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Charles gazed down with great concern at his supine wife. A white coated physician entered the stark cold room. “Mr. Penrose, how are you holding up?” Charles smiled at the comforting, genial brown face of the doctor. “I’m sorry, doctor, I’ve forgotten your name…”
“With all that you’ve been through, I can hardly blame you. It’s Singh…but you call me Mohinder…” The doctor walked over to look at the patient lying perfectly still in her bed. Several sensors were attached to various points on her body. Like long living tendrils, they connected to large humming machines encircling her bed. “I have to be honest with you, Mr. Penrose, this case is most unusual. Your wife is in a deep coma, this much we know, but there seems to be no clear underlying cause for her condition. We’ve run a number of tests, and there are still a few more we could do, but as things now stand, it is impossible to pinpoint the trauma that caused this. At first it looked like an overdose, but there was a negligible trace of drugs in her system.” The fretful husband stood with his arms folded tightly, listening intently to the explanation. “Could this have been caused by simple stress? I mean, you know about my daughter…please call me Charles, by the way.” The young physician spoke with great passion. “Charles…
frankly no…the only thing that seems even remotely unusual were these EEGs we 108
conducted earlier.” He picked up a brown manila envelope and removed several colourful cranial images detailing electrical activity. He held them up to the light.
“Look at this area here, this is the pre-frontal lobe, and here…this is the Pineal gland, both areas show an unusually high level of electromagnetic activity.” Charles merely shrugged his shoulders apologetically. “I’m sorry…and that means what exactly…?”
“Well…it may mean nothing…these sorts of results are consistent with some patients I’ve examined who’ve experienced some sort of psychotic break with reality. Pre-frontal excitation is associated with increased susceptibility to flights of imagination, and hallucinations. Its precise cause is unknown. Now I’m not saying that your wife is psychotic…it’s just that these imaging results are highly anomalous. The unusual activity with the Pineal gland is most strange. I’m going to call in some specialists on this. For the time being, as long as we can keep Carolyn stable, there seems to be no immediate danger.” The news was hardly comforting. “Well, if there’s nothing we can do…I’m going to call our family doctor…not that he’d likely be of any help at this point.” The physician gently clasped the man’s shoulder and left the room. The mournful looking spouse sat down heavily in the seat beside his wife. Carolyn’s body remained statue still. The low hum of monitoring machines masked the ominous silence that had descended on the sterile white room.
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Hillary gently patted the thick brown mane of her powerful steed. “Wow Dante! That was fun, but a little scary! We made it though. I don’t think I really like this place. Where exactly are we?” Hillary gazed across the seemingly limitless expanse before her. The horse stood rather precariously upon a narrow dirt path. On either side of them was a bubbling, brackish soupy bog. The air was foul, and thick with dense mist. Above them the sky was dark and littered with stagnant stale gray and green clouds. Dante began to carefully make his way along the twisted path.
“This is the land of lost dreams. People who lose sight of their dreams can end up here, trapped…forever.” Hillary took heed of the dire warning. “I’ll never end up here, I always remember my dreams when I’m awake.” Dante continued, in a very serious tone. “No Hillary, those aren’t the sort of dreams I’m talking about. Let me explain. When a person is young like yourself, it’s easy to lose yourself in the world of wonder and the imagination. When you start to get older, it becomes more and more difficult to hold onto this vital world. At a certain point one is forced to choose. There comes a time when that magical dream-like world is gone forever, and you end up here.” The wise, cautionary words of her equine friend filled Hillary with sadness. “I think I understand what you mean. Perhaps my Mom 110
and Dad have lost touch with their dream worlds. I don’t want them to end up here! Is there anything I can do to save them?”
“Maybe…maybe not…we’ll have to see. In the meantime, we need to get to that special mirror. Look far, far in the distance. Do you see that castle?” Hillary squinted in the direction he pointed his large head. “Yes…I see it. It’s so far away!” Dante concurred. “It certainly is, but we can’t travel too fast. See that swampy bog on either side of us? If you fall in, you might never, ever escape.” With those chilling words of caution, the two companions ventured ever deeper into the accursed, hopeless expanse.
Carolyn heard the heavy steel door slam behind her as she walked carefully down the concrete stairs. As she reached the floor of the basement, she unzipped her tote-bag and watched as Digby jumped out quickly. He held onto his lantern in his left hand and began scanning the room for intruders. Carolyn walked over to the wall and flipped on a switch. A dim fluorescent light came flickering on. She looked around in confusion. “Digby, what happened to all the mannequins that were down here?” Digby had also noticed the stark emptiness of the room. “Who knows…maybe they got away?” Carolyn suddenly grabbed her head with both 111
hands and fell onto the cold cement floor. It felt as though the centre of her head were expanding outward. “Digby…am I going crazy? Is this really happening? Is this a dream?” As she peered out from behind her fingers, the scene around her grew hazy and indistinct. The small red-haired boy patted her gently upon the shoulder. “It’s okay. It’s always harder for grown ups, but you’ll make it. Let’s go, before they find us and try and take us back.” Carolyn was able to regain a measure of composure. She pointed to the elevator directly in front of her. “That’s where we have to go right?” Digby nodded and hastened her on. “Okay, this will be easy.
Just press the button.” Carolyn followed the instructions and the doors pulled open.
They entered the enclosure and watched as the doors again shut tight. Digby pointed towards the down-arrow on the panel. “See that one? Push it, and we’re on our way!” As Carolyn pushed the button, the small car slowly lurched into motion.
She was shocked to realize that they were indeed moving downward. The store clerk had made a very emphatic point of explaining that nothing existed below the store. There were no lower floors, yet she felt the car move downward nonetheless.
Within minutes they arrived at their destination. The doors of the elevator pulled apart to reveal a long, carefully tended gravel pathway, bordered on either side by a perfectly manicured green hedge. The sky above was bright blue and filled with tiny fluffy unmoving clouds. Carolyn cautiously exited from her familiar world and entered a strange new one.
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Charles remained in the hospital at Carolyn’s side for many hours. In the morning he was joined by his family physician and friend Dr. Jenner. They sat together staring at the motionless woman. The elder gentleman finally spoke up.
“You know Charles, she really is getting the best of care here. You need to get some rest; you look terrible. There really isn’t anything more we can do for her now.” He appreciated the reassurances. “Maybe just for a few more hours. So you’re sure you can’t figure out what’s wrong with her?” The older man shook his head. “It doesn’t look like she took many of those anti-anxiety pills…maybe she was thinking about it, and didn’t. I’ll make sure they run some more tests. I’m going to talk to somebody about those unusual brain scans. It’s almost like part of her mind has shut down completely…in some sort of vegetative state; and other areas show extreme activity. I’ve never seen anything like it…then again, I’m no expert. You go home now and try to get some rest.” The exhausted husband reluctantly got up to leave. “Thanks again, Peter. I’ll be back here this afternoon.
Bye.” He left the hospital and got into his black German sedan. He noticed that the weather had cleared up somewhat. The sun was straining to break through the previous night’s storm clouds. His eyes were heavy and tired as he laboriously 113
fought his way through the beginning of the morning rush hour. He managed to barely make it home without falling asleep. Staggering in the door, he dropped his coat on the floor and struggled up the stairs to his bedroom. Still dressed in his expensive suit, he collapsed onto the soft mattress. He was momentarily awakened by the sound of someone laughing. He called out loudly, “Who’s there?” Not receiving a response, he chalked the phantom voice up to fatigue and fell into a deep sleep. After a moment, he suddenly bolted upright. Sitting on the edge of the bed was a girl whom he instantly recognized as Hillary. “Hillary! Thank God you’re back! I missed you so much!” The girl before him wore a blue and green tartan dress and stood smiling at the man. “I’m not Hillary silly! I’m Samantha, Hillary’s sister.” Charles gazed at the girl with a bewildered expression. “What are you talking about? You are Hillary! She has no sister. I don’t recognize that dress though…it must be new.” Samantha again laughed. “This is just a dream you’re having. This isn’t really happening…can’t you even tell the difference between a dream and real life?” Charles face became contorted with agitation. “No…you’re wrong…this is real…I’m not dreaming this…I’m real.” He racked his brain searching for some sort of logical explanation. “Watch this. If I pinch myself…there…I felt that, so this must be real…this is happening” The girl shook her head. “That doesn’t mean anything. Hillary was right…you are strange. Take this book, but be careful with it. Don’t let anyone else have it…especially not 114
Digby! Don’t worry, Hillary is okay...for now...but you should probably get used to her being gone. She may never come back, you see. I have to go.” He accepted the odd book without really noticing it. A sense of deep confusion numbed his mind. The girl moved away from the bed and proceeded to walk easily through the large bedroom mirror. The liquid surface of the mirror rippled with her passage.
The effect was similar to a rock thrown into a still lake. Charles merely stared in utter disbelief. His head fell to the pillow as his eyes fell shut. He suddenly gasped as if struggling for air. A film of clammy sweat covered his heavily whiskered face. His mind raced uncontrollably. The strange episode with the Hillary look-alike was etched deeply in his mind. He concluded that he had experienced nothing more than a very realistic dream. He lay down again and rolled over to return to sleep. Charles gazed at a children’s storybook propped up against the pillow.
Hillary and Dante traveled for hours upon hours. Time seemed to wax and wane with no consistency. Dark brooding clouds and ominous winds obscured the churning sky above. On several occasions, Hillary was forced to hold on tight, for fear of being tossed off her ride. The narrow dirt path meandered in a zigzagging pattern. Hillary gasped as she saw a limp, algae covered arm reach upward from the 115
bog. “Dante! There’s somebody in that swamp! We have to save them!” He barely lifted his heavy head. “I wish that we could…that is just one of the dangers in traveling through this land. Anybody who is down there in the bog cannot be helped. They will try to lure you down to their level, but if they touch you, it’s all over….you’re stuck there forever.” The frightening words filled Hillary with sadness. “I want to go home now! It’s too frightening here!” Dante considered the remark carefully before answering. “Hillary, it’s healthy to feel bad for these people, but you can’t give yourself away just because of them. You don’t want to end up here yourself do you?” Hillary reluctantly accepted the truth of the remark.
She wished to know more about the unfortunate land she saw around her. “Dante, let me ask you something. When Digby and I were in the basement, before we got on the elevator, there were a bunch of women. They looked like frozen people, or statues maybe. Did they used to be alive like me?” Dante listened carefully before responding. “Those are sad cases, Hillary. They are called mannequins. They are actually adults who wanted to escape to Nibiru but got scared at the last second. At the last second, they were not able to relinquish the regular world. They are stuck there…unless…there is a legend, that a little girl will come to our land and open up the gateway to the regular world again for all. You could be that girl, Hillary.” The revelation overwhelmed the young girl. “Me? How could I be so important? I’m nothing special.” Dante laughed out loud. “That’s where you’re wrong. There is no 116
other girl like you in the entire world. You have special powers like no one else .
You have the power to make things real with your imagination. It is a most powerful and dangerous gift that you possess.” The declaration seemed to embolden the young girl. “You know, Dante, my Nana always told me that I was special, but I never understood what she meant. Will I be able to help other people find Nibiru?”
“I’m entirely not sure. You might not yet be sufficiently powerful. We’ll have to ask the magical mirror. We still have very far to go.” Dante looked ahead as the path again narrowed to a mere foot in width. “Hold on tight. I might have to jump this part ahead.” Hillary grabbed hold tightly onto the steeds strong neck.
“Will my Mom and Dad be okay, Dante?” The horse waited until he had safely leaped the narrow gap and then answered. “There. They should be fine…except…” Hillary urged him to elaborate. “Well…since you were able to cross into this land, it is possible that creatures from this land might make their way to the regular world. Some of them are good, but some are very bad…and of course there is the storybook. That can be very dangerous in the hands of the wrong person. It can become enchanted and trap within all those that might read it .” Hillary wanted to know more. “Nana always read that storybook with me, I never noticed anything wrong.”
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“You had Nana as your spiritual guide. Most adults cannot control their imagination, and it can get the better of them sometimes…that’s why many of them lose it completely. Dreams can become real, and reality can become a dream…terrible things can happen. That’s why Digby was sent back by the Thinker to get the book. The Thinker controls the book. So far he hasn’t come back. We’ll just have to hope that everything is okay.” They continued their lonely trek across the vast, bleak landscape. A teeming rain began to fall down heavily upon the weary adventurers.
The steel elevator doors pulled open to the reveal the strange world of Nibiru to Carolyn. She gazed around in detached wonderment. Digby reached up to grab her hand. “Come on…and stay close. This could be a most dangerous place for a grown-up. You have not learned how to control your imagination yet.
We need to find Hillary. Remember, you have to do whatever I say down here, no matter how crazy it might sound to you, okay?” The bewildered mother nodded automatically as she continued to stare into the distance. She noticed something that looked like a crowd of people up ahead. They walked along the path until Digby also noticed the unfamiliar apparition. “Digby, who are all those people up 118
ahead? Are they real? There’s something… wrong about them.” Digby stopped and peered into the distance. “I’m not sure yet…it’s hard to tell who they are. Let’s keep going.” The distant noisy throng grew ever closer. Eventually the indistinct group became identifiable. Carolyn watched as a collection of hobbling, physically incomplete mannequins came rushing towards her. There were at least a dozen of them. Most were missing at least one limb. Some sported a single leg and hopped along precariously. Another possessed only a set of arms with no legs and dragged itself unnaturally along the path. As the shape of each figure became distinct, the truly horrific nature of the scene finally struck Carolyn. The mutant mob grew closer still. “Oh my God Digby! Those look like the mannequins from the basement. They’re coming for us!” Digby yelled loudly. “Quick…turn around and run! I was afraid this might happen. With the portal opened, they escaped into this world from the basement. Someone or something has upset the balance between the two worlds. They’re now half-alive. That frozen girl in the elevator must have let them in. We need to get back before they touch us.” Carolyn began to run, but the encroaching twisted mannequins continued their relentless chase. They collectively let out a bone-chilling howl as they drew near. “What happens if they touch us?”
“They steal your real life from you. They become real, and you become a dummy.” The morbid detail served to quicken Carolyn’s pace towards the elevator.
She could not help herself from turning her head to check the mob’s progress. As 119
she did so, she stumbled and fell hard to the ground. The relentless mob were quickly upon her. Digby turned around helplessly to see the group descend upon her in a frenzied attack. One by one, they touched Carolyn’s head and were magically transformed. Thankfully Carolyn had passed out from sheer terror. The terrible ordeal was over in mere seconds. The monstrous mob of now fully living, breathing creatures walked away from the splayed body of the statue still mother.
Digby walked over to her and felt her forehead. It was still warm. Outwardly Carolyn still wore the clothes she had put on that morning. Her body was now a hard and lifeless plastic replica. Her beautiful face was now only a painted visage.
Digby was deeply saddened by the awful sight. “You should never have looked back at them. I’ll take you back to the basement. At least you might be safe there until I can figure out what to do next.” The tiny red-haired boy began to laboriously drag Carolyn back to the elevator. He pushed her inside, and then pressed the up button. As the doors again opened to the basement, Digby carefully dragged Carolyn out of the elevator and propped her up against the dark basement wall. The impish creature realized he could presently do nothing for her. Only powerful magic could transform her back to her recognizable self. He decided to return to the regular world and try to contact Hillary’s father. Digby quickly returned to Nibiru on the elevator. He ran over to the hedge maze and dived headlong into the thick green leaves.
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Charles jumped up in shock when he saw the storybook beside him. His head whirled around wildly in expectation of some sort of intruder. He called out loudly. “Who left this here? Is this somebody’s idea of a joke? What’s going on?” The house was dead silent. He reached over to grab the strange book. As he did so, the talisman he had brought back from his Cambodian trip fell from his pocket. It lay motionless on the bedspread. He recalled how Annie has made a cryptic reference to the object. Quite out of nowhere, he uncharacteristically yelled at it loudly. “Come alive!” Reaching now to retrieve the idol, it suddenly moved away.
The three inch figure had indeed come alive, as he had wished. It now stood with it’s small spear and shield and bowed before him. Charles simply stared in disbelief; and wondered if he were still actually dreaming. He decided to get some fresh air and clear his head. The confused man walked into the bathroom where he disrobed and took a shower. The warm water seemed to clear the thick cobwebs from his mind. He rationalized the whole strange experience as being due to a lack of sleep and stress; and tried to put the whole episode out of his mind. He dressed, left the bathroom and went downstairs for a snack. He was still a little bleary and decided upon some strong coffee. Reaching into the cupboard, he heard a noise. It seemed to emanate from underneath the kitchen sink. Charles stared at the source 121
of the disturbance. The muffled sounds continued until he finally watched in amazement as a small red-haired boy wearing a green sweater and blue overalls hopped out of the kitchen cabinet. The tiny boy stared up at the father. “Oh…it’s you. I’m Digby. Where is the storybook?” Charles crouched down to see the figure before him and shook his head. “I must still be dreaming. Are you telling me that you’re Digby, my daughter’s imaginary friend?” Digby stared up as if the man were crazy. “Well obviously I’m real…and we wouldn’t be having this conversation if you were dreaming. Anyway, what difference would it make if you were dreaming? We’d still be having this conversation…right? It won’t hurt you to talk to me, will it?” Charles squinted his eyes and looked hard at the small boy. “I must be hallucinating, or overtired. Maybe you’re just part of my dream…whatever. Tell me, do you know where Hillary is?” The diminutive creature answered the query promptly. “Of course I do, and I know where your wife is also.” Charles face became contorted with frustration. “If you know where my daughter is, then I want you to take me to her…and what do you mean you know where my wife is…she’s in the hospital.” Digby laughed loudly in a mocking tone. “No she’s not, well, not all of her anyway...she was attacked, and she’s in the department store basement right now. I would take you to see Hillary myself, but you’re not ready to go yet. You still don’t believe…not by a long shot. Only when you begin to believe-to understand, are you able to cross over. It would be 122
too dangerous for you. You might end up in the swamp. I sent a Leprechaun friend earlier to get the storybook. Have you seen it?” Charles pondered the question momentarily and responded untruthfully. “No, I haven’t seen any book, and I wouldn’t tell you even if I had! This is nuts! I’m obviously still dreaming…I’m going to go back to bed, so I can wake up.” Dibgy pointed at the man and giggled. “So if you close your eyes and fall asleep, then you’ll be awake?
Is that it? How do you know that won’t be a dream also? I have to go now. Just remember, don’t try to change anything, and whatever you do, don’t try to wake Negative-Spin Carolyn up! That’s the one in the hospital that you can see. She’s been split apart. It could kill her if she’s disturbed in that state! ” The small boy then opened up the cupboard door and climbed in. Charles stood motionless for several moments trying to collect his scattered, incoherent thoughts. He returned to his bedroom, hoping that a further attempt at sleep might calm his frazzled nerves.
He was not at all pleased to see that both the living tribesman idol and storybook were still on the bed when he returned. He lay down and forcibly shut his eyes in an attempt to end the bewildering delusion.
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After numerous hours spent traversing the wasteland of lost dreams, Hillary and Dante finally reached the enchanted castle. Staring up at the magnificent shining structure, the young girl was overcome with awe. It towered almost a thousand feet in the air. It was constructed of brilliant polished white marble stone.
Purest crystal windows were incorporated into the wondrously detailed structure.
dazzling spires and towers sprung from the incredible castle. Intricate stone carvings had been expertly crafted into the entranceway, depicting multifarious mythological figures The shining pinnacle could barely be seen amongst the dark brooding clouds. Dante trotted onto the drawbridge and across the murky moat below. “We’ve done a good job to get this far…not many people can make it across that land and survive. As soon as we’re inside, you can meet the king and queen.” Hillary was very pleased by the news. She anticipated the royal meeting awaiting her. “I’ve always wanted to meet a king…I wonder if there is a prince also?” The clever girl pictured in her mind’s eye the image of her perfect prince.
He was tall, strong, dark-haired and brave. “Dante, I really hope they have some food in there, I’m starving!” The proud stallion tried to alleviate her worries. “They will no doubt have a great banquet prepared for us. It’s not everyday that they have a real girl as a guest.” The two adventurers were met at the entrance by two uniformed guards. Each was dressed in bright red and wore a splendid yellow feathered, spiked helmet. In unison, the two guards blew into their long brass horns 124
to herald the arrival of the two travellers. The lyrical pronouncement ended and the two guests were led into a grand hall. Many sumptuously dressed fine ladies stood expectantly at either side of the enormous room. At the far end of the room, sitting upon fine bejeweled golden thrones, sat the king and queen. Hillary gazed around in wonder at the stunning regal hall. It reminded her very much of the ballroom where she had first met and danced with Dante. She in fact recognized several of the ladies from that gala affair. She and her equine companion walked up cautiously towards the royal couple. They approached to within ten feet of them and stopped. The queen was much younger looking than her royal mate. She had long dark hair that flowed over her creamy perfect white skin. An exquisitely embroidered gold and red dress fit snugly over her girlish, slender figure. Her deep dark eyes seemed to convey a restlessness with which Hillary herself was well acquainted. The king arose from his throne with a majestic grace of motion.
He was a huge, ruddy looking man with thick bright red hair. He wore an ermine cloak over a purple velvet blouse. Black stockings and polished shoes completed his display of sartorial splendor. “Greetings honoured guests, Hillary, and her faithful steed Dante! You are welcome in my kingdom. I know that you have traveled far and seen much. I’m sure that you are greatly fatigued by your arduous journey. We will have a great banquet this evening in your honour. Rest now, and we will talk of many things later.” The royal pronouncement was followed by the 125
scurrying of servants. Hillary curtsied as best she could and followed the servants out of the great hall. Dante was lead off to his own room. Hillary was shown to her bedroom. It was a beautiful room not entirely unlike her own. It was decorated in bright pink and had a wonderful four-post bed. She was very happy to back in a place the reminded her somewhat of home. She twirled around and giggled in excitement. Finally succumbing to the sheer exhaustion of her journey, she collapsed upon the fine pink sheets. She immediately fell into a light sleep.
Charles awoke in a sweat after several hours. He could not recall any dreams he might have had during his nap. Scanning curiously around the room, he did not see either the storybook or any strange small creatures, tribal or otherwise. His reasonable mind attributed the preposterous events of the afternoon to extreme stress. Everything in the house seemed to be back to normal. He walked down to the kitchen for a snack. He looked out at the slowly darkening evening sky. A light snow had begun to fall. Charles tried not to think about the fact that Christmas was only a day away. Festivity of any sort was far from his mind. The holiday had completely slipped his thoughts. He recollected past Christmas’s spent with his precious family. He had in fact missed several due to unforeseen travel 126
commitments. He made himself a cup of instant coffee and chewed hungrily on a ham and cheddar cheese sandwich. His repast was disturbed by the ringing phone.
“Hello? Yes, detective Gardner, Merry Christmas to you also…no, you’re absolutely right, this hasn’t been the happiest time for me. Well, I hadn’t thought about that. Sure, I’d love to have Christmas dinner with your family. Right. You have some more news? You mean the tape with Hillary on it? Okay, I’ll be right down. I’ll meet you at the mall.” Charles was surprised by the invitation to dinner at the home of somebody he barely knew. He was extremely impressed by the dedication of the intrepid detective. According to the officer, there had been another anomaly discovered on the strange video surveillance tape. The detective had been reluctant to elaborate any further. Charles drove his black Mercedes to the large shopping complex. He was not pleased to r