Another World of Dreams-The Escape

Welcome to the Dream Park

The text on the wooden sign said:

'Elves are with their average height of five to six feet, pointy ears, sharp cheekbones and smooth skin the most human-like creature in the Dream Park. Elves are characterized by a hermetic life in nature, a passive lifestyle as well as a sparse diet which mainly consists of plants and worms. No other creatures value their sleep to the same extent as the elves do. An adult elf can sleep over fourteen hours per day, although sometimes no more than an hour at a time. They can watch a sleeping animal or a swaying tree top for hours without looking away a single time. The elves mate throughout the year, but a female elf rarely breeds more than two infants during her lifetime and therefore the number of elves in the world is small. There are many fairy tales about the elves' magical powers from the time when the settlers came to Anland. According to these tales, elves can visit people in their dreams and enchant people by looking at them. However, scientists agree that such magic is only a myth and we guarantee you that all our creatures are completely harmless.'

'Want to learn more about the elves? Look for them in the Elf Bosket beside you or head over to the House of Science next to the main exit. Do not forget to visit our Memorial Store on your way out.'

Below the text was a carving of the Dream Park's emblem. It was hard to say if it was a picture of something in particular, but Liv thought it looked like a spider's web spun inside a circle.

She turned her gaze away from the sign and peered at the Elf Bosket through the wired fence. No elves were in sight, but they had to be close. Within twenty-five acres lived more than a hundred of them. Whatever the Dream Park claimed on its information signs, she did not believe that elves wished to live by themselves. Hermits did not exist in a cage. Perhaps the Beings just preferred to stay at the fringe of their flock, and not at the center. That was how she wanted it, had she belonged to a group, but she was alone and she liked it that way.

Beside her, a girl complained that there were no elves to see. The child appealed to her parents to take her to the Troll Pit, but her father replied that they would go nowhere until he had spotted a magnificent elf lady. They had time to stop by both the pit and the Gnome Yard later.

Liv strolled along the fence, away from the family, searching for movements among the trees. An elf appeared sitting on top of a stone at the forest's edge. It was the first elf she had ever seen up close, yet she recognized him. She realized that she was staring at him, and that it was impossible for her to stop. Behind that relaxed face and those dreaming eyes that followed a bird's journey across the sky, she sensed a shadow of repressed anger. She carried such a shadow herself. It grew inside people kept in the wrong place for too long.

A predator-like roar from the Troll Pit tore Liv from her thoughts. Two young trolls had thrown themselves at one another. She did not see the giant Beings from where she stood, but a thin cloud of dust drifted up the hill. People nearby ran towards the pit to glimpse the famous wrestling and egged on the younglings. Only the wealthiest visitors could afford tickets to the Arena where the most brutal trolls collided in front of spectators from all over Anland. The men placed bets on their favorite fighters while they drank southern wines and engaged in business. Everyone had heard of the wrestling, but the Dream Park's infamous officers kept the Beings under close surveillance. They were only supposed to fight when someone paid for it.

She realized that the elf was watching her and wondered if he too remembered their previous meeting. A sense of curiosity, both tempting and discouraging, awoke within her as she met his gaze. Liv was not afraid to look other people in the eye and she loathed girls who stared at the ground in embarrassment whenever they felt uncomfortable. Without being aware of what she was doing, she walked up to the fence and pressed her hand against it, as if to challenge him to step closer. From the Troll Pit echoed the officers' cautionary gunshots. The elf pulled back to reality, threw his legs over the stone and slid down the other side.