"wake up, my darling."
In which Lord Morpheus receives a mysterious message from the Waking World, forcing him to embark on a dangerous journey to retrieve what's rightfully his own.
And maybe meeting some familiar faces along the way who don't hav...
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THE WAKING WORLD _
LONDON, 2023
He was just feeding the pigeons when she arrived.
Correction - feeding the pigeons again.
Popping down on the bench next to his rather grumpy figure, Death herself called out:
"Long time no see, little brother. Are you doing alright?"
Morpheus sighed, throwing another chunk of bread at the birds which were already arguing about who could have the last piece.
"I don't know, my sister. I lost something, something very important to me from which I am not certain if it will ever return!", he answered, swallowing the thick lump in his throat.
"Something even more important than my sand or the ruby...or my helm. Something I was gifted with a long time ago, something I cannot live without anymore. It needs me, that something. And I need it, so desperately that it tears me apart every passing day - do you know that feeling?"
Death looked at him in confusion, chuckling:
"What is it, then? If it's food, then I certainly know that feeling of yours...no wonder, you haven't eaten in ages - "
"It is not food!", Morpheus cut her short, a thing he normally never did to one of his siblings.
"Remember when you visited Harry, that old man playing the violin? I once played this instrument myself and now it's gone...gone from the Dreaming, gone from me. I did know about Schubert, that musician who could never finish his most beautiful piece - I also couldn't finish mine, my sister. And now, I have to get this violin back before anyone else does!"
Death smiled warmly, softly touching her little brothers' shoulder.
"I once heard you playing.", she said, leaning back on the bench.
"I was just heading back to my realm as I heard these melodies flowing through the air...your melodies, Dream. You made these melodies, so full of virtuosity and compassion as if you were bound to the music, not wanting to stop any second."
"Since then, I came every day just to listen and every day it had me in tears because of its mere beauty. I didn't know you had those secret side, those passion for something else than just watching over Dreams and Nightmares. For once, I could really see how much you enjoyed it. I am so sorry that it has been taken from you."
Morpheus lowered his gaze:
"Which is why I must take it back, wherever my violin is right now. You might not know this, but I created my realm, my palace, all those Dreams and Nightmares just by playing it. I have to find it, my sister, even if it might be the last thing I'll do!"
"And what makes you so sure about that?", Death answered, narrowing at him.
"Who's going to watch over all those Sleepers if you won't return? Who's going to put them to sleep every night, fill their heads with Dreams they can chase? You are the Sandman, little brother. The very key to humanity itself, what makes them develop. We are the key to humanity, shape and form their behavior towards others, our family. And if only one of that family gets lost, we will lose the whole. Do you really want that to happen?"
Morpheus stayed silent for several minutes, his older sister was absolutely right.
They were part of the Endless, all of them trusted with the duty to serve humanity to the very end itself.
Seven immortal beings, each of them ruling over a whole kingdom of their own.
Desire.
Death.
Destiny.
Destruction.
Despair.
Delirium.
And Dream himself.
All of them were the key, the secret of mankind.
What had made them human in the first place, with all their hopes and dreams, fears and desires.
With their passion.
"Do you know about The Lost Three, by any chance?", Morpheus asked, feeling slightly interested in these mysterious sort of beings.
Interested in that story his sister had been told of by her human mother.
Death frowned, thinking deeply.
After a while, she opened her mouth, but quickly got distracted by some movement above their heads.
Just in that moment, a small piece of paper came fluttering from the nearest tree they were sitting under.
Directly into Morpheus' lap.
Slowly folding it open, the Dream Lord read the few words written in black and bold letters.
A few words which seemed almost exactly like a threat to him - but anyway, Morpheus finally knew where to begin his new quest.
I KNOW WHO YOU ARE, DREAM LORD.
AND I KNOW WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO MY FATHER AND TO THOSE AFTER HIM.
COME ALONE AND I'LL GIVE YOU BACK THE ONE THING YOUR LITTLE SELFISH HEART CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT.
