"When the cold of winter comes

Starless night will cover day

In the veiling of the sun

We will walk

In bitter rain.

But in Dreams,

I can hear your name.

And in dreams

We will meet again.

When the seas and mountains fall

And we come

To end of days

In the dark I hear a call

Calling me there

I will go there.

And back again." IN DREAMS, The Lord of the Rings.

[Click. For a moment, the only sound is that of the tiny machine whirring to itself. Then a girl's - little more than a teenager's, really - voice begins to speak. Uncertainly at first, though she gains confidence as she talks, she has the talking style of one who has never known want. Yet there is a shadow in her voice, a steeliness that speaks of inner strength and courage.]

"Um... We decided this would be the best way. Just in case, you know, if anything were to happen to us. So our parents would know why and how we... died...' [her voice wavers for a moment, then she begins again.] 'I kinda got volunteered into telling this first bit... [She gives a self-conscious laugh] where do I begin. It still seems so weird, you know. I was gonna grow up and marry some rich slob to live a comfortable life. It didn't really appeal to me all that much, but I figured that was the way life was. I was one of the popular kids - I got my first convertible after passing my driver's test this past summer, I always wore the cool clothes, and my favorite color is pink. Before it all began I would never even have dreamed of hanging with Eerie or 'Trick. I mean, come on! They were like, total nerds. Even now it's kinda amusing, to tell you the truth. I can just see myself, in my preppy pink designer clothes sitting next to Eerie, her face buried in some awfully thick book - Polgara the Sorceress by Eddings, perhaps (she confessed to me she's read that book at least thirty times) or Hounds of the Morrigan. 'Trick (his real name's Patrick, but he's certainly earned that bizarre nickname) and Jason are arguing over the latest tactics to some RPG game at the top of their lungs... they asked Eerie and me over to play one of those the other day, I mean, imagine a girl like me hanging out with them! But I know I'll accept their offer. They're the only people I know I can trust. We've grown really close over the last few months - or has it been years?

I know I'm rambling - but I still have the part of me that likes to talk with me. My soul may have changed - for the better, I think, but I'm still me deep down. That's what I guess I really am getting at here - who we all are. 'Cause no one really knows. Not even ourselves. (Mrs. Harris, my English teacher would have a fit at how I'm 'butchering the English language' but it doesn't really seem to matter). [She laughs slightly] Well, I suppose it's time I begin my - our - tale. [there is a rustling, of something or someone moving, then the voice begins again] I don't know exactly when the dreams started - Eerie says her's started first, and I think I agree. We really weren't paying that much attention to them in the beginning - I mean they were just weird dreams, come on! Eerie is the connector, though. It was her dreams that seem to have bridged the worlds, and so it makes sense that she would have been the first.

I was so excited - I'd just got my very own convertible (hot pink, of course) and I couldn't wait to show it off at school the next morning. I'd only newly passed my driver's test and would be the first of my friends to get their own car (though they all would as soon as they passed their tests.) I was so excited I barely slept a wink that night. I sometimes cannot believe how naive I was - to think that money made life perfect. I never gave a thought to others, though this may have been because I had no contact with them. I just assumed that everyone was as well off as my family was. People like Eerie (her real name's Iridael but for some reason back in elementary school she got stuck with the nickname Eerie. I think she kinda likes it now... it certainly fits her well.) well, I never really gave a thought to their existence. I mean, they existed - I saw them nearly every day. But they were just like shadows; they didn't really come into my sphere of influence for a long time. Jason and 'Trick (another weird nickname. His real name's Patrick, but he has the slightest hands I've ever known. You don't even see the whoopee cushion under your chair. Teachers dread having him 'cause he just can't seem to stop pulling pranks. Hence his nickname.) Were already best friends, though. Into everything from Dungeons & Dragons to Neverwinter Nights, they lived alongside Eerie in the fantasy world.

Anyway, since you're listening to this you probably already know who they are. So let's get on with the story. I awoke bright and early to the ringing of my alarm clock (you guessed it - bright pink!) and went downstairs. Our maid had made breakfast and I gobbled it down quickly, making sure not to spill any on my nightgown. Daddy called good-bye as he dashed down the drive, late to work as usual. Honestly, Daddy, you're great but I wonder how you ever made it in the world, what with your sense of time and all. I put on my brand-new outfit I'd bought special for today, brushed my hair, and positively skidded into my new car. Another day was on its way! (heh... that rhymes!) My favorite song was on the radio, and I sang all the way to school, with my hair blowing in the breeze.

By Fifth hour, however, my good mood had all but dissipated. Fashion and Fabrics was all well and good, but did the teacher need to drone on like that? This was just like another Math or English class. I was gazing out the window, watching the birds 'cause it was early spring and they were all chirping cutely. It was more interesting than watching Ms. Grimes, anyway. Some of my friends were passing notes about the usual stuff - boys, clothes, grades, boys, and more boys. I must have fallen asleep in the stuffy classroom because the next thing I knew I was in a long, dark corridor. I looked around curiously, thinking that at least this was better than AP Fash and Fab. Oh well, what the heck. I started to walk randomly, my great sense of direction telling me that I was going east. The hallway was pretty boring - the usual dark stone and flickering sconces. Crumbling mortar and the occasional spiderweb showed that it had been abandoned some time ago. I shivered my way past a particularly nasty spiderweb, and came face to face with a huge stone door! I shrugged, and reached to open it. This was only a dream, after all. What harm could there be? A sense of foreboding settled over my shoulders, yet I pushed it aside and reached for the doorhandle. With a great heave of scraping stone the door began to swing open. BAM. I opened my eyes to see Mr. Grimes glaring down at me. "Miss Ariadne? (I hate that name... and my nickname 'Aerie' isn't that much better. It makes me sound like a puff of wind or something.) Do you know enough of this project to sleep through it? Would you like to teach the class yourself?" I stuttered a response and made sure to pay attention throughout the rest of the lesson. I was both embarrassed and surprised - I never fell asleep in class, ever! I must have been more tired than I thought. It had been strange how real the dream had been, however. My uncertainty only grew as I looked down to see a tiny speck of blood on my finger, courtesy of a long splinter of aged wood...

When the bell finally rang to toll the end of Ms. Grimes' hour, the shadow evaporated from my mind. Unto sixth hour, and Math. My favorite class of the day. The teacher explained the techniques we would be using that day, then set us loose. I had just begun a rather hard problem, scrunching up my brow as I tried to unravel the string of numbers and find a solution, when the loudspeaker screeched. Startled, I glared at the rude thing. I had been an inch from the answer, I knew it! It had been within my grasp for just one slim second... Then the speaker blared and I forgot everything. "School has been canceled for the rest of the day. Please go home and be safe!" A resounding cheer went up from all the students. I was slightly surprised - we never even got snow days, so why so suddenly was there a skip? But I packed up my bags and went down the thronging corridors to my locker; sure that this was just another dream. A bunch of my friends were going to the mall with some boys, but I found high school boys annoying, so I declined. Besides, I figured that since I had mysteriously fallen asleep during Fash and Fab I was more tired that I realized. I planned to finish my homework, take a long bubble bath, and get some more sleep. I could feel my eyelids droop just at the thought of it! With an anticipatory sigh, I hopped into my car and headed for home.

[Sigh] Lemme turn this thing off for a sec... I gotta go get a drink. My throat still acts up from that fireblast Irichalta threw at us... oh wait, you don't know about her yet. Don't worry, Mum. It's nothing that time wouldn't have healed. I just need to drink lotsa fluids to lubricate my throat from time to time... [There is a click, and then the narrative begins again.]

OK, I'm almost done with this part. Which is good 'cause I have homework from Science that I've gotta go finish. Here we go. After I'd had another snack, taken my bubble bath, and all that good stuff I grabbed my current book and curled up on my nice fluffy bed. Before I'd even finished reading more than a page, my eyelids fell and I drifted into unconsciousness.

Again I was in that hallway. This time I ran down it, determined to get to the end before I woke up. I made a mental note that if I was going to be having this dream alot then I'd better bring a mop and dustcloth with me the next time I came. The sconces seemed a little brighter this time, as if they'd woken up now and realized there was someone to show the way to. I followed my former dusty footprints - it was odd that even they'd shown up in my dream - and finally got to the door, slightly out of breath. This time as I grasped the door I made sure to grip carefully. I didn't want to get anymore splinters. Besides the fact that they hurt, they also would prolly get infected from all this dust and decay. I laughed at thinking this place was real, even for a moment, and began to pull.

The door swung open quicker this time. To my surprise sunlight flooded into the hallway from a green clearing just outside the door. White daisies mixed with emerald green grass that whispered in the slight breeze playing from the treetops at the edge of the clearing. I looked up to see a flawless blue sky dappled with fluffy clouds. I laughed with giddy glee, for I had been sure that the door led somewhere dark and scary. Forgetting myself in the pretty picture before me, I danced into the glade, looking all around me. A sharp voice called me back to my senses almost immediately, however. "How did YOU get here?" I started and looked around again to see the person who was addressing me so rudely. She was short, with long hair of almost silver-white. She looked young, however - barely more than my age, in fact. She also seemed familiar, but it took me a moment to place her face. That girl... wazzername... weird nickname... Eerie! That was it! What was SHE doing in my dream? As I was thinking this, I happened to glance down and saw something fluttering in the wind. I felt around and suddenly realized that my entire wardrobe had changed! I was wearing clothes I'd never even dreamed about: a long, fluttering pale pink dress of medieval nature with sturdy leather boots underneath. A rich velvet cloak of dark blue fell in folds behind me. At my waist hung various pouches that looked hand-made. The sleeves were long and full - I could have stuffed a CAT in them (later on, once we met Haerdael I did!) and it really did look to be a work of art! I took another glance at the girl who appeared to be Eerie from school and saw she was dressed in the same sort of clothes. She, however, was dressed for action. She wore a dark blue long tunic that set off the startlingly blue eyes normally hidden behind foggy glasses. A dark, forest green cloak swirled behind her, and she wore loose leggings of the same blue as the tunic. It was belted in silver, and she had some sort of silvery metal armor across her chest and one arm. Strapped to her back was a fairly large sword. All I had was one dagger. A tiny dagger at that.

I had hesitated too long, it seemed. "I repeat. WHO ARE YOU? Answer me!" She commanded. "I'm Aerie. This is a dream, so what are YOU doing HERE?!? You're from school, right? The weird kid with her nose in some book all the time?" To my surprise she flushed. "Uh, yeah. Are you that rich snob who's always wearing pink?" I felt a flush creeping up my own cheeks. "How dare you insult me in a dream! I'm not a rich snob! And so what if my favorite color's pink? I command you to go away!" She gave a tiny smile of amusement. "I'm afraid it doesn't work like that. Well, I don't like you but I suppose you'll have to do. Come on, there's some stuff I have to tell you. (I'm sorry, Eerie but you DID say that the first time we met)" Just as she finished, two more spots of light appeared to reveal two startled looking kids... er... boys. I groaned aloud. Just what I needed in my dream - 'Trick and his nerd friend Jason. Hurrah. My dream was officially OVER. "Uh... what's going on?" "Yeah! You guys look familiar!" "It’s just a dream, right?" "Hey, Jas! Whaddya know! Hi! Wanna-" we were bombarded with questions from the two startled teens almost immediately. Eerie gave a small sigh. "OK. Let's start from the beginning..."

K. My part's done! I'm gonna hand you all over to Jas and go finish my homework. Just for the record, Science officially stinks! [Click. the tape goes dead. You give a small sigh and turn it over, and another voice sounds in the still room.]