Rewrite Redemption

by Walker, J. H.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked softly.

  He smiled. Hey, like I said, this was not the plan. I was hoping to pull you back to the tree house. Lex is pretty freaked.

  “So you came to help me get home?” I hoped I remembered this dream when I woke up.

  Well, yeah…I guess, now that I’m here, that will be the plan. But you pulled me here.

  “Yeah, right,” I said, sarcastically, laughing a little. “I pulled you here.” I decided to just go with it. This was my dream. I might as well enjoy it. “How are you talking to my mind?” I asked, flowing with the dream.

  It’s a long story. I don’t want to wake your...um… companions. You can do it too.

  “Yeah, right,” I said, softly. “What do you mean, I can do it? How did you do that disappearing act?”

  He sat down on the limb and ran his hands through his hair. I’m like you, he said. Only I know what’s going on. As for the disappearing, I didn’t actually disappear. I was just shading, you know, like a cloaking device. We call it shade, like hiding in the shade of a tree.

  My brain was turning summersaults. I took a breath and looked down for a second. It was hard to think while I was looking at him. But looking down brought my hideous outfit into focus. I cringed momentarily but then I brushed it off. You were always dressed weird in dreams. At least I wasn’t naked. I took a breath and said, “Okay, I’m okay. You’re not hacking my brain or anything, right?”

  He laughed. I’m just broadcasting audio waves at you. We call it mindspeaking. Try this. Think of what you want to say to me and then send the words to the front of your forehead. Let them kind of float out to the air and then push them towards me.

  Seriously? I “pushed” the word to a place past my forehead.

  Whoa, not that loud. He held his hand to his head. Apparently, you don’t have to work too hard to broadcast. Just talk to me quietly and softly float it my way.

  How’s this? I “asked” quietly.

  Excellent. He smiled and gave me the OK sign.

  Wait, can you hear everything I’m thinking? That was a scary thought, even in a dream.

  No, no, no, he laughed, only the words you push towards me. Maybe a little more in the beginning: while you’re learning how to differentiate, how to shield your thoughts, and how to project what you want others to hear. It’s not as if I can just read your mind. And we can only do it because we’re connected by the wood. It would work under the tree too as long as there were roots beneath us.

  So it’s the tree?

  Well, partly the tree and partly you. We use the trees to travel through time. Your oak, by the way, is one amazing tree. I’ve been at the tree house with Lex most of the day. She said to tell you that she wouldn’t have brought me home if I wasn’t okay. She said to say, “I lie—I die.”

  I lie—I die, huh? That had to be a good omen. Maybe my subconscious was telling me to trust this guy. Maybe this was one of those symbolic dreams. This is just off the chart weird, I said to him.

  Yeah, but you’re okay with it, right?

  Hey, I’m having fun. I was bolder in dreams than I was in real life. I didn’t have to adhere to the code. I grinned at him. I couldn’t help it.

  He grinned back at me. I’m happy to hear that.

  Yeah, well. I’m…this is…I’m not used to anyone knowing my secret, and I’ve never known anyone else like me. I’m just trying to catch my breath, here, even if it’s a dream.

  He laughed.

  Maybe this was one of those dreams where you got answers from your subconscious. Shrink Five was big on those. She made Lex keep a dream journal. I figured I might as well ask him what I’d wanted to know my whole life. So, for the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question: Am I…are we…human?

  Yeah, well mostly, we just have some altered DNA…long story, he said, smiling. He stood and looked around, his hair blowing in the breeze. The moonlight bounced off his cheekbones, making them more pronounced. He looked like a prince in some kind of Lord of the Rings movie, all tall and regal. God, the air here is incredible, he said. I love the scent of a campfire mixed with pine…it’s so…so summer camp. Do you know where we are?

  Heaven, I thought. Joe and Edgar killed me, and now I’ve died and gone to the afterlife. That thought kind of jolted me a little, and I looked down to make sure my body wasn’t lying dead at the base of the tree. It wasn’t so I answered his question. Maybe the foothills above Boulder. I’m not sure. This is so surreal.

  Yeah, I bet. He flashed me an amazing smile showing straight, white teeth.

  I felt another wave of something shivery, deep inside. I felt lots of things…lots of really nice things. I didn’t realize you felt so much in dreams. I wondered if I’d overdosed on the tree energy and was hallucinating. This was like going down the rabbit hole in Alice. I struggled not to dissolve into a fit of euphoric giggling. It wasn’t enough that I was dressed like a clown. Let’s just add a little hysteria to the mix…sure to make me irresistible. Too bad I couldn’t dream myself a better outfit. He just stood there on the branch watching me. I watched him back, letting the dream play out.

  I have a question for you, he said, finally.

  “I assure you, I’m completely clueless about pretty much everything.”

  He laughed again.

  God, I loved it when he laughed. This was such a cool dream.

  I’ve been trying to connect up with you, he said. But you’ve been avoiding me.

  Yeah, well…I…um. I’m not used to talking to strangers…guys…well; people in general, so don’t take it personally. We weren’t sure, you know, what the deal was with you.

  He ran his hand through his hair. I got the whole rundown from Lex. Let’s see: alien from another planet, vampire, genetically enhanced human hybrid, the Phantom Zone of you—

  Yeah, well, we were just tossing out theories. It’s not as if we were taking them seriously. You’ve got to admit we’re dealing with sci-fi stuff here. It had to be something. Of course, it didn’t have to be anything since I was just dreaming this. But I was going for it as if it was real. Why not? This was the best dream of my entire life. It was also the longest conversation I’d ever had with a guy. I’m surprised Lex told you all that.

  Not until I spilled my own secrets. She’s very protective of you. But then you know that.

  We’re family, I said. We look out for each other. I don’t know what I’d do without her and Ipod.

  So she told me. He lost his grin, and looked away for a moment.

  Is something wrong? I asked, suddenly concerned that Sam had found out I was gone. Even in a dream, I worried about my dad. Lucid dreaming was weird. You still reacted. Is Sam okay?

  No, I mean, yes, Sam’s okay. Well, I assume he’s okay. I never actually met him, but Lex gave no indication that anything was wrong. He doesn’t know about me. I don’t think he knows you’re gone. I just…it’s nothing. So why are you up this tree?

  See the cowboys down below?

  Yeah. Very Nick at Nite.

  Not quite as entertaining. They’re disgusting, filthy lowlifes. I camped here and they found me. They tried…they tried…. I couldn’t say it, even in a dream. So I’m up here waiting to go home, I finished lamely.

  Did they hurt you? He asked way more loudly, his face clouding into a scowl.

  No, well…nothing serious. One of them ripped my clothes. I gestured to the safety pins. The other one came up behind me and slammed my head against the tree—

  Those sons of bitches! Are you okay?

  Yeah, I fixed my head, but then you probably know all about the healing thing.

  Yeah, Lex told me…but they didn’t—

  No! Somehow—okay, I know this will be hard to believe—I kicked the one guy across the campsite like a freakin comic book hero. And then I pepper-sprayed the other one and was up the tree in seconds.

  Impressive, he said, grinning. Go A.J. And I thought I was going to have to rescue you. Looks like you kicked some ass all on y
our own.

  That made me smile. I wasn’t used to being…well…capable and strong. When I smiled, he smiled back. I felt cocooned in the wonder of it—better than chocolate.

  No one’s more surprised than I am, I said, finally. I seem to be able to pull energy from trees. Maybe you know why that is.

  I do…long story.

  Maybe there was something my subconscious could tell me in a dream that could help me get home when I woke up. I would love to have some answers. But what I really want is to go home.

  No problem. He smiled again.

  For real?

  Yeah, he said, it’s kind of a ruby-slippers thing. Returning home is easier than going anywhere.

  You mean, I just need to click my heels and say, “there’s no place like home,” and poof, I’m home? I don’t have ruby slippers. All I have are Lex’s bedroom slippers. I held out a foot.

  I gotta say, you do wear the strangest clothes. He laughed.

  I’d felt his laugh, as if it was running through me. It felt wonderful. I have my reasons, I said. Besides, this outfit wasn’t on purpose. It was all I could grab on my way out. The jeans and hoodie are Ipod’s. The SpongeBob pajamas are, unfortunately, mine. I winced as I pulled out a corner of the PJ top to show him a little SpongeBob.

  Nice, he said, giving me a thumbs up.

  I’m lucky I got here with anything at all. I’m not used to having it happen in the middle of the night. One minute I’m sound asleep. The next I’m panicking, trying to grab everything I could get my hands on. Seconds later, I’m way the heck in the past.

  Well, that might have been my fault…sorry—my bad.

  What do you mean your fault? I asked.

  I…I was…you see, my energy…well…it’s another long story. I’ll tell you, really. It’s just too…out of sequence to explain now.

  Okaaay, I said slowly.

  He ran his hand through his hair and crouched down on the branch. He got a serious look on his face. We have a lot to talk about.

  Talk away, I said, feeling completely at ease. I was surprised that the dream was lasting so long. I pinched myself and felt the pinch. What did that mean anyway? I thought about him and he appeared. That just doesn’t happen. I am dreaming, right? I asked him, finally.

  If so, I’m having the same dream. No, A.J., this is very real. Want to touch me to know for sure?

  I hesitated for a moment and then I nodded. I knew what touching him was like. I didn’t get a lot of great moments in my life. I could wake up any minute. I wanted some good stuff before that happened.

  He climbed down to a branch close to me and stretched out his hand. Slowly I reached mine towards his, and we touched. Waves of energy flowed down my arm, filling me with warm and tingly feelings. The blood in my veins electrified. I had to laugh out loud. I just couldn’t help it.

  He laughed too, but silently. Wild, huh? Our energies really play off each other. We’ll find our harmony. It’s like defragging your hard drive. All the little pieces need to find where they fit together. It will ease up a little, once it settles into place. We’ll be able to be around each other without things going wild…unless we want them to. Scoot over.

  What did that mean…unless we want them to? Barely able to function, I made room for him to sit beside me. He swung his long legs over the limb, straddling it and facing me. The next moment he was so close, I could feel his breath on my face and…I…I got warmer still. The essence of him permeated everything.

  My heart went into hummingbird mode, and I swayed a little with the dizziness of it. I put my hand against his chest to steady myself. He covered my hand with his, holding them both against his chest. Then he reached his other hand up and touched my hair…and I…

  “Your hair is like silk,” he said softly, running a strand through his fingers. He leaned in to sweep my cheek with it like a paintbrush. “See…soft, huh?”

  I shivered with delight. I could hardly contain myself. Slowly, I lifted my face to look into his eyes.

  The night exploded!

  Waves of happiness swept through me—pulsing waves of glittery blissfulness. I stared into his eyes, reeling with the intensity. Every cell in my body woke up, and suddenly, my life actually made sense. Who I was made sense. I wasn’t strange. I was me. It was as if I was whole for the first time…whole, powerful, and incredibly alive.

  He let out his breath and held my hand tighter against him. He had to be feeling it. I hoped he was feeling it. Something from inside of him touched the very core of me, just like in the hallway.

  And suddenly, pictures began flashing through my mind, like snippets of movies—each in color and vividly clear. It was as if he’d downloaded moments in time, tiny diamonds of experience, into my brain’s hard drive. I was a computer app, zooming through images at record speed with absolute precision. Like I was there, suspended in time…inside of his world.

  He was a baby, gurgling in his mother’s arms and grabbing on to a lock of her hair. I felt the wonder of that baby, as he gazed into his mother’s face. He was riding a rollercoaster and laughing. His excitement filled me completely. He was running fast and free across a meadow. I felt the exhilaration I’d always known would be there, if you could run full out like a wild stallion. He was wailing on a ruby-red guitar…on a rooftop. And I understood how the music moved him. He was leaning against his redwood, long fingers pulling power—I felt that power.

  I saw…I saw into his universe.

  I saw him, the very depths of him. I really liked what I saw. More than liked, I was in awe. I looked up at him in wonder. And then I think I sighed.

  He smiled down at me. It was the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen. I think I laughed. It was all fantastic and surreal. I didn’t care that it was a dream. It was unbelievable. For the first time I could remember…I felt joy.

  So that’s what that word means.

  Wow! I never saw it coming. She yanked me right through a signature block—that should be impossible.

  This girl was mint. This girl was amazing. We’d been talking, and laughing, and sharing our secrets—stuff we’d always had to hide. And now our energies were merging. It was electric! It was more than electric…it was…it was….

  I swayed a little with the intensity. I grabbed on to a branch to steady myself. It was dead and broke, falling to the ground. I caught hold of the limb we were sitting on, my eyes never losing focus, never leaving hers. I couldn’t believe that I was there with her, and we were—

  She gasped and for a second, I could have sworn that she was looking at me, like I was looking at her—like she was everything. I didn’t care about the melding—I liked this chick. I really liked her. I wanted to kiss her soooo bad. Every cell in my body screamed to do it.

  But in the back of my mind, the critic yelled at me, “forethought!” He was right. She wasn’t mine. Not yet. But someday, I swore she would be. I didn’t want to move too fast. I didn’t want to scare her. I fought against the impulse and held my ground.

  But then, she sighed so sweetly.

  It moved me—completely. The longing overpowered me and I lost all control. I had to kiss her. I leaned in closer and—

  “Hey! What’s goin’ on up there?” A rough, guttural voice smashed my moment to smithereens.

  Damn! I moved wicked fast and shaded, holding my breath and glaring down at the idiot who’d just ruined our first kiss. A scruffy cowboy, with swollen eyes, stood at the base of the tree, holding a branch in his hand. I cursed myself for having been so careless to have knocked it off.

  “Go back to sleep,” A.J. called down softly. “You’re dreaming. Go back to sleep.”

  He peered up, scratched his head and walked further away to get a better look. He was half-asleep, stumbling, and too drunk to make sense of what he thought he saw.

  The Indian got to his feet, looked up, and then frowned at the cowboy. “Leave child be,” he said crossly. “Sleep now.” He lay back down and closed his eyes.

  Mumbling to
himself, the cowboy dropped to the ground, and soon he was snoring once again.

  But my chance to kiss her was gone.

  For one magic moment, I was in perfect harmony with the universe….

  And then some filthy, freakizoid hit the delete button.

  Perfect.

  The warm buzz faded as Constantine pulled away from me. The images disappeared. A little dizzy, and more than confused, I struggled to change focus. Edgar’s ill-timed interruption was just too reminiscent of yesterday for this to be a dream. I was suddenly hyper-aware of everything around me: the wind, the roughness of the tree bark, and the crickets chirping in the background. Besides, this whole thing had gone on way too long for me to be dreaming it. What had I been thinking? At that moment, I knew.

  I was awake.

  I called down to Edgar that he was dreaming. I don’t know if he bought it, but he was so hung-over, he could barely stand. He dropped to the ground and passed out again in seconds. I didn’t see Constantine. But I could feel him. He must have shaded again.

  I looked down at my horrid outfit and sighed. Since this was real, then he was really seeing me dressed this way—lovely. I couldn’t afford to get all self-conscious at that point. Besides, I’d been talking to him for the last hour or so—me, an awake me. I’d sailed through the awkward part, because I’d thought it was a dream. It had been easy to be with him. I just had to keep doing it. We needed to get home.

  “Are you there?” I whispered softly.

  I’m up here. Mindspeak. We need to be more careful.

  Sorry, I’m trying to wrap my mind around the shock that this is real and that all the stuff you’ve been telling me—

  It’s real, all right. We probably should make a plan for getting home.

  Yeah. Suddenly, I could see how bad this was for him. Here I’d been all wrapped up in my romantic fantasy, and we had the real world to deal with. There were jerks down below who didn’t like me very much. They would like Constantine even less. I’d put him in danger. I’m sorry I got you into this mess.