Amahle is the first Dreamer to appear on Bonny’s Revenge’s deck. Since she is in South Africa, she always begins her dreams hours before Justin or Charlie. Madelyn, however, moves around in the world, and her dream time is often unpredictable.
Joy is still asleep in her cabin, and Master Mind, with his paper heart and his two halves sewn together, stands guard by her cabin door in case a dreamer appears on the deck and accidentally sends a danger Joy’s way.
Suzy and I are in our home, but we notice the sky darken and the clouds come. We look out the window.
I go out to the porch and see Amahle with her seeing eye dog, Elvis. But then the suns flicker off and on, off and on. Suzy grabs my hand in fear. They’ve never done that.
After some flickering, the suns remain on, but around Amahle and Elvis there is a cloud of impenetrable darkness.
“Oh, shoot,” I say. “Her darkness is spreading.” So far, she’d only been able to influence the suns in her own dream, the suns which shine in complete darkness on her dream, darkness that only Joy can see through. But in all the dreams she had been in, especially Justin’s, the darkness did not follow. The suns in all the dreams she had been in had always shone without change. Until now.
The cloud of darkness walks forward and the ramp is let down.
All around our small island, a desert appears. This is not the desert I know. This is no doubt the desert in South Africa, peppered with green trees and shrubbery. Not far away from our island is a small village with small huts with round roofs that remind me of the Shrooms but their angle is much steeper.
The cloud of darkness travels down the ramp.
“Amahle,” Suzy says.
“Grandma! Shhh!” I hear Joy’s voice. She’s leaning on the railing, looking at the darkness cross our garden and into the desert. “She’s an obsessed dreamer! Don’t talk to her!”
Joy turns around to face Master Mind. “Master Mind, take my grandparents to the tunnel, just in case.”
“I will take you, as well, Little Dreamer. You are not safe.”
“Okay,” she says.
As the darkness surrounding Amahle heads towards the village, Suzy and I climb the ramp.
Master Mind is at the helm, raising Bonny’s Revenge into the air.
“See you soon!” Joy jumps over the railing and lands on our garden. “Be safe!”
Master Mind looks over the railing and lets out a sound which I think is the sound of a robot gasping. I have never heard a robot gasp, but that screech may very well have been a gasp. Master Mind is not happy.
(To be continued…)
—Told by Grampa Walt