Impossible Dreamers

Chapter 55 (quetwi-ept): Paradox

Liana woke early, before the siren sounded, and was able to see the sky from where she lay in her bed. Only a little bit of the sky, but it was enough. Because on this day, the sky was very, very blue. This was the same sky that she had seen in Seren-ila. The same sun. The people of Seren-ila had looked at the same moon and stars at night. That fact filled Liana with hope

Liana heard Silmoa begin to stir and stretch. She looked over and saw Silmoa's eyes opening. Liana smiled.

'I don't know what you're smiling about,' Silmoa said. 'I had the most ridiculous dream. Such silly things, but I can't get it out of my head.'

Silmoa looked hard at Liana. 'Do you have something you want to say to me?' she said.

'Only that it looks like a wonderful day, today. The sky is so beautifully blue. Look, over there.' Liana pointed to the small patch of blue. Silmoa looked disappointed.

'Yes, it's very nice,' said Silmoa, sadly.

'And isn't it wonderful,' Liana continued, 'that Tyro invented air, so that we could all breathe it?'

'What did you say?' said Silmoa.

'I just said how grateful I am to Tyro for having invented air. We'd be in a terrible situation without it, wouldn't we? We wouldn't be able to work, to speak, to eat. We wouldn't even be able to dream.'

Silmoa looked startled, and Liana understood that she was beginning to believe her dream self. Now she only had to say the word that Silmoa had chosen.

But what was the word? It had been on the tip of her tongue as she awoke, but now it was no longer there. Why did Silmoa have to choose a word that Liana didn't know? Was it just to show off? She had to remember that word, or else the plan could never work.

Silmoa looked at Liana expectantly. She had to say something.

It began with the letter 'B'. Or did it? No, it began with 'P'. Yes, she was sure of that now.

'Was there something else you wanted to say, Ling?' asked Silmoa.

'Yes, Simek, I wanted to say that it's,' Liana racked her brain. The word 'politics' popped into her head. Was that it? No, that was a word she knew – something to do with how things used to be organised, she thought. 'Prospectus'? Was that a word? She might have heard it, but not in last night's dream. Suddenly, a row of books seemed to appear in front of her eyes. It was part of the bookshelf in the Red Room at the House of the Green Jewel. In the middle of the shelf, there was an old book. She read the title - 'Puzzles and Paradoxes'. Yes! That was it!

'I wanted to say that it's a "paradox",' said Liana, relieved.

'All right,' said Silmoa, 'what do you need me to do?'