One Little Spark: Part 1

Chapter 2

          Nightfall is nearing, yet Rachel decides to go to bed early. She didn't even bother going into one or both of two Disney parks that faced each other. Today turned out to be the worst day of her life. After the big fiasco with the Dreamfinder's performance costing her her job, she just wants today to be over. She wanted all this to end; she's wanted her own life to end somehow, one way or another. Maybe when she runs away, she might get lucky and be murdered quickly by some thug. But Rachel fears too much, death especially. What could she possibly do to end herself? Nothing really. Just live on and maybe get a fresh start alone. Where will she go? How will she get there? What's the point really? Will it be for the sake of finding new places across the Earth and gain better experiences? Is there any hope for her? She doesn't know. Perhaps it's better this way. Better than to return home and take in more pain.

          Rachel sleeps now, hoping for at least a sweet dream come into her mind. Who knows? Maybe an angel will come and take her away from this maddening world forever. There she would find such sweet relief. Nobody would be able to trouble her, hurt her or cause her stress anymore. She would be happy and free.

******************************************************************************************

          The expo ends its first day, but today was the only day the Dreamfinder and Figment would be present for the occasion. They made sure everything in the newly imagined cabin area of the Dream Machine was ready to go from the bedrooms, the bathrooms, the closets, the living room and the kitchen. Before the remodeling, there was only room for one man to fly the Dream Machine and one little dragon to perch behind him. With a new addition to come on board, they have to make more room for it.

"Is Rachel's bedroom ready?" the Dreamfinder asked.

"Everything is all ship-shape, Dreamfinder." Figment confirmed, "She's going to love having her own room on an airship. We never really see those around here, do we?"

" 'Airplanes,' maybe. But most certainly not the kind of 'airship' we have. Times have really changed. And now a bigger change will be happening tonight. ...Figment?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you suppose Rachel will forgive me- us, for what we've done?"

"I wouldn't worry about it, Dreamfinder. If Rachel does and decides to come with us, then great! But if not, then that's on her."

"I guess. At first I only wanted to see what she is capable of and if she truly is the one worthy sharing an adventure with, but now that I think about myself and after watching all that happened this afternoon I might have felt...selfish."

"Selfish? What about?"

"When Rachel thought of the idea of flying, I was so proud of her. I wanted to see if I was not the only person in this world who could actually imagine things to life at the top of my head. I became obsessed with Rachel's success, urging her to continue. What she thought of doing that time she did it so flawlessly, so well done and so beautifully...so very beautifully. And yet, she wouldn't even look at me both onstage and when I tripped over her this morning by accident. I believe that is because there is something sad inside her that's contributing to her fear and doubt, something that is harming her imagination. And now I have just made it worse for her to the point of getting her fired from her job. How could I have done this, Figment? How could I not have foreseen that coming?"

"Well you're not a fortuneteller, I'll give you that." Figment joked.

"Figment, I'm serious!" the Dreamfinder exclaimed, "That poor girl is out of a job because of us and even when we tried talking to her boss there is nothing we can do to help get it back for her. There is something wrong about her that is making her feel this way that I believe is not even her fault to begin with. I have a bad feeling that the way she felt today is part of her lifestyle."

"Lifestyle? That sounds a little far-fetched, don't you think? And besides, who wants to pick up trash for the rest of their life?"

"Figment, you're not helping even though that is true."

"All I'm saying, Dreamfinder, is that both you and Rachel need to let this go. So today was not a good day to face for her at least, but tomorrow is another new day. And when a new day comes, there's always a chance something better might happen. If Rachel comes with us, I'm sure we will be doing her a huge favor."

"Yeah...yeah, you're right!" the Dreamfinder smiled. He hopped onto the seat of the Dream Machine and said, "No use in sulking over it. Now let's get this baby in the air and go cheer our friend up. Shall we?"

"I'm with you, pal!" Figment agreed flying next to the Dreamfinder onto the Dream Machine and ready to fly.

          The security guards made sure the cargo room is large enough for the Dream Machine to exit through. They wave their goodbyes to the famous dreamer and his dragon as the Dream Machine took off from the ground and away from the Anaheim Convention Hall. Figment and the Dreamfinder plan on not going too far yet. They have to pick someone up and that is Rachel, who meanwhile at the Disneyland Resort Hotel is trying her best to sleep away her troubles of today and accept tomorrow. The duo went to that hotel as quietly as possible so that they wouldn't attract any attention. In secret, they parked the airship on top of the buildings and climbed down the stairs to the third floor. The room number Rachel is staying in, according to Figment from when he followed her, is #354. They go to the room with the correct number where it had a "Do Not Disturb" card on the doorknob. Obviously from the outside the door is locked and no ordinary key will open it. The Dreamfinder had to imagine the right kind of key to insert the lock in. From his experience card keys were never used before in his time, only skeleton keys. The Dreamfinder had to imagine a special card key into reality to open the door. And so he did. With it, he carefully slipped the card into the slot and quietly opened to door. Figment flew inside first while the Dreamfinder closed the door behind him. The room is dark; no lights were turned on.

"She must be asleep." Figment whispered.

"Lets find the bedroom." the Dreamfinder whispered also.

          It didn't take long. There is a closed door in the hotel room. It must be the bedroom and in it, Rachel. Their newfound friend is sleeping inside as if waiting unknowingly for something to happen. Then the Dreamfinder imagined the bedroom door to be unlocked and it did unlock. He again opens the door quietly. They find Rachel sleeping in her bed soundly and tired with no blanket covering but laid upon. Perhaps she likes the cold air seeping onto her skin or maybe she's used to sleeping without a blanket. She looked very peaceful to the Dreamfinder's eyes; he didn't want to wake her up like this, but he had to in some calmer way. He looked at her fondly once again. There is something in her that makes him want to smile all the time.

"Why are you staring at her like that?" Figment said in confusion.

          The Dreamfinder had shortly been in the zone of not paying attention to anything else but one thing until Figment interrupted his concentration.

"Huh? Oh, nothing." the Dreamfinder whispered. He then hovered over her, put aside a strand of her hair behind her ear, felt her cheek to give her warmth, and whispered her name hoping she will wake up. "Rachel...Rachel, my dear girl. Wake up, Rachel."

          Rachel can hear the Dreamfinder's voice quietly speaking to her. She tries to open her heavy eyelids, rubbing them to gain visual of who is in her room and wonder how he, she, or they entered through a locked door. When Rachel had her eyes open wide enough she saw Figment and then the Dreamfinder sitting by her bedside. The Dreamfinder smiled happy to see those light brown eyes opened again.

"Hello, Rachel. Remember us?" the Dreamfinder asked.

"Oh...It-It's you..." Rachel moaned, but when she recognized the Dreamfinder's face, her tone grew louder and angrier. "IT'S YOU!"

          Rachel jumped off the bed onto the Dreamfinder pinning him and slamming him to the ground defenseless! She had hoped she would never see this man again after what happened this afternoon, yet he and Figment had the nerve to come sneaking in and barging into her hotel room like they could not get enough of her feeling what she felt before. Her fists grabbed his coat and then his neck as she sat on top of him so he wouldn't budge. Figment, surprised to see Rachel this way, attempted to pull Rachel away from his creator but failed. He ended up being thrown into the closet door by Rachel's forceful hand. The Dreamfinder, also surprised, though trying his best to get out of Rachel's grip lay there scaredly. Not once in his life had he ever encountered a woman strong enough to keep him down to the ground. He sees Rachel's face wrinkled, her teeth clenched and her eyes burning with seething fire as it pierced his own.

"CURSE YOU!" Rachel shouted, "CURSE YOU AND YOUR DEVILRY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO ME TODAY! YOU ARE JUST ABOUT HALF RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL OF THIS YET YOU COST ME EVERYTHING I ONCE HAD! CURSE YOU! CURSE YOU!"

"Devilry?!" Figment shouted in shock.

"Y-Yes, I know!" the Dreamfinder choked, "Figment and I, w-we both know what we did and heard you got fired and-"

"THEN YOU SPIED ON ME?!" Rachel screamed, choking the Dreamfinder.

"Yes! Well, no. Sort of. Not really. Kind of. We-We...heard you got fired after the performance and we are really really...really sorry this had happened to you. It...It was never out intention to do it whatsoever. And I will say this, what we do is not...ngh, devilry. It-It's a natural gift of the mind. Please, please forgive us!"

"I said the same thing to my boss, but did he ever forgive me in return? NO! What happened today, in his words, was unforgivable. WHY SHOULD I FORGIVE YOU IN RETURN IF I HADN'T GOT ANY MYSELF? TELL ME!"

"Rachel, let go of him! We don't mean anymore harm!" Figment shouted, again trying to pull her away from the Dreamfinder.

"Ok-Okay, R-Rachel! Please listen to m-me." the Dreamfinder pleaded, "We did not...mean for this to happen. If you...Agh!- if you let go of me, I'm sure we can work this all out! Please! I hate to see you in that manner."

"Let us talk you, Rachel!" Figment encouraged, "It's very important!"

"Please, Rachel. Restrain yourself and listen to us. Please..."

          Rachel looked at the purple dragon and then back at the Dreamfinder. She can see the fear in his eyes proving that she has his attention, but to give them her attention would mean both defeat and surrender to her. Then again, Rachel is a bit curious as to why and how the Dreamfinder and Figment snuck their way to her room in the first place. She loosened her grip and jumped off the poor beaten man, who coughed and gasped aloud for air.

"Fine." she said reluctantly, "You've got five minutes. And make it quick."

"Alright. Well..." the Dreamfinder began still gasping for breath, "to start off, I come from London, England where I went to school at the Scientifica-Lucidus Academy and later brought Figment to life."

"Scien-whatica luscious?" Rachel pronounced incorrectly.

"Scientifica-Lucidus." the Dreamfinder chuckled, "It's a school where I learned to build advanced technology. Very good school, I must say if you are interested in attending. Recently, Figment and I arrived at the Scientifica-Lucidus Academy campus in a secluded area in Orlando, Florida. An old friend of ours, Chairman Illocrant, to avoid a lawsuit and proceed on experimenting future technologies in peace to help make the world a better place, bought the area it resides in now. There we were asked to demonstrate an invention I had built at the beginning of my journey through imagination, but the demonstration did not turn out the way we wanted it to be. Right outside the building there was a geodesic sphere that, according to the school, appeared out of nowhere. Once in a while it disappears and then appears again at random times. When the demonstration had failed, the geodesic sphere disappeared again, this time for good. What happened right after that is a long story. The point of it is that since it's still gone, we agreed to go find the geodesic sphere and somehow bring it back to the academy so they could study it more."

"I other words," Figment concluded while flying a backwards summersault, "We are going on another journey to imagination!"

"Okay...now does any of this revolve around me, too, or are you just here to show pity over me?" Rachel asked.

"Oh no, Rachel! You are very much involved in this now." the Dreamfinder exclaimed, "You may not know this, but you and I have so much in common. I was able to see that when I tripped over you this morning, again I apologize for that, and then at the performance at the center stage."

"Oh, do tell me then. What is it I have that you do as well? AND DON'T SAY IT'S IMAGINATION!"

".........." the Dreamfinder paused.

".........." Rachel didn't say another word, but waited for an answer.

".........Uhhhhh....I beg your pardon, Rachel, but yes it is imagination." the Dreamfinder finally replied with a guilty smirk.

"Damn it." Rachel slapped her hand on her face.

"But I'm sure there is more than that in you. From what we see, you just don't know it yet."

"Yeah Rachel! What you need is some help." Figment said, "And me and Dreamfinder are just the people to turn to."

Rachel sighed, "Look, I appreciate your concern in all, but not only do I not understand what all of this has to do with me, I am more than completely sure I can take care of myself."

"You sure looked like you were able to take care of yourself when you started flying and then ran away in tears."

"Figment!" the Dreamfinder barked.

"You shut it, dragon! I was scared. Nothing like this happens in today's time. That is, apparently, until you two came along."

"Okay, number one: you don't talk to my friend that way. That's very disrespectful!" the Dreamfinder ordered Rachel, "And second, you're right. Things like what we do don't often happen around here these days. If it makes you feel any better, I never thought stuff this like could happen until I brought Figment to life and began my adventure. Now as for your involvement, after we watched the geodesic sphere disappear the last time we were there, we figured finding it again is going to take a lot more than my own imagination alone. We need a reinforcement."

"So why not enlist an army?"

"Well there's an idea!" said Figment, "Except we don't have much room on the Dream Machine to carry so many people."

"Figment is right, Rachel." the Dreamfinder continued, "We need someone with a great amount of imagination and courage to join us on this adventure...and that's you."

"Plus, we're lonely. Number three is always a good charm."

"Well I hate to disappoint you two, but I'm anything but that." Rachel stated. "Therefore, I can't go. And even if I do want to go, I have A. parents who are waiting for me to come home so they could stick their nose at my face saying how big of a failure I am and B. despite your fame, I hardly know you. For all I know, you two would end up kidnapping me."

"Kidnap?" Dreamfinder exclaimed in shock. "That is most certainly not our intention. That's a terrible thing to do!"

"We would never do that, Rachel!" Figment argued.

"Okay, Okay! So you don't kidnap people. That's fine!" Rachel held back, "Still, whether or not you would do it, where exactly would we go and how far is it?"

"In the different realms of imagination! And it can be very far away or so close to home. No one knows."

"So will you come with us then?" the Dreamfinder asked.

"Hmmm...let me think about it for a moment." Rachel answered, "Wait for me in the living room and I'll give you an answer when I'm ready."

"You won't run away this time, will you?"

"No, not this time. I'm too tired to run away after today anyway. Let me be alone."

"Let's go, Figment."

          The Dreamfinder and Figment exit Rachel's bedroom. She locked the door so she wouldn't be interrupted. The duo makes themselves comfortable in the living room waiting and hoping for the answer they want to hear. Inside, Rachel thinks hard about this decision. Far away. Far away where her family will never follow her and give her a hard time. Should she go with Figment and the Dreamfinder on an adventure to some made-up world that would only come once in a blue moon, practically never? Or should she return home unnoticed by her parents, pack her things and run away never to return nor knowing what will happen later? It's difficult to face against familiar relationships that don't show much support despite your best intentions and can't make up their minds. Then again, it's hard to believe some strangers who claim to have gone to some imaginary world as if they just jumped off a page from a children's storybook and took a job at the Disney parks as a character. Another question would be that suppose she decides to go with Figment and the Dreamfinder, is there a possible chance of coming back home? The decision is tough.

          Meanwhile in the living room, Figment flies all over the ceiling trying to entertain himself and keep boredom out the way. The Dreamfinder, however, had his head down almost as if napping. He feels there's another reason why to bring Rachel along on this quest other than their mission to find the geodesic sphere. Whatever it is, he does not know yet.

          After a half hour of waiting and thinking, Rachel comes out of her room. She faces the Dreamfinder and Figment while taking a deep breath. Her decision is made. The duo sees Rachel come outside. They instantly rise from their seat ready to hear what she will say.

"So?" the Dreamfinder asked.

"......." Rachel didn't say anything yet. The silence was beginning to feel unpleasant until she finally spoke, "I will go with you."

"HOORAY!" Figment cheered, flying up to her for a hug.

"Splendid!" the Dreamfinder exclaimed, "We will leave right now!"

"Hold on! I need to do something first." Rachel informed, "Have either of you got paper and a pencil?"

          The Dreamfinder looks into his hat and pulls out a sheet of paper and a pen. "Will this do?" he asked.

"Definitely." She took the paper and pen, sat at the dining room table and started writing. It took about five minutes to write. Neither Figment nor the Dreamfinder knows what she is writing about or whom she is writing to. It read:

Dearest friends, Abby, Denny, and Kevin,