“There once was a young girl from a planet called Kelderdash,” Jack began, sinking down onto his ugly pink couch and folding his arms behind his head.
“Kelderdash?”
“Yes. Why?”
“It’s just, I have heard of Kelderdash before.”
His forehead wrinkles up, “where?”
“In a dream, I think. Or I thought. But Kelderdash is a real place, then? A real planet that actually exists?”
“Yes. Or rather, it did exist before it was destroyed in a war.”
“It was blown up?”
“Yes.”
“And the people who live there, the people are dying out?”
“I suppose so,” he shrugs, “Many of them just moved to their twin planet, Kelderon. But it is being rumored that soon Kelderon will be destroyed, and if that is to happen, I suppose it really will endangered the Kelderdashans. What sort of a dream was this that you had?”
“Just. A very weird, very realistic dream.”
“Are you certain that it was a dream?”
“I’m not certain of anything right now,” I take a swig of milk from the glass in front of me, “I am not sure that you are not a dream… or worse, a hallucination. It has occurred to me that I could be a schitzophrenic.”
“I am pretty sure I am not a dream. I am also pretty sure that you are not psychotic. Well. I mean. A little bit. You certainly have a death wish, but I do not think you are seeing things that are not there type of crazy. I would like to hear more about this dream, though.”
“Well, it was not exactly a dream. It has been more like… a lot of dreams. Nearly every time I fall asleep, I think. But, I am not sure. Why don’t you just tell me this story, and we could talk about it later? I am tired, and I do not feel like thinking about it right at the moment.”
He frowns, “I have noticed that you look more tired lately… if the key is causing you to skip dimensions in your sleep, that may explain a lot.”
“The key?”
His frown deepens, “Yeah. The key. The piece of paper I gave you. The one that I do not remember giving you. The one you have had for years – that is no ordinary paper. That is a key.”
“But a key to what?”
“A key to my ship.”
“Your… spaceship?”
“It is a little bit more complex than an ordinary spaceship, but we will go with that right now. Sometimes the keys have interesting effects on those not trained for intergalactic travel.”
“Interesting effects like what?”
“Like causing you to travel through dimensions in your sleep. When did these dreams start?”
I think back, trying to remember, “It was the night I met you,” I realize this out loud.
“That is very interesting,” his eyebrows shoot up, “before or after you met me?”
“Before.”
“I found you passed out in the alley…” his voice trails off, “you did not remember going that far from home, if I remember correctly? You seemed confused about where you were. You were drunk, sure, so I suppose any number of things could have happened. You could have done anything, really. But what if that is not what happened? What if you did not do anything?” his voice grows faster, more excited, and his eyes bulge the slightest bit, “what if this were something completely out of your control – and out of mine, too? What if I did not just find you, but you were meant to be here? You could have been brought to me for a reason… you have to have been brough to me for a reason, you have my key. But no, none of this makes any sense. You should not be able to… but you do. But who? And why? Is there any reason for you to be here? What could there possibly be about you that is so important that the entire universe seems to be in an uproar about it? And what if they know? I wonder if they know… maybe they were what brought you here in the first place? But no, that is entirely ridiculous. But is it? Maybe it is not ridiculous, maybe… but…” he stutters a little bit, “did you meet anyone in these dreams, Anna? Do you remember any names?”
I nod, straining to remember everything that I can, “I met… I did meet some people. I met a woman, and a man. But not together. I met the woman first, but then some things changed, and I was somewhere else and I met a man. His name was… it was Matt, but that was not his real name. He said he was from Kelderdash.”
“Matt from Kelderdash,” he frowns, “nope, never heard of him, I do not think. What about the woman? Do you remember her name?”
I press my mind, knowing that I know her name, but not quite taking grasp of it, “I know it,” I mumble, “I know that I do know it. She told me it. But I cannot remember.”
“Then tell me, tell me anything you remember about her. What did she look like? Where was she from? What did her voice sound like? How did she act? Anything, Anna. We might be able to figure this out.”
“She was… short? Maybe. I think she was short. She was dark.”
“What do you mean by dark?”
“Her skin… her skin was dark, and her hair, too.”
“What else do you remember?”
I rub my palms over my eyes, darkening my vision, trying to remember, and drawing a blank, “Matt said… he said that she was older than she looked.”
“How old did she look?”
“I do not remember.”
He growls, frustration reddening his face, “try, Anna, try to remember. If you can remember, maybe we can figure out what is going on. Maybe we can figure out why you have the key and how you and I are connected.”
“I don’t remember, Jack! I just don’t!”
“Then I am sorry.”
“Sorry for what?”
And then everything goes black.
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