Zukin's Dream Journal! <3

I was standing alongside a river. There was a bridge with a bunch of holes in it. Somewhere beneath the bridge, Scylla was lurking, ready to snatch me up if I wasn't quick enough. I was terrified. How was I going to cross the bridge?



The dream momentarily destabilized and I felt myself in my bed. Woah, weird! Oh wait, this is a dream!

"Well, if this is a dream, fuck this stupid bridge. I'm out of here!"

I flew up into the air. Holy shit this dream was so vivid. I could feel the warmth in the air, the wind brushing up against my face as I rose upwards, and the mist against the water. A slight fog hung over the river and I could feel all of the molecules of water brushing against me! I flew alongside the river, giving myself time to adjust to the dream.

James had given me hints on his whereabouts last time. Was my first mission simply to find him? Even if it wasn't, I had a lot of questions for him. His presence in my dreams had stumped me. The dream was destabilizing, dammit. I needed something to hold, to touch. I was starting to feel both the dream world and the outside world at the same time.

I landed briefly at my house and grabbed a branch. I felt its leaves and flowers. Once again, I had a sure footing in the dream. I flew off again and aerily picked a house that could look like James' house.

I landed outside the property. It was a small blue house surrounded by a black gate. The front lawn was green with life and trees and flowers. I opened the black gate and stepped on the sidewalk leading up to the house. Without knocking, I opened the front door and the screen door. I wasn't sure what I was going to find inside the house.

I walked into a living room, and saw James sitting on the couch, reading a newspaper.

"James!" I called out. He lifted his eyes from the newspaper and gave me a confused look before recognizing me. His appearances had changed shape but I could definitely feel that it was still him.

"Well! Hello, Zukin. I wasn't expecting your arrival at this time," he greeted.

"Yeah, well, I decided to come and see you. I have some questions," I admitted.

"Excellent. What are they?" He inquired.

"Well, first, why do you come in my dreams? Are you a part of me? My dream guide? Usually I can feel when something is part of me or if it's foreign...but you completely stump me," I said.

James hesitated, "I am not a part of you, no. My intentions? Well, Zukin, you need urgently to learn to sense the intentions of others in your dreams. I could very well be insecting."

"...insecting?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's a term I invented...I could be in your dream, solely to take your life force; your energy."

"...Are you?" I asked suspiciously. He chuckled, without answering. I started looking around at his livingroom. Situated right next to us was a bookcase. The bookcase was filled with books about dreaming and...books with other people's names on them, like diaries or something.

"What are all these?" I asked.

"Some of them are books I've written. Others are logs of other dreamers whom I've come into contact with, like yourself." Some of the logs were really thick, as if the two dreamers had had a lifetime of contact with each other.

"I wish I could remember all of this better," I admitted, realizing that the titles and names on the books would fade when I woke up.

"It's probably better that you don't. Zukin, I have a question for you," he looked at me, studying my reaction, "do you notice a change in me, a change in my energy?"

"Yes, you seem...anxious," I responded, searching his energy for a reason. He nodded.

"....Were you expecting someone else today? Another dreamer?"

He nodded. I wasn't sure if I should feel dejected, or worried that someone a lot more powerful was about to walk through the door.

Suddenly, James ran fast. What the...?? I paused for a moment, not sure if I was supposed to chase after him. Well, why not? The dream was still going strong. I flew out the window, flying fast, eager to catch up. It didn't take that long, seconds perhaps. He had lead me to where a group of two or three other men were standing. He seemed surprised that I had not only found him again, but gotten here so fast. He shouldn't be so surprised, I thought to myself. Flying is my forte.

He greeted the men with names that I didn't recognize nor can remember, "this is Zukin, our unexpected guest."

One of the men raised his eyebrows, testing. "Well? Does she have any ability?" The man materialized a tennis ball and threw it at me. I caught it. Gees, I'm not a dog, I thought to myself!

I threw it back. This time, he threw it several hundred feet into the air, and with such force it became a blur. I raced up into the sky...caught it and threw it back.

"Hmpf," one of the other men materialized a weird ball, reminiscent of the snitch from Harry Potter. He threw it up into the air, but it had a mind of its own. It was swift, flying haphazardly evading my catch. I raced up into the air, swift as the snitch itself, lightning fast, and caught it. Hah, like I said, flying is my forte.

I returned to earth, revealing to the men that I had caught the snitch-ball.

One of the other men flung himself into the air, and initiated a race. It only took a race down the street for me to catch him.

"Well, she definitely isn't new at this," one of the men added.

"She definitely has potential," the other said. James looked over, proud, and I woke up.