"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, ENGLAND
Johanna couldn't say a single word when she reached the Dream Lord, the borrowed violin still in his hand.
He really missed his own, day after day.
And the more he wanted it to find, the more he wanted to kill Gwendolyn Burgess for her cruel actions towards him.
He wanted to kill the whole Burgess family, for everything they had done to him.
And this time, the gift of Eternal Sleep wouldn't do.
"That was so beautiful, Boss...I mean, Sir!", Matthew said, a slight shiver running down his wings.
As always, the raven was perched on his left shoulder from which he now got fed with a few breadcrumbs Morpheus had in his never to be empty pocket.
"You sure you don't want to quit as King of Dreams and become a musician, here in the Waking World? You would be fucking awesome, I'm certain. By the way, I've played the trumpet when I was still human...not that good, actually, but it was something - "
Morpheus sighed, not slightly amused about that idea.
"As I said before, it is not that easy!", he replied, scanning the street for any sign of life.
"My family needs me, the whole of humanity needs me. I cannot just leave my realm forever, that alone would cause mass destruction not only to myself, but my tools and my kingdom. I am the Sandman, keeper of all Sleepers there are...young and old, children and adult. I am the reflection of humanity itself, their Dreams and Wishes, their Nightmares and Phobias."
"I need to be there, I need to protect them. I need to feel their hopes, their passions, their fears. Even if it kills me deep inside. Do you understand, Matthew?"
Matthew shut his eyes, not exactly knowing what to answer.
"Yes Sir, I do understand!", he mumbled.
"But if you create Dreams and Nightmares for all of humanity...even for me, I guess, I still sleep like a human...then you must have created a Dream for yourself. Right?"
Morpheus shook his head, setting the violin down on a bench next to him:
"I do not sleep, Matthew. I also do not dream, as for I am not a human like you once were. I am simply just a nonexistent creature, shaped out of nothing. If humanity wouldn't believe in me, if they wouldn't rely on me every night, I wouldn't be there. And so, it would be the other way round."
"One way or another, there are no Dreams and Nightmares for me. As long as I serve humanity, as long as I watch over them, there will be no time for me to dream. Ever. Even if I would love to close my eyes for just one second."
The raven nodded, rubbing his feathery head on Morpheus' cheek:
"That's kinda sad, you know. But I'll always be there for you, just like I've been the last time...I would sacrifice for you!"
"Don't say that, please!", the Dream Lord answered, a single tear running down his cheek which Matthew wiped away with a soft stroke of his wing.
"I cannot lose you like I've lost my Jessamy. She understood me in a way that seemed very special, a way I was sure of we'd never leave each other. And then, she was killed right in front of my eyes. That is why I rejected you at first. Just promise me that you won't do anything that may cost your life, okay?"
Matthew shuddered at this sudden confession, pointing to the violin sitting alone on the bench:
"Understood, Sir. Hey, can we please switch to something more cheerful, I don't like those sad stuff. Would you play one more song, I just can't get enough of your music..."
Morpheus' gaze quickly lit up, setting the instrument back on his shoulder.
As soon as he started playing again, the notes became visible to his eye, every strain became a wave of colour to his gaze.
And in this very colour, he could see a memory, something he had never forgotten to this day.
The memory of Orpheus and Calliope, his beloved little family.
A happy family of Three, a family even the Endless themselves could never have become.
