Liandra and the Dream Reader

by Belart Wright

  He smiled broadly.

  “Oh, I’ll do better than that. Your parents won’t have to pay me until you’ve all seen some real progress. The airfare for the house call might as well be considered a consultation fee. My rate is cheap besides. Just give me a few days to help you fix this. We can begin now actually.”

  Liandra was taken aback by that.

  “Wait, what?”

  “Go on. Tell me about your dream last night.”

  “I ... I can’t really remember.”

  “Tell me what you can remember. We’ll start from there.”

  “I’ve already gone over this with the others. I can never remember any images from these dreams, only feelings. Only a few times have I remembered anything at all when I woke up.”

  “Like what?”

  “The only things I can remember seeing are some silver chains and a fire, and this black bull with an angry face.”

  “That’s the creature that showed up in your hallucination last week. Tell me about it.”

  He was beginning to sound like her therapist now. She realized her parents must have told him about the bull.

  “There was a dark shadowy face following me around my house last week. It had these angry blue eyes. I knew it wasn’t real, so I just walked past it all night. I didn’t know it was the bull creature from my dreams until it burst into my room screaming at me.”

  She decided to take a seat across from him. He asked his next question more softly than the others.

  “What was it screaming?” he asked.

  “All sorts of nasty things. Mainly angry things. It called me a failure, a traitor, a reject. It said something about punishing me, said I deserved something worse than death.”

  Tears fell from her mother’s face, and her father was misting as well. This was her first time explaining the details of her hallucination in front of them. They’d only heard an abridged version before.

  “What a foul thing to say, even from a monster. Now, about your dreams, you said your feelings stick with you after. Can you describe these feelings for me? What did you feel after your dreams last night, and how do you normally feel after your dreams?”

  “Why do you call these night terrors dreams still? You make them sound pleasant.”

  “Ah, well, to me it’s splitting hairs. All of this is a means to an end. By understanding these images and feelings you’ll gain a better understanding of yourself, your past, and for those most attuned, even past lives that they’ve lived. Now ... back to your feelings.”

  Liandra pondered that for a while before she continued.

  “Well, what I felt last night is what I feel every night. Only one feeling is intensified over another from time to time. There’s always fear, anger, hatred, melancholy, helplessness, betrayal, and fatigue. There’s also this overwhelming feeling of being ensnared and unable to move, like I’m stuck.”

  She was surprised she’d told him so much, and so easily too. It had taken her years to tell some of this to her therapist, and she didn’t even tell her everything she’d just told this strange man. He rubbed his chin and stared at her thoughtfully.

  “What an awful way to spend your nights! You’ve described these dreadful feelings so clearly that they must be strong. And they persist every night. Your mind must be awfully strong to resist going mad. Older men and women than you have cracked under such a barrage of nightly darkness. I am compelled to help you fix this.”

  “So, you’re promising that you can fix this completely? Not just make it a little better like everyone else?”

  He didn’t hesitate.

  “Yes. I’m saying your nightly terrors and abnormal sleep patterns will be gone once we finish our sessions. For now, we’ll focus on understanding what’s happening inside each and every one of these dreams. We’ll study them one by one to start unraveling what they are trying to convey to you.”

  Liandra felt like she needed to test him somehow.

  “Well, what can you tell me so far about my dreams?”

  “I’m not a psychologist. Images give me more to work with than feelings. I cannot do much more until we get more images out of you.”

  “What about the bull-headed beast? Any idea why I saw something like that?”

  He looked around the room to each of them briefly.

  “Oh, the blue-eyed, black-furred creature that expressed its disappointment in you and its need to punish you? Well, that has to be your mother, of course.”

  Liandra looked right at her dark-haired mother and into her now puffy blue eyes and was suddenly worried. A long silence stretched over the room as everyone thought about the implications of that, including her psychologist father. Roocean managed to break the silence nervously.

  “Tough crowd tonight. That was just a joke in case you were wondering. I have no clue what that beast currently means in your life since I don’t know you well enough yet. I just know that from your description it looks like your mother, sort of. No offense, Mrs. Keyrouz.”

  There was a stretch of silence followed by blank stares all around, which were finally followed by her mother’s giggles.

  “No offense taken,” her mother said.

  Soon after, the whole family burst into uncontrollable laughter. The audacity and poor timing of this man’s horrible joke had somehow made it funnier, and now the laugh-starved family cherished this moment of brief levity. They hadn’t laughed this hard together in a long time, and that gave Liandra a newfound appreciation for this goofball, even if he was a sham.

  Chapter 4:

  The Dream Reader Part 2

  The rain seemed to go on forever. The sound of it would’ve been enough to put Liandra to sleep if she hadn’t been busy with this new task Roocean set her to. She had been completely wrong about the man. Over the last three days he had gotten more out of her than any of her previous specialists. His methods seemed simple yet magical. For the last three days he’d had her practice recalling more of her dreams, and more than before it actually worked. All she had done was write what she could remember in a dream journal after she’d awakened. It was never much, but Roocean had a strange way of coaxing little details out of her that she was sure she didn’t remember. She had remembered one extra detail about each of her dreams whenever he’d asked, “Is that all?” To her, this small progress they were making felt major. This was actually going somewhere.

  They were seated at the dining room table, Roocean right next to her in a very similar outfit to the one he wore on the first night, except now his sleeves were rolled up and his shawl and vest were absent. He was staring down at her journal, thinking heavily on the two words she’d written in today’s entry of her dream journal. She’d initially written the word “table,” and then scribbled “long” as a later addition next to it. Even with the additional descriptor, Roocean still seemed to be having the toughest time trying to figure out what it meant. It made little sense to Liandra, yet Roocean was still concentrating on it.

  “Still haven’t given up?” she asked him.

  “No. You’re definitely painting some sort of picture.”

  “I only told you about a table.”

  “And you just remembered it was long.”

  Liandra huffed.

  “Big deal.”

  He flipped the page and said, “It is. And this here, it looks like more scenery.”

  He pointed to the word “stone,” with “white” scribbled after it.

  “So, this stone and the detail you gave me after—white, its color—and this long table. Then we have the silver chains from the first night. Sounds like some sort of room. Recap to me how you felt during these dreams.”

  “It’s strange, but I felt the exact same emotions in each of these dreams. The strongest was outrage, then betrayal, then fear. I’ve never waken up feeling the same way three nights in a row. It’s usually always a different feeling.”

  “Very interesting,” Roocean said, twisting the ends of his mustache. “Did you feel any déj�
� vu during these dreams?”

  “Déjà vu?”

  “You know, did you feel a familiar feeling about the dream, like you had been there and experienced it before?”

  Liandra couldn’t explain this feeling, but it was close to what she felt.

  “Yes, now that you say it, I did. This was the first time I think.”

  “Like your dreams were connected this time?”

  “Precisely. Do you think they were?”

  “There’s a strong indication that they were, but no certainty.”

  There was never any certainty in this dream reading business. She smiled anyway, glad to have some clue where any of this was going.

  “But I am recalling things better. That feels good.”

  “It’s the first step to gaining proper control over yourself in these dreams. Even if they still frighten you, knowing what’s coming and mentally preparing yourself will make these dreams naturally more docile to you, to the point where they shouldn’t affect your sleep. It’s uncoupling the terror by exposing the unknown and classifying it. Knowing what it means to you and why the imagery is engrained so deep.”

  “I can’t wait to get there! You’ll have a fan for life if you can get me sleeping regularly again. Whatever that is.”

  He smiled and knocked his rings on the table.

  “I plan on doing just that, but that’s only part of it.”

  “Well, what’s next?” she asked, her thirst for more knowledge nearly insatiable at the moment.

  “With the images you’ve given me there’s still countless ways to interpret your dreams. I’ve come up with a few, but I’d rather not tell you. I don’t want to influence your own interpretation of what you’ve seen. I’ll just wait until you have filled more pages of your journal before I form a more substantial observation of your dreams.”

  “That sounds like it’ll take forever.”

  “Yes, but this isn’t a quick fix. It’ll take time to unravel all of these images and feelings into something that you can understand. You’ll just have to keep practicing, and that starts with these journals and those little details that you’ve been giving me. Try to observe more of them in your dreams and focus on recalling them when you awaken. Spend as much time on this as you can every day. Write down whatever you can recall, no matter how miniscule. Every little detail matters. I have faith that you can do this alone, for now, until you are ready for the next step.”

  She gave a sudden gasp and looked at him with concern in her eyes.

  “You’re going somewhere?”

  “Yes, your parents didn’t tell you?”

  Her stomach dropped.

  “No, they didn’t.”

  “Well ... yes. I was only able to come out this way because a client of mine had postponed our meeting by a few days. He’s ready now and set to start his sessions as early as tomorrow.”

  “You can stay a little longer, can’t you? We’ve made such wonderful progress.”

  “I’m afraid not. This client has priority right now.”

  “Is it about the money? We’ll pay you.”

  “No, no, Liandra. Calm yourself. Again, your parents were generous enough to pay for my flight here and back and have allowed me to use their guest room. That’s all I could ask for, for a few measly sessions. It’s not about money. My current client simply asked for my services before you and his suffering is just as severe as your own, maybe even worse. I’m obligated to assist him first is all.”

  Liandra stared at him indignantly, suddenly bristling with anger.

  “Are me and your patient suffering from the same thing?”

  “As I understand it so far, yes. These are very similar circumstances.”

  “Well that solves it! I’ll just go with you and you can help us both.”

  He sighed loudly, closed his eyes, and shook his head dramatically. She couldn’t help but notice his soft smile as he looked at her rather piteously. She suddenly felt like such a child.

  “That’s not really how it works, and besides, I doubt your parents would like that idea very much.”

  “Well, then he can come here.”

  “That’s very impractical, Liandra. Listen, as long as you continue on like I told you, you’ll make great progress. I’ll even call to check on you.”

  “Okay...”

  “Once I finish with my other client I’ll be back to finish what I started with you.”

  That didn’t comfort her any. This man was better than any of the professionals she’d seen over the years. She knew that her results on her own wouldn’t rival anything they’d accomplished together. She needed to know when he’d be back.

  “How long will it take with that other client?”

  “There’s really no way to properly know, but to be quite honest ... I’d guess longer than a year. Maybe longer still.”

  That killed all her hopes right there. The feelings of despair seemed to have crept up on her right out of her dreamscape. It was beginning to feel too familiar. She hated it.

  “It’s okay, Liandra. Don’t let this shut you down. We still have progress to make. Let’s make the most of this session.”

  ******

  Liandra came down the stairs after she heard her parents and Roocean talking. She saw that his bags were by the front door already, which caused a heaviness to settle in the pit of her stomach. Roocean regarded her with a nod when he saw her. Her parents gave her worried stares.

  “Sorry, don’t mind me.”

  She slipped past them and into the kitchen. She hoped they’d continue their conversation. She’d made out earlier that her parents were trying to convince him to stay. She finally heard the conversation pick up again as she poured a cup of coffee for herself.

  “Well, how about another week at the very least?” her father asked. “Our guest room is always open.”

  “That is a generous offer, Mr. Keyrouz, but I can’t just abandon another client. Remember, we’d only agreed that I would take a look at her and make an assessment. I’ve done more in giving her some tools to begin her exploration of her dreams. She just has to follow the instructions I’ve given her and she’ll be okay. I’ll check in every so often as well.”

  Liandra peeked and saw her father hugging her mother tightly in one arm.

  “We’ll pay you whatever you want, just name it,” her father pleaded.

  “Your daughter’s already tried, Mr. Keyrouz. I can see that you love her dearly, but this is simply a matter of principle. I have to stick with fair practices, and so I must go, despite my own feelings. I’m still a professional you know.”

  She saw her father nod his head in understanding. The telephone rang and Liandra picked up the phone in the kitchen and answered it. She could hardly contain her mischievous smile as the polite woman on the other end talked to her. She composed herself and called out to Roocean.

  “Telephone, Richard!”

  He came to the phone eying her suspiciously. When he was done with the call, he cursed under his breath. He eyeballed Liandra and tapped the top of her head with his index and middle fingers. She blinked and flinched from the surprising gesture.

  “You wished for this, didn’t you?”

  She smiled and nodded her head. He shook his head again and slowly walked to her parents by the door.

  “I was wondering if I could use your guest room for one more night. It looks like this nasty storm has caused my flight to be delayed.”

  Chapter 5:

  The Desperate Girl from Baalbek

  Roocean, still fuming at his rotten turn of luck, had decided to step out and enjoy a final night out in the town. In his words, he’d be “looking for all the trouble this town was worth.” Liandra and her parents were left with a quiet dinner, the first since Roocean had stayed with them. The man was full of questions and inappropriate humor. Liandra was surprised to learn that he had traveled around much of Europe on his own, and so he had been filled with all sorts of fascinating stories. He was certainly an inte
resting man, and Liandra knew that she needed to learn much more from him. Now was her best chance.

  She sat across from her parents—interrogation style—and answered all of their questions regarding her progress. She and Roocean had already updated them daily, but still they wanted to know more. Today, she told them about Roocean’s methods and how she felt like she was making good progress. Her father looked at her incredulously, as before.

  “I still can’t believe that works,” he said. “You’ve done dream journals before with your therapist and those simply remained blank. How is he pulling so much out of you? His methodology seems rather plain.”

  “There’s something in the way he talks and the questions he asks. He’ll say something that gets me to think of it all in an entirely new light, and afterwards I can pull another previously unmemorable detail from that dream and use that same open perspective in the next night’s dream. It’s almost like magic, his wordplay. We’ve only managed two a day so far, but he wants more from me.”

  “Incredible,” her mother said, “and to think only two nights ago you called this man a sham to his face. I’m glad he was sporting about that. Imagine if he’d just took insult and left right there?”

  Liandra winced and briefly imagined how horrible that would’ve been. She’d be no closer to understanding these crazy dreams. That wouldn’t have been the first time her bluntness caused trouble for her, and she knew it wouldn’t be the last time.

  “I concede that I should’ve been much more polite, Mum. Thankfully it turned out okay.”

  She then told them about Roocean’s other client. Now it was about to get tricky. She hoped she had instilled the same confidence in Roocean’s abilities that she felt into her parents. It would make this next part easier.

  “What’s done is done, dove. We can’t change his mind. We can only wait and hope that he can cure this other man quickly. That’ll be a great sign that he can help you quickly.”

  It was time. Now was her moment.