MAGISTAN

Chapter 14: The Box of Dreams

It was just past midnight when the gray clouds that hovered over the City of the Ruby Yew Tree faded away. Three crescent moons appeared high in the sky. Below, the black lava fields that surrounded the city had awakened. Red grass sprouted from the lava. A great forest of Chestnut trees grew in seconds. Lime green moss dotted the tree's top roots as they were slightly raised above ground. The White River roared in the distance, while it weaved through the scarlet forest and vanished into the endless canopy of red leaves and dark tree trunks.

In the northwestern part of this country stood a volcano that towered over the City of the Ruby Yew Tree. A twin-peaked castle was built into the volcano's rocky hillside. The castle's stone gray walls contained many things, one of which was the Box of Dreams. When the Box of Dreams was first crafted it was quite small. Its purpose was to fulfill one person's dreams. Was it the magic box or Tock, the talking clock, which made the dreams come true? Perhaps it was both.

"That is neither here nor there," as Tock said, long ago. "What matters most is that any dream can come true." As time passed, things began to change. The box grew, along with the number of dreams it contained inside. In time, Tock became taller too. And needless to say, the Box of Dreams had made room for Lorn and Sofia as well.

Now inside the Box of Dreams, Sofia fluttered beside the keyhole while Lorn and Tock anxiously waited below. Sofia gripped the yellow feather that was lodged in the lock. A rush of excitement came over her as she realized the yellow feather was from her papa's yellow-feathered cloak. "He was HERE! He was HERE!" Sofia's words echoed throughout the box. With one swift pull, Sofia yanked the yellow feather out of the keyhole.

There was a crackling sound, followed by a loud boom. The box's lid popped open. A blast of air came up from the ground. Sheets of paper were blown upwards towards the ceiling. Lorn, Tock and Sofia were hurled out of the box. They landed hard on a red carpet lined with blue and orange trim. It partially covered the redwood floors.

"Ugh," Sofia sputtered. She looked up at the giant pillars that ran in rows down the long and narrow room. Candlelight wall fixtures and a glass chandelier illuminated several stained glass windows decorated with gold trim. Sofia's eyes drifted downward to the pedestals of large ceramic vases and statues of blue snakes glaring at her with glowing red eyes.

At one end of the room there was a short marble staircase leading up to a white glass alter. It showcased a high-back silver chair. At the other end of the room was a giant door. Not far from this door was a small red box on the floor. The lid to the box was open.

Sofia frowned. "What is this place?" she said softly, when she heard Tock gasp from behind.

"The Box of Dreams," Tock said.

Sofia looked over her shoulder and found Tock sitting up. Beside Tock was Lorn, lying on his back rubbing his forehead. "Are you alreaght?" asked Sofia.

"It's shrunk!" Tock announced, as he stood up. He rushed over to the box on the floor. "Oh my.... It's back to its original size!" Tock said, peeking inside the box. "It's nearly empty! All except two!" he declared, pointing to the two sheets of paper that were still inside the box. "What happened? What happened to all the dreams inside?!"

Lorn grunted. He rolled over and stood up. "What are those?" he asked, gazing up at the high domed-ceiling.

Both Sofia and Tock glanced up and found every inch of the ceiling was covered with shinny bubbles.

"Look," said Sofia, pointing to the bubbles. "There are names written on them. "That one says, Thorpe. Do you see?" Sofia asked, glancing back at Lorn and Tock.

"You're right. And that one says, Logourd," Lorn said, while pointing up at another shinny bubble.

Suddenly, the bubble that had the name Thorpe written on it, popped. A light mist came falling down.

"Hun?" Tock mumbled. He lightly rubbed his eyes. He bent over and closely examined the Box of Dreams. "This is very strange, very strange indeed. Not only are all the dreams missing. But, the box has shrunk. Yet... I'm still the same size."

Both Lorn and Sofia looked at Tock strangely.

"So," said Lorn.

"So, it would be an impossibility for me to climb back inside," Tock replied.

"Back inside? Whatever for?" asked Sofia.

Lorn chuckled. "Only a fool would get back inside."

"No. You don't understand. You see...," Tock started to say when the ground trembled as if there was an earthquake.

The pillar beside Sofia cracked. Sofia glanced up. A large chunk of gray stone was coming loose. It broke off.

"Duck!" shouted Tock as he pushed Sofia out of the way.

Boom! The stone hit the ground exactly where Sofia had been standing.

"Let's get out of here!" Lorn hollered. He sprinted towards the giant door. Sofia and Tock ran after Lorn. They dodged other chunks of stone as they fell from the columns above.

Lorn reached for the door when, it swung open. Lorn, Tock and Sofia suddenly stopped. There was a tall young woman wearing a red-hooded cloak standing in the doorway. She glared at them with piercing yellow eyes.

Sofia's jaw dropped. Elem. It must be her. The one Tock had been talking to when we were inside the box.

Elem eyed Sofia and Lorn as a low-lying layer of fog crept into the room. "Who are you?"

Neither Lorn or Sofia replied.

"What are you doing in here with Tock?" Elem asked, firmly.

"The feather!" Tock blurted. "It's gone. The Box of Dreams is open. At last!" he said, pointing over his shoulder to the Box of Dreams on the floor.

The box rattled as the ground continued to shake. Elem ran towards the box as if she had no fear of the chunks of stone falling around her. She knelt down beside the box and peered inside. "Tobias," she whispered. She glanced up at Tock. "What have you done?!" she yelled.

Tock's eyes grew big as he stared at the box.

Elem looked down. There was a shinny bubble floating out of the box toward the ceiling. Elem jumped up. She captured the bubble. She threw it back inside the box. Then, she slammed the lid shut.

"Run!" Tock hollered. He bolted out the door. Lorn and Sofia followed Tock's lead.