Willow Bloom and the Dream Keepers

by E. V. Farrell

  Peonie took Audrey’s hand into her own. “Goodwill to you, Audrey. I extend my deep gratitude for your dedication to the Sanctuary. Though you have not seen me before, I have always acknowledged your presence here and all that you do.”

  Completely entranced, Audrey nodded, unaware of the tears streaming down her cheeks. “Thank you, Peonie. I can’t believe I am meeting you, after all this time …”

  Willow held back her own tears. It was an overwhelming feeling, knowing that she was responsible for helping one of her mother’s dreams come true.

  “And this is my father, Thomas,” she said, seizing her father’s hand and bringing him forward. “You probably remember him from way back.”

  “Not that way back!” Thomas protested, beaming.

  “I see you have not lost your humour, Thomas,” Peonie said. “Goodwill to you. I am honoured to see you again.”

  She turned to John. “And to you, John. It has been some time.”

  “And this is my mother, Helen,” Hugo said. “You wouldn’t know her; she couldn’t be a Helper. She was injured when she was young – on her leg, so she wasn’t …”

  “Thank you, Hugo,” Helen interjected. “I’m sure Peonie doesn’t need to hear the details.” She held Peonie’s hand in both of her own and they gazed into each other’s eyes for a long moment. “It’s an absolute pleasure to meet you, Peonie.”

  “Likewise, Helen. Goodwill to you.”

  Peonie’s emerald green eyes settled back on Willow. “It is time,” she said, softly.

  Willow’s chest heaved outwards. “I’m ready.”

  Audrey took Willow’s coat from her. “We’ll see you soon, darling.”

  “I’ll be fine, Mum. I can do this.”

  “I know you can sweetheart. Just come home safely.” Her eyes welled with tears. “I love you so much,” she said tenderly.

  “You too, Mum.” Willow held her mother tightly for a long moment before going to her father. “Don’t say anything, Dad,” she murmured. He wrapped his arms around her like a warm blanket and the words “You’re incredible” tumbled softly into her ear. Willow tightened her grip on him. “I have to go now,” she said, taking a step back. “See you soon.” The words stung the back of her throat.

  Hugo waited beside Peonie.

  “Okay, let’s do this!” Willow said, joining them.

  Hugo unclasped the TriVrata from his wrist and placed it in the palm of his hand. Within a matter of moments the flat band assembled itself into its pyramid form and hovered off to the exact centre of the portal.

  “I will see you at the Doorway, Willow. Journey well.” Peonie’s form promptly faded away.

  Willow’s head was buzzing. Was she really doing this? Travelling out amongst the stars!

  Hugo placed his hand lightly on Willow’s arm. “You’ll be fine. I know it.”

  “Thanks,” she said. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that her childhood playmate would be helping her travel to another world.

  She stepped towards the TriVrata. “Focus, then act; focus, then act,” she whispered. She took one last glance at her parents. They were standing with the others. Her mother was wiping away tears with the back of hand, a resolute smile on her face.

  With a deep breath, Willow tapped the symbols on the TriVrata, and one by one, they began to glow. The crystal on her pendant glowed in response. She wrapped her fingers around the pendant. “Otvari Man-drata,” she commanded. Her body numbed with expectation. The TriVrata opened and immediately a vertical beam of light flashed outwards from the crystal centre – just like Charlie had said it would. Willow stared at the white beam of light before turning to Hugo.

  Hugo gave her a light nod. “See you when you’re back.”

  Every cell of her body braced itself. Willow shut her eyes tightly and stepped inside the beam of light. She opened her eyes. The first thing she noticed was how silent it was, as if all sound had been sucked out of the beam. Then a rainbow of colours appeared and started to swirl. She quickly lost sight of Hugo and her parents. Was this it? Was she travelling? Willow recalled all the things Peonie had told her to expect. Surely the sensations should be stronger. The gentle motion wasn’t much different to being in an elevator.

  It seemed that only a minute had gone by when the colours stopped turning and disappeared.

  Willow found herself standing on a silver platform, still inside the beam of light. She blinked furiously, making sure it was Peonie she could see waiting next to an arch not too far away.

  Willow instinctively inhaled to see if she could breathe out here. Her lungs expanded, then slowly softened.

  Directly in front of her was a crystal path, sparkling like a jewelled ribbon all the way to the arch where Peonie stood. There were moons and planets in the background and stars that were almost too bright to see. She could have been at a Planetarium. In the distance, Willow sighted huge cathedrals of pink, white and purple clouds. She stared, breathless, at the incredible enormity and beauty of it all, yet at the same time she was unable to reconcile this vast amazing panorama with what she had envisaged.

  Peonie beckoned for her to come. The possibility that she could step onto the path seemed ridiculous. How could Peonie expect her to walk on such a narrow path! Without anything to hold on to! There was literally infinite black “nothingness” on either side of the path. What if she fell off What would happen then?

  She held her breath and stepped out from the beam. One step, one step was all that she took. She looked down at the boots she was wearing and noticed that the crystals directly surrounding them had turned to gold. She took one more step and the same thing happened. It felt like her boots were somehow magnetised to the gold. Willow turned her head back to the silver platform and then again to the crystal path. She wanted to keep moving but the muscles in her body felt as if they had congealed, causing them to become heavy and virtually numb. Willow was unable to take another step. She tried focusing on Peonie but her body would not budge. Her brain felt overloaded by what she was experiencing. All around her, as far as she could see, was vast space. She had been told about this vastness, but nothing had prepared her for the real thing. Willow was frozen to the spot.

  “Come on!” she urged. “Move your bloomin’ legs!” She couldn’t believe she was in this predicament. She had never believed that she would freeze. Fixing her eyes on Peonie, she forced herself to place one foot further along the crystal path. “Don’t look down, don’t look down …” she muttered, edging her rigid body forward, all the while staring at Peonie. Bit by bit, she coaxed her body on.

  Her eyes strayed momentarily and she saw the vast dark space beneath her. “Don’t look down,” she reminded herself. By the halfway mark her legs were stretching a little farther with every step. “Focus, focus.” As long as she kept her eyes directed at Peonie, she could stop her mind from over-thinking, which kept her legs moving. It was with absolute relief that Willow finally grasped Peonie’s hand, the tension pouring out of her.

  Peonie kept a firm hold of Willow’s hand. “You are doing just fine. Keep breathing. The first time is always challenging,” she added with a luminous smile.

  Willow couldn’t speak and just nodded back.

  With her other hand, Peonie touched the Arch and it lit up instantly. “You are in the Guardians Realm, Willow and you cannot stay here for any length of time. You know the safety Protocols.” Peonie let go of her hand, motioning for her to step through the glowing silver Arch for the final stage of her journey. It would take her directly to Thera.

  Willow was well aware of the safety regulations. Her body couldn’t withstand a long exposure to the cosmic rays, even with the protective shield in place. Once again she closed her eyes, held her breath, and stepped through.

  Immediately she was surrounded by a pale opalescence and her body shook all over. This was nothing like the elevator experience she had had earlier. She was grateful that some of the Light Keepers at ALFA had warned her about it. A flash of
white light momentarily blinded her; it was followed by two quick jolts. The shaking diminished and gradually Willow’s eyes adjusted and her body regained a sense of calm. She was standing in another archway, though this one was smaller than the one she had just left behind.

  Had she arrived? Was she actually on Thera?

  Thera

  Avari stepped forward in her yellow and gold shimmering robe, offering her hand. Willow took it to steady herself. “Thank you,” she said, and stepped away from the arch. She breathed in deeply. “I’m actually here.”

  Avari smiled. “Yes, you are.” She gestured to the man standing next to her. “This is High Chancellor Antoy, one of the co-ordinators of the Light Keepers.”

  The Chancellor was dressed in an ornate white and gold robe, his eyes were purple too.

  “We hope your first visit is everything you dreamed it would be,” High Chancellor Antoy said warmly, shaking Willow’s hand.

  Willow felt herself positively beaming. “Thanks. So far, so good!”

  She followed them through a most unusual parkland. Everything seemed familiar, yet out of place. The garden beds were filled with flowers, only their leaves weren’t green, but shades of silver and blue. Sweet and woody scents filled the air, reminding Willow of the TriGamon. She gazed at the trees with their multi-coloured canopies, dotted with clusters of silver blooms. Even the grass was different, a mix of blues and greens. High above, the sun shone brightly against a purple sky with creamy white clouds, and to the east, a large planet floated just above the horizon. “It’s so beautiful,” she breathed.

  “Yes, it is,” Avari agreed. “You are on the planet of dreams.”

  “I am sure that you are eager to commence your duties, Willow,” High Chancellor Antoy, said. “I will leave Avari to guide you.”

  Willow stepped towards a flowering shrub to study it more closely. “I can’t believe I’m really here!” Her eyes suddenly became sensitive to the colours and she felt dizzy and stumbled.

  Avari caught Willow’s arm before she fell. “Perhaps you should sit down,” she said, as she led her to a nearby park bench.

  “I feel really light-headed,” Willow said. “Is that normal? Do you know why I’m feeling like this?”

  “Your body is adjusting to our world,” Avari explained. “The colour frequencies here are much higher than those on Earth, and our gravity is less active than your own. It is why your cells have to be agitated between the arches before you arrive, otherwise you would be floating two feet above the ground. And the flash of light you experienced helps your vision to adjust to our light spectrum.” Avari looked into Willow’s eyes. “Just breathe slowly and let your body relax.”

  Willow closed her eyes and listened to her breath coming and going. She could feel the tension in her body begin to ease. After a short time she opened her eyes. “I’m feeling better now.” She stood up and caught a glimpse of the tall spires beyond the trees. “Is that …?”

  Avari followed her gaze. “Mondria, yes. Do you think you can walk now?”

  “I’m fine. Really.” She stood and wandered over to some of the trees. A tiny bird with four purple and green wings flew by and settled itself on a low branch. Willow’s gaze was held by the bird. “No way!” she blurted out.

  “Is everything all right?” Avari inquired.

  “Err, I think that bird just said something to me – in my head. But that’s crazy … right?”

  “I am not aware of any Light Keepers who are able to hear our creatures. Do you hear the animals speak on Earth?”

  “No, I don’t. But I often sense them before I see them,” Willow told her. “I’ve always had this thing, but not all the time, where I know stuff before it happens, or I sense things that other people don’t.”

  “Perhaps your abilities are heightened on Thera somehow,” Avari proffered. “What did the bird say?”

  “It said, ‘Welcome to Thera and Goodwill to you. May your stay be bestowed with providence.’”

  “Yes, it certainly did,” Avari said with a brief inclination of her head. “You may respond to the bird if you wish.”

  “Really? You mean I didn’t imagine it? And I should just … speak to it? I guess it’s no crazier than being here.” Willow turned back to the bird. “Thank you, little bird,” she said aloud. “For your kind welcome. And … Goodwill to you too. Have a lovely day.”

  The bird cocked its head to one side and gazed into Willow’s eyes, sending her another telepathic message. “Thank you for your gracious words.” It then flew towards Willow, hovering a short distance from her, and fluttering its wings so quickly that they seemed to disappear. Again it fixed its gaze on her; then it was gone in a vertical streak of colour.

  “I don’t believe it!” Willow marvelled. “I just spoke with a bird!”

  Avari studied Willow curiously. “Yes, you did. Perhaps, if you are feeling well enough, we can walk to Mondria now.”

  Walking towards Mondria, Willow’s attention was caught by an enormous blue shrub with spiky grey leaves. Its branches were moving about like the tentacles of an octopus, and there wasn’t even the slightest breeze.

  “Whoa! What is that?”

  “A Firmiana,” Avari informed her. “They are quite rare, and this one is an excellent specimen. It is over three thousand Earth years old.”

  “Wow, that’s old. So why do the branches move like that?”

  “As the branches move about, the grey spiked leaves attract microscopic particles from the air that have been released by the surrounding flowers and trees,” she explained. “Those particles are its food.”

  “Definitely don’t have any of those back home.”

  A clearing in the gardens gave way to the city square with tall towering steps.

  Willow stopped, her breath caught. She bounded up the steps for a better view. “Charlie sure is right,” she whispered to herself. “Mondria is nothing like I’ve ever seen before.”

  The city square was huge. Three sides flanked by tall buildings were made from an ivory-hued stone, embedded with a network of crystal veins. Windows shimmered, unlike any glass Willow had ever seen. It looked like a metallic liquid with sparkles running through it. And beyond the square, dozens of spires towered over the city. Some of the spires were mounted with large coloured crystals, making them look like jewelled crowns.

  “This is so incredible,” she said, turning to Avari. Even the smooth grey slabs beneath her feet were scattered with what looked like real gold flakes. She turned towards a number of people in dark red robes crossing the square. Some of them looked like they were having a lively discussion; their heads bowing intermittently as someone offered a comment. And every face Willow glimpsed had the same set of purple eyes. “Does everyone on Thera have purple eyes?” she asked.

  “Yes. We do not have variations like you do on Earth. Our eyes are perfectly attuned to the colour frequencies here, which can be quite complex.” She then pointed to a building on her right. “We are going to that building over there,” she said. “I will show you how some of Mondria functions before we go to the Doorway rooms.”

  At the entrance of the building a holographic disc covered in symbols floated above a metal pillar. Avari tapped some of the symbols on the disc and the large golden door opened slowly.

  Willow followed Avari through the entrance to a room that lit up in front of them. The light then continued to spread outwards, further and further, revealing the room’s incredible size and scale. Countless shelves were filled with layer upon layer of carefully stacked glass tubes. “This place is ginormous!” Willow exclaimed. “How is this even possible? The building didn’t look this big from outside.”

  “Our world does not function on the same principles as yours on Earth,” Avari explained. “It is complicated to put in human terms, but I will endeavour to do my best. Here on Thera we understand the complex principles required for the building blocks of form – that is, the molecules and frequencies that make up physical matter. It al
lows us to manipulate their structure. The molecules that are present everywhere,” she said waving her arm, “have space within them and around them. We compress the molecule’s structure, generating what appears to be a larger distance between each molecule, and thus we are able to create a bigger space in the same area.”

  Avari gestured to the myriad of shelves in front of them. “Just as you see before you. We can also expand the molecule’s structure, creating shorter distances between each molecule, so that they may become like stepping stones – Doorways, across vast distances. It is what allows you to travel here. Form of any kind can be manipulated. The space which surrounds and permeates form however, cannot. Space is infinite and indefineable and allows all form to exist.”

  Willow gave a slow nod. “I think I got some of that.”

  Avari then stepped a few feet away to demonstrate. “Imagine that we are molecules and the only reason that we can measure the distance between us is because there are two reference points: you and me. The closer I step towards you, the more it seems that space grows behind me, yet the space is still the same. Only the molecule’s form has shifted. And if I were to lie down on the floor with my head towards you, it would look like the distance between us has been reduced because the molecule’s surface covers a greater area.” She looked upon Willow thoughtfully. “I hope I am not confusing you. Essentially what we do is manipulate the surface of a molecule and how that molecule exists within space.”

  Willow shook her head. “It’s okay. I’ll just process that for the rest of my life. You know, you remind me of my dad talking like that.”

  “Then I am sure we would have interesting conversations.” Avari motioned for Willow to follow her to a row of shelves stacked with glistening cylinders. “Each one of these cylinders holds the dreams of an individual human. In this building we store old dreams that have not been accessed for a long while, sometimes for centuries of your time. They stay here because they still hold enough power in them to be rekindled. The shift from a dream’s dormancy phase to becoming active can take place in what you would term ‘a split second’.”