The Dream Eater

    “Thank you for your dreams, miss,” he whispered in her ear as her eyes slowly closed. He straightened as a cloudy silver mist rose from her sleeping figure. He looked on at the colorful scene before him. A rainbow giraffe tiptoed, wearing a frilly, pink tutu as the little girl danced around in feathered shoes. Stars shot down and the scene changed. The girl sat on top of a golden hippo as it soared through the starry sky. They were headed to a tea party at a far off castle.

    “What an imagination,” he said, chuckling, before quickly turning, and disappearing, into thin air. Rather, from that dimension.

    The dream eater, Thomas, had a special ability that every dream eater was created with. It was that he could slip in and out of dimensions; the third, second, and first were his favorites. He liked them because they made more sense to him than all
the other dimensions. He liked the way everything looked; the curves added an exciting appearance to it all. There was also that certain pull, something that just called out to him, "ADVENTURE!"

    Though Thomas lived in the second dimension, Thomas often visited the third, as their dreams were always much more lively. The third dimension’s dreams were more colorful and had more depth than the rest, obviously. Plus, they always had happy endings, whether or not he helped out.

    Thomas’s job was to go through the dimensions and help solve everyone’s bad dreams and end them with good ones. Sometimes, the dreamers would let him have parts of their good dreams as a thank you for taking away the bad dreams. Thomas loved the good dreams; they were bright and served as a good energy boost during long nights. The parts of the good dreams that the children offered tasted sweet and light, like strawberry shortcakes, which happened to be Thomas’s favorite
dessert.

    One night, Thomas turned into the third dimension, into the room of a little boy. Glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling shown softly and a night light lit a half-moon shape on the wall beside his bed. It was clear his parents took care of him. A toy box was pushed neatly into a corner, and a desk with a fancy lamp beside it took up a space in front of a window. The carpet felt soft and cozy under Thomas’s feet. Around the child, though, it was not as neat. Pillows and blanket half fell onto the floor and any stuffed animals tucked around him before had lost their places. The child squirmed with clenched fists and frowned, it was time for Thomas to do his job. He watched as a dark cloud rose from the boy, then jumped in and looked around.

    In the dream, the child was running...and it was dark. He could only see a few feet in front of him, but whenever he looked back, glowing red eyes always followed him. He turned suddenly and bumped into Thomas.

    “H-help me! Please help me!” the frightened boy said as he grabbed Thomas’s hand and took off running, dragging Thomas behind him. They ran in an endless corridor with doorways very five strides. After a while, Thomas pulled the boy through one and they sat, shivering in the dark and trying to catch their breath. Even though he knew it was only a dream, Thomas couldn’t help but feel slightly nervous. He shook his head and thought, "That’s silly – I’m not afraid, after all, I deal with bad dreams all the time."

    “Shh. It’s okay, we’re fine now. It’s only a dream, only a bad dream,” Thomas said, trying to calm the boy down. Before the boy could say anything, two glowing red eyes appeared in the darkness. Thomas and the child jumped up and started running
again.

    The little boy screamed as something brushed his shoulder. Suddenly, time seemed to slow him down. He ran in slow motion, desperately trying to break free from the invisible hands that held him back. The little boy looked up at Thomas and mouthed, "Please help me," and a bright light seared the darkness...a glowing door, his parent’s bedroom door, and it was only a few feet in front of him.

    Thomas grabbed the boy’s hands and pulled him towards the door. Opening it, ice cream mountains, cotton candy clouds, and lollipop trees littered the scene in front of them. Toy planes cruised around and made great loops and tricks in the bright orange sky. Giant dinosaurs waddled across in a far off plain and the child squealed in joy as he rose upwards. He flew through the sky, taking bites of the cotton candy clouds and dove down into a sparkling ocean, ignoring the tall, twisting water slide just a few inches away. Whales, fish, and sharks of all colors greeted him with a great wave of their fins. He swam around, exploring caves and trenches, not bothering to hold his breath.

    Thomas left him there, and plucked a strawberry lollipop tree from the dream as he jumped back out. There he stood, again in the child’s room, but this time, the little boy was not squirming uncomfortably. Thomas pulled up the covers and pillows, and tucked the child in again.

    “Thank you, mister,” the child mumbled as he flipped onto his side.

    “Sweet dreams,” Thomas whispered, smiling, before quickly turning, and once more, disappearing into another dimension.