Eternal Sleep [On Hold but Not Forgotten]

Bitter Truths

I had been stumbling about aimlessly for hours. Learning the mechanics of a dream-spirit "body" was a challenge that I was far from ready for. Lilith had exercised great patience, but even now she was becoming frustrated with how poorly I was doing at simple things like walking, moving my "arms" which were thin, spectral shadows, or anything of the like.

"You need to be more sure of yourself, or you'll never understand how this works or become successful at Traumwanderung."

I groaned.

"That's easy for you to say. I mean, I've just now been ushered into this world of magic and dream bodies or whatever."

"I understand that, but is this not proof enough that you live beyond eternal sleep? What more do you need to believe the greatness that's been bestowed upon you?"

I frowned and tried to think of anything that might be keeping me from just... being... It was all so much to take in, and I just couldn't bring myself to understand that the inevitable had finally happened and that I was still okay.

"I just... I was expecting the end. My mind isn't ready to come to terms with an alternate ending just yet. I can't understand why I can't just move past it, but it's really bothering me that all this is happening. I know it sounds awful, but it all seems like a terrible joke—that I really am asleep and that this is just some horrible dream."

"That's just it, Aurora. You are dreaming. But this is how our kind dreams. You'll just have to get used to it. You'll see, after time, that I've done you no real harm and that I have, indeed, saved you from a Fate far worse. If you can figure out how to walk, I'll even take you to the castle to see what might have befallen you."

I huffed. That sounded wonderful, if I could ever just figure out how to walk. Reaching deep into my center, I centered myself around the absolute reality that existed: I was asleep. And it was not the End that I had been told it would be. It was about time I start coming to terms with this—there was nothing I could do to change it. I could only move forward.

A wave of adrenaline coursed through my spirit and I began to move. Lilith gasped with excitement and clapped her hands together as I made one fluid motion to shoot across the room. I was a little overzealous as I crashed into the wall—apparently we could not fuse through them—and grabbed the windowsill to steady myself upon impact. I had successfully been through Traumwanderung.

"You see now that you can't go through barriers, no?" Lilith chuckled. "I remember my first attempts at Traumwanderung. I ended up shooting across an empty field and into the angry horns of a bull none to happy to wake."

I laughed trying to imagine my mother being chased by an angry bull. She was far more frightening and stunning than any creature on Earth. I wondered if she was as young as me when she did it the first time. Perhaps I really was just like her—beyond are near-identical visages.

"Now that you've figured out how to move, I suppose I can at least help you along to your father's castle, no?"

I smiled eagerly. Taking her hand, she yanked me out into the dying light. The dawn had come and the day had been reduced to dusk—I had wasted much valuable time just trying to figure out how to move. My spirit felt lithe and free as we tumbled across many blurred landscapes and shopping squares. I hoped internally that none would see us.

What seemed like seconds placed us at the door of my father's castle. It was much less appealing up front than it was from a distance: a far-away dream was always far better than reality, I supposed. Shifting myself upright in the wake of such a sudden flight, I prepared myself for what might lie behind the drawbridge.