A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes

Elona’s mind fluttered quickly from one dream to the next . Nightmares of the fire and memories of her parent\'s tears flooded her with tears of her own. There was an odd sensation of the ever-present face watching over it all, but that had not changed from before. The dream ended abruptly, and she was left alone to her thoughts and the darkness.

She drifted for a while, her mind never straying from the odd feeling of her dreams being watched. He had been appearing more and more lately, and it was beginning to frighten her. Oddly, for the first time, she found herself putting him together with a name. Jameson… now where did that come from? She never heard of a name like that before… Jameson. She liked it.

As if bidden by Elona naming the face at least, it returned. He had never spoken to her before, he had always just... watched. And... waited, it must have been? Waited for what? When the fog that had always hidden Jameson from unobstructed few faded, and she heard him say, “Elona! Wake up!,” she began to feel that something important was happening. She almost felt the man smile, then felt a peculiar sensation of being wrenched out of the darkness.

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The next she could remember, she was dreaming again. But somehow she knew this time she was not being watched, and that she was again on solid ground. Creeping her eyes open, she decided that no, it was not solid ground. It was a bed. She was stunned by the elegance that surrounded her. High, towering, walls of a bright white stone curved into a domed ceiling. At the top, an odd design began. Spirals of stained glass began at the top and spun all the way to the floor. The light from these windows was refracted all over the room, a shimmering rainbow of visual delight. Was this heaven? Could this be it?

Elona jumped visibly as she heard a man’s voice chuckle sounding somewhere deep in her mind.

*So, our young sleeper has finally awakened?*

Frightened, she looked around the room for the trespasser with the all too familiar voice. She shook that idea of familiarity out of her mind- it couldn’t be.

*You are alone now, Elona, but you need never be again. When you are ready, I am down the corridor to the right. Our meeting is long overdue- I mean you no harm*

Meeting overdue? What meeting? Completely confused, but somehow knowing that complying with his request was the correct thing to do, she pulled on the odd outfit that had been laid out for her. It was surprisingly soft, and very comfortable. She walked over to the mirror that was hanging on the wall, and checked her appearance. The outfit, a deep blue dress, which she thought was too formal but wasn’t in a place to argue about, flattered her tremendously. She realized there was also something else different there, too. With wonder, her hand traveled to her hair, to her nose, her chest, her hips. All the imperfections that her body had possessed prior to that moment had disappeared! She seemed to have gained a few pounds, filling out her previously emaciated form. Her chest had also grown a cup size, she realized with a feminine delight. Her blonde hair now had a slight curl to it, and had lengthened to her mid-back. The odd crook to her nose had virtually disappeared, the basketball related accident in her past no longer obvious on her face. Everything she had ever dreamed that would be different about her had strangely come to be. Rather then be frightened at the strange change, she was emboldened by it.

Elona took a calming breath, and opened the heavy door. The hallway was much the same as the bedroom, with its white-walled stony elegance, with the same wash of color. The walls were not smooth, she noticed, almost as if they had been chiseled. She touched one, and found it to be cold. How did they remain cold, but the air inside so pleasantly warm?

*Ah, out at last,* the familiar voice said again. *If you turn right, and walk straight for a short while, you will find me by the fire. Please come join me*

Elona felt her blood run cold at the mention of fire. She ignored the terror that sparked within her at the mention of the menace that had killed her, and instead walked onwards. Somehow, she knew the man down there would be Jameson. She now ignored the nagging doubt that the voice in her mind was him- she knew, somehow, that the time had come for them to finally meet. She was excited to meet Jameson on some level, but somewhat disturbed by the fact that the man existed.

She then suddenly saw him, faced away from her and towards the fireplace. He was the same as in her dreams, she was not surprised to see. She didn’t think much more could surprise her today. The shaggy hair of a deep brown was the same, as was the thin frame that oddly exuded some sort of inner strength, everything down to the skin tone, actually, was the same. She slowly approached him. He seemingly was lost in thought and did not notice that she had arrived. Trying to remedy that, she said softly in an almost whisper, “Jameson?”

The young man’s face snapped back quickly. How could she know his name? He was told she would be powerful- but not that she would know of that power already. He quickly attempted to school his expression of shock to one of the contented, peaceful happiness that she needed. “I prefer Jay, actually.” He said sardonically, this time out loud. He couldn’t help his silly half grin as he said, “But Jameson is all right if that is the name you would fancy.”

Elona tentatively smiled back, feeling as if she had to trust this man. He was all she knew of, at least in some capacity, in this odd place. She said, in the same awed whisper, “You’re really real? I thought you were just a dream…”

Jay sighed inwardly. So she did not know after all. When she said ‘only a dream,’ he realized she did not yet know of her power. That made his job all the more difficult. “Yes, quite real. Everything will become clear in time. Come, sit. We have much to discuss.” Elona nodded, and took a seat on the couch next to Jay, who had previously only been a teenager\'s fancy. He turned to her, and took both of her hands in his. He knew she would need comfort now. “Elona, let us make this clear. You are not dead, and probably never will be. But enough on that, that will be explained later.” He watched patiently as she accepted the news. It shocked every being that was a newcomer to Keloria, and Elona was taking it no differently then he had himself.

“Elona, you previously said I was only a dream. For you, there is no such thing as only a dream. On earth, your dreams, your hopes, your wishes were so powerful that the gods cried every time one was denied. Only the people who the gods want to forgive for that reason alone are sent here. We all died, back on earth. But before our spirits could die away, they were diverted to Keloria, where we are now.”

He paused again, waiting for questions, and for her to adjust. “And why do they send us here? For all the dreams that were denied on earth, they give us the power to make them happen in Keloria. It is not witchcraft, nor sorcery. It is the power of dreams and hope finally given an outlet to become reality. The stronger the dreams, the more meaningful they were on earth- the stronger your power here.” He eyed her carefully as he said, “The people with these dreams that die while saving another are the strongest of all.”

Elona was, to put it lightly, was somewhere between shock and a numbness. It was too much to handle at once. A new world, more then one god, spirits, her having some kind of magical power, and a small hint that she might be immortal. It scared her to death, even if she knew that was impossible, as she was technically already dead. Or not dead. Then, his voice sounded in her mind once more.

*I watched over you in your dreams on earth. I know you, Elona. I know why you are here. I was chosen by the fates to be your guide, and so we can speak like this. We are linked, mind to mind, for a year. If not longer*

Elona’e eyes widened in shock. “Will you teach me? Someday?” she asked Jay.

*Just think a normal thought, but attempt to send it to me. It sounds abstract, but there is no better way of explaining it. The dream will work itself*

Elona closed her eyes, and thought forcefully towards Jay, *LIKE THIS?*

The young man yelped and held his head. *Not so loud, little one. Be gentle, I will hear you.*

*Like this?* Elona tried again.

*Exactly,* he responded.

“Come,” Jay said, switching back to spoken word. “It is time for supper. Come, sit.” He grabbed her hand and led her to the next room, which had a small table set for two. They both sat down to empty plates, and Elona looked at Jay, confused.

“Do you trust me?” Jay asked Elona, quite seriously. She only nodded her affirmation, and he again grabbed her hand, and placed it hovering about a foot away from her place. “Think of your favorite food in your mind. Send that thought from your mind to your fingertips, and then mentally push down.”

Elona didn’t quite know what Jay was going at, but she attempted it anyway. She pictur4ed her favorite dish at her favorite restaurant back on earth. A Piping hot lobster, with melted butter, and all the implements needed to eat it with. Then she did as jay said, and tried to push the thought down. She felt the thought snap apart, and glanced at her plate.

It was there! The lobster, the butter, everything she had imagined, right there on her plate. She stared at her meal in shock, not quite ready to accept what she could do with her mind alone. He watched as he did the same, and a steak dinner appeared before him in a blink of an eye. “I hope you don’t intend to get this elaborate everyday, Elona. I did in the beginning, and I got so tired of the hibachi meals with the works that I haven’t eaten it since.”

Elona giggled at that, but was quite content with her meal for tonight. She had always loved lobster, but her family could never afford random lobster outings. “So this isn’t some light night cold pizza dream?” She asked him, even though in her heart, she already knew the answer.

“No Elona, it is not. I would say don’t let your food get cold, but I assume you dreamed of a hot lobster by the steam it is still emitting. I never thought of that before, perpetually hot dinners… hmm.” He then winked at her, and two bowls of soup appeared. “Had to try it, sorry.”

“Eat up, Elona. You have a long couple of days ahead of you.” Jay said, with a laugh. He dug into his own as well.

After a minute or so, Jay glanced quickly at Elona. His heart warmed as he saw her there, so obviously happy for the time being. He had told her all truth, but he had left out some other bits of information. He wasn’t sure how he could tell her them, it would take time for her to be ready to accept it. Jay decided he must wait for them to become more comfortable enough around each other. He smiled though, when he thought of the future that he knew, even if she didn’t. She would have to realize it on her own.

Even, in his own dreams, he had not imagined her to be this breathtakingly beautiful.