The Ankulen

by Kendra E. Ardnek

  “I didn't even know it was possible for them to do it! How did they do it?”

  “Did you ask them?”

  Jenny didn't answer.

  “No, and you took their memories of it away. They cannot answer you now. I'm afraid that question is one that will always haunt you.”

  “You mean …”

  “Perhaps you may learn more in time, but not until it has only caused you more pain.”

  Jenny started crying again, harder this time. “Is – is there nothing …”

  “Will you forgive them, Anka Jenifer? There is no other way for you to restore your happiness – and theirs.”

  Jenny shook her head. “I can't.”

  “You won't,” he translated. “Anka Jenifer, you knew when you gave your friends free will that you also gave them the ability to disappoint you.”

  “They always followed my rules before!” Jenny protested.

  “Then why can you not forgive them this one, little thing?”

  Jenny sprang to her feet. “But this isn't a little thing! I didn't even know it was possible – it shouldn't be possible!”

  “No, it should not be,” he agreed. “And yet they did it. Will you forgive them?”

  “No.” Jenny met his eyes with a glare for but a moment, then looked down, ashamed.

  “Well, then I have a gift for you, Jenifer.”

  Jenny's eyes flew upwards, her expression startled. Her mouth opened, but she said nothing. He took her hand in his, and when he withdrew his hand, something remained in hers, something small and gray. She held it up questioningly.

  “Drink this before you go to sleep tonight and you will forget every pain that your imagination has caused you.”

  “Really?” Her voice was hopeful. My heart sank.

  “It will also cause you to forget every joy it ever gave you,” he cautioned. His voice was serious, even stern.

  “I don't care. I want to forget it all. The memories only make me miserable. I can go back to the way things were before you gave me my Ankulen.”

  “You won't be happy, for you can never truly return to your life before. ”

  “I'm not happy now, am I?” Jenny pointed out. “At least I won't be miserable anymore. Why can't I drink it now?”

  “Because it requires sleep for it to work, and I want you to be sure that you want to do it. Return to your home, Jenifer. It will be a long time before we meet again, which causes our LORD great sorrow. You were to be one of our finest warriors, and now you have turned aside from that path. Whether or not you will find it again, I cannot say.”

  Jenny froze, a horrified look on her face. For a moment, she just stood there, then she clutched the gray object to her chest and started running.

  I didn't see him move, but somehow I wasn't surprised when, after merely glancing down, I looked up to see him standing before me. There was still a flicker of sorrow in his eyes, but he was smiling.

  “Was it worth it, Anka Jenifer?” he asked.

  “I … no, it wasn't.” I looked down at my feet, my stomach twisting.

  “Perhaps it isn't now, but all things will be made perfect in its time.”

  I blinked and forced myself to look up. “Who are you? Why do you call me Anka?”

  “I call you Anka because that is what you are. You possess an Ankulen,” he explained. “As for myself, you have always called me The Giver. It is what all of the Anka and Anku call me, for I am the giver of their Ankulens.”

  “Oh.” That's all I could say as I contemplated his words. I had never considered the Ankulen's origins, or how it came to be mine.

  “Your story has been a dark and dismal one thus far,” he continued. “Both those who seek the light will find it.” He took my hand, causing me to shrink back, all too aware of the contrast of my gray skin against his light. “You have seen the events that brought you your troubles, are you ready to remember them?”

  “I …”

  “It is the only way for you to regain your imagination, the only way for you to begin to rebuild.” He withdrew his hand, and some sort of glass object remained in mine. Opening my hand, I found a tiny corked vial full of every color imaginable.

  “Drink this and it will undo the effects of the one I gave you eight years ago,” he said.

  “But …” No. I wouldn't let myself protest. With shaking fingers, I uncorked the vial, tipped it up to my lips, and drank.

  What did it taste like? A better question would be what did it not. Every flavor that I have ever tasted was contained in that tiny bottle, and many that I had never dreamed of. Sweet, sour, spicy, bitter, tangy, salty, savory, every flavor.

  With those flavors came the memories that I had been seeking for so long. Every memory of anything related to my imagination. From the day my mother suggested that I make an imaginary friend to explore the woods with, to the day that The Giver came and gave me my Ankulen, allowing me to bring Letitia to life. I could remember the day that I decided that our forty acres were too small, so I started going in. I could remember making up Sir Christofer so that Tisha and I would have a protector in that vast, uncharted land. Since all Fair Maidens fall in love with their brave knights, I had promptly decided that such was the case with my two best friends.

  I could also remember those horrid scenes I had just witnessed with sharpened clarity. Those came with the bitter and sour flavors.

  Yet a warmth also came with the bottle. A pleasant warmth that spread from my heart to every extremity within seconds. When I opened my eye, I held up my arm and gasped.

  “I have color again!”

  “Yes, Anka Jenifer. You are restored to what you once were, and now you can do the same for your fading imagination.”

  “Oh, I will!” I cried. “Only …”

  “Yes, facing the Polystoikhedron will not be an easy task,” he said, voicing my unspoken thought. “But it is a necessary one if you are to ever completely restore your land and live in safety. You will have to fight the Polystoikhedron.”

  “Fight it?” My voice was small.

  “You may even die.”

  “Die! How?”

  “You need not worry about that yet, Anka Jenifer,” The Giver said in a comforting voice. “You need not face it alone. Bring it into a Dreams Castle, and I will give you what aid I can.”

  “A Dreams Castle?” That was what I called places like the Swinging Castle I was now in. They're the only locations within imaginary worlds where real people are able to sleep. “But they're … it's …”

  “Use your imagination. You are very good at that. You are an Anka, after all, and one of the finest.”

  “Even though I abandoned my imagination?” I asked.

  “Yet you have returned,” he pointed out. “Anku and Anka who lose their imaginations seldom get them back. Those who do are almost always among the greatest.”

  “I'll fight,” I said, lifting my chin. “I want my imagination back. I'll do whatever it takes. You gave me my Ankulen for a reason, and I don't think it was so that I could lose it.”

  “No, it was not,” he agreed, smiling. “Do you forgive them?”

  I blinked. “Forgive them?”

  “Your imaginary friends? Do you forgive them?”

  I didn't even hesitate. “Yes, I have. But … what about Derek and Megan?”

  “Your guess was correct concerning them,” said The Giver. “Had your friends not lured them into your Dreams Castle, Derek and Megan would have become your brother and sister.”

  “Oh!” I said in delighted surprise, then added a thoughtful, “Oh,” for good measure. “Megan will like that!”

  “But you wonder about Derek?”

  I nodded. “He didn't seem to like me very much.”

  “Derek has led a hard life, Anka Jenifer,” The Giver explained. “It may take him a while to accept you, especially since your imaginary friends did not make his life any better.”

  “But how can I get him to realize that I didn't like their doing it any more
than he does?”

  “You may never earn his trust.”

  “But if he's going to be my brother – oh, after growing up with Tisha, I don't know how I could go through it again! I hated her! I …” I supposed that it would serve me right if I got a brother who hated me.

  “Don't worry about it just yet. For now, focus on the task ahead of you. Ridding your imagination of the Polystoikhedron is your priority right now. Succeed in that, and you may find many other things falling into place.”

  “All right,” I agreed. “I'll try. I messed up my imagination big time, and I'm the only one who can fix it.”

  “May the blessings of our LORD go with you, Anka Jenifer,” said The Giver, bowing his head slightly. “May He guide your path with light. It is now time for you to awaken and begin your fight.” With those words, he was gone.

  I smiled and closed my eyes. “Wake up Jenny,” I said, reverting, for a moment, to my old nickname. “Wake up, Jen.”

  Chapter 14

  In Which Derek and Megan Become My Traveling Companions

  WHEN I opened my eyes again, I was horizontal in a pile of soft, gray velvet blankets. The music and lavender smell floated through the air, but they were not overpowering as they had been before, and a quick tap of the Ankulen and a whispered, “Turn them off,” soon rendered them harmless.

  Pulling back the silken gray curtain that surrounded the bed I was now in, I was not surprised to find myself back in the central room. This was a Dreams Castle, after all, and wherever you fall asleep in one of them, you'll awaken in the Heart Room. That's just how they work.

  Apart from the addition of a third bed, the room looked exactly as it had the last time I had been there. Mine was in the exact center of the room, the theory being that, the closer you are to the center, the better your dreaming.

  “Thanks,” I muttered, rubbing the wooden banister. “That was a real nightmare.” Then I laughed. “But I needed it! Boy, did I need it.”

  I sat there a while, just reveling in the fact that I was back in connection with my imagination. True, it was so decimated it made me want to cry, and the corner being chewed on by the Polystoikhedron was painful, but that didn't matter. I had my imagination back, and I could at last begin to fix things.

  Placing a finger against the Ankulen's center gem, I closed my eyes and pictured the chains detaching from the trees and the castle slowly lowering to the ground. Though I couldn't see it, I knew that the chains and castle behaved how I wanted them to, since I felt like I was in an elevator for a moment.

  I laughed again. My imagination once more did my bidding.

  After extracting myself from the blankets, I walked over to Megan's bed and pulled back her curtain. She had a smile on her face, so I hoped that her dream was a good one.

  “Hey, Megan!” I said, placing a hand on her shoulder and giving her a gentle shake. “Wake up, dearest sister-mine. Many adventures await us.”

  Megan's eyes popped open even before all of the words were out of my mouth. She stared at me in confusion for a few seconds, then said, “Jen, is that you?”

  I grinned. “Yep! It's me!”

  “You're not gray anymore.”

  “Well, I did say that I had color,” I pointed out. “Now just to bring back color to my world.” A tap of my Ankulen caused the blankets on her bed to turn a rich shade of rose.

  Megan gasped and pressed her hands to her mouth. “Jen! Did you – how – oh!”

  “Seems that the way to get my memories to return to me was to fall asleep here,” I explained. “All that time we spent trying to keep each other awake was a well … I won't say it was wasted time, since time doesn't really pass here, and it was such a wonderful conversation we had. But still, we were looking in the wrong direction.”

  “You mean you found your memories?” Megan asked, her eyes dancing.

  I nodded. “Every one of them! Good and bad, scary and sweet. The restoration of my color was just an added bonus.” I frowned, then added, “I'm sorry about leaving you alone, though.”

  She smiled and took my hand. “It wasn't that bad. I was scared at first, and tried to wake you up again, but then I fell asleep, so it was alright.”

  “I'm glad,” said I. “I hope your dreams were pleasanter than mine.” I shuddered. “Some of my memories decided to play themselves out. The worst ones, too. I needed to see them, but … well …”

  “Oh, I had a very nice dream,” Megan assured me, closing her eyes again. “I dreamed that I really was your sister, and we went on a nice adventure. We were riding on a dragon and looking for a special flower. We had almost found it when you woke me up.”

  I laughed. “Well, we'll just have to finish looking for the flower tomorrow, since it hit almost everything else on the head – not sure about that dragon, though. Turns out, my guess was right – you and Derek are my sister and brother, or should have been. I still don't know how, but Tisha and Chris did kidnap the two of you, for the reason I suspected.”

  Megan didn't seem to notice the bitter tone that came, unbidden, to the last few words, for as soon as my words sunk in, she sprang forward and threw her arms around my neck. “Oh!” she cried. “Really? Truly? You're my sister?”

  “Really, truly, I'm your sister,” I replied, returning the hug without hesitation. “I should have been your sister eight years ago.” I heard Derek stirring, so I pushed her to arm's length and pointed in the direction of his bed with my eyes. “And Derek should have been our brother.”

  Her face fell into a pouty frown that would have looked annoying on anyone else. “Oh,” she said, “Well … I guess he might not be too bad, once we get to know him.”

  “Probably,” I agreed, thinking of what The Giver had said about him. “But …” I added, cocking my head to the side and grinning mischievously. “Why don't we go give Derek a proper good morning and welcome him to the family?”

  Megan looked confused, blinking a few times. “How?”

  “Oh … I was thinking roses.”

  “Roses?”

  “Mm hm.” I nodded, closing my eyes and placing a finger on my Ankulen's center gem. “Roses would be perfect.” I pictured thornless rose vines growing out of the floor and entwining round the bedposts. Rich green leaves and vibrant rainbow-colored petals. I would prove to him that gray was going out of style in my imagination.

  “Come on!” I said, opening my eyes and grabbing her arm. “He's almost awake!” She scrambled out from under the covers and onto the floor, and we ran over to Derek's bed, where I was pleased to see that my rose vines were just as big and colorful as they had been when my eyes were closed.

  “Oh! Roses!” breathed Megan.

  I grinned. “Like 'em? I think I'll make more later, but for now, we need to wake our dear brother.” I whispered a quick plan in Megan's ear, then we took our positions, one on each side of the bed. A tap of the Ankulen whipped the curtains open, and I nodded across to Megan.

  “Good morning, dearly beloved brother!” we cried with one voice.

  Derek's eyes flew open and he shot up into a sitting position. “Wha-what?” We startled him, evidently.

  “We're just saying good morning,” I said, pulling the most innocent face I could muster.

  “Ugh,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “This is the craziest dream yet. Rainbow roses. Seriously?”

  “Seriously,” I said, deadpan. “I saw a picture online a few weeks ago, and thought that they would make a good addition to my imaginary world. Like 'em?”

  “They're awful.”

  “I think they're pretty,” Megan spoke up.

  “So do I,” I agreed. “They're absolutely gorgeous. Oh, and by the way, Derek, this isn't a dream. You're actually awake now.”

  “I'm awake? That's what all the dream people say. I've ceased to believe them – not when there are rainbow roses growing around my bed.”

  “Well that's because we're in my imagination,” I explained. “Things look exactly how I want them to look here, n
o matter how strange or crazy. Of course, if they're bothering you …” A tap of the Ankulen rendered the flowers a more natural red.

  “That doesn't change the fact that they were rainbow colored.” Derek still wasn't impressed.

  “Oh, well, at least I tried.” I shrugged and tapped the Ankulen again. The rose vines disappeared, leaving only their lovely scent. “Is that better?”

  He folded his arms across his chest. “You aren't doing a very good job of convincing me I'm awake.”

  “But you are, Derek,” insisted Megan. “You are awake. Jen's parents were the people who were supposed to adopt us. We've found new families at last – well, we've found Jen at least.”

  “I'm glad the two of you know who I am,” said Derek, still not impressed, “since I have no idea who you are.”

  “I'm Jen and this is Megan,” I introduced. “And, actually, you've met us before. I was the gray girl with the whining bracelet. You were awake then, too.”

  “I was, was I? Well, I have to say that you do look some better with color.”

  I pressed my lips together as I resisted the urge to make a scathing retort to that snide comment about my appearance. No need to have a feud over the undeniable fact of my plainness. “But Megan is right,” I continued, once I calmed myself down. “My parents were the couple who adopted you and Megan. And … you see, I have an Ankulen, which is a piece of jewelry that brings imagination to life.” I held up my wrist to display the Ankulen, “And when I told my two oldest and favorite imaginary friends that my parents had adopted the two of you, well, they panicked. I don't know how, but they kidnapped the two of you and trapped you here, in my Dreams Castle, then took your places.”

  “And you were pleased because you weren't getting a messed up person like me for a brother?”

  I sighed and shook my head. “If I had realized that you and Megan were here when I was seven, I would have come and freed you then! Trust me, what they did they should not have even been able to do, and I punished them severely. It made me miserable.”