Catch a Falling Dream

Through the Mirror

"Life, what is it but a dream?" ―Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass

 I held my phone, shaking. According to the internet, my Grandpa was a descendent of Sandman. Soon, the pieces fell into place. Clara, the dream lady, wasn't lying. I couldn't deny the proof anymore. The funny things was, I wasn't as shocked as I felt I should be. Maybe I had always had a hunch that magic existed. I mean, I always had believed in ghosts since I fell off my bike outside an "haunted" house and was unscathed. I thought I saw fairies in elementary school but everyone told me they were butterflies. My strong suspicion of magic had turned into my new reality. I still had so many questions, and so few answers. Which is why I needed to see the one person who did have answers-Clara.

After this revelation, I took a deep breath and tiptoed down the wood stairs, trying not to wake the kids. Then I saw Kate in the kitchen, putting away dishes.

"Classic overachiever," I teased. "Kate Turner, you know that you don't need to do the dishes, right? In fact, I think I recall the Smiths telling you not to bother."

"I know, I know," Said Kate. "I just feel like I have to do a good job. I'm such a perfectionist." She sighed, but I could tell I hurt her feelings.

"It's ok," I said. "I was just teasing. Just don't kill yourself. You're already on the trajectory to win the olympics and get a noble prize."

"Thanks." Said Kate halfheartedly. I felt sad. Kate never felt like she was good enough. If she took a test and she was in the 98th percentile, she always wished she could be higher. We suddenly became really quite. The only noise was clinking of dishes as we put them away.

"Are you ok, May?" Kate asked after while. 

I shift my eyes down and focus on removing plates from the dishwasher. "yes," I said. "I'm sorry. I'm just a bit tired." I yawned. I felt so guilty. Why couldn't I share this secret with Kate? She told me her story, living with a foster mom who wasn't the best person. I had always told her everything. I was close with Dustin, but I was even closer with Kate. We were the type of friends who snuck out and went on midnight bike rides (one of the few times Kate wasn't doing homework or an extracurricular). We were the type of friends who shared a friendship notebook where instead of taking notes we would pass notes to each other.

"The Smiths just texted me," Kate announced, putting away the last mug from the dishwasher. "They're pulling up right now." Soon they came in the house, smiling from their dinner. They were such a great couple. They thanked Kate and me and paid us. 

"Do you want a ride home?" Ms. Smith asked. "I know you girls live in walking distance, but it's a bit chilly." Kate agreed, and then the she turned to me. "No, that's alright." I said. "I'll walk."

I walked briskly. It was only about six blocks away, so the cold didn't bother me. However, before I knew it, my eyes were tearing up. It's just cold, I told myself. However, deep down I knew why I was crying. Why didn't my grandpa ever tell me this? My whole life felt like a lie. I tried to wipe away the tears, but they kept streaming. Why do I cry so easily? I asked myself. Finally, I was outside my house. I took a deep breath and the last tear rolled gently down my cheek. As I walked up the driveway, I could have sworn that among the orange autumn leaves, I saw a fairy.

When I got in the house, I rushed upstairs past my mom, dad, and sister Brooke, who were all watching some nature documentary. They were such nerds. What could I say? Mom decorated our fridge with a magnet that said how much sugar was in various foods, and Dad brought home skeletons. He literally had a skeleton in his closet. 

Once I was in my room, I tried running into the mirror to open the portal Clara had, but I ended up just bumping me head. Uh... What had Clara done to get through? Maybe if I look at the brochure she gave me, there will be clues. 

I inspected the brochure, looking at every detail. The cover looked perfectly normal, with fancy silver writing spelling out GAINED, Global Association Inspiring Nearly Everyone's Dreams, and a picture of the moon. The first page I looked at when I opened was the History section. It simply reiterated what I already knew: The organization inspired many people such as Einstein, Mary Shelley and other important figures. Then the What We Do section simply talked about their goal of providing inspiration to people through dream manipulation. Then it talked about the different branches, the US one being DING, or Dream Inspiration Nationwide group. I groaned in frustration. This was just an ordinary brochure. Nothing special.

Then I turned to the back. It was blank and my heart sank. Still, there was one smudge I tried to scratch off. However, as I scratched I realized there was writing underneath a layer you had to scratch off. I finally had a lead. I scratched and scratched. As the letters became visible, the hairs on my neck prickled. The writing was back words. I jumped in excitement. Of course, I thought! I have to use the mirror.I worked on it a bit more and soon the writing became fully visible.  I ran up to the mirror, my hands shaking. I read the message on the back:

When you are ready for the task, simply show courtesy. What should people do before they enter a door?

Knock!!! I was so excited I could barely contain it. I knew I had a point when I told Brooke she needed to knock on my door.  I tried knocking on the mirror, but to no avail. It must be a certain secret knock. I thought of how I always knock to the tune of Jingle bells. Nope, that didn't work either. I must have tried twenty other combos, but none of them worked. Then a thought popped in my head. My Grandpa always knocked the same way. So I took a deep breath and a leap of faith. 

knock-knock-knock-KNOCK-KNOCK-knock-knock

I felt the strongest pulse I had ever encountered, although that's not saying much since we didn't get earthquakes in Minnesota. After the pulse stopped, nothing visually changed but I felt different, like I was becoming as light as air. I just knew it. And then I walked right through the mirror.

A/N I'm back!!! After a long case of writer's block I finally am back to this story. I really hope you liked the update. What do you think Maybell will see once she's through the mirror? Please comment so I can improve as a writer. Also, please vote if you liked it. For a fun question, if you could combine any two fruits to make a new one what would they be? (I would like a strawberry that was blue and taste like a blueberry.)

Love you guys :)

Enchanted Rabbit