Dreaming of a Home

I meant to write something along these lines for the friends that saved my life back in high school, but I suppose it's better late than never. This is for my friends.

Once upon a time, there was a little girl with stars in her eyes and sunlight in her hair.  The night watchers could not accept the sunshine, and the day walkers never understood the moonlight.  All this girl ever wanted was one friend, someone who could see all of her and love her for it.

Actually, I lied. This girl would have been far happier if all the other people would just go away so that her imagined acquaintances could step into reality.  She invented a world called Pictureland in the realm of Fantasy, and over the years created a full cast of characters in that place.  In the beginning, there was a single ruler, a porcelain doll named June.  The girl's self-character, a doll called Samantha, entered Pictureland through a beautiful landscape painting that was so true that a portal opened inside.  Together, Samantha and June protected the land from a bully Samantha labeled "What's-his-name," only to discover that he was actually June's friend.  Through years of development with a few key plot twists here and there, finally there were four rulers of Pictureland (although all four of them never got to work together, aside from a side trip into an alternate timestream.)  This world was more important to the child dreamer than any friends she had.  The best compliment she could give a friend was the opportunity to read 'her story,' a tale about that one alternate timestream experience that in the end became the girl's favorite part of Pictureland.

Time never took away the story's magic for the girl.  As long as she needed it, her world remained.  But one day she found that she no longer needed it.  Now, there is something better.  She could be alone sometimes and enjoy her fantasy world, yes, but now her friends were more important.  Pictureland's characters laid in a box for years.  Even now, she cannot give them up entirely--who could discard such crucial childhood friends as if they were nothing but plain white worn-out socks?  But friends are better than any imaginary characters because they are real!  Even in the time of Pictureland, the girl knew true people were better than any characters she could ever invent.  Marc, one of the four leaders of Pictureland, dreamed for years about a girl he loved who was kidnapped.  In the realm of Fantasy, he was able to control his dreams and live them with as much sensual experience as he would have in a true-life situation.  (Oh relax, she's a little girl! Even years down the road, she is still and probably always will be a child.)  Marc spent many a daydream dancing with his lost love, and one day that girl happened to be in a coma and fell so far into dreamland that she replaced her imaginary doppleganger in Marc's daydream.  It took only a moment for him to realize the switch because the real girl could say unexpected things, even comments he did not want to hear.  (It also helped that the real girl had no clue who Marc was, but he recognized the change before this issue came to light.)

The child dreamt for so many years of friends who could hear each other's thoughts, and she found people who could predict each other's responses.  She imagined conversations where small talk never happened, full of deep thoughts and tales of the past; she found a boy who would dare to say, "Can I ask you a question?" and genuinely wanted to hear the answer, and a girl who would immediately share her life story if given the opportunity.  She acted out stories of a group of friends who would do anything to protect each other and the others they loved, and she found friends who are always there for each other, no matter how inconvenient a situation may be.

Their friendship was imperfect, as any real thing is bound to be.  Some of the girl's friends could not trust others, some were almost guaranteed to rub each other the wrong way at every single opportunity, and all had wildly secure personalities that were bound to clash on occasion.  Miraculously, friendships withstood all these problems and came out even greater than they were before.  Finally, reality was better than fantasy.  Or perhaps fantasy found a crack in the universe and snuck into reality.  Either way, tonight there is a girl with stars in her eyes, sunlight in her hair, and friends who stand with her in that place where no one quite fits in and not one person is out of place.

Reviews

[Mello]

beautiful (: makes me remember the times I hopelessly cling on ideals and often forget that there's still a real world out there.

[Valeigh Starr]

Thank you!

[A. Amos]

I like your story as the best part of reading your work is, as you know how to get your reader connected with your craft, you truly are stylish writer my friend.

[Valeigh Starr]

Thank you! Honestly I enjoy going back and reading my own writing sometimes because I usually write when I'm sleep-deprived and read when I'm fully alert. I'm glad it holds your attention; if you find my works from years past you'll see that has been a challenge for me.

[A. Amos]

I like reading your work so keep writing and you're most welcome

[David]

That was beautiful River :)