Aepep was a really good listener, surprisingly. He allowed me to lead him to the vast meadow outside the forest, leaving behind all the other Malkos to drink from the pond.
Ellie was already waiting at the edge of the vast, grassy meadow, taking in the warmth of the morning sun atop Uzmi. The meadow dropped off abruptly to my right to a wide ocean, the waves crashing along the cliffside. To my left, the meadow jutted upward into a dome-like mountain, bushes and pine trees occupying its land.
Up ahead, I could see a rickety, wooden bridge, probably half a mile long. I could barely see the land on the other side, the mist from the sea shortening my vision.
“How do I get on top of him?” I asked.
Ellie sat up with a jolt, unaware of my presence. She pulled her black hair out of her face and looked at me with weary eyes. It was apparent that she was becoming more fatigued, the sun’s warmth adding to her drowsiness. “Just ask him,” she said half-heartedly.
I looked at Aepep with little hope. His wise eyes flickered with understanding, and I could tell that it understood what Ellie had said. Aepep lay down on its stomach, sighing as he did so. He rested his head on the grassy floor, glancing around excitedly.
I looked at Ellie once more, who continued to lie on Uzmi’s back. After releasing a nervous sigh, I wearily climbed on top of Aepep’s back. His spaghetti fur felt like tiny tubes, almost like ultrathin crazy straws you would see at some cheap thrift store.
“Okay,” I muttered, half to myself, half to Aepep. I crossed my leg over his back, sitting on him like he was a horse. It felt awkward to ride an animal bare, without the comfort of a saddle protecting my groin.
Oh well.
Once I was situated, I praised him nervously. Aepep slowly stood up, first on his hind legs, then on his front. It wasn’t until he was fully standing did I realize how immense Aepep was; I felt like I grew two meters.
“Hey,” I called to Ellie.
Groggily, she sat up, rubbing her eyes vigorously. She must’ve been dozing off. When she saw that I had successfully managed to climb aboard Aepep, she grinned, showing her top row of paper-white teeth. “Great . . .”
I smiled, feeling a surge of accomplishment well up inside me. Too bad I never really did anything noteworthy in real life . . .
After I thought about it, I told myself, but this is real life, in a sense. This is a world “within” my mind, so technically, it exists. Right?
I didn’t know for sure. I wasn’t really a science whiz. However, my thoughts started drifting away from the idea that this Dreamworld and everything in it was fictional and illusions. I couldn’t really define why, but the dreamscape I was in had substance to it; it was structured, like in real life.
“Come on,” Ellie patted Uzmi. “By the way, Darrel . . .”
I looked at her with anticipation.
A playful expression spread across her face. “First one across the bridge wins.”
And, before I could even protest, she zoomed off. Uzmi raced towards the rickety bridge at the end of the meadow, probably fifty meters away. I didn’t know if it was Ellie’s particular Malko, but Uzmi was remarkably fast. Almost twice the speed of a car driving on an empty freeway.
