Notopia

  “So far? For one, it sounds like you know a lot, and for two, it sounds like you want to know more?”

  “Yes, and yes,” Gwen replied with a smile as she sipped her wine.

  ***

  The doorbell rang. Gwen started to ask Delilah to get it before suddenly realizing that Delilah was gone. The perfect kitchen was back, or rather, she was back in Notopia, and someone was at the door. With only a slight hesitation, she walked to the door and opened it. “Leo! I was just talking about you.”

  “Hi Gwen, I’m pleased to see you,” Leo said.

  “And I, you, please come in.”

  “Well you seem very calm Gwen, you must be feeling much more comfortable here.”

  “In many ways I am Leo. Plus, two glasses of wine don’t hurt. Join me for a glass.”

  Leo walked in, and she closed the door behind him. They made their way to the kitchen.

  “The museum,” Gwen blurted out. “Last time I saw you, you said there was something you wanted to show me first. It was the museum, wasn’t it?”

  “Why yes, it was. How did… Oh! Have you been there? What did you see?”

  Gwen poured the wine and told Leo all about the paintings she saw, about Rick, and about her painting. She went on to mention the blue house with clouds and how it sprung up within hours of another place disappearing.

  “Yes, Gwen. What you saw is what happens to the houses of people and dreams when they leave Notopia. They get engulfed into the ground, as you witnessed. Then, when a new home is needed, whether for a new seeker or a new dream, they bloom up like plants. It is quite fascinating to see.” He sipped his wine. “But frankly, I’m more interested in your trip to the museum because that is where I want to take you now. There is much you can learn there.”

  “Yes, I agree, and I would love to go back. Drink up and let’s go!”

  “Hold your horses, missy. Let me drink this wine a bit first. Who were you talking to about me? And what did you say?”

  Gwen blushed a little but hid it well. “I was joshing you about that. But, I did talk to Roger about you. He was here asking questions about the blue fire last night, and guess what Leo?”

  Leo knew Roger’s questions had been routine, as the guy was nosey as all get out. “What?”

  “I know Roger in real life too. He is very different there. I have known him since I was twelve and we even work in the same office.”

  “That is really quite unique. Gwen, I feel very comfortable with you, but I certainly don’t expect that we would know or even recognize each other in real life. You say he is very different, how so?”

  “Well, he is much more serious here—very “matter of fact” in his mannerisms. In real life, he is much more adjusted. Sure, some things in the world bother him, and he would change them if he could, but he knows that isn’t a possibility and he accepts things, as the rest of us do.”

  “It is probably just me Gwen, but I feel the man has a deep problem. I don’t know what it is, and I hope his being here is to find his dream to help him with it.”

  “Well, you will be happy to know he was very kind to me. He even started to hug me when I was upset about everything, but I went back to real life. I was in bed when I got back, and later when I saw him at work, he said he left a few minutes after I did and that he closed up everything and left.”

  “He what?”

  “Yes, after I vanished, he said that he went looking around for me and then closed everything up and left.”

  “Gwen, no one has to close things up here in Notopia. Roger has been here long enough to know when you disappear in mid-hug that you aren’t somewhere else in the house. Something is wrong with that story. He was not completely honest with you.”

  “Roger wouldn’t lie to me.”

  “Perhaps not Roger in the real world,” Leo said as he finished his wine. “No matter now, let’s head out to the museum.”

  As they headed up the stairs of the museum, Gwen noticed a cloud forming overhead. “Look, Leo, what is that?”

  “Keep watching it, Gwen. It’s a new rainbow bringing in new dreams.”

  Gwen watched as a very bright and large rainbow burst forth from the cloud, arching in opposite directions toward the ground. Once again, she could see lumps, or bulges, in the rainbow that moved toward the ground. “What are those bulges?” she asked.

  “Those are the dreams. They emerge at the bottom.”

  Neither end of the rainbow was visible from their vantage point. Gwen watched as the bulges flowed one by one from the cloud through the rainbow and down to the ground. She noticed one bulge moving a bit faster than the others until it caught up to another bulge. The bulges appeared to tumble briefly before remaining still. Then, the blue fire shot from the rainbow into the sky.

  “What the …” Leo said. I have never seen or heard of that happening before.

  “What? What was that?”

  “Those dreams collided, and both died. I don’t understand it. Neither one even got out of the rainbow. That was not good, Gwen, not good at all.”

  Looking around, Gwen noticed several people had been watching, and some were pointing skyward. A few more bulges came down, and no blue fire occurred. The rainbow then faded away, and the cloud collapsed on itself. “Leo, where do the dreams come from?”

  “Ah, good question Gwen. It’s kind of like, which came first: the chicken or the egg? The consensus is that dreams are delivered here from the collective consciousness of all beings. But whether the collective creates the dream or the individual creates the dream is less clear. I think the individual creates it, and when the dream has enough impetus in the collective, it is then released here.”

  “That would mean that within the collective an individual consciousness can act on its own. Wow, listen to me, as if I know what I’m even saying.”

  Leo laughed a bit. “Well, apparently you do. I never thought of it from that angle, and I think you are you correct, Gwen.”

  They entered the museum, and the sheer immensity of the structure still astounded Gwen. Leo led Gwen up a spiral walkway in which she looked at the many paintings adorning the walls. So many wonderful paintings, one after another. Many she wanted to reach up and touch while others beckoned her to the locations they depicted.

  At the top of the second landing, Leo’s painting hung in a suspended style as opposed to hanging against the wall. It was simple and inviting, blue sky, white fluffy clouds, and mist. The painting made you feel as though you could reach out and touch the clouds and you felt like you were flying amongst them, up and over, then down and around, and sometimes directly through. Gwen moved closer, drawn like a kid in a wondrous candy store. Up close, she could feel wisps of cool, crisp, fresh air. Fragmented puffs of clouds billowed forth from the canvas, and the truly three-dimensional look was incredibly intoxicating.

  “Leo, this makes me feel beautiful. I feel like I am flying and that I can do anything. I feel happy, and very confident inside. The painting follows my thought, or more so, I feel as though I’m an instrument in an orchestra where everything is in perfect tune, and the music is filling the hall.”

  “That’s because you are, Gwen. Others have told me the same thing. They all see clouds and feel the air, but they all go different ways. Some fly like birds while others say they dart about like free-wheeling dragonflies.”

  “I did all that, Leo. I feel such inner strength just standing here. I don’t know what it is exactly but, it’s almost a feeling of completeness within myself.” Gwen swayed back and forth as she stared at the painting.

  Leo doubted that Gwen was even aware she was swaying from side to side and back and forth. He could see how strong, beautiful, and intelligent Gwen was. She was indeed something special. As fascinating as his painting is to everyone else, Leo was content to watch Gwen, more than content.

  “Gwen, I have a confession of sorts.”

  “A confession? What could you possibly have to co
nfess?”

  “After we met the other night I came back to Notopia. I came here to the museum to find your painting, and I must say I found it very intriguing. I feel as if I was checking on you, but I was just so curious. I am very comfortable around you and feel like we have known each other for a long time. Maybe I know you in real life, but nothing registers there.”

  “Aww … I like you too Leo, but my painting doesn’t look like anything right now. I saw it earlier and its very murky and still developing as they say, according to the caretaker here.”

  “Are you sure? What I saw was very much done.”

  “Perhaps you had better show me what you found.”

  Leo led her down the stairs and then headed to the Universalistic Wing. Gwen went along but was sure he was going the wrong way. They entered one of the pyramid structures, and she noticed the paintings were more physical in theme.

  “Right over here, Gwen,” Leo gestured to the wall.

  The black canvas was dotted with untold numbers of bright white specs; not so much specs but more like night time stars. “I painted the night sky?” she asked.

  “Keep looking, Gwen. It is much more than a night sky.”

  She watched as the stars coalesced in the center of the painting and burst into a gaseous mass of brilliant color with stars popping into existence and drifting beyond the edge of the frame. Again, the paint contracted and burst forth into a celestial celebration the likes of which she had never seen.

  “What in tarnation is that?” she asked.

  “I’m not sure either, Gwen. If I had to guess I would say it is a view from inside a black hole looking back toward everything that is being sucked in?”

  “How could I possibly know what that looks like? Besides, Leo, this isn’t the painting I saw.” She looked at the name, Gwen Parker. “There must be another Gwen Parker here, and how did you know my last name?”

  “I didn’t—it was the only Gwen listed. There were several Parkers with similar names, but only one Gwen.”

  Gwen turned and walked back toward the front of the museum. “I need to check something!”

  Leo followed, trying to keep up. “Hey, what’s the hurry? Are you upset with me?”

  “No, Leo. I must see the register. That was not the painting the caretaker showed me.”

  They reached the book, and she fumbled quickly through the pages. There were the names Leo had mentioned. Gwen Parker, Gwendolyn Parker, Gwenie Parker. Were they all her?

  Leo looked over her shoulder and said. “Do you think you have three paintings here? Gwen no one has even two paintings. If someone has multiple ideas, they get combined into one painting. Maybe I was wrong, and that isn’t yours.”

  “No, Leo, it was mine; I could feel it. And the one hanging in the Pentagon array of the second sphere is mine too. I haven’t seen the third one, the Gwenie painting. It shows that it’s on display in the Spiritual Pyramid.”

  “That is this way,” Leo said as he led the way.

  Entering the Spiritual Pyramid, Gwen felt a surge of energy tingle through her body and a heightened sense of awareness unlike any she ever felt before. There was a small crowd up ahead in the annex gawking at one painting.

  “That’s yours, Gwen, over there where those people are.”

  As they approached, Gwen could see that this was not exactly a painting; it was more like a video screen. It was a thin piece of glass, almost invisible from the side, and had no frame. It, like the pentagon array, hung suspended in the air. Gwen moved directly in front of the screen to get a better view. It was like looking into a steam bath with condensation forming on the inside of the glass. There, something dark moved inside. Now nothing. There it is again. It appears to be a human figure. No features were evident, just a dark humanoid looking thing. The figure moved toward the glass, and it appeared to have no distinct facial features at all. There were brief indentations, or contours, where a nose and eyes and such would exist people. It raised a hand, and touching the glass wrote something in the condensation. It spelled out, A S K G W E N I E on the screen.

  “Ask Gwenie?” Gwen said aloud.

  “Who is Gwenie?” echoed randomly in the crowd.

  “Ask what?” Leo said to Gwen.

  And with that, the figure slipped back into the steam.

  “That’s it?” Gwen said, “That can’t be all. Ask what? Ask when? Frustration began to overwhelm Gwen. I can’t keep finding more questions, Leo. It is getting to be too much.”

  Leo held Gwen for a moment, and although she did not cry, she was upset, and she trembled just a little. He led her away from the screen and out to his car. “Gwen, it is enough for now. Let’s head back to your place and finish that wine. We can watch a movie and let all this be alone in your head for a bit. Give yourself time to think. What do you say?”

  “Leo, whatever happens, please don’t disappear right now.”

  They got into his car and headed back to her place. Right before they made the last turn onto Salem St., Gwen pointed forward and said. “The blue house at the end of the street is where I met those four dreams, Leo, they were very nice.” Her mind was shuffling files and rearranging information as it had never done before.

  “Try not to think of anything right now, Gwen. I’m sure we can find a movie to occupy us with.”

  They sat on the couch. Gwen leaned up against Leo. Leo clicked on the television, and they began to search for a movie. She needed something light-hearted, whimsical, and happy. “Ah, here is an oldie, let’s watch ‘Harvey,’” Leo said. Gwen felt comfort up against him and sipped her wine.

  ***

  “You were just there again, weren’t you? Don’t lie to me, Gwen,” Delilah said.

  Gwen nodded yes. “He is such a nice man.”

  “You were with that Leo character again too. Did you guys kiss this time?”

  “Delilah!” Gwen laughed. “Are you nuts? With everything that happens to me while I am there, I hardly have time for romance.” Inside she wasn’t sure if that was a bad idea or not. Leo had been very helpful and seemed to be genuinely concerned. Is that why she was there? Perhaps everything else is just diversions for her to get through emotionally.

  “Hardly? That means there is at least some time. You and I both know it doesn’t take much time at all,” Delilah said.

  “Delilah, let’s change the subject. Isn’t it true that for something to act it must have some force acting upon it?”

  “Yes, that makes sense, I would add that it would also need to have a reason to act, some cause or impetus. The motive could be voluntary or involuntary. Or, in the case of inanimate objects, it could be responses to laws of nature or physics.”

  “So, every action needs a power source and a motivation.”

  “That’s nothing new, Gwen. What are you driving at?”

  “Well, suppose this universe we live in is not any more complex than that. Nature does everything in cycles. The more we work, the more efficient we are. So, what if our lives are just part of a cycle process bigger than we ever imagined?”

  “Such as what Gwen? You have me curious now.”

  “I don’t have all the details worked out yet, but suppose our existence is not limited to these 65 years or so and die.”

  “Gwen, are you talking about our souls going to heaven, or reincarnation, or our bodies just decomposing to become one with the planet? I don’t think there are any other options. Wait a minute, you aren’t suggesting this Notopia place is an alternative place to live?”

  “No. Not that Delilah, far from it. Notopia is a place where people come to find dreams. In fact, once they find their dream, both are removed from Notopia. Thus, living there on a long-term basis is not possible.

  “Good. You had me wondering for a second there.”

  “Delilah, what is your dream?”

  “Mine? I thought we were talking about you. I’m not the one visiting dreamland.”

  “I know.�
�� It was true, Gwen thought, Roger was right. She doesn’t know she is there. “But I’m curious, and I’m a bit tired of talking about me.”

  Delilah took a breath. “Well, okay. Hmm, I guess my dream is simple. It’s more of a wish than a dream I suppose. I would like to be sure that I won’t ever be alone; that someone will be there to love me and me to love them in every phase of my existence. I want to be greedy with that someone when I feel the urge. Oh, I know that sounds selfish and juvenile, but there it is.”

  “I think that is a lovely dream, Delilah.”

  “You see any dreams in Notopia like that?”

  “Not yet, Delilah, but I shall keep an eye out for it now, just for you.”

  The oven timer rang signaling the eggplant was ready to eat.

  Chapter 8

  Only four dreams emerged from the rainbow this time, and that was a far cry from the twelve to sixteen that usually do, plus two that disappeared in route. Roger watched the film repeatedly. Then, he noticed what others had missed. He re-ran the video in slow motion, measuring the speeds of each dream as they descended. They all began the same, but as they descended, one dream started to move faster and slid in a diagonal direction toward another dream. It looked like it was trying to catch the other one. The second one began to increase its speed as the other one got closer. It began to look more like a chase than a random collision taking place. There, right before the dreams collided, you could see there was some sort of activity by the faster moving dream. Is that a struggle? And then, the blue fire took everything away.

  Roger leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. If I didn’t know better, I would say that one dream just snatched another one, preventing it from reaching Notopia.

  Roger couldn’t think about that right now. The ratio of seekers to dreams was changing rapidly, and there were nearly three seekers for every two dreams now. It was time to get the registration/education process underway. As seekers arrived in Notopia, they would be assigned a professional assistant and given a tour of Notopia. They would have things explained to them in a standardized process, thus smoothing the transition and reducing the number of rejections that often occur. We would know when seekers were arriving by the appearance of their frames in the museum. One department would identify these new seekers, while a second would conduct the training of seeker assistants and the individual teaching of the seekers. A third smaller team would monitor the process, publish results, and be the repository for any information. That third team would be his to oversee. The plan was merely a ruse designed to cover up his ulterior motive. Once his team built a database, he would have the addresses of the seekers, and by default, he would also have the addresses of the dreams.