The Dream Keeper
"Come on Brandon, look on the bright side! Out here we have the sea and the air and the seagulls… so what if you don't get to hang out with your friends for a little while. At least we're here having a good time on this boat, right?" I tried to make the feigned cheeriness in my voice sound convincing, but I knew my eyes were giving me away. Let's face it; there were lots of places I wanted to be right now, and on a ship in the middle of the Atlantic with just my brother, and the old captain who smelled of fish and old bootlaces, was not exactly one of them. I tried to make the best of it, however, believing that a situation could only be bad if you let it be. At least we weren't in cramped quarters. The boat was twenty feet long and about eight feet wide, a good sized craft if you ask me.
My older brother Brandon was lying on his stomach on the top bed of the bunk we shared, sulking. He'd been doing that a lot lately, not like he wouldn't have at any other time. Although we were two years apart, he looked almost exactly like me, only bigger and much tougher, but we both had the same bright brown eyes, the same olive complexion, and the same dark brown hair, although his was styled into careful spikes on top of his head while mine was grown out longer, almost to my shoulders, and had streaks of gold in from the sun.
My brother's eyes flicked away from the magazine he was reading and he glared down at me from his position on the bed. "Get lost twerp I've got better things to do than talk to the likes of you. I don't think you seem to realize that I am totally wasting my spring break here." I don't know what possessed me to push my luck, but I suppose that I wasn't in the smartest of moods at that particular moment so I did.
"Give me one good reason why I should. It's my cabin too, after all." I said casually, grinning slightly. Brandon's eyes narrowed and he jumped off the bed in front of me. His voice was soft and almost menacing as he took a step toward me, forcing me to back up into the wall. "I won't just give you one good reason, I'll give you five." He held up his right hand and curled one finger down to center of his palm starting with his pinky and ending with his thumb as he counted. "One, two, three, four, FIVE." His thumb curled into place over top the others, resulting in a fist. I gulped.
"I… I'll leave!" I stammered, gripping the handle of the door and backing out. "I'm sorry, Brandon. I didn't mean to upset you," I murmured, trying to redeem what little confidence I had with my brother to begin with. Brandon grunted in response and flung himself back onto his bunk while I scurried out and climbed the stairs up to the deck so I could contemplate the mysteries of the universe.
As I stood on the deck with my face bathed in the light of the setting sun and the cool sea breeze playing with my hair, I had to admit, despite my brother's occasional censures and general unpleasantness; it was nice to get away from everyone, especially the crowd of girls that followed me around everywhere. I didn't even like them; how's a guy supposed to breathe with all that femininity surrounding him wherever he goes? That's partially why our parents decided Brandon and I needed a little bonding time away from everything, so they sent us on a boating trip with our Grandpa Phil.
Grandpa Phil was a nice guy and everything, but he was obsessed with things "way back when" and if I had to sit through another one of his stories about "when I was your age…" I thought I'd go insane. Some of the stuff he told us was kind of interesting, but there was the fact that he thought he had the best counsel in the known world, and the way he talked sometimes he seemed to have lived a millennium ago.
Of course Brandon had been appalled at the idea and he'd done just a little bit more than just complain. He screamed and shouted and did everything he could to stop us from going on the trip (except tear out his perfect hair), but none of his attempts succeeded, we were going and that was that. Now that were here there was nothing Brandon could do about it but stay in his bunk and sulk, so that's just what he did.
I shivered as the wind suddenly kicked up. "Where did that come from?" I thought, somewhat dazed. Grandpa Phil appeared beside me, seemingly from out of nowhere, looking worried. "What is it?" I asked curiously. He pointed and my eyes bulged: huge, billowing clouds were coming straight for us from the west. I didn't know how I didn't see them before, but that mattered little. Lightning flashed and a low rumble of thunder seemed to shake the already rocking deck under my feet. The waves began to rise higher and higher into the quickly darkening sky and wind whipped at my half-on, half-off jacket, nearly wresting it off my body entirely. "Uh-oh," I squeaked, overawed.
Suddenly Grandpa Phil's calm demeanor changed completely, he was no longer a good-natured old guy but a stately captain who needed things done and done fast. "Ryan, get your brother up here to help, it we're going to ride out this storm; we'll need all the help we can get." All I could do was nod and do as I was told. I nearly flew down the stairs to the lower cabin.
"Brandon! A storm's coming! We need help on deck!" I gasped.
"Yeah right, we're in big trouble," my brother said sarcastically, "I don't believe you, squirt. It's probably just a passing shower anyway."
"Brandon, get your lazy carcass up here before I have to drag you!" Grandpa Phil's voice floated down from up on the deck even through the huge clap of thunder that was heard. Brandon's face went white.
"'Just a passing shower,' huh?" I said and grabbed his arm as we raced back up to the deck.
The deck was almost slanted now as the waves tossed our once proud ship around like a child's bath toy. All three of us tried to keep our balance as we pumped and rowed and tugged and prayed we would get to land safely. We were all drenched in just a few minutes, both from the pouring rain and the salty sea water deluging onto the deck. I was bone tired and felt that I hadn't the strength to keep on my feet when I thought I saw land out of the corner of my eye. I was about to yell to my brother and my grandpa, but just then a huge wave washed over me and all went dark.
***
I woke up and the first thing I thought of was the fact that I was alive to wake up. The second thought that came into my mind was that I felt sick and I promptly threw up everything that was in my stomach, including all the salt water I swallowed. When that was done, another, terrifying thought came into my head: where were Brandon and Grandpa Phil? My mind raced with possible situations they could be in, all of them miserably depressing. I was about to break down and cry, but a soft moaning sound caught my attention and as I look in its direction I could've jumped for joy. My brother was alive; he had washed up just a few feet away from me.
He spat out what seemed to me almost a gallon of salt water before he gathered the strength to speak, and even then it was no more than a hoarse whisper. "Wh-where are we?" I had no idea and I told him so. He moaned and sat up on his knees. A few moments passed in silence, and then he said, "This is all your fault you know." I was very startled at this. I had been expecting him to tell me he was glad I was all right and that I was lucky to have survived, but instead he just blamed me for our situation! I would've been enraged if I had had the strength. All I could feel as of now was guilt and depression.
I responded in the same husky voice, "Why is that, exactly?"
"Because," he said, a little more strength added with each word, "If you hadn't complained to mother about your stupid need for solitude, we wouldn't be on this island right now, assuming it's an island. Grandpa Phil is probably dead right now because of you." Suddenly it dawned on me that he was right, this was all my fault. I felt terrible and longed to be away, or even better, dead. That seemed like a good idea right about now.
"I wish I were dead," I said out loud, "no doubt the world would be a much better place."
"Yes, it would," Brandon agreed with me, "Especially for me."
I sighed, looking up at the cloudless azure sky then down a little and watching the rhythmic dance of the palm trees swaying in the wind. This island could be someone's personal paradise, but not for me. For me there was only dismay and blame and it seemed that the only escape was death. I would've savored the feeling of the warm sun on my back as I drifted off, but instead it felt sticky and hot. Just before I fell into deep sleep the last thought I had were the last words of brief conversation between my brother and me. "I wish I were dead. No doubt the world would be a much better place."
"Yes it would, especially for me…"
***
I woke up in a cold sweat, or at least I should've. Actually, I didn't wake up at all. I thought I had, but further investigation revealed to me the fact that my body was lying next to me on the sand. Looking down at my hands, I realized I was transparent, not invisible and still in full color, but transparent none the less. I was going to scream and swear that this was some horrible nightmare, but what I saw next had me too frightened to speak.
A tall hooded figure was standing next to me. It wore a black cloak with a hood covering its entire face and the cloak concealed all of its bodily features. I felt like Scrooge looking at the Ghost of Christmas Future and shivered, the thing gave me the creeps. The thing said nothing to me, but extended a hand to help me up. The hand wasn't at all bony or skeleton like in the least, but instead was soft and smooth against my own. I expected the hand to go right through mine, but then I noticed that the figure's own hand was semi-transparent just like mine was, and suspected that was why it could touch me.
I got up and was going to speak to it, but before I could the thing held a finger to its face, I assumed where its mouth was so I shut up as fast as I could. It began to walk away and beckoned me to follow. The last thing I wanted to do was follow this strange creature, but what other choice did I have? We had only taken a few steps when the air began to shimmer around us and the scenery began to change.
Suddenly we were standing in a room that I recognized as my own kitchen. My parents were standing in the middle of the kitchen floor with their arms around each other, crying.
"He was so young!" My mother was saying, "Why oh why did I ever send him on that dreadful trip? Why couldn't I have listened? And Phillip too! Oh…" she broke down crying.
"No! Mom, I'm right here, see? I'm fine! I-" but my mother paid me no attention. I turned to the figure, "They can't see me or hear me can they?" the figure nodded and the air began to shimmer again. "No wait!" I protested, "Can't we-" but it was too late, we were already standing in my brother's room.
Brandon looked a mess, but he was pretty much okay. He was lying on his bed with his face in his pillows, also crying. I couldn't help but stare; I had never ever seen my brother cry, not even once. Even when he broke his ankle playing football, he'd never done any more than flinch. But there he was, sobbing like a little kid… over me. Without warning, he cried out as if I could hear, of course not knowing that I was there anyway.
"Ryan, I didn't mean it, really I didn't! Why'd you have to go and die? Why? I never meant to hurt you, I was just mad and… oh Ryan!" he buried his head into his pillows again and bawled. Tears began to form in my eyes as well,
"I'm sorry Brandon. I'm so sorry…" but before I could say anything else the scene dissolved and was replaced by yet another one.
I realized that the figure and I were standing in our school auditorium. The principle was speaking about me as if I were the greatest person in the world. I looked around and my eyes fell on my crush, Calla Lisse. Ok, I was sick of all the girls following me around everywhere, but I did have a major crush on her. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and she looked genuinely miserable. "God rest your soul, Ryan. I'll miss you." She whispered.
For me, that was the last straw. "Ok spirit thing whatever you are, take me back. I know this is a dream, I want to wake up again!" I nearly screamed the words at the figure. Deep shadows engulfed both of us and we were just floating in darkness, but there was a kind of twilight feel to this darkness, not evil, but just dark. Like the darkness during the storm we had endured on the ship. I could still see through the dimness, and the figure was just lowering its hood.
I gasped, it couldn't be, but it was. A girl stood there, just about my age, although she was tall. She looked to be a princess right out of a fairy tale, with long, flowing black hair and hazel eyes tinted with lavender. Her lashes were long and her skin seemed to glow somehow, cutting right through the dimness and nothingness surrounding us. "Who are you?" I asked, astonished. She smiled slightly,
"I am the Dream Keeper. That's all you need know."
"So this is a dream!" I felt very relived.
"It's only real if you let it be," she explained. "I'll transport you home, your real home I mean, not the island, but first you must tell me: what have you learned?" I opened my mouth but she cut in before I could, sounding a little agitated, "Oh, and don't tell me 'be careful what you wish for,' you have no idea how old that gets after a while." I closed my mouth. "Ah," she said slyly "Heaven forbid now you have to think about your answer." I resented this a little, but said nothing. What had I learned?
"I guess… I learned that no matter what happens any situation can always get worse, but in contrast to that, every situation can always get better, too. I suppose the moral is never to give up and stop fighting, huh?"
"And what else?"
"Um…" Then it hit me, "and Brandon loves me even though he doesn't show it, I just have to keep looking for it." She grinned,
"Close enough." I felt like I was being sucked into an endless void for a few seconds, as if I were falling forever…
***
I woke up, in my own room, in my own bed, all in one piece. I ran into Brandon's room and found him upside down on his bed playing video games. "Get up, Brand! I need to tell you something!"
"What?" Brandon said crossly, pausing his game and standing up.
"I love you, bro." I said, hugging him tightly. "I always have and I always will, no matter what." My brother looked very surprised but did not pull away. Instead he returned my embrace
"Same to you, Ryan. Listen, I've been a total jerk lately. I'm sorry, forgive me?" I smiled,
"Of course,"
"Good. Now let go of me before pound you to death." I let him go and he pulled away too. "You know," he said thoughtfully, "I might just have a pretty good time on the boating trip we're going on tomorrow." My jaw dropped,
"We haven't gone on that yet?" I asked astonished.
"Of course not, stupid. We leave tomorrow. What, did you think we already went and it was all a bad dream?" I shook my head and grinned broadly,
"You could say that."
***
Somewhere far away, the Dream Keeper smiled, watching the pictures swirling in her glowing orb. "Good choice, Ryan. Don't forget what I taught you. It's a lesson more people should learn." With that she faded into the shadows of this world piercing the darkness with her own special light. And now a new light burned in the darkness as well, although Ryan didn't know it, he shone too, and so can we all if we just try…