Sweet Dreams | Dream Of The Endless

19 | Playing House

They found themselves in a vast, green meadow, surrounded by trees and mountains. In the middle of it, a skeleton of massive animal stuck out of the ground. Down the middle of it, a woman with one of the Dreams were walking and talking.

"So, what is a dream vortex?" Rose asked, as they watched Barbara's dream. "What is it for? What does it do?"

"I confess, there are some questions to which even I do not have an answer," Dream admitted. "But I can tell you that a vortex had the power to dream entire worlds or destroy them.

In the next dream they visited, there was a small girl jumping and humming to herself on the cemetery.

"Is that..." Rose trailed off.

"Zelda," Atia nodded. "When she was your brother's age."

"Mommy and Daddy told me to go away," the small girl said. "So, here I am in the old bone orchards. Nobody understands me. Nobody cares. Nobody understands but Chantal. Chantal comes along, shows me she's my soul sister."

Then, she ran towards the tomb in the middle. She stopped by a grave next to it and grabbed a bunch of flowers off of it.

"Me and her are gothic heroines, secret brides to the faceless slaves of the nameless night of the castle of dread desire," as she finished, she looked around.

"Is she lost?" Rose wondered.

"She's at home here," Atia smiled softly. "That is what most people seek when they dream."

"Home?" the girl echoed.

"Do you know where that is for Jed?" Dream asked.

The girl thought for a moment. Then, they followed Zelda towards the tomb. On its doors, there was one of the posters Rose used to search for her brother. Looking at it, she pushed the doors open and they walked inside.

On the other side of the doors, there was a house.

"Do you know this place?" Morpheus asked Rose, as she stopped and simply starred at the building.

She bit her lip, as she showed them the photo on the poster. This was the exact same building.

"That was our house growing up. Look," she smiled.

"You've done it," the Endless smiled gently. "You've found your brother's dream."

Then, he looked towards Atia.

"Now, we find Gault," she said.

They stared walking around, looking for the place Jed could possibly be.

"What's our next move?" Rose asked. "How do we find him?"

Before they could answer, a whirlpool of sand appeared in front of them. Atia frowned, as she glanced towards her husband. It was the exact same sight as she watched each time he departed somewhere.

A boy dressed in yellow and red suit appeared out of it. He had an hourglass on his chest and even had a ruby holding his cloak together at his neck.

"Halt, Rulers of Nightmares, or I'll send you three to Dreamland," he declared.

"Jed?" Rose frowned, as she watched the boy closely.

"I am the Guardian of Sleepers," the boy stood up straighter. "I am Lord of the Dream Domain. I am the Sandman."

With each title Dream and Atia's amusement grew. This boy was cute.

"My, my," the white-haired woman hummed.

"You are the Sandman?" Morpheus asked. "Is that what she told you?"

The boy didn't shy away from them, instead reaching towards his own pouch of sand he had on his belt.