This is a story about wishes and beliefs, the nature of magic, and making dreams come true.

In Your Dreams
Copyright 2008 by Heather Rose Brown
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Even though the tiny feet on my chest had startled me awake, I managed to control my reaction enough to not frighten my visitor away. I smiled to myself thinking of how one of the squirrels I'd been sketching had been curious enough about the human that had wandered deep into it's woodland home to overcome the fear most wild animals have.

I felt a light touch on my cheek, then on my closed eyelid. A moment later I gasped, both in pain and surprise, when my left eye was pulled open by the lashes and I saw a small, but very human face, a couple of inches from my eyeball.

Normally, I would have been embarrassed by the girlish scream that came next, but I was a little busy trying to crabwalk my way into the underbrush. There was a fluttery whirring as a doll-sized girl leaped into the air and hovered a couple of feet above me.

"Wait!"

I froze at the sound of the high pitched voice. "Oh crap," I muttered to myself as I collapsed on the edge an overgrown path. "I'm hallucinating."

The air seemed filled with the sound of tiny bells as she giggled. "You're not hallucinating. You're dreaming."

"But ... but I just woke up."

"Yes you did, which makes you a very special girl."

I was almost certain she couldn't have seen what I wore under my heavy sweater, and I was pretty sure my jeans were too loose for any lines to show, but a chill still slithered up my spine. "What do you mean?"

"I mean there aren't a lot of people who can wake up and stay in the dream world."

"No, I mean, why did you say I was a special girl?"

The tiny figure grinned as she dipped to just within arms reach. "Well, you are special."

I was starting to get annoyed at the obviously avoided question. "But why are you saying I'm a girl?"

"Because you look like one."

I scratched at the stubble under my chin and rumbled out the most manly chuckle I could manage. "What kind of girl has a five o'clock shadow half way through the afternoon?"

She fluttered closer, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. A moment later, she smiled and a light appeared over her head. Yes, it was a real light. I couldn't tell if it was light bulb shaped or not because it was gone as quickly as it appeared. Her smile faded a bit as she reached out and lightly stroked my cheek. "I can see now you believe you're a man, but underneath there's a wish to be a girl."

It felt like my heart had dropped into my stomach as I looked down at myself. "I thought I'd been careful when I dressed today."

"Oh, it wasn't your clothes I saw; it was your wishes."

"Whuh? How can you see wishes?"

She scritched at the tip of one of her pointy ears and seemed deep in thought for a moment. "It would be easier to show you than tell you."

"You can show me a wish?"

"Well, I'm not sure if I could show you just anyone's wishes, but I think I can help you to see your own. Think you're up to that?"

Something warned me I should be very careful answering that question. "I guess so. What do I need to do?"

She hovered over to my ear and whispered, "Just close your eyes and open your heart to your deepest, truest wish. I'll help guide it out to where you hold your belief."

The instructions sounded harmless enough, and if my most hidden wish could be made real ... I decided to take the risk and closed my eyes.

I heard the girl say with a hint of a smile in her voice, "Please and thank you."

A cool, tingly sensation drifted across me like a tiny snow storm. I opened my eyes and asked, "Why'd you say, 'Please and thank you'?"

She twirled in mid-air as she giggled. "Well, those *are* the magic words, right?"

Her mirth was infectious and I soon found myself giggling along with her. As the sound bubbled out of me, it started shifting in pitch. "What happened to my. ..." I let the last of my sentence drop off into silence as a strangers voice passed my lips.

She stopped twirling and took on a more serious expression, but there was still a smile behind it. "Haven't you always wished your voice didn't sound so deep?"

"That's true," I admitted. As I spoke, I realized the voice wasn't as strange as I had first thought. It actually sounded like I'd always wished. "While I love the way my voice sounds, I think it'd be best to change it back now."

"The change can be as easily undone as it was done, but why would you want your voice changed back?"

"People would think it's a bit odd when they saw a man speaking with a woman's voice."

"Who says you're a man?"

The tiniest flicker of hope, a hope I'd never dared allow myself to acknoledge, fluttered to life. "What are you talking about?"

"There's an expression in your world: 'Seeing is believing'. Take a look at yourself and tell me what you see."

I slowly lowered my eyes, to find a beautiful summery white cotton dress I'd long ago wished for, but couldn't find in my size ... covering a body that it fit perfectly. "Oh my goodness," I whispered.

"Oh, that's such a pretty dress. Why don't you stand up and give us a twirl?"

Even though I was feeling a bit light-headed, I still managed to get to my feet without falling. The knee-length skirt of the dress flared out as I spun around, then gently caressed my thighs when I started getting dizzy and staggered to a stop. Not being too steady on my wobbly feet, I fell backwards into the bushes, laughing even as tears rolled down my cheeks.

"I'm so sorry," said my tiny friend, her voice filled with concern. "I had no idea this would make you cry."

"It's okay. These are happy tears. Even though I know this is only a dream, I don't think I've ever felt so wonderful. I almost wish I didn't have to wake up."

The fluttering figure's gossamer wings froze. I was only able to get a glimpse of her shocked expression before she dropped to the ground. When she managed to stand up again, I could see fear in her expression as well. "Whatever you do, never ever wish for such a thing."

I quickly sobered up at the serious tone in her voice. "Why's that?"

"If you stay here, that would mean you won't be able to take care of your body in the waking world. Even though you are able to visit here, your existence is linked to that body. If you're body dies while you're here, you'll cease to exist."

"I ... I hadn't thought of it like that. Even if it were possible to keep my body alive somehow, I don't think I'd really want to stay here forever. I'd miss my friends if I couldn't go back."

"I'm sure they'd miss you as well."

I looked down and brushed a few twigs and leaves from my skirt. "I wish I could bring this dress, ..." I paused, trying to swallow the bitter pain I was starting to feel, "as well as this body back with me when I wake up."

"Now *that's* a much more sensible wish."

"Sensible? It seems to be more foolish than anything else."

The girl slowly walked up to me, did a fluttery hop and landed on my knee. "Do you really, truly believe that's such a foolish wish?"

"I ... I don't know," I answered, feeling myself being pulled in opposite directions by what I wanted to be true and everything I knew about how the world really worked.

"That's such a relief," said my friend as she smiled. "If you truly believed it were impossible, all the magic in your world wouldn't have been able to make your wish come true."

"Magic? There's no such thing as magic." I thought about what had just happened to me and added, "At least, there's no magic in the waking world."

"What? Of course there is. I've seen tons of magic in your world."

"Oh really? Give me one example."

"Only one? Hrmmm." The girl rubbed her chin. "Oh! What are those box things, the ones with picture on them, but the pictures move and talk and such?"

It took me a minute before I realized what she was describing. "You mean television?"

"Yes! That's some powerful magic you've got there."

"That's not magic; that's technology."

"Just because you give it a special name doesn't make it any less magical."

"So, technology can make my wish come true?" I asked, feeling a flicker of hope.

"I believe so. At least, I believe it can change your appearances. But there's more than just that in your wish, isn't there?"

"Yeah," I answered as that brief moment of hope began to fade.

"Then you'll need other kinds of magic, like belief."

"Belief is magic?"

"Most definitely. So is hope ... and love."

Even though a part of me felt it wasn't very rational to believe what I'd just heard, another, deeper part of me knew those words rung true. "Can you teach me how to use that kind of magic in the real world?"

"Perhaps, but it'll have to wait until later."

"Why's that?" I asked, feeling disappointed.

"Well, I can see that you've always wished people like me existed, and a part of you would like to believe people like me exist. Unfortunately, when you're awake, the part of you that believes people like me can't exist wakes as well."

"So, should I start trying to break down that belief I have when I'm awake?"

"No! That belief is there for a reason. It keeps you safe from the more dangerous creatures to be found in the dream world."

"Does that mean I won't ever see you again?" I asked, feeling a sudden pang of loss.

"Of course you'll see me again."

"But ... when?"

"In your dreams, girl. In your dreams."