Dream Makers

Built with dark woods, standing on the edge of the cliff, was the most magical theater ever seen. It was no ordinary theater; there were no tickets, there was no billboard outside, there was no red carpet or cushioned seats. Not everyone was invited to the shows, and those didn’t happen every night. No one really knew who were the artists performing there, where they had come from, where they were staying, where they had learned their tricks.

It was a rainy night. The moon shined bright in the sky and the waves were quiet, as if they were waiting for the show to start. There were people waiting outside the little theater. They had come from all over the world - there were men with tall hats and men in sweat-suits; women with headdresses and some with fancy coats; children with their teddy-bears and pajamas, slippers on their feet, as if they had just woken up. Some came alone, others with their family. There were no cars parked nearby, and no buses or taxis driving by. No one knew how they had gotten there. They didn’t talk, they didn’t flinch. They just stood there. Waiting.

A tall man with a pale face and dark shadows around his eyes appeared out of thin air with a puff. He had a striped vest and black pants, his hair was short and he had a very nice tall black hat. The man wore black gloves and shiny black shoes. He didn’t talk. As he looked at the crowd his huge black eyes became bigger and his mouth formed a huge O. He was amazed.

A young boy in a light blue pajamas took a step forward and showed the man his stuffed animal. The boy had brown eyes and golden hair, his small hands offered the odd tall man a huge silver cat with eyes as dark as the night.

The man twisted his head, in wonder, then petted the cats head. The boy was surprised to see the cat move as it flickered its tail and made a soft sound, delighted to get some attention. The man smiled to the little boy and sent him back to the crowd wordlessly.

Soon after music started playing. It sounded like stars, falling from the sky, perhaps mixed with the rain, and everyone’s eyes shined. The odd man opened an invisible door to the theater and let everyone in. They sat on the dirt floor as if they were sitting on the most comfortable chairs and, still, no one made a sound. The man, standing behind them, was pleased.

Although they were under a wooden ceiling, one by one, twelve rain drops fell on the stage. The children made Ahhs and Ohhs and the grownups followed their example - for one night only they’d all be children again. Each drop became a fairy, with curly hair, bright clothes and the most amazing wings. They danced, and danced and danced until there was no more dance to be danced or music to be played. They bowed to the audience, even though no one clapped, and then disappeared.

The room was left in the dark. There were no windows and no lights. Just darkness. A man’s watch ticked once or twice, but no one noticed.

A different, more fearless song started playing, and two brown-skinned men, with long hair and painted faces jumped on the stage. They carried two sticks each, and there were flames on one end. One of them blew the fire all the way across the room, over everyone’s heads, while the other danced and jumped and played with the fire. There were more ahhs and ohhs and the two men performed the most amazing show ever seen, eating and blowing fire, throwing their sticks in the air and waving them all around, leaving a red-ish gold trail behind them. The flames reflected in everyone’s faces and their mouths dropped opened. And then, in the end, when the music got so loud and fast it was starting to make the earth shake, the men set the stage on fire and disappeared, taking the flames with them.

It was dark again. What would come next?

A young woman, tall as a small tree and with hair so brown it could have been made of chocolate stepped on to the stage. She wore a green long dress and a golden cape over her shoulders. She was barefoot and walked peacefully. She smiled to the audience and then bent over, so that she could touch the dirt underneath her feet. For a moment nothing happened, but then a small flower grew out of the soil and blossomed. It was amazingly beautiful, and it looked like it could glow. The men Ahhed and Ohhed and everyone else followed. The girl seemed happy, so she put her other hand down on the ground and hundreds--thousands--of beautifully colored glowing flowers grew out of the ground, around the people, grew on the walls, creating the most magnificent garden ever seen. The girl made the flowers dance and sing for the people. It smelled like spring and happiness and wet dirt. The girl sang with the flowers but, as the song came to an end, she was gone and so was the magical spring.

The theater went dark again. A thin silver smoke filled the room.

Three men, including the oddly looking man that had been standing outside the theater, were on the stage. They surely hadn’t walked there, probably just appeared out of thin air, like the oddly looking man had done before. The other two looked as odd as he did. One of them wore a hat and his hair was so long it was almost impossible to see his eyes. The other had his hair even longer, but he kept it away from his eyes, tied in the back of the head. The man with the hat and long hair wore a black vest and white shirt, shiny black shoes and gloves. The other had a large shirt, half unbuttoned, and a scary smile. Their faces were pale, their eyes were huge black circles and their lips had been painted black too. Some children became frightened, but then the men smiled and they relaxed. There was no music this time, just the three men, walking between the people, touching their foreheads softly. Nothing seemed to happen but, one by one the people smiled and giggled, as if they were seeing the most beautiful thing in the world right in front of them. Some moved a bit, trying to touch whatever it was they were seeing, others were so amazed all they could do was stare at it, whatever it was.

The men touched everyone’s forehead and showed everyone something different. Then they gathered again on the stage and looked at the audience with peaceful smiles. It was done. The oddly looking man with the striped vest snapped his fingers and everyone was gone, just as suddenly as they had arrived.

This was no ordinary theater, you see. There were no tickets, there was no billboard outside, there was no red carpet or cushioned seats. There were no stories, just dreams. This was the dream makers’ home.