we are yet to fully understand and are given a new lease of life. By the time they reach the surface, they are fully formed dreams again, at which point they leave the sea and follow one of the many rivers leading down into the crater, until finally they reach the lake in the centre.’
He continued tracing the line he had started drawing so that it led back to the ‘top’ of the mountain which, of course, was now the bottom of the crater.
‘It’s like a big conveyor belt!’ said Daisy with a smile.
Ryan, on the other hand, looked sceptical.
‘So you’re saying that beneath us is that jungle?’
‘It’s more likely to be the beach with the dark sands.’
‘How far beneath us? Has anyone tried to dig there?’
‘It’s difficult to say how far,’ said Tristram, sitting back and staring up at the mountain in the distance. ‘Remember that this is not the physical world as you know it, and hence the same laws do not necessarily apply. You’ll have noticed that gravity remains constant in both.’
‘Sounds like a bit of a cop-out if you ask me,’ said Ryan, still unconvinced. ‘You expect me to believe all this just because you say so?’
‘Not particularly,’ said Tristram, climbing to his feet. ‘You’re free to make up your own mind. In fact the best thing you can do is to discuss it with your friend here. Between you, you should be able to come to some sort of conclusion.’
‘But how do I know that this is not just another dream?’ asked Ryan, also standing. ‘I’ve dreamed about her before, as well as you, so why should this be any different?’
‘You have?’ said Daisy, surprised.
‘Yes… err… well; it was a long time ago. But it happened.’
Tristram was walking away now chuckling to himself.
‘It’ll all become clear Master Butler, trust me.’
Slowly Tristram’s body faded into nothing and Ryan, turning to Daisy, found that she, too, was gone. He watched, bewildered, as the sands of the beach turned slowly translucent, and for a moment he fancied that he caught a glimpse of the world beneath him; mirroring the one he was now occupying. But even that image faded and he was left with nothing but a black void surrounding him.
Little by little the familiar shapes of his room appeared and he awoke, scarcely able to comprehend what had just happened.
6
Ryan’s preparations for school that morning were even more sluggish than normal. His mind was awash with questions, more about his own sanity than anything he’d been told in his sleep, and he knew who would be waiting for him at the bottom of his drive to tell him that it was all true. He considered feigning illness to avoid having to face Daisy, but decided it was a bad idea since his friends had been round the night before and his mum would be unlikely to let them over again if the result was a ‘sick’ son.
Having sated his burning hunger, and with a level of reluctance he normally saved for trips to the dentist, he pulled the front door open and peered out towards the gate at the end of the drive. Sure enough, Daisy was there, watching with delight as a blizzard of blossom from the plum trees was whipped around her by the stiff morning breeze. Seeing that the sky was cloudier than it had been earlier in the week, Ryan pulled on his navy blue school blazer and headed out. By the time he had reached his hysterically-excited friend, his hair was thick with pink petals.
‘Ryan! Ryan! Isn’t it great? I can’t believe you made it there too! Tristram said he had a special mission to go on but I didn’t realise he meant finding you. It’s going to be such fun with you there.’
Ryan closed the gate behind him and began fishing the petals out of his hair.
‘What are you on about Dizz?’ he asked with a sigh. He’d decided that denial was the best course of action for the time being.
‘The Dream Isle. You were there with me last night, remember? Tristram saved you from the Nightmare Realm.’
‘Dizz, what are your parents feeding you for you to come up with this stuff?’
Daisy looked taken aback.
‘But you were there on the beach with me…’
‘Hey, I was on a beach all right and I remember a load of topless girls dancing around. But I can’t recall you being one of them.’
‘You’re disgusting. And why would you make something like that up? Aren’t you excited?’
It was the first time that Ryan had ever seen Daisy in anything other than a joyous mood. Coupled with the fact that she had dismissed his lie out of hand, it was rather disarming. He quickly changed tack.
‘Dizz listen; we sleep in different rooms in different houses. How could we possibly share the same dream? The whole idea’s stupid.’
‘And yet it happened,’ replied Daisy evenly. ‘Just because you can’t explain it, doesn’t mean that it’s impossible. I sometimes struggle to comprehend how a tiny acorn can become a mighty oak tree, but it happens.’
Ryan had never been all that great in an argument, but he was determined to find some rational explanation for what had transpired.
‘Okay, so I was there. I remember what happened. But that doesn’t mean anything. It’s probably just some kind of weird coincidence.’
His admission brought Daisy back to her usual happy self.
‘I don’t think it’s a coincidence,’ she said, gazing at the wild flowers in the hedgerow as they walked down the lane. ‘We didn’t just dream the same thing. We communicated with one another.’
Ryan wasn’t ready to give up that easily.
‘Well we’ve been friends, like, forever. Perhaps we’ve got one of those connections going on. You know, like twins often have, or brothers and sisters who are really close? They can often be thinking the same thing at the same time.’
‘But we spoke to one another Ryan.’
‘Yeah, but I speak to people in my dreams all the time. Just because we happened to have conversations with one another, doesn’t mean we were having the same conversation.’
His argument was getting more and more threadbare by the second, and Ryan’s pig-headedness continued to unravel it faster than he could stitch it back together.
‘Okay then,’ said Daisy smiling. ‘Let’s see if we both remember it. You staggered out of the sea and I came running towards you shouting ‘Ryan! Ryan! Oh my gosh, you made it’.’
She eyed him keenly for any sign of recollection. Clearly Ryan gave something away, for she gave a nod of satisfaction and continued.
‘I then gave you a hug and you realised there was something different about me. You said ‘Jesus Dizz, I can see through you’. And I replied…’
She gestured for Ryan to finish the sentence. For a moment he glowered at her defiantly, but his tenuous argument had been flattened like a flower beneath a steamroller and he sagged.
‘You said ‘I know, isn’t it great?’. Satisfied?’
‘I knew it!’ cried Daisy, giving a triumphant pirouette with her hands raised to the sky. ‘We actually talked to one another in our sleep. Isn’t it incredible?’
Ryan shrugged. He felt like he’d just stepped in the ring with a far superior opponent and been taught a stern lesson. His pride was smarting and he was in no mood to share Daisy’s excitement. His friend sensed his annoyance.
‘Ryan, what’s the matter? I thought you’d be happy. It’s like one of the adventures we used to go on when we were younger, except this time it’s something really special.’
‘Dizz, it’s like this; discussing your dreams with people is bad enough. Most people couldn’t care less. But this is just plain weird. People would think we’re crazy. School is a bad enough place to be without this sort of thing doing the rounds. I’ve got a reputation to keep up and the last thing I need is to be labelled a weirdo.’
‘Oh I won’t tell anyone, I promise! It can be our secret. Besides, it’s not that bad being a weirdo. It hasn’t caused me any problems so far.’
Ryan recalled with a pang of sadness the many names and cruel tricks that had been thrown Daisy’
s way since they had joined Roughdown School. Whether she had erected some sort of mental barrier, or she was simply oblivious to them, he couldn’t guess. But he did not have the heart to remind her. One thing was certain; she was a far stronger person than he was, though he would never admit it. For her to keep such an intensely positive outlook through all the bullying was nothing short of a miracle.
A great part of him had hoped that their dreams were unrelated, so as to avoid any direct connection with her. He had worked hard to attain his position within the school hierarchy and did not want to jeopardise it in any way. But at that very moment, seeing his oldest friend so happy and knowing that it was the connection between them that had made her so, it was impossible for him not to share in it.
‘You’re right,’ he said finally, even managing a small smile. ‘It is something special and I’m glad it’s happened.’
Daisy looked overjoyed.
‘Oh Ryan!’
She threw her arms around him, just as she had done on the beach, and gave him a huge squeeze.
‘Okay! Okay! Jeez Dizz, someone might see,’ said Ryan pushing her off him, though he couldn’t suppress a further smile.
‘Whoops! Sorry. We’re nearly there aren’t we? I’m just so happy.’
‘You’re always happy.’
‘Well, even more so than normal.’
‘God help us.’
They went their separate ways and Ryan found Jack and Gibbo waiting for him on the front steps of the main school building.
‘All right loser?’ said Jack, playfully pushing him when he was within reach.