Beauty and the Dream Demon

Chapter One: Jack

In a small village, a town is awoken by the sound of a cockerel and the rising sun. The front door of a cosy cottage opens to reveal Jack, a pure beauty blessed with intelligent, fiercely inquisitive eyes. With book in hand, he takes a deep breath of morning air and gazes toward the church which peeks above the village rooftops. He's out to run some errands for his father and return the book he borrowed from the local library.

'Little town, it's a quiet village,' Jack sang, 'Every day like the one before. Little town full of little people waking up to say...'

The bell tolls for Eight. On the last chime, the town seemed to come to life with the people who lived there. Bakers, barbers, salesmen, washers, and young boys off to school. Everyone bids Jack and the town a good morning as Jack makes his way through town.

'There goes the baker with his tray like always. The same old bread and rolls to sell,' Still, Jack paid for a loaf of bread and put it in the pouch he had on her shirt while the baker looked offended at what Jack had to say about his baking, 'Every morning just the same since the morning that we came to this poor provincial town-'

"Good morning, Jack!" a potter called to the young man.

Jean scratches his head, trying to remember something. He searches his cart which is loaded with pottery.

"Good morning, Monsieur Jean," Jack greeted before noticing that Jean seemed lost, "Have you lost something again?"

"I believe I have. Problem is, I can't remember what," Jack laughed, "Well, I'm sure it will come to me."

Jack fed Jean's mule an apple before making his leave.

"Where are you off to?" Jean asked him.

"To return this book to Pere Robert," Jack told him, "It's about two android lovers in Detriot."

"Sounds boring."

Jack ignores the comment and passes by a group of schoolboys ready to learn.

'Look there he goes. That boy is strange, no question,' all the boys said slowly walking up the stairs to the school.

The Headmaster ushers them in impatiently, 'Dazed and distracted, can't you tell?'

As the boys scramble into school, Jack steps on the stones over the duck pond over to women and children doing their laundry.

'Never part of any crowd cause his head's up on some cloud,' the Washerwomen said as Jack walked by.

'No denying he's a funny boy that Jack,' some young girls said moving their laundry before Jack could step on them.

At a stall, a farmer flirts with a pretty woman running a fish stall.

'Bonjour, good day, how is your family?' The farmer asked smiling.

'Bonjour, good day, how is your wife?' The woman asked, reminding him that they were both married.

The husband suddenly pops up with a giant fish making the farmer back off back to his stall where an old woman is looking to buy something.

'I need six eggs,' The farmer shows her the price, 'That's too expensive.'

'There must be more than this provincial life,' Jack said walking into the library.

Inside, library owner Pere Robert was cleaning the dust off the windows as Jack walks in. He looks down, happy to see him again.

"Well! If it isn't the only bookworm in town," Pere said smiling and coming down from his ladder, "So where did you run off to this week?"