Just two weeks later, in the very early hours Lawrence was dragged from yet another weird dream by a dull droning outside. He shot out of bed and rushed to the window. At the bottom of the garden a mysterious green light flitted between the trees. It quickly flew closer and closer in pulsing, jerky movements. For a moment he feared the terrible Brandice May had returned. Soon the flickering glow grew brighter, warmer and full of life. Lawrence caught the light wooden fence blush a healthy red. In a brilliant green flash an orb formed, weirdly underlit the trees and disappeared in a fabulous curtain of colour.
Perched on the windowsill next to him, Lucy purred happily in her sleep. His magical cat was visiting Caspar again. Lawrence smiled, feeling happier every second. It felt good knowing at least one of them was having a nice time tonight. This was the third time Lawrence had been woken by strange dreams and it was still only 3 am.
Nestling just above the trees a brilliant full moon shone warming shades of blue, lighting the bedroom in bright, beautiful colours. Lucy woke with a start and glanced around, looking puzzled. A single ray of soothing blue light bounced off the ceiling, drawing the surprised friends gently out the window and down the lawn. Lawrence plucked a sprig of willow for luck as they glided between trees at the bottom.
Two friends drifted onwards for quite some time, dodging sharper branches and nudging softer leaves. The sprawling forest proved even bigger than Lawrence thought. As the tall trees thinned they flew across moonlit meadows many miles away, where their speed increased.
Now the land rose and fell, flying by quicker and quicker. In a blink ground changed to sparkling water, where weird lights bobbed up and down, glowing hypnotically. Strange creatures darted along the riverbed, diving amongst walking plants that surged in front in awkward, crazy movements. Lawrence stretched down to feel the cool water flow over his hand. His fingers wobbled strangely and a fizzy green light smoked out the tips, leaving a glittering trail whistling behind.
Over the water, muddy earth turned to fiery rock covered by small, blurry flowers that gurgled strange sounds and slid across the thick, churning surface. Soon they’d travelled so far from home Lawrence and Lucy had no idea where they were there, but neither felt afraid.
Suddenly they swooped atop a gigantic mountain, looming high above misty clouds. The mysterious moonbeam swirled over a crumbling stone building and floated them safely to the floor. This ruins roof had been lost long ago, leaving only two walls bulging outwards dangerously. Here the bright blue light gently guided them inwards.
In the centre of the room a dull staff rested inside an exquisitely carved holder. Lawrence had seen something like this before. This one wasn’t exactly the same, but was just as small. Its shaft seemed to be made of stout oak. A blue gem glowed mysteriously at the top. Lawrence had many questions. What was going on? What was this strange place? Who’d brought them here and why? Lucy looked just as puzzled.
Peering between the broken, gloomy walls they watched surrounding countryside change. Out there an endless dancing forest sprung up in confusing flashes of white. Now a towering golden city stood at the far off horizon. Tiny creatures patrolled its ridiculously high walls, and strange spirals of shimmering light flew above. A blink later three tribal huts sat in a neat line instead. Then a gigantic pink toad, whose skin croaked loudly swum down from the colourful sky and confidently nested on top.
Lawrence heard faint far off voices way behind. There a family of three stood on a desert island, set amongst a bubbling sea of thick, green treacle. Infectious giggling broke out. Two children waved energetically, then mighty trees grew up once more.
After a while the moon’s magical blue light faded and started tracing patterns further out in the woods. Gradually it got further away. It certainly wasn’t going to return for them tonight. There was only one thing for it - pick up the staff!
Lawrence picked it up carefully, knowing magical items could be very powerful. If a person didn’t treat them with respect, or the staff’s spirit detected bad intentions consequences could be dreadful. Nothing happened. Lucy purred, brushing by his ankles. In a flash of purest white a beautifully dressed lady appeared. Her ghostly image kept fading, allowing the strange morphing background behind to shine right through her.
“Welcome travellers. Welcome to the wonderful world of dream!” Lucy recognised her friendly smile right away – it was the kind magician from the castle back in 1692!
“I am Lenora, a witch of light from far across mighty seas of time. Friends, well done for defeating Brandice May again. I wish I could stay longer, but have to get back there. I have a young family waiting. My world lies back then, so I have no power here. Please listen, there’s not much time.” Lenora spoke as fast as she could. Some words came through loudly, others were faint, broken whispers.
“Normally when people dream their worlds remain separate. No person ever dreams the same dream at the same time. On the very rare occasions they do there is always magic involved. What you will see around you tonight is the dreams of only a handful of people in your village mingling together uncontrollably. And already this fragile dream world is cracking up. Soon the whole village’s dreams will merge. Shortly after that the infectious condition will spread to larger towns, leaving evil free to enter dreams at will and change them to nightmares. I made this magical staff over many years under shelter of a magical blue moon, using wood from the ancient oak in your field. Its powers are limited, so you two must hurry. With its pure spirit you may shape the dreams of many.”
Lawrence realised Lenora must be the magician who’d very kindly lent them her magical staff back in 1692. Without that they’d never have escaped Brandice’s evil time spell. Dad used to say a man is known by the debts he repays, so this could be their way of thanking her.
“How do we do it? Where has the proper staff of dreams gone?” Lawrence asked eagerly. Before Lenora could answer she faded away and scenery started changing quicker than before, like flicking through a book. What Lawrence and Lucy did know was each person’s dreams were different. Everyone’s personal dream world had their own problems, and their own laws controlling how they work. Some rules were probably entirely random as well. This made saving them look very difficult!
Lawrence felt the tiny sprig of willow digging into his thigh. Ah ha - this would be an excellent place to plant it too! Its mother was a very special tree, so maybe her son or daughter would act as a good luck charm? By then the fresh, lively twig had slipped out his pocket and been accepted into soft ground near the crumbled doorway. Before Lawrence could make any further plans weird whooshes of smoke surrounded the ruins. When it cleared they were back home, feeling very tired and staring out at the very rare blue moon.