Dreamland

I clamped my eyes shut tighter, but soon began to relax. Then, I began to take notice of things in my mind. A portion was trapped in a transparent box and colours swirled around and bounced off each other on the inside.. The same held true for the next several boxes, but they each held different things; numbers, equations, words, letters, smells, and names. But there was one particular box Jalim led me toward with a strong, forceful push. It was like the door you saw at the end of a long hallway but never wanted to open for fear of what was inside.

As I drew closer, I realized that this box, too, was transparent whereas earlier it had appeared solid black. Standing almost in front of it, I could see minute white specks flouncing about inside.

“What is that?” I asked, fear laced through my voice.

“That, dear Jallana, is Kairna’s aura. Such as if you were on a different world, like Kainra, you would see a slightly different aura.”

I nodded in understanding. Understanding things had never been a concept I was very good wit, so it was weird when I understood the gibberish-like jargon Jalim was speaking. I hadn’t even protested when he called me Jallana.

“Kairna,” Jalim continued, “used to have a completely white aura with a blue tinge– “

“Blue?”

“Yes, there’s a world for each earthly element. I will explain later, you understand?”

“Okay.”

“Now, that blue tinge represented water. As you can see, however, there is no blue left. Why would there be no water left if this was the water world?”

“It was dried up?”

“Precisely! The water has been dried up by the darkness – the Black Strangers, if you will - which represents the higher power.”

“I want to help – really, I do – but you haven’t given me reason enough to trust you, Jalim,” I hated having to say it. But I didn’t know who he was or what he really was, therefore I couldn’t trust him.

“Walk back down your mind’s corridor,” he said. I began hesitantly, then began to feel more confident. “Everything that you see here in your mind, is everything you’ve learnt through your entire life. Knowing when to trust someone is also in your repertoire.”

“Huh?”

“You’re very good at finding out if certain people are trustworthy. It’s one of a few particular skills you have, Jallana.”

“Ooh.” And then, literally, a light bulb switched on inside my head. A bright, blinding, white light flickered to my left. My jaw hung open.

“Now turn around. Time is short and we must hurry.” I did as he told me and turned to the chamber directly across from the light bulb. There was, as usual, a transparent box. However, this one was less like a box and more like a . . . mine? It was changing consistency, shape, even colour. It looked like a gigantic ball with silver, deadly-looking spikes that changed lengths and thicknesses.

“This is your Suspicions. Whenever you meet someone you don’t trust your Suspicions explode. Do you see the smoke permeating the air?” I nodded. “That stems from your wariness of me. You may not have realized it, but your suspicions of me have slowly been dissipating, and they have been steadily decreasing ever since entering your labyrinth.”

“Why?”

“Because your emotions and thoughts are much clearer, much stronger, than before. Your mind is trusting me, subconsciously, even while you consciously resist me.”

“Why would I trust you? Even subconsciously?”

“Because you know that what I’m saying is true, because you know, whether you’re a hero or not, you will save the water creatures of Kairna.”

Jalim’s voice echoed around my head. He spoke softly, but not weakly. It was heavy with sincerity. I watched my Suspicions change and realized the previously dancing smoke had thinned and in the next moment had disappeared altogether.

“Do you believe me now? Do you . . . trust me now?”

“Yes,” my voice came out as nothing but a hoarse whisper.

“Good. Now, what would you like me to explain first? I know that you have many questions.”