Awa and the Dreamrealm

by Isa Pearl Ritchie

  I had googled it the day before to try to solve the mystery, but all I’d found was how it was used to treat cuts and itchy bites and digestive issues, and even to bless things like food, births, and deaths… so versatile… but what does it mean here, for me?

  I relaxed onto the spongy grass and let my eyes soak up the dazzling wonder of the Grove. I felt so… at home – much more here than I ever did when I was awake.

  I couldn’t see Veila. I called out to her, but no one came, so I played by myself in the Grove. I watched a beautiful lotus unfold in the pond, blossoming in rainbow colours right before my eyes! I splashed in the stream, which seemed to be somehow bigger than it was last time. I could have sworn I saw a pink glimmer of something in the water, but it vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

  I lay in the grass, looking at the beautiful sky that swirled in so many shades of purple. I practiced doing backflips – which is pretty good when you can kind of fly, but I didn’t fly up too high. Something told me it was safer on the ground.

  I noticed bright pink berries growing in little bushes around the Grove – I wondered if they were safe – they smelled delicious like Nannie’s blackberry crumble. They tasted amazing: a combination of pancakes with maple syrup, berry cordial and cinnamon donuts all put together! The flavour seemed to flow right through my body, making me stronger somehow, and more energized.

  After a while, I decided to explore. I followed a path out of the Grove, through the forest, into wide-open fields. I was back in the meadow; only it had changed again. This time there was a large lime-green cube sitting right in the middle of the grass, wobbling a little in the sunlight. Veila was coming towards me.

  “There you are!” I said.

  “Yes,” she replied. “And there you are… good. We have work to do.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “We will start with something simple,” Veila gestured towards the cube.

  “Where did you get that?” I asked. “And what is it?”

  “I arranged it,” said Veila.

  “It looks like a massive chunk of lime jelly,” I said.

  Veila beamed proudly at me.

  “I wanted to ask you something,” I said. “You know how you said I was special or something… a sensitive. What does that really mean?”

  “It means there’s work to do,” Veila said, gesturing to the enormous jelly cube.

  I laughed, looking at the strange fantastical landscape around me. “When I think of work, I think of office buildings like where my parents work,” I said. “I couldn’t imagine anything like that here.”

  “Work is what you make of it,” Veila said.

  “Who is the boss?” I asked.

  “Boss?” Veila asked. “What’s a boss?”

  “Who’s in charge?”

  She gave me a blank look. Eventually, she replied. “We are all charged with what we can do and what we must do.”

  “And..?”

  “And, this is the first part of your training.”

  “Really?” I said. “You’re training me with jelly?”

  “Of course I am,” Veila said. “You need to learn to shape things – to move through different textures and atmospheres if you want to help with the dreamwork.”

  “I still have no idea what that means,” I said, “but okay, whatever…”

  Veila instructed me to try to move through the giant cube of jelly, in any way that I could. It was hard work. The jelly both smelled and tasted like lime! It felt like hours of trying to wriggle through such a big surface area, and once I got inside, it was even harder.

  “I’ve had enough,” I said. Pulling myself out and panting on the soft spongy grass as I tried to wipe the excess jelly off.

  “That’s enough for one day,” said Veila, and turned, as if to go.

  “Wait!” I said. “I still don’t know what I’m doing here.”

  “You’re sitting in the meadow,” Veila responded.

  “I mean – here,” I gestured around. “What’s the point… why am I doing this in my dream?”

  “Oh – that’s easy,” Veila said. “You’re alchemizing…

  “What do you mean alchemizing?”

  “You’re bringing things together – reconnecting the fragments that have splintered off from the whole… unifying… or at least you are learning how to.”

  “I don’t understand what any of those things are, or how to … or why,” I said, resting my head in my hands.

  “Come with me; I want you to meet someone.”

  Veila led me towards the far edge of the meadow where another magnificent tree stood, even taller than the Elisiad tree.

  Its branches stretched up so far towards the sky that I couldn’t see how high they went. Its bark was gnarled and twisted in tones of brown and red and gold.

  “It’s beautiful!” I said, I’d never seen such a gorgeous tree. How had I never noticed it before?

  “Meet the Priestess Tree,” said Veila.

  “What does that mean?” I asked.

  “Come here,” Veila said, leading me closer to the tree. “Put your hand up and listen!”

  I put my hand up towards the bark, tentatively, not knowing what other surprises this strange place might have in store.

  There was a warm, pleasant sensation on my palm, followed by a slight tingling that ran up through my arm, through my body. It almost felt like sound but on the inside. I closed my eyes.

  “That’s right,” Veila said, relax and let her take you on a journey.

  I felt as if I was being called down into the earth, but it wasn’t a bad feeling. I felt strong and stable, bolstered by the power of the Priestess Tree.

  I let my mind wander down through the layers of earth until I saw her, the Priestess under the tree, her hair connected to the root system, her arms narrow, her belly rounded, her body connected with the earth, her eyes closed as if in meditation.

  “Ask her,” Veila said. “Ask her to show you why you’re here.”

  “Show me… please,” I whispered.

  The Priestess opened her hazel coloured eyes. A circle formed in front of her belly, inside I saw a handful of smooth stones, a stormy sea, a bird sweeping over, I felt a sense of freedom, but I didn’t quite understand…

  “What does it mean?” I asked.

  Listen, a voice echoed back, deep and rich as the earth.

  I looked again, my mind ran with a sudden stream of ideas – I noticed circle was an oval, like an egg shape – eggs mean new life, so maybe this is my new life? The anchor is about grounding – stopping, pausing, standing still. The bird is freedom...

  As soon as I’d had those thoughts, the image disappeared to be replaced by a peaceful glowing image of a woman who was also a star, looking down on the earth.

  You are a light – a light to guide others – a sensitive child who can connect to the meaning of everything and bring it back to the dark world.

  “The dark world?” I wondered aloud

  The world you call ‘home’ the world you think is ‘real’.

  I realised the images and thoughts I was having were actually coming from the Priestess.

  The dark world which has splintered like broken glass and let all the meaning leak out through the cracks.

  “How can I fix this?” I asked. “How can I possibly do anything? I know nothing.”

  The image transformed again to show the sedimentary layers of the earth, dark winding caves… then the image shifted to above-ground; the sky… a dark-haired girl riding on the back of a giant bird, over cliffs and out to see. You just need to trust the process and be brave. Continue the journey, find the sea cliffs find the gulls, soar, be free.

  “Well, that was confusing,” I said to Veila, and promptly woke up.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The next day I finally got a call from Melody, apologising for what she had said in our fight.

  “It’s okay,” I said, but my words felt hollow. I knew we were just too di
fferent to keep being best friends.

  I went to sleep that night in my dark bedroom, reciting Veila’s charm again. I arrived smoothly from my waking state into my dream, in the delightful blossomy sunshine of the Grove. Yes! It worked again!

  Veila was there, waiting for me. “It’s about time you got here.”

  “Why?” I asked my small shining friend, who was darting about over the rocks by the pond.

  “It’s time you learned more about the realm if you’re going to help with Dreamwork.”

  “I still don’t know what Dreamwork is,” I said, although I was excited by the prospect of exploring the Dreamrealm.

  “All in good time,” Veila said. “Can you fly?”

  “Yes.” I thought back to the dream I had of the carnival, and how I kind of just bounced really high, up into the air. “I think I remember…”

  I crouched down and prepared myself to jump.

  “Not here!” Veila said, with concern in her tone. “The Grove is sacred – it’s protected space – we enter and exit by the paths.”

  “Okay.”

  Veila was being strangely formal for a dream creature.

  We walked out of the Grove, down the green path made of stones and through the dense forest, glimmering with the mysterious lights that I knew were glowing fungi.

  Once we reached the edge of the meadow, Veila paused. “This place is as good as any,” she said.

  “Okay,” I went through the process of preparing to jump, but willed myself to go much further, then I took off. I was rising, higher and higher; butterflies fluttered in my tummy like ones I could see over the trees. I focused out, towards the meadow, forward, I was moving upwards still, hundreds of meters in the air. I could see more of the swirling purple sky, stretching out on all sides. So much more of the landscape was visible, all around me into the distance.

  I could see the Priestess Tree and the Elisiad tree further behind, towards the forest that continued for miles. I could see mountains in the distance with snowy white peaks, and what looked like a desert.

  “It’s an island!” I said, realising it as I spoke the words.

  “Of course,” said Veila. “Keep flying!”

  I caught a glimpse of a big body of water before I started to sink down again. “It’s still more like a big jump than flying,” I said to Veila, as I landed back on the ground.

  “Bounce again!” Veila called out. “Before you lose momentum.”

  I prepared myself to bounce again, and this time, I really took off.

  “This is much more like flying!” I called to Veila, over my shoulder.

  “Yes – you just have to lean in the direction where you want to go.”

  “It’s working!”

  “So where do you want to go?”

  “Is that a lake over there?” I asked, pointing to the large expanse of purple water, visible in the distance, along the edge of the forest.

  “Yes,” said Veila. “It’s the Lake of Reflections.”

  “Can we go there?” I asked. “I love lakes.” They reminded me of happy memories of our family holidays to lake Taupo when I was a little kid.

  “Okay – just lean that way, and let’s go!”

  It was easier said than done. I kept getting distracted by different parts of the landscape which pulled me off in various directions. Colours and shapes flashed in the corner of my eye but then disappeared when I tried to look at them. Patterns flickered and transformed across the surface of the water changing as I looked at them as if they were responding to my gaze.

  “Focus,” Veila said, “…or we’ll never get there!”

  I focused on the lake, its sparkling surface reflecting the purple of the sky. As we came into land, I was struck by how stunningly beautiful it was. I landed on its shores and looked out. The lake was smooth and flat apart from one island near the centre. The water’s surface swirled along with the sky above. I felt calm and reassured, just looking at it.

  Veila floated next to me.

  “Can we swim in it?” I asked her.

  “You probably can,” Veila said. “I don’t swim. It’s not my medium.”

  “Is it safe?”

  “I expect so,” Veila replied. “Just keep your mind in a good place.”

  I moved to the edge of the water. I looked down to where my feet should be and imagined them into being there. I walked closer, to dip my toes into the shiny violet lake.

  “It’s not cold,” I said to Veila. “I think it’s the same temperature as me.”

  I could barely feel the water around my toes, but when I stepped further into the water, I felt a reassuring calmness. I wasn’t sure if it was the effect of the water or if it was just the loveliness of the shimmering lake, that stretched out all around me. I walked out fand then dove in. I was delightful, soothing… and somehow energising, too.

  “This is great!” I called to Veila. “Are you sure you can’t come in?”

  “It’s not my medium,” Veila repeated.

  “Okay, suit yourself.” I swam out, deeper into the lake. I floated on my back, feeling all the worries about school and home slip away. I tried splashing at the water. The droplets rose up to make rainbows in the air.

  “Awesome!”

  I swam out, even further, looking towards the island in the distance, scanning around the shore. Half of the lake was surrounded by forest and the other half, a sandy beach. I wondered what kinds of dream creatures lived around here, or inside the lake, even. The thought was mildly terrifying – but I remembered what Veila had said about being safe here as long as I kept my mind in a good place. I focused on the fun of swimming, being in the lake, splashing, and floating. After a while, I glanced up at the island again. I could have sworn it was closer than the last time I looked!

  I paused for a minute, watching. Yes… it’s definitely getting closer!

  “Come here!” I called to Veila.

  “I told you, I can’t.”

  I swam back towards her.

  “Is it just me, or is that island closer than it was?”

  “Island?”

  “Yes – that island.”

  Veila giggled.

  “What?”

  “You think it’s an island!”

  I looked more closely; it certainly looked like an island, a smallish one, about the size of a truck, with not much growing on it. I was suddenly horrified.

  “Is it a creature?” My imagination raced with thoughts of lake monsters.

  “Stop that!” Veila said. “Look, you’re messing up the lake.”

  All around me, the water was choppy.

  “It reacts to your feelings – that’s why I told you to keep your mind in a good state.”

  “Veila – what is that thing? Is it safe?” I asked, calming down because Veila was clearly not worried. I noticed the lake calmed too.

  “Of course, it is. You don’t think I’d let you come out here to be eaten by a lake dragon or something?”

  I relaxed a bit, wondering what kind of creature it was – so large and rocky.

  “He’s coming to say hello!”

  “What?!” I asked.

  The water around me started to move in a surprising way, just as the island creature began to rise from the lake, expanding in size as it did so until it was more like the size of a large house!

  I trembled in terror at being in front of such a massive creature.

  “Hello?” I said, tentatively.

  “Many greetings.” The voice sounded ancient and wizened. It spoke from what could have been a rocky outcropping, but which I realised was a head, connected to the front of the island in a shape familiar to me.

  “A turtle!” I could see it now, what I had previously thought to be an island was just the topmost part of the turtle’s shell.

  “Amazing!” I said.

  The turtle’s chuckle was deep and resonant. It sent little ripples out across the lake’s surface.

  “Here you are – at last,” the turtle said
, in his low, slow voice. “I am Honu, the guardian of the lake... and I have been waiting a long time for a Dreamweaver to come.”

  “Dreamweaver?” I asked. “I thought that was what Veila is.”

  “Oh, goodness, no!” Veila said. “My job is the dreamcharming. It’s just a small part of the dreamweaving.”

  “But you never said I was a Dreamweaver,” I said to Veila.

  “I didn’t know for sure, until now. I just knew you were a sensitive – but Awa – this is… this is big! I don’t even know how to explain it. We’ve been looking for a Dreamweaver for so long!”

  “So, there’s supposed to be just one?”

  “Not supposed to be – it’s just that they are so uncommon,” said Veila.

  “Not many do this work. Not many can,” Honu said. “Every human who dreams is playing their part in the evolution of all that is... but much of the work you must do is in the dark.”

  “What?” I said it was a bit much to follow.

  “Many thousands of years ago, the planet had no flowers, and then there was one – one flower, followed by another and another – and so it is with Dreamweavers. We have only seen one before you, and now we have another, and soon, we will have many more… we need you – all of you, to do the work of expanding consciousness – the evolving – we are all becoming…”

  “Becoming what?” I asked. This was way too cryptic for me.

  Honu kept talking as if he hadn’t heard me “– but so few can walk in both worlds and do the work consciously. Some can dream consciously, but very few move beyond the rooms of the mind.”

  It was great to finally be getting some answers. I just wish I could understand what they meant.

  “So this to do with what you called me before, a ‘sensitive’?” I asked Veila.

  “Yes – that is a factor. Sensitives are much more able to feel their way through the dreamscapes. It helps.”

  “And what does a Dreamweaver do?” I asked, looking at Honu and then at Veila.

  Veila spun around in the air “So, so many things! But the main work is to find the fragments and reconnect them.”