The Dreamers: Part 1

The Dreamers: Part 1.

First, there was nothing.

Then there was everything.

Darkness gave way to light as the Universe gave birth to time and space with the Cosmos expanding out from its beginnings.

The girl sat forward and watched through the teardrop window of her little ship as it winked into existence and floated there in the void as those first star systems were formed around her. She glanced at the numbers on the dial. She had arrived less than a millisecond after the event happened. It was impossible to get any closer for the laws of time wouldn't allow it and the only way to travel was when time was a thing.

The great expansion had begun and she glanced at the other ships arriving on her scope with a smile. Of course, there would be others. Others like her. Here to witness the start of everything. 

She sat there for hours in her little cocoon as it drifted on c-beams that glittered and sparkled all around her. The wonder and beauty of it all catching her breath over and over as she watched. She could spend an eternity here and it would only be the merest blink of an eye to her.

A soft blue light flickered on the black panel in front of her.

Time to go. Time to go back where she came from.

Today was a very important day. The day when she would learn the meaning of her life and the reasons she had been chosen. Pressing the blue light, the girl sat back in her padded seat listening as the singular engine started to charge up for the jump. She felt nervous, even scared, at what awaited her back home. Even observing the beginnings of everything was nothing compared to the things she was going to do in her future.

This is a story that began a very very long time ago and will only reach its end a very very long time from now.

***

"Hurry up, Harry!" urged Dorothy excitedly, "We can't be late to meet the Wizard!"

The girl grabbed my hand and pulled me through the meadow and up the short rise until we both stood together on the top of the hill. She turned to me laughing with her pigtails blowing in the breeze as the lush green grass all around us ebbed and flowed like waves upon the sea.

"Look," she whispered as she snuggled into my right side with her little dog running around us chasing butterflies, "I told you it was real."

She was right. It was really real. I stood there in awed amazement and gasped at the magnificence and splendor of it.

There in the distance was the great Emerald city of OZ.

***

Dorothy turned and pointed up at the deep blue sky. "Look Toto!" she cried as great opal shaped airships sailed serenely overhead with people waving at us from the wooden gondoliers slung below the multi-coloured blimps as they headed toward the far side of the metropolis and the old city port which even from this distance one could see was a hive of activity on this day of all days.

I let her take my hand again and I walked as she skipped along the road towards the stone bridge that led to the imposing city gates where people of all shapes and sizes were already making their way for the festivities. Two Cossack like guards, each easily seven feet tall in their purple bearskin hats, coats and uniform, stood either side of the entrance holding long spears as they kept watch for hundreds if not thousands were making their way into the city.

Dorothy had picked up her dog and put him back in her basket. "Stay close," she warned me as she clasped my left hand, "Stay close or else we'll never find each other again, Harry!"

We passed through the city gates with its emerald arch gleaming in the mid-morning sun as the true magnitude of what I was seeing hit me. We truly were off to see the Wizard. The Wonderful Wizard of OZ. All around us sellers of this, that, and the other had set up stalls to sell their wares to the populace and the smells and sounds of boiling copper kettles and bubbling cooking pots filled the air.

Dorothy twisted around and pressed herself up against me. She looked up at me with those wide blue eyes in sharp contrast to her rosebud colored hair. She was wearing a blue chequered summer dress with a white vee shaped collar that revealed a pair of sizeable bosoms squeezed into the confines of her bodice. She put a finger on her chin and dimpled innocently. "I shall be back in two shakes of a lamb's tail and not a moment before, Harry. You just wait there like a good little boy," she promised as she thrust her basket into my arms and turned to disappear into the maddening crowd.

What the heck? "Hey, wait," I shouted above the din, "Where are you going?!"

She skipped across the courtyard towards a building where buskers and watchers sat outside with busy barmaids bustling around serving customers with flagons of ale. She reached the top step and turned to give me a wave. "To let the Wizard know we're here, silly!" And with that, she disappeared inside.

I stood there for a moment just staring at the sign outside the Inn. "The Hobgoblins Knob," it said and I smiled despite my childish confusion. I took a deep breath and could feel the haze beginning to lift and my head start to clear. I looked up at the sun and realized it had a smaller twin sat behind it. How long had I been here? An hour? A day? And where had Dorothy come from?

Suddenly there was a commotion. Over the heads of the crowd, I could see half a dozen of the city guards chasing someone through a side street with pikes drawn. I couldn't see anyone and wondered what sort of trouble they were in. Pickpocketing or stealing food probably I thought to myself before, to my surprise, trouble found me. The girl skidded around the corner and ran straight into me to bounce back and fall on her backside with an audible "Ooof!" In a cloud of dust, she gave her head a shake as I stepped forward to see what she looked like and find out who she was.

In a day when time didn't seem to matter much at all it came to a slow stop. The girl looked about twentyish give or take. She had long unkempt walnut hair that hung down past her shoulders and was tied with a band about six inches from the end. Her eyes were a fierce fiery blue with a nose that was impertinently pert and a pair of lips that slowly spread into a wide beaming smile when she saw me standing there staring open-mouthed at her for she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. She was dressed in a strange looking dark grey one-piece outfit that looked completely different to what everyone else was wearing including me. She blinked and gave her head another shake before she looked me up and down.

"Well, look at you!" she grinned as people bustled around us with the cries of the guards in the background as they got closer, "You're just like I'd imagined you would be," she smiled with wonder as she scrambled to her feet. I stood there staring at her as she slowly reached forward with her right hand and cupped my left cheek which she stroked gently with her thumb, "This is so amazing," she said softly to herself. She got down on her haunches and held my face in her hands as her eyes looked deeply into mine. I felt like I was drowning the longer we gazed at each other. I wanted to say something but saying anything at all was impossible.

"What are you?" she whispered, "Eleven? Twelve?" she asked, "You look twelve. So, you must have been about six when I first saw..." she began to say when a guard suddenly appeared behind her and grabbed her by the arms. She twisted in his grip to look back at me, "You're not alone, Harry. You may think you are but you're not. Even in here. Even in this wonderful place. This is just the beginning. This is only the start of everything. Remember this when you go back!"

She gave a grunt as the guard lifted her off her feet. I took a step forward to try and help her. "No, don't," she said with a smile, "I'm alright. I'll be fine. You keep doing what you were doing. Remember to always follow that yellow brick road, Harry. It will always lead you back to where you belong!" Other guards had arrived and were standing around the girl. There was no escaping now. Or so I thought.

Wait. "How do you know my name?!" I shouted at her. I was absolutely positively positive we had never met and she looked at least ten years older than me. Who was she?

She didn't answer but asked me a question in return.

"What year is this for you, Harry?"

I frowned at her above the din. What? Year? What year was this? What a stupid question. I shook my head at her and she just nodded as if she understood.

To my utter surprise, she blew me a kiss and waved. Then with a glance at her would be captors, she reached behind her right ear and promptly vanished into thin air to leave the guards standing in a circle much bemused and muttering amongst themselves.

Such was the crush, I stepped back into a small alcove and looked down into the basket to see Toto staring at me. What the heck had just happened? Where did she go? Then, just as I thought the situation couldn't get any more batshit insane, the dog spoke to me:

"Remember the mission, Harry," it said gruffly, "Remember the mission."

I stared open-mouthed at the talking dog. Mission? What mission?

***

Dorothy grabbed my hand and dragged me into the smokey den that was the Hobgoblins Knob. Inside, the air was thick of ripe tobacco and other smells that I didn't even want to think about. We were in some sort of reception area which looked like a place where rogues, scoundrels, and pirates would meet up.

"You need to sign the visitor's book, Harry," she told me as she pushed me forward so that we stood before the wooden oak counter which had an open ledger and brass bell on it, "You need to sign the book so we can go where we need to go!" she urged.

Okay. Okay. I can do that. I picked up the bell and gave it a ring.

Out of nowhere, a figure popped up from behind the counter and we both jumped back a step in surprise. "Hey diddle diddle said the cat with the fiddle, what can I do for you two this fine day?" said the Scarecrow as he leaned on his elbow and drummed the fingers of his right hand on the counter in front of us.

I stared at him. He was a man made of straw and he could talk. Of course, he was and could. I picked up the pen and scribbled my name in the guestbook. "Uh, do I have to pay anything?" I asked him, "Because I don't think I have any money."

The Scarecrow looked at me thoughtfully. "Well, if I had a brain I'd tell you. But since I don't I can't. But seeing as this is the one day of the year that the Great Wizard of OZ makes an appearance, let's just say that this one is on the house," He rang the bell and gave me a wink, "There we go," he beamed, "Another two signed in and ready to go!"

Another two? There were more? Where were the others? Were we part of a larger group? I turned and my mouth dropped open in surprise as a tall silvery figure approached.

"Oh goodness gracious. Look who we have here. Two more to meet the Great OZ!" said the Tin Man who had an oil can in his hand and was squirting some of it into his right ear.

I took a step back and pointed at him, "Yuh, you, you're the Tin Man!" I gasped as he loomed over me as I stood there gawping at him in astonishment, "What are you doing?"

He rolled his eyes as his joints squeaked and groaned as he moved. "Lubrication, Harry," he explained, "Thrice a day to stop me freezing up. Now, if I had a heart, I wouldn't have to do this at all," he sighed.

There was a tap on my shoulder and I turned to look who it was. I gave a yell and jumped a foot into the air in shock. Holy cow. This was getting ridiculous!

The Cowardly Lion held up his paws. "C'mon, you little twerp," he growled, "Put 'em up. Put 'em up!"

So I did and stood there with my fists up.

The Lion gave a loud shriek, threw up both his arms and surrendered. "Hey, hey, hey, kid. Calm down!" he pleaded as he grabbed his tail and chewed on the end, "I can't handle drama!" he blubbed with his lower lip trembling like he was going to cry.

Wait? What? Oh, of course. "What you need is courage!" I said to him.

He spread his arms wide. "I KNOW!" he bawled, "I keep telling everybody that!!"

So there I stood with the Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, and Scarecrow all looking at me as Dorothy came skipping back down the stairs and grabbed my hand.

"Come on, Harry!" she said excitedly, "It's time!"

"Time?" I replied blankly.

She grabbed me and gave me a hug. "Time to meet the Wizard!" she beamed as she pulled me up the stairs as the others followed muttering amongst themselves.

The Scarecrow stood on the bottom step looking up at us. "Are you off to meet you know who?" he shouted, "The Big Guy?"

Dorothy nodded. "Indeed we are!"

"Can I join you?" he asked looking at the other two standing behind him.

"Sure," said the girl, "The more the merrier. We have to hurry so hurry up!"

The Inn turned out to be not an Inn at all. We found ourselves in a long red corridor lit by flickering lanterns and with a huge door at the other end. Dorothy giggled and continued to drag me after her with the rest of our group in tow. The corridor seemed never-ending and we were all gasping as we finally reached the Great Entrance to the Hall of OZ. We all turned and looked at each other wondering what to do next. The Cowardly Lion was trying to hide behind the Scarecrow who was scratching his head and looking puzzled at our situation.

"Don't look at me!" he cried as he stroked his tail nervously, "I'm not knocking!"

Before anyone could do or say anything more, there was a great booming "ENTER!!" that echoed down the long corridor behind us. The Cowardly Lion promptly jumped into the Tin Man's arms with fright.

With a great clank, the door slowly swung open to reveal the Great Hall filled with hundreds of people clapping and cheering as our little troupe walked inside and made our way towards the platform where a figure in a red robe and hood sat upon an emerald throne.

"It's the Wizard, Harry!" whispered Dorothy as Toto sat barking in his basket.

The Wizard? The REAL Wizard of OZ?!

We stopped at the bottom of the marble stairs and waited as the figure stood up and raised his hands to stop the crowds clapping and cheering. I frowned for I couldn't see his face as his cowl was pulled so far over as to hide it. 

"GOOD FINE CITIZENS OF OZ. TODAY IS THE ONE DAY OF THE YEAR I GRANT FAVOR TO THOSE OF YOU WHO I THINK WORTHY OF THE GRANTING. I SEE THOSE THAT SEEK FAVOR BEFORE ME AND I GIVE EACH A WISH TO MAKE THEIR DREAMS COME TRUE. TELL ME THEN, WHAT WISH DO YOU WISH FOR MOST OF ALL?"

He took a step forward and regarded each of us in turn.

"YOU THERE," he said, pointing at Dorothy and her ruby red slippers, "WHAT IS IT THAT YOU DESIRE THE MOST?"

Dorothy took a tentative step forward and curtseyed. "Well, your Mr. Wizardfullness, I'd really really like to go back to Kansas. That's my home you see and where all the people I love live."

The Wizard nodded and indicated the Scarecrow. "AND YOU. WHAT IS THE ONE THING I COULD GRANT YOU THAT WOULD MAKE YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE?"

The Scarecrow coughed and cleared his throat. "A brain, Sir. I want to be able to do Calculus. I want to know why the sum of the square roots of any two sides of an isosceles triangle is equal to the square root of the remaining side. "

The Wizard slowly nodded. "HMMMMMM. AND YOU?"

The Tin Man was so nervous, he rattled, creaked, and shook as he stepped forward. "I would like nothing more than to have a heart Sir so that I can hear it ticking and know what I'm feeling to be good and true."

If the Cowardly Lion could disappear in a puff of smoke he would have done so. We all got behind him and pushed him forward.

"Wuh, wuh, well," he quaked as he stroked his tail nervously, "I'm supposed to be King of the Jungle but I'm really not. How can I be King of the Jungle when I even scare myself when I look in a mirror. To be King, I need to be many things to all people but most of all I need to have the courage of my convictions. I don't want to be a cowardly custard anymore!" he pleaded as his shoulders slumped and he sighed a long sigh.

"AND YOU BELIEVE I CAN DO THIS FOR YOU?"

The Cowardly Lion nodded enthusiastically. "I believe, I believe. I believe. I do. I do. I do. I DO!"

The Wizard gave a grunt of satisfaction then turned to me.

"AND YOU, BOY," he asked, "WHAT IS IT YOU WISH FOR MOST OF ALL?"

Uh. Okay. What do I want to wish for most of all right now? Right this very second?

The answer came to me in an instant. In a way, I had already asked it but never received a reply. I glanced at my companions who were all smiling at me and encouraging me to go forward. Taking a deep breath, I took the first step. Then another and another until I was before the Great Wizard of OZ who's smile I could now see as he looked down on me. He leaned forward as I cupped my hand over my mouth so I could whisper to him. He nodded as I told him what I wanted more than anything and when I had finished he laid his hand on my shoulder.

"OF ALL THE WISHES I'VE GRANTED TODAY," he called to the hushed crowds, "THIS WISH IS THE MOST SPECIAL OF ALL. FOR YOU, HARRY, THIS WISH SHALL NOT ONLY CHANGE YOUR LIFE BUT DETERMINE THE PASSAGE OF IT. WHEN ALL THINGS ARE SAID AND DONE, TRUE LOVE AND FINDING IT IS THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS."

The crowds began to cheer and I stepped back. Above us suddenly was the wide blue sky and a huge airship approached overhead and I knew it was coming to take me back home. I turned to say goodbye to my new friends.

Dorothy came running up and hugged me tightly. "Harry, you are such a special little boy. But you're special in a special way because to her you're so very special indeed. She'll be back. I can promise you that. So be ready!" She kissed me on the cheek and held me at arm's length for a moment before letting me go to stand back as the ship came in to land.

This world was changing. Its colors became rich and vibrant as the people waved and cheered as I got on board my ride back home. So many people. So many faces I never knew or would ever know. As the airship rose into the blue beyond, everything began to slowly fade away. The adventure was coming to an end.

And all I could think of was the pretty lady who said, "Hey, look at you!"

***

It was still dark when I opened my eyes and stared at the shadows playing across the ceiling of my bedroom. The dream had already begun to slip away and I scrambled around inside my head trying to catch and remember the things that had happened in it.

Remember the girl. I had to remember the girl.

For some reason, that was the most important thing I needed to do.

I twisted around and switched on the standing lamp on my bedside table and ran over to my desk which was under my bedroom window where the curtains were still wide open with the pale glow of a mid-December moon shining brightly as it hung silently in the inky blackness of the night sky.

I pulled open the drawer, grabbed my notepad and fiddled around in my case for a decent pencil. Then I began to scribble and draw the girl from my dreams. Recapturing the memory before I had no memory of her at all. I chewed on the end of my pencil as I stared at my first rough doodlings. No. She had longer hair. Reddish brown hair. A bit darker. And those strange clothes she wore.

Wait. The badge. There was a badge. Or was it a patch? On her right shoulder. The kind of thing you saw those spacemen wearing in Science class or when doing History about that time we went to the Moon. There had been words on it under what looked like some sort of machine.

I shook my head. It was no use. It had gone. I sat back and looked at my rough drawing of the girl. Thankfully, I was pretty good at art at school. It was definitely close. Especially the overall look of her. I wondered who she was and how she knew my name.

But then again it had only been a dream.

Suddenly, the bedroom door opened and mom peeked her head around it. "Hey, Buster," she smiled, "Back to bed. School tomorrow, remember."

I sighed and closed my notepad before returning to bed and slipping back under the thick blankets which kept out the Winter chill. 

"Night, hon." she smiled as she came over and tucked me in before switching off the light.

"Night, mom," I yawned as I watched her close the door before rolling over and tucking the covers under my chin to keep in the warmth, "May the Force be with You."

I lay there with all sorts of thoughts running through my twelve-year-old head. I yawned wider as the dream world returned and I slipped sleepily back into it wondering if I would dream the same dream again and if she would be there in them.

***

The copper kettle whistled as it stood rattling on the kitchen bench as I stumbled down the stairs to find my mother already sat at the table eating a bowl of cereal and reading the gossip section of the local newspaper.

"Hey, hon," she said as I headed for the fridge.

"Uh huh," I muttered as I took out my carton of orange juice and sleepily poured myself a glass before sitting opposite her. I glanced up at the paper she was reading: The Newton Gazzette. December 17th, 1977. "WHITEOUT - Weather Warnings for State!" said the headline. I looked out the window where the world was already hidden under a foot of freshly dunked snowfall.

Mom was already in her daily routine. Mom was divorced single Mom of five years who worked at a local packing company doing some sort of typewriter thingy stuff that put food on the table, bought me the odd Star Wars figure and paid the bills. Mom was your typical Mom, I guess. Thirty-three. About five-seven in her slippers. Sort of pretty. Not so thin anymore. Lots of girlfriends who'd help babysit - much to my embarrassment. We lived just outside of town off the interstate in a nice two bedroomed bungalow with a decent sized garden for Chewie to run around in. Chewie is my dog. I can talk to Chewie because Chewie just sits there and listens. Unlike Mom. Mom just pretended to listen most of the time.

"Mom?"

"Hmmmm?" she said from behind her newspaper.

"Do you have dreams?"

"Everyone has dreams, hon."

I know that. "No, what I mean is. Do people have dreams that are special?"

The paper dropped slightly and she peered at me over the top. "You have a bad one?"

I shook my head. "No. I just had one that was a bit weird," I wondered how much I should tell her before she thought I was imagining things or going wacko, "There was someone in it who was different. Someone who I know I've never met before."

Mom looked at me for a second and stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray. "Was it a girl?" she asked.

I blushed and nodded. What had her being a girl got anything to do with it? Okay, I know all about girls. Well, sort of. I'm only twelve and three quarters after all. Most of my buddies thought girls should be left in the garbage chute.

I was warming to my topic. "Who are those people in my dreams that I've never met before?" I wondered out loud, "All those strangers with strange faces. Where do they come from?"

Mom put the paper down. "Who knows?" she said as she looked at me with a smile. "Maybe," she said as she leaned forward to whisper to me, "Maybe they're the people who are long gone and they sometimes come back when we dream. Remember when you saw Grandma, Grandad and Uncle Jake on the Death Star? Maybe this is the way they remind us of who they were so we don't forget them. And, maybe, all those strangers with strange faces are the people they've made friends with and brought with them to say hello from wherever it is they all went."

I stared wide-eyed at her. "That sounds kind of spooky."

Mom laughed at the look on my face as she got up to do the dishes. "Or you could just have an over-active imagination like your deadbeat Dad used to have."

Yeah. Good old, deadbeat Dad and his over-active imagination who turned out to be a nineteen-year-old shelf stacker named Shelly who had a ridiculous pair of, what my buddy Steve called, funbags on her.

But I was sure this dream had been different. There was just something about the girl that I knew was important. "I remember the girl." I said firmly as Mom stopped at the door to the sitting-room. "I can see her face and hear the things she said to me," I looked up at her, "She said I would never be alone and that she would see me again one day. Maybe," I wondered as my mind raced away from me, "It's not only people from the past who are in our dreams but people from the future too!"

Mom stared at me for a moment before she came and kissed me on the head. "Well, if that girl comes back ask her what this weekend's lottery numbers are, hon," She ruffled my hair and laughed as I squirmed at the lovey-dovey stuff, " Anyway, I thought everything happened a long time ago in a galaxy far far away," she teased, "C'mon, tiger. Get ready for school. Last week before Christmas!"

"Mom," I sighed as I got up from the table and went and did as I was told. It was no use. Mom was just being sensible Mom. It's just Harry with his head in the clouds as usual. As I walked past the fridge, I glanced up and saw a familiar six-inch plastic figure watching me holding his lightsabre.

"Who is she?" I asked him in a whisper, "She's beautiful."

Another six years would pass before I got the chance to ask that question again.

***

The girl stood on the shore with her long rustic hair blowing in the onshore breeze as she spread her arm's wide and closed her eyes with the sea lapping around her bare feet.

She smiled and breathed deeply of the brisk fresh air as she listened to the sounds of the waves crashing on the rocks in the distance. Behind her, on the beach, the people were enjoying the late afternoon sun as it glowed in the deep blue sky. 

Opening her eyes, the girl looked over her shoulder at the people. Some wandering alone, others with companions, most in family groups sat on the golden sands looking happy and content. She gave a faint smile of regret for the world and those in it that seemed at peace with themselves. 

Her attention was drawn to a group of children playing and splashing in the shallows a short distance to her left without a care in the world. She looked down at her feet and wriggled her toes in the wet sand as the tide went out to rush back in again a moment later. Each trouser leg of her dark grey uniform was rolled up and she turned to pick up her boots that she had left on the sand behind her as the device beeped behind her right ear.

She turned and raised her hand to shield her eyes from the bright sun looking for him. Where was he? The beep turned into a whisper and the whisper told her he was close.

It was then she saw him. Standing slightly away from a group of other children and adults. 

The girl grinned when she saw he was looking up into the sky with his arms spread wide. She was certain it was him as she slipped on her footwear and walked towards him.

"Hello," she said as she knelt down in front of him.

The boy turned and looked at her with a frown on his chubby face. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Oh, just someone," she said to him. "A friend."

The little boy lowered his arm's and turned to face her. "Do I know you?"

"No," the girl replied as she looked into his brown eyes, "But you will do. One day."

"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

The girl nodded. "That's good advice. Just remember, I won't be a stranger forever."

It was then she saw a middle-aged woman and man approaching her. The girl stood up and looked down at the boy. It was obvious they were related in some way.

"Ah," said the woman, "Can I help you?" she asked as she took the boy by the shoulders and hugged him to her. The man was behind her fiddling with a device of some sort. He took a few steps back, raised the small black box to his face and pointed it at them before he let it hang by the strap around his neck.

The girl shook her head and smiled. "Oh, I was just saying hello to your little boy. He's a charmer."

The woman visibly relaxed and looked down at him. "He is that. I'm sorry but I don't think we know you and I've always told him to be careful who he talks to."

The girl nodded. "I understand. It was nothing. I just had the urge to say hello. I'd best be on my way. Nice meeting you." 

She gave the boy a short wave and watched as they made their way back up the beach to where their chairs, baskets, and things were laid out on the sand.

"What is your name?" she called after him.

The boy stopped and looked up at his Grandmother who nodded. He stepped forward a few paces. "Harry Watts," he called to her, "My name is Harry Watts and I'm six years old!"

The girl stared at him for a moment, this little boy who would come to mean everything to her in her future. She raised a hand as she felt the tears sting her eyes.

"Till we meet again, my love," she whispered.

The girl turned away to walk back along the shore and from whence she came.

***

The music slowly faded away and all that was left was the sound of silence and those special words hanging there in the dark.

It was a silence filled with so many things. Anticipation. Expectation. Even fear. Fear of disappointment. Fear that three years of that anticipation and expectation wouldn't be met. 

The auditorium held its collective breath as I glanced along the row at my friends sitting to my left. Friends who had been on the same journey as I had. A journey that had taken six years to complete and here we all were at the end of it.  After today, everything would just be nothing more than a memory. Something to look back on and say we had been there.

The moment had arrived as I felt my heart thudding madly in my chest.

Then the world exploded into a cacophony of light and sound as the fanfare blasted out and everyone began to clap and cheer.

 "STAR WARS: EPISODE VI RETURN OF THE JEDI"

Like everyone around me, I sat there with a stupid grin on my face as the story began to unfold before my eyes. It was May 25th, 1983. I was eighteen years old and all was right in my world.

***

Three hours later.

"Teddy bears," said Barney around a mouthful of double cheeseburger with everything on it, "Are you telling me a bunch of fucking teddy bears kicked the Empires ass?"

The Burger bar was jam packed and the four of us sat huddled together in a far corner on the ground floor as Benny and the Jets rocked from the old style 50's jukebox next to us.

"Leia was hot," said Duggie as he contemplated his extra large hot dog stuffed with fried onions. His eyes had practically bugged out of his head when he saw the Princess wearing that skimpy slave outfit.

We all nodded and mumbled in unison. Yeah. No doubt about that. Hot didn't even begin to cover it. 

"You'll have to buy Debbie that get up for Christmas, Harry," laughed Wade as he gave Barney a nudge, "She might be into all that kinky bondage stuff."

I gave him a look. "Sure," I grunted at him sarcastically, "Like she would ever wear something like that, you dope," which was true enough sadly. She may have been the potential apple of my eye but that girl had been born a nun.

God knows, it had taken me all of my time to even get to first base with her and trying to steal second inside her blouse or under her skirt would definitely be a step too far. To get that far would probably mean either a ring on her finger or her old man standing behind me with a shotgun and a Priest out front.

I sighed and stuffed a handful of fries into my face. Why'd she have to be the cutest little thing in class? Her and that long blonde hair of hers. And those boobs. And ass. And the legs that went on forever. You big dope. Always a sucker for a pretty smile. It's not like I was head over heels or anything either.

Why was I making life so complicated for myself?

Wade took a long slurp of coke through his straw and looked at me. "I hear you got onto that work placement scheme," he said, "through the College. Metro-Grid or something?"

"Yeah," I nodded as I grabbed a tissue and wiped my mouth, "Start in a couple of weeks. Think I got lucky as a few put in for that particular slot. I guess keeping wide awake in Physics and Math back in High School paid off."

"What are you going to major in?"

"Linesman tech, hopefully," I replied, "Working outdoors. Installations. Maintenance. That sort of thing. Work my way from the ground up so that I can be on a crew and, if things work out, get my own truck in the future. Simple."

Except it really wasn't. Linesman was a good paying job especially for these parts so there was probably going to be a lot of competition for however many slots were available this turnover.

Barney made a face and shook his head. "Nah, screw that," he laughed dismissively. "That sounds like too much hard work. Have you seen the Winters around here lately? You'll be out at God knows what hour stuck up a pole with two feet of snow under you and a blizzard blowing around your ball sack. Just stick me in a nice warm office with a nice big desk, a sexy brunette as my secretary, and a new company car each year and I'm good to go."

"More like asking if they want fries to go knowing you, you lazy bum," snorted Wade, as he avoided the rolled up burger wrapper thrown at him.

"Asshole," grinned Barney as he yawned and stretched in his seat. "What about you, Chief?" he wondered as he looked across the table. "Got any plans to get out of this dump?"

The fourth member of our little troop was Josh. He was the strong, silent, and languid type. A regular slow-mo Joe who looked like a hicksville version of a young Clint Eastwood. Nothing much bothered Josh. Least of all a sandy-haired, freckled faced motormouth like Barnabus Willaby the Third. Josh was also the oldest at nineteen and kind of the defacto leader of the gang. Nothing official or set in stone, but if shit went down Josh was always the first one to stand up and the kind of guy who would go the extra yard for you.

"Lumber probably," he said in that drawl of his, "Working for the old man until the old man ain't working anymore. From then on I'll be my own boss. Harry here has the right idea. Get a trade, a profession under your belt. Do something that folks will always need. With him, it's the electric. With me, it's lumber."

The rest of us sat there listening and nodding. The man talked sense and pretty much had the right of it. Even motormouth had shut up for once.

Yeah. If none of us were going to get the hell out of Dodge at least try and find something that made staying here bearable. Life was pretty much going to be: get through College, get a decent job, find a girl, get married, settle down, have kids, see them up and gone, retire and, finally, shuffle off this mortal coil. 

And then see what happens next.

Now that was depressing as fuck.

***

The girl looked up.

All around her, the stars burned brightly across the vast nothingness of space as her little ship neared its destination.

A slight vibration told her that she was about to slip back into observed reality and the numbers flickering and floating inside her cockpit would be the precise point the insertion would take place. She stared at them as they slowed with her machine adjusting its position as it flew along the Newton line.

 34:15:25:05:1983 - 33:15:25:05:1983 - 32:15:25:05:1983 - 31:15:25:05:1983

There was another stronger vibration as the engine throttled back and the insertion began with the girl feeling herself being pushed back into her padded seat. This part always made her heart beat faster for it was the most dangerous moment of her journey.

The canopy of her ship tinted as it emerged into bright sunlight with the vents to the rear opening to allow the engine to cool down. The dark panel in front of her erupted into a digital firework display as reams of data skittered across its surface.

The girl sat forward staring intently at the readouts and main dials.

She was here. She had arrived in exactly the right place and at exactly the right time that had been pre-set and arranged by the team back home.

She had landed in the Holocene epoch. In the astronomical year of 1983. On the twenty-fifth day of the month of May and it had just gone three-thirty in the afternoon. The girl smiled and did her initial prep before she stepped out into a whole different period in human history.

"Tint minus 40," she said as she peered through the cockpit at the outside world. The ship was in some sort of back alley with brick walls rising high either side of it. It was partially hidden in the shadows cast by the sun as it sat overhead.

"Open please."

There was a soft click then hiss as the teardrop shaped canopy slid back into the slot above where her seat was. She could feel that peculiar "kick" in her chest as she drew her first breath and exhaled slowly. Standing up, she carefully stepped out of her cockpit and watched as the canopy slid back into place.

"Plus point one. Voice recall. Kira J. Copy."

The machine beeped and disappeared.

Satisfied, the girl brushed off the faint layer of dust that had settled on her flight suit with her right hand and slowly made her way to the entrance of the alley.

***

The mid-afternoon sun was high in the sky as we made our way out of the Burger Bar onto the sidewalk across from the local cinema where another long line had formed for the next showing. All around us people were going about doing their thing and the buzz of bumper to bumper traffic filled the air.

"Need a lift?" asked Josh as he fiddled around in his denim jacket looking for his keys.

Barney and Wade nodded. "Taxi to go!" laughed Wade as he slipped on his shades and stood running his fingers through his slick black hair as he stared at his reflection in the shop window.

For some reason, I felt I needed to do my own thing so I waved my hand at them. "Nah, gonna go for a walk. I need to get some tapes for the VCR. Have a look around some stores. That sort of thing. I'll catch you guys later."

"Okay, Bud," said Josh as the three of them turned and crossed the road to where the oldest member of our group had parked his Chevy. "Don't do anything stupid!" he laughed, turning to give me a thumbs up.

Yeah. Sure. Whatever.

I turned and headed North along the long line of stores which made up the main shopping street in the district. Stores that pretty much sold everything from a paperclip to a house as I browsed in their windows and wandered on my way. I glanced up as I walked under the old station clock and stopped for a moment not sure where I wanted to go next. It had gone three-forty-five and I could do with a drink.

It was a seriously hot late Spring day and the light breeze was a blessed relief as I stopped at the lights waiting for them to change. The problem with this place was it was either too damned hot or too damned cold. It was usually one or the other with Autumn passing in the blink of an eye. I stood there shielding my gaze from the bright sunlight when something caught my eye. Something out of the ordinary.

There across the street.

It was someone, not a something. Standing next to the alley that divided Brookers Supplies and O'Malleys the Pawnbrokers. I frowned as I tried to make out who it was that had drawn my attention.

I suddenly froze and felt a cold shiver run down my spine. 

No. Wait. It couldn't be.

The lights changed to red and I quickly crossed the road along with the other pedestrians and stood there in a store doorway staring intently at the figure who had stepped out into the daylight so I could finally see what she looked like.

It was a girl.

An impossible girl with long auburn hair blowing freely in the breeze.

My whole world was concentrated on her as she turned and walked away from me then began to look in the various store windows that she passed. I could see a smile on her face and a happy bounce in her step as she made her way oblivious to the people around her.

It was then I realized what she was wearing. A dark grey one-piece outfit that looked more like a uniform than anything else. A uniform that I had seen before.

I could feel my heart hammering wildly in my chest. This is ridiculous. This can't be happening. Calm down. Think. Think rationally. There was absolutely no way she should be here. For a second, I thought I was dreaming as the memories came flooding back.  Memories that had always been there at the back of my mind.

It had to be a dream. There was no other possible explanation because she had come from a dream. My dream. Back when I must have been about twelve or so. I glanced down at my hands and balled them into fists.

No. No, this was real.

There was only going to be one way to find out.

I suddenly realized I was shaking. Alright. We need to get a grip, Harry Watts. Get a fucking grip. Taking a deep breath, I took a step forward. Then another and another. The girl still hadn't seen me because of the other people on the sidewalk as I followed her to see wherever it was she was going and what she was up to.

***

It was at the corner of Third Avenue and Madison where my life changed forever.

Dexters department store was a four-story building that had been there since the 1920's. It was pretty much the go to place if you wanted something a little bit more classy and a lot more expensive in this neck of the woods. It sold everything from kitchenware to furniture to men's and women's wear and jewelry. If you were a kid, the top floor was manna from heaven with a toy department that was stocked with all kinds of goodies.

I stood watching the girl intently.

She had this odd way about her. Like, how she'd turn and stare at something that caught her eye and she'd laugh and sort of skip away to look for something else. She seemed fascinated by everything and everyone.

I decided to make my move when she went into Dexters, though I had absolutely no idea what the hell I was going to say or do when I confronted her. How do you talk to someone who shouldn't even exist?

Maybe I had seen her before and that's why she had been in my twelve-year-old dream. She was just another stranger with a strange face wandering around my iD like my mother had originally said. That had to be the only answer. I guess I was about to find out. I was going to come out of this looking like a complete loon.

Nancy on perfumes gave me a smile from behind her counter as I entered the busy store. Nancy was going on fifty and was an outrageous flirt who dressed like Liberace on a bad day.

"Hey, sweetie," she said as she rearranged various concoctions on the shelves behind her, "Mom not with you?"

I shook my head but kept my eyes on the figure going up the escalator to the next floor which was ladies and men's wear.

"No, Nance," I said to her, "Grandma is arriving tomorrow so she's giving the house a once-over."

She leaned forward and thrust out her voluptuous chest in my general direction. "Maybe I can do something for you then?" she teased as she raised her eyebrows and played with the string of fake pearls hanging around her neck.

I glanced at her. The woman couldn't help herself. I frowned for I thought she was seeing Ted. Ted from the Barbers a couple of stores up. "Uh, think I'll pass, Nance. Maybe another time."

The older woman laughed and rolled her eyes. "Can't blame a gal for trying. You take care, hon, and go spend some money!"

I gave her a friendly wave and headed for the second floor.

***

The girl was standing before a mirror in the lingerie department holding what looked like a see-through red chemise in front of her as I stood quietly watching from behind a stone pillar.

I still hadn't managed to have a good look at her face because of the way her long hair curled and flowed around it and down over her shoulders. I could hear and feel my heart rattling around inside of me but it had slowed enough to let me catch my breath so I could stand there without making a noise.

My eyes dropped to her backside which was tightly shaped and outlined in her outfit. She looked about five eleven in what appeared to be a pair of black ankle boots with a physique that could best be described as stacked and packed. Was she Army or Air Force? She certainly looked like she could handle herself. She was probably going to beat the crap out of me when I said hello.

But there was no turning back now. Whatever the hell this was I needed to know one way or the other.

Do it. Just go do it.

I gathered myself mentally, took a final deep breath, and stepped out from where I had been watching and walked slowly towards her as she looked at herself in the mirror.

Each step felt like a dozen. Like I was sleepwalking in a wide-awake dream. In the mirror, I saw myself approaching her from behind and when I was about ten feet away I stopped and stared at her reflection.

Her head turned slightly to the right and I saw her eyes looking at my doppelganger staring back at her as she stood there in front of me. Then she smiled.

"Well, look at you," she said. Her voice sounded pure and sweet. "All grown up."

She slowly turned and faced me, still holding the garment in front of her before letting her arms drop to her sides. Under the bright store lights, it was my first proper chance to look at her in the flesh.

Oh. My. God.

She was absolutely stunning. The most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

I couldn't speak. Everything within me just caught in my throat as I stared into the purest, deepest pair of blue eyes I had ever seen. Her unblemished skin had a hint of a tan and her abundant rich mane hung around her in waves of copper that appeared to shimmer under the lights.

Her smile deepened and I saw that her lips were a full deep red and lusciously vibrant.

I was gone. Completely stunned. My gaze fell on her suit and the thing I had remembered most about it. It wasn't a badge. It was a patch of some sort. It showed what looked like a fat torpedo with fins on each side and an engine of some sort along the top and rear with an oval-shaped cockpit at the front. Underneath the machine were what looked like letters and numbers. But nothing like I had ever seen before.

It felt like I had suddenly gone back in time and was twelve again.

***

Everything had gone from dead stop to a hundred miles an hour as I tried to come to terms with what was happening to me. My mind was turning cartwheels with a million different thoughts tumbling around inside my head.

This is real. This is not a dream.

The one thing that stood out the most to me as I stared at this strange girl was the one thing which stunned and shocked me most of all. Her appearance. The way she looked.

She hadn't changed at all.

She looked exactly the same as I had remembered her in my dream. And she was just standing there. Right in front of me. Smiling as though she knew and understood everything that was going on between us.

I tried to speak. Say something. Say anything.

"Muh," I gasped, swallowing hard, "My name is Harry Watts and I'm eighteen years old!"

The girl tilted her head to the side slightly and nodded.

"I know," she replied softly, "I know."

Then she reached forward with her right hand and cupped my left cheek, which she stroked with her thumb as her blue eyes searched my face.

"I don't understand," I said to her.

The girl lowered her hand. "You will. One day. Everything will make sense. Just know that everything happening to you is for a reason."

Reason? What reason?

Thank God I was finally beginning to think straight.

It was then I noticed the other people on the floor glancing at us out of curiosity as we stood there facing each other. Not that it mattered in the slightest. Everything was focused on her and the need to find out who she was, where she came from and why she was here to begin with.

"Who are you?"

Her wide smile slowly turned into a wistful one.

She shook her head.

"Then where are you from and why are you here?"

She stayed silent and looked at me.

"I saw you," I said firmly, "I saw you in a dream. My dream. How can you be here? That was six years ago. You look exactly the same as I remember you."

She raised her head and that beautiful smile came back.

"I wanted to see the Wizard," she whispered, "I wanted to see the wonderful Wizard of OZ with you. And I did."

I had met the Wizard of OZ in that dream. I could feel my heart start to beat faster again. How could she have known about what happened in the dream unless she truly had been there? 

"That's not possible."

"Everything is possible, Harry," she replied, "You just have to give it a little time and patience."

She dropped the lingerie on the floor and reached her right hand up to her ear as if something distracted her.

She suddenly took a step forward as she started to leave and walk past me. But I quickly stepped in front of her and held up my hands. Oh, no you don't lady. Enough with the riddles and games. I wanted and needed answers from her and there was no way I was going to let her go before I got them.

I shook my head. "We're not done," I warned her.

The girl looked at my raised hands before her eyes met mine. She appeared amused as she licked her lips and glanced down at the floor before her gaze returned to meet mine.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

No. But what choice did I have? 

"You're not going anywhere until I get some answers."

I stood there watching as she lifted her own hands and slipped her fingers through mine until she had a firm tight grip. Uh. Okay. This is something. Was this where she kicked my ass into next week? I glanced from our clasped hands to her face which had a faint blush on it as her lips opened slightly. What the heck was she up to?

She jerked me forward with our bodies coming together and, to my complete astonishment and surprise, her lips found mine in a passionate kiss that lifted me off my feet emotionally as she let go of my hands and wrapped her arms around my neck.

I think my brain melted. I just stood there like a lemon with my arms down by my sides as she kissed the soul out of me. I gave a sort of strangulated grunt as she forced herself against me and I felt the obvious thrust of a pair of sizeable breasts against my shirt covered chest.

Whatever sense or reason I had left floated away like confetti on a Spring breeze and I didn't notice her right hand touch me behind my ear as she finally broke the kiss and took a step back breathing hard. I just stared at her open mouthed like an idiot. Her face was flushed and she reached up to touch her lips with her fingers.

"I shouldn't have done that," she whispered.

I got the impression she was talking more to herself than me. My head was still in the clouds and it felt like I was floating. I had this strange numbing sensation at the top of my spine as if everything had lost sensation and the ability to move.

The girl stepped up to me and put her hand on my heart.

"When the time comes," she promised, "I'll be there for you so don't be afraid."

With a quick glance around, the girl moved past me and headed for the exit.

Wait. Didn't I tell you that I wasn't going to let you go without getting some answers? What the hell? I tried to run after her but found that I could barely move a muscle. Everything had seized up and it took a huge effort to even turn around.

The effect lasted for less than a minute but it was enough for her to get away. Slowly, but surely, I regained my strength and stumbled after her. Down the escalator, through the perfume section on the bottom floor, past a startled Nancy who waved at me as I ran out the main entrance and out into the crowds milling around.

I  looked wildly around. Where was she?

I jumped up onto a street lamp to gain some advantage and, after a moment, finally saw her running away from me up the opposite sidewalk. She looked like she was heading for the alley where I first saw her.

But that was a dead end.

Dodging the traffic, I ran across the road in pursuit of the girl. There was no way she could escape if she went where I thought she was going to go. Then we'd have it out. The two of us. She'd talk even if I took her to the Police.

I saw her again. She seemed confused as she stopped between each store and looked down the alleys between them. Maybe she was lost. I slowed to a jog and stopped a few yards from her with her back to me.

"Wait!" I shouted at her.

I could see her shoulders rising and falling as she gasped for breath.

She spun around and stared wild-eyed at me. I took a step towards her but she held up her right hand.

"Don't come any closer!" she shouted back.

I took another step and saw the look of anguish on her face.

"We just need to talk!"

She shook her head with her glorious hair whipping around her like a fiery flame.

"Not yet."

Suddenly, she turned and ran down the alley where I thought she would go. The one alley in the street with a dead end. Okay. Here we go. This is it, lady. Time to put an end to all this nonsense.

I walked towards it wondering what I was going to do with her when I got there. As I approached, a waft of dust blew out from the opening and a soft hum filled the air for a split second before it disappeared as quickly as it had come.

I stepped into the entrance and stopped.

There was no sign of her.

Nothing.

There was absolutely no way she could have gotten out.

The girl had vanished into thin air.

Again.

***

"Are you telling me," gasped Marty, "You made a time machine out of a DeLorean?"

The Doc waved his hands around trying to shush him up.

"Well," the Scientist said with his arms stretched wide as he stood there in his white lab coat, "If you're going to do something like that you may as well do it with some style!"

Marty just shook his head and laughed. "Well, you're the Doc, Doc."

There was a knock on the door and Mom popped her head around it as I sat propped up against the headboard. I blinked and gave her a smile as I cleared my head and closed the book on my lap.

"Want to talk, hon?" she asked as she came over and sat beside me on the bed. "Don't think I haven't noticed something has been bothering you these past couple of days," she said as she put a hand on my arm. "There is nothing, absolutely nothing you can't talk to me about. You got that?"

I glanced at her and nodded my head. Even at eighteen, I was still her little boy.

"It's okay," I smiled. "Just stupid stuff. Nothing to worry about. Honest."

She gave me the concerned Mom stare. "You're not worried about that work placement thing are you?" she asked.

"What? No. Nothing like that."

"Is it that girl you've been seeing?"

I looked at her surprised. "How do you..."

Mom rolled her eyes. "There are no secrets in this town, silly," she winked. "Not with chatterboxes like Nancy Watson around on gossip duty!"

Uh. Yeah. Of course. I sure could tell Mom a couple of stories she didn't know about that woman and no mistake. But she was right. It was everything about a girl but not the one she was thinking about.

"No, Mom," I smiled ruefully, "and her name is Debbie. She's in my College class."

"Well," she replied as she raised her eyebrows, "would it hurt so much to bring her around sometime? I know I can be a bit cranky at times but I promise to be on my best behavior. Scouts honor!" she laughed as she crossed her chest.

"Sure, Mom," I nodded, "I'm sure she'd love to meet you. Maybe next week after Grandma has gone back home."

Mom glanced at her watch. "Speaking of the devil," she said as she got up, leaned over, and kissed me on the top of my head. "She's due in an hour, so I'll be heading over to the Station to pick her up when her Amtrak comes in."

She walked over to the door and turned to look at me.

"Whatever it is, hon," she said, "there's always a reason why things happen the way they do. Sometimes, all it takes is a little time and patience to discover the answer. If you're meant to know the reason then the reason will come to you."

She closed the door and I stared at it knowing she was right. As usual.

I looked down at the book on my lap and opened it again.

There, hidden between the pages, was the rough sketch I had drawn so long ago.

Of her. The auburn haired girl in my twelve-year-old dream.

Except she wasn't just a dream anymore.

She was real.

***

The end of The Dreamers part 1 Continues in The Dreamers part 2 of 3