ONCE UPON A DREAM II

by ALYSSA

Once upon a dream, I find myself sitting on the couch next to a young blonde boy. If I saw him in real life, I could not say this, but in my dream, he was my younger brother. He was upset about something, and I hated seeing him so distraught, so I offered to take him out. I think I was 14 years old in my dream too, but I had a license and my own house in the city. I was an adult at 14. He looks up and I smile at him, but he still looks sullen and forces a smile back. “Sure,” he replies. We always have the most fun trips together, unlike dad, who only makes things worse.

So we get in my Smart Car and I drive him to the Smithsonian, but eventually he gets tired and hungry, so we leave and just start walking. We walk for a very long time and talk. I pull out his favorite Lunchables out of my pack and give them to him to eat on the way. We speak many words, and exchange many thoughts and feelings, but we really say nothing. Eventually, we wind up in the woods. I’m not sure how, but we do. He smiles at me and runs up the nearest tree once we realize. I run up with him, and there’s music everywhere. There’s a sweet dance tune that I love and we both smile and frolic through the woods.

We stop paying attention to our surroundings until we reach a small house and farm with a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains and forest. There was green and brown in every direction but up. The sky was turning beautiful shades of gold and pink on the horizon as the sun became a sliver in the distance. The house was a powder blue with white edges. After taking a moment to soak in our surroundings, my brother laughs and runs to the house and climbs on the roof. I smile and follow after him, partly to make sure he didn’t get in trouble and partly just because.

Once we get up there, he gets really tired and leans against me. We’re facing one mountain that kind of reminded me of a giant layered dessert. There were layers of forest on the bottom that got bigger and bigger until you reached the top, which was a beautiful grayish brown mountain with snow on the top. The sun was no longer in view, but I could see its colorful rays shining past the mountain. “I love you so much,” my brother tells me as we fall asleep atop the roof. “I love you too.” I shut my eyes, and drift to consciousness. I wake tired, with my eyes watery, but with no tears.