The Dreamer's Curse

Meeting The Dreamers

[Chapter 2]

I lay on my bed wide eyed, refusing to sleep. My previous dream had been too odd – almost as odd as Papa's reaction. At first, it had all made sense, but as I lay in my own bed after the fuss had died down, it didn't make sense at all. How could dreaming transport a person to another realm? It was beyond logic. Scientists couldn’t even transport objects back in time, let alone living, breathing people. Lost time is lost, and can never be taken back. Skepticism crept through my head like ants atop a rice grain. To distract myself, I grabbed my laptop from my backpack and began typing away at my paper. Professor Fiddle would have been pleased. I had read Things Fall Apart over and over again back in high school, so the paper was as easy as pie. I heard my cell phone vibrate just as I finished the last sentence. I hopped off my bed and fished for it in my trousers’ pocket.

"Perfect timing, Raph," I hissed. "Did you sense me doing that World Literature paper or something?"

"No, I had no idea," he paused. "Can you send me your paper?”

I groaned. "Every time, Raph!"

"Never mind, that wasn't what I called you about!"

I glared at my cell phone. "What are you playing at?"

“So I bumped into Professor Fiddle—literally bumped into him—and he asked to meet you tomorrow morning."

"What? Is this about spacing out in his class again?"

"I have no idea," Raph said in a droll voice. "He just ran into me after you left and asked that you meet him downtown tomorrow morning at 8 AM sharp."

"That's rather cryptic," I bit my bottom lip. "A teacher asking to meet me downtown. That's just odd."

"Maybe he wants to date you," Raph teased. I did not gratify him with a snide remark, as I often would.

"He wasn't mad, was he?"

"No, but maybe for you," he added. I ignored his shoddy attempt at a joke. I was not in the mood.

"Where did he say we would meet?"

"He didn't."

"Oh, well, do you think it's got something to do with our paper?"

"I don't think so. Hey, Jane, are you all right? You seem a little absent..."

"Oh, it's nothing, just a strange dream I had."

"Well, that's how James Cameron got his film ideas, who knows, you might be onto something."

"Oh, please," I ended the call and flopped back onto my bed.

I replayed my dream over in my head, surprised I didn't forget anything. If any of this was true, I was related to Alice Kingsleigh! I knew there were more important components to note, but I refused to think of anything else. More so, I whispered "I fell down the rabbit hole" to myself more times than I could count, afraid I would forget, but also afraid it was all real. I wasn't too sure which I preferred it to be. I twirled my dark hair in my fingers and muttered the phrase over and over again. "I fell down the rabbit hole." I shut my eyes, still muttering to myself.

I yawned, smiling at the sun. It was morning, and I had not found myself in Underland. I felt around, my hands coming into contact with pillows and blankets. There was no rabbit to chase, no Alice to write letters to me, no hole to fall into.

So it was just a dream after all!

My eyes fluttered open, and I thought I heard Mum enter the room. I turned to make a witty comment about what I would write on the last page of my paper, but the words caught in my throat. The slender young woman with blonde curls was definitely not my mother. I observed her in the dimness of my room. She was tall, and wore a light blue dress with long sleeves and a pouffy skirt that ended just above her ankles. It looked heavy, but she stood with such elegance that I would have thought it weighed not an ounce. She regarded me with tenderness before speaking.