begins to prevail, balance comes less, and our creativeness loses its references. No, don’t allow this to happen.

  Enjoy the scenery as we get closer to the hilltop. Once we arrive there, I will remain silent and close my eyes. I plead you not to talk, nor whisper… nor make any noise. Simply, wait.

  And do not fear this lack of words. You will hear the breeze blow softly, the birds sing, the early morning grass whish against your clothes… these are the most beautiful and sweetest things that you must never cease to hear.

  At a certain point, you will see me mumble something, but you will not be able to hear my words. What I will be saying will remain between me and the Land of Dreams, it is a very ancient language that I have learned over time.

  You need not feel less important, for this: everyone has a mission, and perhaps, the moment will arrive when someone will rewrite this coded language, and that someone could be one of you. You do not know now. Remember that you are here to reach the Eternal Present. All the rest you receive is more than what you would expect.

  Here you are, we have arrived.

  Stay put where you are, a few paces behind me. Do not come closer, until you are asked to do so. It will be like walking in the air, but you cannot fall. Have no fear. And, above all, do not try to turn back or run away: you would get lost in the Eternal Mist for the rest of your human life. You would no longer have any dreams, because you got lost in them. You will no longer distinguish the border between the Reality and this Land.

  Now, be quiet.

  Wait for the Voices…

  THE VOICES OF THE MISTS

  “You are welcome, Dream keeper. Your calling has reached us”

  “Welcome, Wanderers. We are the Voices of the Mists, because we guide you in the mist in the Land of Dreams.”

  “Let the mist envelop The Dream keeper now. Disappear from the sight of the Wanderers.”

  “Let the mist disperse the Wanderers. Let them be alone, with themselves and with us.”

  “Come forward, you who can hear my voice. Move one step. Allow me to see you. You cannot see me, lost soul, but you can hear me. Do not be afraid.”

  “Yes, walk in the air, because the mist is enveloping you. It will be like stumbling towards the unknown, and you are surrounded by the unknown.”

  “From North to South, East to West, now, you will not see other than mist, thick mist, a blinding mist. You can even close your eyes, because you will not need them.”

  “Go forward in
the mist, scared soul. Do not let the terror take hold of your heart. Go forward with a steady pace, because your road has been marked.”

  “The journey continues, under your feet. You feel nothing, yet you do not fall. Do not allow your mind to do it for you. Rely on who you are and in what you believe in.”

  “I am a Voice in the Mists, of the darkness that is nearing….traces of a dawn, in the frost…The wind is moving on without you…”

  “This doesn’t make much sense to you, right, confused soul? But that is exactly how it should be. Allow the confusion and the nonsense envelop you, because it will be the only way to find yourself.”

  “Hard days… frenzy nights… Forebodings written in melody…. And you cannot sing unless there is much emptiness, both outside and inside yourself…..”

  “Sing along to this song, lost soul. Sing it, because they are your words, written when life had lost all meaning to you, and you were no longer motivated. Sing what you have written, so that you can know freedom.”

  “Walk….walk always straight ahead of you…..can you feel the wind brush against your forehead? That is the direction in which you must continue to walk…”

  “Flee? Turn back? Find the way back, come out of this mist…isn’t that what you want? Do you really want to do that? You have free to do so, if you want. You can choose. You can go ahead, get confused and be led by the Voices of the Mists or look for the way back… but you will not find it.”

  “There is no return. The road always leads straight ahead. If you decide to flee, you will always return here. The Dream keeper already told you what you needed to know. Let this be enough for you.”

  “Only a tired monotonous tone with no sheet music… nor an orchestra… and there is no-one else, besides you, who still has hope, and you don’t know why….”

  “Continue singing what has come right out from your heart, right up to your hands, your fingers, which have written on paper the words that you are scared of…because there, only chaos reigned.”

  “Alone. Alone with yourselves, with the Mists and their Voices. That is where the bravest Wanderers end up. To find themselves, they must lose themselves.”

  “I am a Voice of the Mists… traces of a miserable morning….Sea of a polluting silence… Dirty, your conscience is shouting inside of you…”

  “Alone, with your own conscience…”

  “You wrote that…”

  “Yes, you wrote that…”

  “How do you feel now, lost soul? Where was the misery of the morning that you mentioned? Where were you before entering the Mists?”

  “What can pollute silence? A voice which stands out from the crowd, or, a voice which defies life, without knowing why?”

  “Come straight ahead, seeking soul. Can you hear the birds’ song? Do you know where it comes from?”

  “Follow that direction… in the emptiness, in thin air, in the absence of any reference…”

  “Follow the voice of what is inside of you… ”

  “I will veil memories… Steal the sunsets…The water shall put out the fire…”

  “Lake which becomes wavy… and I can see over there, mingled in the Mists, a kingdom which doesn’t exist…”

  “Mingled in the Mists, a kingdom which doesn’t exist…”

  “Do you remember these words, artistic soul? They are yours, not ours…”

  “Can you see anything, from here?”

  “Can you see anything, beyond the Mists?”

  “Keep moving forward…”

  “We are the Voices of the Mists. We confuse you, so that you will learn to listen only to what is inside of you.”

  “Mind and heart must be equal. Fear is unnecessary, when determination is strong.”

  “Where do you want to go? Do you know where you are going? Do you have any idea?”

  “What are you looking for? Have you found something? Can you see anything? Can you HEAR anything?”

  “The uproar of a thousand voices is louder than silence. Silence, however, can be deafening.”

  “You experienced that in the Cave of Oblivion.”

  “What do you desire more, right now? The soundest silence or a thousand voices which disturb your balance?”

  “In any case, you have no references.”

  “No, you have none left.”

  “You no longer have any.”

  “Are you still wandering, reckless soul? Are you no longer scared of the emptiness, the confusion, the Mists and the feeling of loss that pervades your senses?”

  “How far do you want to go?”

  “Do you know where you are going?”

  “Can you see the light, on the horizon?”

  “There are only Mists here. There are only Voices here.”

  “Do you really want to continue?”

  “You can no longer feel the wind.”

  “The birdsongs have disappeared.”

  “Beneath you, there is only emptiness.”

  “You cannot see it, but it is there.”

  “You have nothing else. You are nothing.”

  “You are just a soul lost in the Mists.”

  “Do you know where you are going?”

  “Do you want to turn back?”

  “You can turn back, if you want.”

  “What do you want?”

  “…What do you want…?”

  “I am a Voice mingled in the Mists, a free soul. Are you sure about where you are going? Inside of you, do you know where you want to stay? Inside of you, can you still see what you were, and what you are now? Are you able to imagine what you will become?”

  “We are the Voices in the Mists. Unceasing, deafening, multiplied to infinity, without a stop. Just like your reasoning. Your reasoning shatters your dreams. Your reasoning suffocates what you are. We exist thanks to you. Yet, we want to free you from the dark tangle which you have created within yourselves.”

  “Who stands still, even when there is no-one to hold him up, even when he feels the earth slide under his feet, even when too many words are wasted in unwanted advice… who stands firm in what he wants to do, finds the way.”

  “We cannot disappear. We are voices. We are sounds. We are vibrations.”

  “Your thoughts are the vibrations which bring us to life. We exist because you think with logic, instead of with your heart.”

  “We can be worse than Hell, the third choice, that will be attending you, once your earthly life will come to an end… or maybe not.”

  “We are not part of your world. We are the result of it.”

  “Do you still want to proceed, stubborn soul? Why do you want to?”

  “We have still not heard your voice.”

  “We will not allow you to talk. We shall do it, for you”

  “We say what you think and what you feel. Isn’t that so?”

  “We know what is best for you. Isn’t that so?”

  “We can tell you what to do. Isn’t that so?”

  “It takes less than a second to get lost amongst the Voices of the Mists.”

  “Confused soul, have you understood?”

  “Perhaps you will understand in due time.”

  “Perhaps you might not want to understand.”

  “Brave soul, you have never turned your back on the Voices in the Mists.”

  “You kept your values firm. You found your equilibrium in the chaos.”

  “You found it when you stopped wanting to listen to us.”

  “Now, a sole voice will talk to you. All the other voices will keep silent.”

  “Wanderer in search of the Eternal Present, this has been a hard test. But it is what you live every day, in your life. You lose precious time, thinking without acting. Reflection is good, but after reflecting, action is needed. The action comes after considering what you believe in, through the discovery of your own values, which often clash with what, ideally, you would want. What is most important is not having what you want, but what you really need.”

  “Now
we must say goodbye to you, lively soul. The Mists are dissolving and you can see the light again. Reach the Dream keeper. She is waiting for you near the fortress.”

  “Your feet touch the ground. You are safe.”

  “Remember: to understand yourself you have to forget yourself.”

  “Go now, Wanderer. Get back on the road which leads to the Eternal Present.”“Go towards the light and do not look back. You don’t need to.”

  “You have discovered the strength inside of you.”

  “Your freedom.”

  THE GUARDIAN OF DESIRES

  Welcome, Wanderers. Welcome, Dream keeper.

  My heart is sad: three of you got lost amongst the Voices of the Mists. They did know how to fight. They did not want to. They were lacking determination, because their motivation was not strong enough. We don’t know what will happen to them, now.

  I am the Guardian of Desires. This is the fortress from which I observe who comes and who goes. I can see the gestures of the Wanderers who venture up to here, to find the Eternal Present. Many of them hope to find success, the easy life, the solution to problems, only to discover that this journey is roughened by tests that they do not want to stand. They do not want to call themselves in to question. They are convinced that they already have everything, so, once they arrive here, they get lost.