One Little Spark: Part 1

Chapter 36

          The dark night that's slowly going by, despite its comforting Florida warmth, is not enough for Dreamfinder to fall asleep. He stares up to the ceiling on the living room couch with Figment sleeping on the other side where his feet are. His arms are crossed together and his expression is blank. It's like he's lost sight in his awareness. Perhaps he's sleeping with his eyes open. That would be case if Dreamfinder weren't blinking them every once in a while. He lets his eyes trace the lines of the wooden ceiling trying to sleep to take him into a fanciful bliss, but nothing's happening. His eyes are still wide open and it's starting to annoy him. As the Dreamfinder, it's obvious he has to sleep to come up with some dreams every night. Tonight has become one of those nights where he wishes his dreams would take him far away from his troubles like they always did. He quietly sighs heavily with each passing minute.

          The thoughts of what had occurred, the short talk with Jess, and the plans to travel to Epcot Park has his mind whirling and body motionless he didn't even notice his foot twitch from its sleep and giving Figment a small kick in the rib. The little dragon quickly scrunches tightly at the kick and then slowly opens his big yellow eyes open halfway. He turns his head to Dreamfinder and notices how wide-awake he still is.

"What's wrong, Dreamfinder?" Figment yawns. "You can't sleep?"

"I have a lot in my mind, Figment." said Dreamfinder in a boring and tired tone. "I just never imagined everything that's happened today to just...well...happen!"

"I know, pal. I was surprised, too. We all were! But there's still no reason to dwell in the past for so long when there's already going to be a brand new day waiting to greet you. And everyone knows you can't meet that new day without any S-L-E-E-P, sleep. How about I tell you a story?"

"Okay."

"Let's see now...once upon a time, there was a man who traveled the world searching for...for a...a wonderful thing! The man didn't know what kind of thing he was looking for, so it made his search harder and harder. One day, the man, he...he came across a little flying reptile-"

"A dragon, Figment?" Dreamfinder clarifies sarcastically.

"Yeah, a dragon!" Figment exclaims. "This dragon flew up to the man and guided him through many hard obstacles through jungles and mountains and oceans and deserts galore. Taking a quick break for tea, the man watches a woman go by. She was beautiful and fair with long locks of brown and eyes as earthy as...Earth. As she skips by, the man follows her, followed by the dragon. He chased her high and low with his heart beating loud like drums and his eyes as big as baseballs. Finally the man caught up to her and realized that this woman was the 'wonderful thing' he had been searching for. And just when the man was about to express his feelings for her, the woman, she-"

"She slaps the Chairman and runs away." Dreamfinder states, killing the mood. "Figment, I know your story is really about me and Rachel. And it's not helping me out at all."

"Oh, you do? Oh, you do?! ...Well you're right." said Figment with defeat. And then he comes up with another idea saying, "Hey, how about a glass of milk?"

"I'm too full from supper."

"How about soft music?"

"Not in the mood."

"Counting sheep?" Figment suggests.

"Mmm...no, but go ahead and try anyway." Dreamfinder agrees.

"Yay!"

          Figment flies out of the covers and flies out the window. The window opens and, with the power of him imagination, he transforms himself into a purple sheep prancing from the windowsill to another in multiples. More and more Figment sheep leap in a single file as they happily chant the sheepish cries.

"Baa!" Figment chants. "Baa! Baa! Baa! How ya' doin, Dreamfinder? Baa! Baa! Feeling sleepy yet? Baa! Baa!"

"1...2...3..." Dreamfinder yawns "...4...5...10...36...twenty-no Figment, wait! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!"

"What's wrong now, Dreamfinder?" Figment stops.

"I'm watching you turn into sheep," Dreamfinder starts, rubbing his eyes, "I start thinking of you, then I start thinking of 'ewe,' which is a different spelling meaning 'sheep,' and in Hebrew, Rachel means 'sheep.' So now I'm thinking of Rachel all over again and I'm picturing her constantly bouncing by. Therefore, I still can't sleep!"

"Aw, Dreamfinder!" Figment moans, as he changes back to his dragon self and hovers down over the couch.

"It's hard, Figment. It's so hard. It's not like I can just forget today in an instant."

"You know what I think? I don't think you're really mad at Rachel at all."

"What?"

"I mean, I'd imagine you being upset that her taking that spark away in general is a good enough reason-"

"Yes...I supposed it was necessary for her to have done it. It did need to be freed."

"But it's obvious that what Rachel did today was really more of a service to both the Academy Lucidus and maybe herself, too. And the way you reacted when Rachel ran off from the Academy? You're not upset that Rachel stole that spark. You're upset that she left."

"And this helps...how?" Dreamfinder asks.

"Because it's the truth." Figment replies. "And the sooner you accept this hidden truth, the faster you'll heal."

"Have you been reading one of my books in the Dream Machine?"

"No, I read something about some psychological situations in one of the books on your shelves back in London."

"The Chairman's nuts for not accepting you into the Academy in the beginning."

"All I'm saying is that even though Rachel may be gone, you'll still get to remember the good times you-we had with her."

"..."

"Why did you really decide to allow a guest into one of our journeys through imagination? I mean, really?"

"Figment...I..." Dreamfinder could not finish his sentence.

"Other than having me around as your imaginary friend, you're lonely." Figment reveals.

"..."

"Dreamfinder?"

"...You didn't need imagination to figure that one out." said Dreamfinder.

"Then why Rachel?" Figment calmly asks.

"She's...I don't know. In London, I've seen very beautiful women throughout my life, including this girl from my childhood, Victoria Hemmisworth."

"Oh, I remember her! The girl with the blonde locks and the green eyes you had such a big crush on in your elementary school."

"Yes, that one. Of course, that didn't work out well. From then on, London was full of lovely women in all the lower, middle and higher classes and yet, added that I never had the time for a relationship since I was struggling to provide for my family, none of them appealed to me. And then in the past year after we arrived in the twenty-first century, I've seen many lovely women roaming about and I still couldn't find a woman to love. But coming to California...at the expo...seeing her before me offstage...wow! I only insisted on bringing Rachel onstage as a volunteer for our performance just so I could stand next to her. And in just a matter of seconds, I got to know her name and where she lived. And the potential she has in imagining things to come to life; the way she managed to fly? I didn't even expect the results to come out just like that. It was as if that...that...if there was ever a mirror that you could walk up to that shows who and what your other half, your soul mate would look like, it was Rachel's reflection I saw looking back at me...and for once in my life I felt like a whole man. I had hoped in my heart that she wasn't a dream, but a dream come true. And thank heavens she is! I've never imagined how a girl like Rachel would have been crafted so carefully, so lovingly, and so perfect for me. I wanted her so bad, Figment. She's beautiful, she's kind and funny and bright and, at one point or another, brave. And the way she treats her friends like Flora and Álvaro and us...she's all I ever wanted, Figment...all I ever want.It kills me still to see her all broken up inside and out. And imagining her father not raising her well to be the beautiful woman she is meant to be as she's told me numerous times just infuriates me! I mean, why?! Why, why, why, why, why? Why would he...why would anyone cause her grief? Why did I? ...And that's what got her to run away in the first place. She ran away from home, her family, her friends, her life, and now me. She ran away from me because she's scared. She was scared of being mistreated again by me. But, Figment?"

"Yes?" Figment whispers.

"I...I..." Dreamfinder stutters. And then he sobs, "I did hurt her. The threats, the slapping, and everything that I did out of my anger and frustration, I did to her. I never wanted to hurt her. I wanted to love her. Figment, I love her!

          All of a sudden, Dreamfinder pulls Figment into his arms and cries loudly on Figment's shoulder. His arms are tightly wrapped around his dragon friend's body. The wings on Figment's back are squeezing and pressing in behind his back. His small purple head is raised up to the ceiling with his unnoticeable ears listening in torture of Dreamfinder's heartbreaking crying. But Figment smiles softly and firmly hugs Dreamfinder back. His warmth enters his creator's chest as he nestles his head onto Dreamfinder's shoulder. Though his arms could not reach all the way around Dreamfinder's body, he's making Dreamfinder feel safe and secure again despite the agony his creator is having.

"It's okay, Dreamfinder." Figment murmurs. "I know you do."

"I love her, Figment." sobbed Dreamfinder. "I love her so much. I want her back. I want her with me."

"I know."

"Figment...I'm going to find her. I'll find her even if I have tear through every portal to every realm imaginable! No matter how long it takes...forever, if even."

"And I'll be there with you when you do."

          The sobbing continues on until Dreamfinder finally starts to calm down. His eyes have all been drained out and his tight wrapping arms relax. Drenched in tears, the Dreamfinder finally closes his eyes and sobs himself to sleep the rest of the night off with Figment sleeping on top of him and in his arms. The young dragon's humming and sleepy sighing has soothed Dreamfinder to fall from dusk to dawn in his blissful fantasies once again.