The Dreams Keeper

by Paola Elena Ferri

  At this point, I am forced to ask again: who of you intend to give up and put an end now to this journey? No-one is forced to proceed if he wants to keep his gifts intact, at his own risk, however, as he might disappear with them.

  Five of you? Are you absolutely sure, you want to stay?

  So be it. We shall proceed and you will remain here. May luck assist you, because you will need it.

  Who's coming with me, get ready. We shall leave immediately.

  We leave the Castle and pay tribute to the Knight who shall wait for his companions, day and night. We need to end the journey as soon as possible, to bring other Wanderers to the Land of Dreams, to give birth to new hope.

  The Knight is on the highest tower. He has seen us and addressed us a greeting. Let’s go now. We need to head towards the fountain in the center of the garden. The water no longer spouts, as you can see. The first signs of betrayal are beginning to be visible. But we cannot stop now, and waste time in accusations and convictions. We have to hurry, because it will be evening shortly.

  Get into a circle around the fountain. This is the only way for us.

  When you are ready, close your eyes. I need each of you to find within yourself the strength of hope to go away, from here. I need you to forget the bitterness, the weariness, every doubt that may reside in your heart ... I need you to concentrate on the reason that prompted you to come here. I need you to believe it with every fiber of your being.

  Imagine that your willpower can be born in your hearts like a small spark of light that gradually increases its intensity, to fully illuminate what you nurture most, deep in your soul. This light expands, and comes out of your body, first in subtle rays, then with more and more intense light beams, that extends even further, to form a white halo around you. The rays extend even further, reaching the hearts of your fellow travelers, penetrating and heating them. Thus, these separate energies become one single energy, one single light, which, like one ray of sunshine more intense than the others, reaches up to the sky, and then comes back down, heading towards the center of the fountain, where, shortly before, the water flowed. This light beam enters within you, and runs around the inner circumference of the fountain.

  Now, imagine that this light is like water, and that, from the fountain, it will start to flow in a fluid and energetic manner, to fill the void that was there before. The light takes the place of water, and gushes with golden sparks.

  Now open your eyes.

  Can you see? What you imagined has come true. Jets of light are sprouting from the fountain, the same light that you helped to create, with your hope. This is the key. This is our way out of this place now contaminated by the seed of betrayal.

  Now the light will become so intense to invest all of us. For a moment, that will seem like forever, you will be dazzled. For a moment, you will fear. But do not be scared: it will be like the flash of a camera, only more intense.

  You will seem to float in the air. Let yourselves go and do not resist. This light will not harm you.

  Keep the strength you have demonstrated so far. Keep intact the trust in yourselves. Leave behind the sad events that happened and just concentrate on the present.

  Close your eyes and let yourselves go.

  THE DAUGHTERS OF LIGHT

  “Beloved Wanderers, what are you doing here? For what reason have you come so far?

  We are the Daughters of Light and receive the Wanderers when a grave injustice occurs in the Land of Dreams. What wrong has never been done, to see you here? "

  “Greetings to you, Dream keeper. You are welcome amongst us, as are all those who are listening to us. Let us read in your heart, to understand what happened. There is no need for you to talk: we will know."

  “What an inauspicious day…a Wanderer altered the Laws of Balance… a chosen Wanderer… and this makes it even more serious. We make light on the facts and on their consequences, but we cannot understand their reasons.”

  “Being Daughters of Light, we cannot understand the Darkness of the human heart. We can give meaning to what is happening, because we are creatures that belong to the Land of Dreams, but we do not know how to turn things back, before they hit the bottom, when the cause of injustice comes from a human being."

  “We know that amongst you there are Wanderers with a virtuous heart and noble soul, but there are also others who think they are pure, and still do not understand the reason why they have embarked on this journey.”

  “The Sword belongs to the Daughters of Light. We were the ones who forged it, with our songs. When the sword gets stolen by fraud, serious repercussions fall on the man or woman who hatched the plot, and forebodings darken the Land of Dreams."

  "We know who induced the traitor to perform the abominable action. The real blame lays in the heart of two Wanderers, who are present here, now, who instilled in their companion, feelings of greed and arrogance. "

  "We do not know why these atrocities happen. We only see who makes them. And we see who provokes them. The two Wanderers responsible for this breakaway continue to lurk here, too, but we see inside their hearts, and there is a gray area that leaves no room for doubt. "

  “Dream keeper, we comprehend what you are thinking and what you are feeling and respect the silence that is owed to you. Let us speak, as we know what happened until now.”

  “We know what your assignment means. We know what you can see and what you cannot see, and it is not your responsibility to understand the reasoning of another human being, if he does not want to reveal it to you. Perhaps not even this Wanderer had discovered his dark side, until now.”

  "All of you can see only the side of the moon exposed to sunlight, but do not see what is hidden behind the darkness. Even the heart of the human being is like the moon, but the light which permeates it prevails over which side is revealed to the eye of the beholder."

  "We, the Daughters of Light, the ones who forge the Sword, will now create a connection with our essence and with yours. We will try to see with your own eyes, hear with your own ears, and talk with your own voice. We will try to feel the palpitation of your soul, and see to your most hidden needs. Often, an unfulfilled need is the main cause of the challenge to the Balance of Nature. Values ​​are called into question in less than a moment, because the temptation becomes too strong to resist."

  "Yes, we feel the resistance of who opposes us and does not want to listen to us. We try to bring the light in his heart, but it is not appreciated. We find a closed door, and, beyond the door, only darkness that has placed its roots, very deeply. It is a darkness that comes from past traumas and which has marked the souls of those who reject us."

  "We are not here to judge, condemn or punish. The Daughters of Light are not allowed to do so. We exist to restore warmth to the hearts that have not known many joys in life. We cannot erase the past, but we can relieve the pain of the present. We can untie the knots of the trauma suffered and contribute to heal the wounds. This metamorphosis will not be painless, and it is for this reason that some of you will reject us.”

  "Through the sharing of our essences combined with yours, we will be able to understand where the fugitive is hiding. We will return the Sword to its rightful owner, that is, to those who forged it. The Sword will then be purified from the contamination of deception and delivered to him or her who is more deserving, but this time, the trial to be passed to receive it as a gift will be made more challenging, to prevent such desecration from happening again."

  "We ask you not to oppose other resistance to our Light, as we would be forced to intensify it, making the wounds of your souls burn even more. Let us come in, so we don’t need to break through the walls that you are raising, with the power of your mind. "

  "We know who of you instigated the traitor. We know who threw on him the worm of darkness. Who made this inequity does not shine and is hiding himself. He is fleeing, but the shadow of his thoughts arrives to us. We can see what happened, from the moment the Sword was passed from the thi
ef to the fugitive."

  “The Knights are guided by the sound of our voices. We are made of the same nature. We are creatures of the Land of Dreams and talk the same language. The Knights are following our instructions and are heading towards the place where the Sword and its usurper lie.”

  "Resist not to us, because you cannot. The Knights run fast and are about to reach the lost Wanderer. He wanders in the throes of guilt, having realized what he has done. The bright side of his soul is shining at the sound of our voices. He can hear them, because the Sword is with him."

  “The Knights have reached him. The Wanderer makes no resistance, while they carry away the Sword and the horse. The Sword is now safe.”

  "The Wanderer does not have a wicked heart. He is only a confused human being. He will not keep wandering around in the Land of Dreams. He will be taken back to his real world and forced to start his next journey all over again. He will never again be the Custodian of the Sword."

  “We, the Daughters of Light, have found you, Wanderers. The lights shine over everyone, except for you. You will not be spared, but we cannot punish you. Thus, you will be sent to the Room of Laws, close to the border of the Land of Dreams. There your fate will be decided, within this Land.”

  “Your lives will be spared. Here no-one can decide for the life and death of a human being, but only of his hopes, his dreams and his desires, since he is the sole creator and destroyer of them.”

  “Dream keeper, take care of these scared Wanderers. And you, Wanderers, remember to allow the light in your souls to shine, even when the situation appears desperate or with no way out. There is always a way, and the most difficult one is the one that leads to fulfillment. “

  "We take leave of you, bringing you to a place where your eyes will get used to the softer light. Forgive us if we had to prolong your suffering, but your surrender has never been total."

  “Bon voyage, Dream keeper. Everything you had pawned has been returned to you. The Balance has been restored.”

  FULL MOON

  Little Shining, the White Wolf will come to you, to watch over you, tonight, another night where you are forced to sleep under the full moon and the stars that shine so intensely…

  The Daughters of Light have carried you to the Lake of Purification and, once there, you recognized the place where you had been brought, time ago, before becoming The Dream keeper, when you were only the one who had violated all the Laws of Balance.

  You have known how to guide the Wanderers, and tell them what to do.

  You were made to strip yourselves completely of your clothes and enter, one at a time, into the water of the Lake, to allow the Purification to begin. As the Wanderers entered one after the other, you pronounced the ancient words, and, when the ritual was completed, the stain left by the conspirators was canceled.

  But not without repercussions.

  This full moon has accelerated the arrival of the women’s’ period, and all the women, even you, are suffering the pains and weakness caused by the loss of blood. Every woman who enters reddens the water around her.

  Around you, my Little Shining, there is so much blood to make you seem seriously wounded, as pale as you are…..And now, that you have found something with which to tampon the flow, you are exhausted.

  The men are not disgusted, because they themselves have suffered some consequences. The moon has increased the strength of hormones in their bodies, and this has resulted in the emergence of strong sexual impulses. Spontaneous and inexplicable erections occurred as soon as their clothes were taken off, and they suffered the humiliation of spontaneous wet dreams, in front of everyone.

  All of you have been mortified.

  Now you lie down, exhausted, under a shelter that you have built, after getting dressed again. The silence has fallen on you, because you have seen each other in the most vulnerable and embarrassing nudity. You have not eaten anything and you just lit the fire to warm yourselves.

  This general humiliation has tried even more the willpower of the Wanderers. Many of them will end here, their journey, and will go away this very night. They do not know where they can go, but now, the weakness has taken the place of determination. They are not traitors, nor fugitives: they are just tired and unmotivated. They cannot be blamed.

  Once back in the real world, they will be allowed to rest, reflect and decide whether to undertake again the journey to the Eternal Present. Right now, they no longer want to, and having something that you do not want, makes the fulfillment of the dream lose value.

  There you are… ten of them are already waking up. They look around, with dismay, while the fire crackles inexhaustibly. They look at each other too, looking for support, because, although no one utters a word, they all want the same thing: that all this will end.

  They cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel. All they see is the tunnel, and, anyway, they no longer care how much is missing to the goal.

  You are so close that I could touch you with my hands…. but they do not know this, and are wondering how much longer they must endure, to finish the journey.

  Little Shining… when you wake up you will find only a few Wanderers, those who still resist, driven by something they do not know and that comes from their heart.

  The White Wolf comes up to you and no one can see him, except she who received the assignment of Dream keeper. I can see through his eyes and I look at you. I want to see how you feel. I ensure myself that you have the necessary strength to fulfill your mission. You do not open your eyes, because you are so fatigued, and by now, you rely only on your intuition. They are the only forces, which you can still hold on to. But you can feel that there is a creature next to you. You know, by instinct, that he is not going to harm you. So, let the White Wolf gently rub his nose against your hand and crouch next to you.

  He will stay close to you for the rest of the night, and infuse you with the energy that, at this time, is flowing out of you, along with the blood.

  The Wanderers exchange glances of understanding. They nod at each other, looking at each other. Now they know they share the same intention: to go away. They get up slowly, so as not to make noise. They take a couple of the more humid branches, and not to make it consume too quickly, they wrap the ends with a piece of their clothing, immersed in the resin they gathered during the construction of the shelter, and light up their primitive torch.

  In silence, walking slowly, one step at a time, the ten Wanderers leave the group and, with a hint of sadness, they set off for a destiny towards the unknown. This is something that happens very often, in the life of a human being: he fights relentlessly, to fulfill his innermost dream, but, when he is about to reach the goal, he stops suddenly and goes backwards.

  Up to what point, was his desire strong? Up to what point, was he able to take responsibility of its success and failure? Up to what point, had he weighed the pros and cons? Many human beings, driven by ambition, invest all their energy in higher and higher goals, without ever being content. When they obtain one thing, they quickly lose interest in it and immediately go on to something else. Until, they get to the real desire, the most difficult one to achieve.

  Now you are lying there, with the rest of the group, Little Shining, with the White Wolf crouched by your side. You have spent all your energy to accompany the Wanderers towards the Eternal Present, and you almost have none left, for yourself. The little strength you have left is being conserved to be used against me. I know that. Behind every smile of yours, at every word that openly, does not challenge the Dream keeper, there is an accumulation of thoughts not expressed by voice that pushes the mighty wind of your grudge against me.

  I do not blame you, for what you feel. But I cannot do more than what I have already done, for you. I have challenged many times, the Laws, to send a signal that was not noticeable, but which your heart and your mind could imagine. You feel them as energies coming from your ancient knowledge, but they came from an even more ancient knowledge, which, in part, I treasure.
If you were to know it, contrasting emotions would be unleashed inside you, which is a struggle that you could not stand now. And I cannot allow you to give up.

  The dawn will rise soon, and Aurora will color the Sky pink. A new day will begin for those of you, who are close to the goal. The White Wolf will disappear at the first ray of sunlight, and then once again you will have to rely on your own strength.

  The Kingdom is getting ready for your arrival. We have waited for you for a long time and tempers begin to awaken. The creatures of the Land of Dreams are gathering their communities, their armies, their leaders, and are approaching.

  When you wake up, Dream keeper, you cannot but ascertain other desertions, but you will not allow your disappointment to seep out, your sense of failure. Gather those who remain and the gifts of those who have fled or were sent away, and start over the journey.

  Look at the water of the lake that is in front of you and read the messages it contains. The blood shed by the women and the sperm dispersed by the men have given birth to a new form of life that, until now, had never been seen on the Land of Dreams. This new form of life has been created thanks to the willpower of who still continues the journey, of who wants to get to the end, to fulfill his desire in this Land: to reach the Eternal Present. This hard wanted desire, has made it possible to enhance places by now missing, forgotten, abandoned, giving them new life and existence, like life can be imagined here.