Willow Bloom and the Dream Keepers

by E. V. Farrell

  Peonie leaned forward, placing her hand over Willow’s. Whoa, thought Willow as her own hand became instantly warm and tingly.

  “Your parents have their reasons, I will leave them to explain your family history to you. The Light, Willow, is the connecting force that keeps your world so alive – vital – full of dreams. But this Light,” she said, becoming grave, “has begun to fade. There have not been many Awakened Light Keepers in your Earth’s past century, for reasons we will leave for now. What is important is that we re-establish the Light Flow to its full strength so your world can flourish. With training, you have the ability to help this happen. Your Great Great Grandmother Beatrice was a Light Keeper, and a wonderful one too.”

  “My Great Great grandmother?” Willow couldn’t believe it.

  Peonie stood up and gestured for Willow to follow. “Please, walk with me.”

  Willow brushed off her pants and joined Peonie, who was slowly gliding towards a path that led to a very old plantation of the woods. Willow felt a great sense of wellbeing envelop her. Could Mum and Dad really have something to do with this? And Gran? What could they possibly know of magic – and Light Keeping? They were ordinary people – except for Gran, she supposed, who was a roving gypsy of sorts.

  “Willow, your family has lived at Taritha Cottage for close to four hundred and fifty years. It is Light Keeper Law to hand the Light Keeper’s Home down from generation to generation.”

  “That makes so much sense now! I’ve always wondered why Mum and Dad talk about the Cottage like it’s something sacred, as if they could never leave.”

  “Access to the Dream Keepers’ world has been kept a secret for thousands of years, and your family helps hold these secrets within this woodland Sanctuary. There are families scattered right across your world who do the same. Some families are Light Keepers; some are Light Keeper Helpers. Your parents come together with these families once a year at what is known as ‘The Light Gathering’.”

  Willow stopped walking and turned to Peonie. “So that’s where they go!”

  Peonie nodded.

  “But why would Mum and Dad have kept this from me?”

  “Your mother and father have been safe-guarding the Keepers’ World from you because they were waiting for you to come of age, when all of this would be easier for you to grasp. Traditionally, it is they who would reveal this world to you, in preparation for the possibility of being Awakened.”

  “Awakened?”

  “To see a Guardian is the first step in the Awakening process. One who is Awakened may become a member of a Fellowship of Light Workers known as the Keepers’ Society, where you can learn the hidden aspects of your world and beyond.” Peonie walked on again.

  Something didn’t quite add up … Willow hurried after her. “Why are you here then? Why are you doing this and not my parents?”

  Peonie hesitated before replying. “I am here because the Protocol has changed. I am here to implement the expansion of the new Protocol. Awakenings are taking place all over your Earth for all those who are deemed ready. It is imperative to increase the Light Keepers’ presence on your planet as quickly as possible.”

  That sounded more ominous then Willow would have liked. “Why? Why has the Protocol changed? Is it because of what you said before about the light fading?”

  “Yes. The Light must not be extinguished.”

  Willow stopped again. “But I’m just … How can I be a part of something so …?”

  “So important?”

  “Yes. And so big,” Willow said.

  “You would be surprised by what you are truly capable of. Do not underestimate yourself, Willow.” Standing quietly, Peonie looked towards several large oak trees.

  Willow followed Peonie’s gaze, listening to the faint sound of leaves rustling across the forest floor.

  “There is more, so much more for you to discover.” And, as if Peonie had received some kind of signal from the trees themselves, she turned to Willow with a smile and said, “These woods are ready to reveal some of their secrets to you, Willow. Are you ready?”

  Willow looked at Peonie curiously. “Secrets? What kind of secrets?”

  Peonie’s arms opened out to the trees. Instantly a rustling of leaves filled the woods around them and dozens of small people crept out from behind the tree trunks.

  Willow stood stunned. How was this possible – in the woods behind her home? How could she have not seen them before? “Who are they?” she asked, her gaze darting from an old man with a long beard to a rotund woman not much more than knee-high.

  Peonie moved in closer to the Little People. “Goodwill to you all. It is delightful to be in your presence once more.” She gazed upon them before turning back to Willow. “These are the Wood Folk. They are the caretakers of these woods, and attend to the many life systems that keep them vibrant. These are the Beings that your world refers to as gnomes or elves.”

  “They’re real?” Then, realising how rude that must have sounded, Willow wished she could take the words back. Of course they were real! They were standing right in front of her! “Sorry,” she said in a low voice, turning pink.

  “There is much that your world does not see,” Peonie said. “In past times there were a small number of people outside of the Keepers’ world who could see the Wood Folk. The stories and myths of gnomes and elves originated from those sightings and experiences.”

  The tallest of the Wood Folk stood only as high as Willow’s hip. Willow tried making meaningful eye contact with some of them, but each time she met with a pair of silver-grey eyes the size of egg yolks, that were spontaneously lowered. Eventually one of the Wood Folk smiled with a wide mouth. Even being half her size, this young man looked as if he could carry twice his weight. Willow smiled back.

  Peonie gestured for Willow to say something.

  She cleared her throat. “Hi. I’m Willow. This – you – it’s really great to be here!” Not the best introduction she had ever delivered but nothing else came to mind. “I can’t believe I’ve been coming to these woods for all these years and … you’ve always been here! You’ve probably seen me here heaps of times!” The thought of that sounded a little creepy, but she quickly shook it off. They were gnomes and elves after all.

  The Woodsman who had smiled at her came forward. “I’m Fergus,” he said in rumbling tones. “We have seen you in our woods many times. We’ve been keeping them in good shape for this day,” he beamed. “They’ll be ready.” He stepped back and shuffled in amongst his friends.

  Willow noticed Fergus’s face redden as the Woodsman standing next to him gave him a gentle nudge. She wondered what his last comment meant – about the woods being ready.

  “I’m Hendra,” a Woodfayre in the front row said. A thick lock of her rusty coloured hair fell across her face and she quickly pushed it aside. She looked up with a coy smile. “Pleased for you to see us, Willow.”

  “Hi,” Willow said. “I’m pleased that I can see you too.”

  Peonie now stood beside Willow. “A gathering such as this,” she declared, “has not been witnessed here for a very long while. It is time to dust off the cobwebs of the past century and initiate this Sanctuary into her duties once again. Her dormancy has been broken!”

  The Wood Folk nodded and clapped. Several even cheered.

  “Wow,” Willow said under her breath. All this because she had woken up feeling strange this morning!

  Peonie spoke to some of the Wood Folk individually. Willow heard the phrase “Sanctuary fields and portal anchors” – which didn’t make any sense.

  The Wood Folk Peonie had been talking to bowed graciously and began to move away. Peonie turned back towards Willow. “My return journey to the Guardians Realm is approaching.”

  “When will I see you again?”

  “When the time is right, I will return.”

  Huh? When exactly would that be? Willow sneaked a glance at her watch, a treasured gift from one of her grandmother’s many trips. It was alr
eady well past midday! Thanking the Wood Folk for welcoming her, she assured them that she would be back soon. They slowly moved away, blending back in amongst the trees, then disappeared. The sound of crunching leaves faded into the distance.

  “Willow,” Peonie said, “I know many of your questions are still unanswered, but they will be answered in time.” They headed along a leafy path towards Willow’s home.

  “I’ve still got heaps to ask you! Like, who are the Dream Keepers? And what exactly does a Light Keeper do? And the Sanctuary … what does that mean? What’s it for?”

  The Guardian of Doorways gave a slight bow. “I understand your questions, Willow, and I, along with your parents, will be able to answer many of them. However a journey is travelled one step at a time, and your first step today would be considered a leap.”

  Not quite the answer she was looking for. This walk home through the woods was very different from her walk into the woods that morning. For one thing, she no longer thought she was going mad; for another, she now had Peonie walking along beside her too – as if it was the most normal thing in the world to go for a walk with a being from another world. She could also feel an even stronger connection with everything around her. These were her woods, her secret Sanctuary! “Now I know why I’ve always loved coming here. Thanks for showing me all of this, Peonie.”

  “You are most welcome. I and many others are grateful that you have begun to Awaken. Your world is already better because of it.”

  Willow’s eyes welled with tears, though she had no idea why. She smudged them across her cheeks with her sleeve and walked on silently. In no time at all, they were approaching the path that led to the Cottage.

  “It’s still hard to believe that this is real, that it’s really happening,” she said.

  “It was an honour to appear before you after a long absence.” Peonie gazed upon Willow thoughtfully. “Until the moment of our next meeting, Willow, I bid you goodwill.”

  As Willow watched, Peonie’s features became less defined, and within moments the Guardian was once again a green mist, twisting slowly, then dissolving into nothingness.

  The Light Keepers’ History

  “Mum! Dad!” Willow shouted as she charged in through the back door, slamming it hard behind her. She leaned against the door and kicked off her muddy boots.

  “We’re in the study,” her mother called from the other end of the Cottage.

  Willow rushed through the Cottage in her socks, buzzing with questions. She was going so fast that she slipped on the rug in the hall and only just grabbed the handle of the door to her mother’s study in time to break her fall. She burst in. Her parents were sitting at a table at the sunny end of the room eating their lunch.

  “I know!” she exploded, skidding to a stop in front of them. “I know about the Light Keepers! And the Dream Keepers! And I’ve met Peonie and the Wood Folk too!”

  Her mother’s fork crashed onto her plate. She stared at Willow.

  Her father began to choke. Coughing and spluttering, he grabbed his glass of water with a quivering hand and quickly swallowed. He set his glass down with a little bump and looked at his wife and then back at Willow. “Well, this is a surprise,” he said.

  “A surprise! You can say that again!” She eyed her parents more intently. “Actually, you look more shocked than surprised. Isn’t this supposed to be good?”

  “Of course it’s good … We’re just …” Her father glanced at his wife. Willow’s mother had pushed her plate away as if she had completely lost her appetite. Her face was flushed and her chest heaved slightly.

  “… Surprised,” Willow said, finishing her father’s sentence. “So you said. Why didn’t you tell me this stuff sooner?” she demanded. “Why did it have to be such a big secret? I would’ve handled it. This is so awesome! I want to know everything – everything that you know.” She grabbed a chair, dragged it out from the table then planted herself into it and looked at her parents expectantly.

  Her father reached out and covered his wife’s hand comfortingly. “Willow, you have to understand that your mother and I are completely caught off guard. This isn’t how it’s supposed to happen, awesome or not.”

  “I know. I know it’s not. Peonie said the Protocol had changed, whatever that means.”

  Her parents glanced at each other again, this time with frowns puckering their foreheads. “Willow, just how exactly did you find out? What actually happened?” her father asked.

  “Remember when I said I was going for a walk earlier? Well, I’d woken up feeling really weird, so I thought taking a walk would help it go away, and …”

  “What kind of weird?” her father cut in.

  “My whole body felt really heavy, tingly. At first I thought I was sick, but it wasn’t like that. And while I was walking, this thumping started in my ears. Then I saw the green smoky thing appear, which turned out to be Peonie! I was a bit freaked out at first, but I knew I was okay, if that makes any sense.”

  “What did she look like?” her mother asked, her voice barely audible.

  Willow’s eyes were glowing. “Like nothing I’d ever seen before. I mean she is from somewhere else! She had this crown on her head and a green flowing robe and these armbands with symbols that reminded me of – now I remember! Some of them are in your books. Anyway, she said something about the light fading and that it needed to be stronger.” Willow gazed out the window in the direction of the woods. “Just being around her made me feel so – so – I don’t know. I’ve never felt anything like it.”

  Willow turned back to her parents. She hadn’t seen them like this before. Her father breathed out heavily, raking his fingers through his dark hair. Her mother’s fair complexion had now turned pasty and her face was etched with lines as her hand toyed nervously with one of her earrings. “What’s wrong?” Willow asked.

  “Sorry,” her father said. “We’re, I mean – wow! It’s happened! Our girl has taken the first step in Awakening. I’m just glad to see you handled it with such aplomb, considering …”

  “Considering what?”

  “Thomas – let me,” Audrey said. Her pale blue eyes softened as she looked at her daughter. “We’re pleased for you, Willow, really. We’re only sorry that you didn’t hear about the Light Keepers from us first. It wasn’t easy keeping all of this from you. You’ve always been so attuned with the woods, and your intuition is so strong. We knew it was only a matter of time. Just – not this soon. We were looking forward to telling you all about the Keepers when you were a little older.”

  “Why? Why older? I’m obviously old enough now, or Peonie …”

  “Willow,” her mother said more assertively, “as your father pointed out, this isn’t how it’s supposed to happen. For one, this has never, ever happened to anyone as young as you. The Awakening process usually happens when you’re at least fifteen. And it’s the parents who introduce their children to the Keepers’ world.”

  Wow, Willow thought. The youngest ever. How cool was that! “Peonie said she’d been waiting a long time – one hundred and seventeen years.”

  “Yes. Yes, she has,” her mother said. “Being in a Keeper family doesn’t always mean you’ll be Awakened. Lots of families have generation gaps. And we haven’t had a Light Keeper in the family since your Great Great Grandmother Beatrice …” Her voice trailed off and her lip quivered. “I was told about them when I was fifteen, but to this day, I – I haven’t had the privilege of ever practising Light Keeper duties.”

  Willow swallowed uncomfortably at the unexpected sadness in her mother’s words. She held back a few moments. “Mum,” she said softly, “why hasn’t there been a Light Keeper in our family for so long? And what exactly is a Light Keeper?”

  Her mother didn’t answer straight away; there was a faraway look in her eyes. “Those are big questions, Willow, that require big answers.” Audrey slowly tucked her hair behind her ears then crossed her arms on the table. “There haven’t been many Light Keepers anywhere
for over a century and there are very good reasons as to why, and we will tell you. But just not right now – not all at once. And why I haven’t been Awakened – well, I wasn’t chosen. Simple as that.” She lowered her eyes.

  Willow stared at her mother. She wanted to say something but felt completely lost for words. So she had been chosen and her mother not? Why? Her mother glanced at her husband who put his hand reassuringly on her knee. Willow turned to her father. “So, what about you, Dad? Are you from a Light Keeper family too?”

  “No. I’m from a Helper family. You could call me semi-retired. We help Light Keepers to do their jobs safely.”

  “Peonie mentioned the Helpers …”

  Audrey tossed her head lightly, as if shaking off her despondence. “Okay. What’s important right now is that you’ve been Awakened, and your father and I are here to help you.” She pulled her chair in a little closer. “First things first, Willow. Light Keepers – they are the Keepers of the Light Streams that connect our world to the Dream Keepers’ world. The Light Stream is what human dreams travel on, back and forth between Earth and the Dream Keepers’ World.” She demonstrated by placing her plate on one side of the table to represent Earth, and taking her cup and putting it on the opposite side to represent the Dream Keepers’ world. “Our dreams travel through the Light Stream, from here to here.” She ran her finger across the table. “Not the dreams you have when you’re sleeping – I’m talking about the kind of dreams you have about your life – the things that stir you, deep inside.”

  “So, like, when I’m dreaming about having my own pony – that dream ends up on this Light Stream, and goes to the Dream Keepers’ World?”

  Her mother smiled for the first time since Willow had charged in and dropped her bombshell. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. And thank you for sharing that dream with us again!”

  “No problem,” Willow grinned. “No point in wasting a good opportunity. You taught me that.” She looked over to her mother’s half-eaten quiche and salad. “By the way, if you’re finished, can I have that? I’m starving.”