Bedtime Story

Julie yawned into her pillow and smacked her lips. Her eyes flickered under her eyelids. Dreamland opened to her. It was a place of puffy purple parting clouds and silver streaking stars. Dreamland was her canvas where her imagination could paint and play. In Dreamland magical ballet slippers made gold dust when clicked together. In Dreamland she fought pirate trolls and gloomy giants with golden swords. She always won in dreamland and made her enemies cry bitter tears and weep for forgiveness as they groveled to her on their knees.

In her current dream she sailed inside a gooey marshmallow filled banana peel as it zipped alongside silver streaking stars through the purple cloud sky. A cuddly cute hedgehog squealed with delight while riding on her shoulder as the cool night air whipped through her silky thick hair and the cute shoulder critters prickly quills.

A blast of icy air stung her face. Her blissful carefree smile crumpled into a scowl. The vibrations from the thunder crack caused her flying banana peel boat to quiver and lose its previous smooth slide. The purple clouds which swirled around her darkened into black which cackled with lighting.

A dragon with eyes as big as moons burst from the dark clouds to glide alongside her. It exposed its sharp long yellow teeth as it opened its snout. Its icicle causing breath blasted her with frost. The dragon cackled with the same noisy ferocity of the thunder and lighting.

Cold rain pelted her horizontally. Her pet hedgehog squealed in fright and folded into a fuzzy ball. It leaped off her shoulder and plunged into the unknown dark depths.

Julie reached for her pet. “No!”

The gooey marshmallow inside her flying banana peel boat turned into concrete. “Aaghh!” Julie yelled as she tumbled down.

Her scream caused her to bolt up in her bed while panting. Cold sweat dripped from her temples. She felt her shoulders and put her fingers over her face and looked at her floor, still in fear of falling. “I’ve never had a nightmare before” she thought.

She heard a sweet voice chime near her ear, saying: “nightmares are becoming more common.”

“Who said that?” Julie asked.

A dust fleck glimmering in the moonlight sparked. Its brightness increased until Julie had to shield her eyes. Once her eyes adjusted to the intruding light she saw floating in front of her nose a little winged fairy with lavender hair and ruby eyes. She thought the sparkly fairy pretty despite the magical beings exaggerated nose and lips.

Julie gasped. “Who are you?”

The fairy giggled. “I’m your friend Penelope.”

Julie shifted her head to the side. “My friend? I’ve never seen you before. I didn’t know fairies existed.”

Penelope giggled. “Sure you knew I existed. Otherwise why would you build fairy houses in the woods with your sisters and uncle for me?”

Julie shrugged. “I hoped fairies were real.”

A smile crept up on Penelope’s face as she clasped her hands together. “Hope is enough.”

Julie furrowed her brows. “Why did I have a nightmare? I’ve never had one that bad before.”

As Penelope frowned her shoulders slumped, her glow dimmed and she gently lowered into Julie’s lap. “Nightmares are spreading over all the earth, friend Julie. It is a scary time.”

Julie wanted to cheer up the fairy. She forced a smile and spoke with a higher register. “My daddy says dreams are just brain farts and they can’t interfere with reality. Dreams don’t really matter.”

Penelope kept her frown while she shook her head with downcast eyes. She sniffled. “No that is not true,” she said with an intense quiet voice. “If everyone has only nightmares then everyone will then become always grumpy. Grumpiness spreads like germs from a sneeze.” Penelope threw up her hands in exasperation. “Soon everyone will be sneezing grumpy germs on everyone else until everyone is always sad. Sadness sucks up the energy needed for happiness, beauty and laughter. It’s like a dark cloud covering the sun and the sun will never shine again.” Penelope buried her big nosed face into her palms and sobbed in dramatic heavy heaves.

Julie bit her lip. “Nightmares can cause all that?”

“Yes,” Penelope cried. “A little bit of nightmares are okay but if everyone only ever has nightmares then the world is doomed.”

Julie placed her soft hand into her cubby cheek. “On no.”

Penelope suddenly perked up. She smiled and her shine brightened as she popped up from Julie’s lap to flutter in front of Julie’s big blue eyes. “But there’s hope.”

“Where?” Julie asked.

Penelope nodded and pointed. “You are the hope.”

Julie leaned back in surprise. “Me? Why me?”

Penelope laughed. “You built me the most beautiful fairy houses made of leaves, twigs, sap, rock and mud even though all you had was hope that fairies existed. And then I became real, because of you. Your powers are even greater in your dream world. You can defeat the nightmare dragons that are causing the nightmare clouds. Just as you believed in me, I now believe in you.”

Julie crinkled her nose and swished her mouth back and forth. “I don’t want to go back into my nightmares. I couldn’t control it. It was scary.”

Penelope put her little fists on her hips. “You must be brave,” she pleaded. “You can shape your own dreams and create your own path.”

Julie scratched the back of her neck. “But how? And how do I defeat the nightmare dragons?”

Penelope giggled. “You get to decide.”

“That is scary,” Julie said under her breath.

“No, it’s exciting,” Penelope countered. “You and only you get to shape your dreams.”

Julie put her chin in her hand and then scratched her nose. She then widened her eyes and raised her head. “If I get the heart stone from the grump giant trolls and wash the stone in the rainbow waterfalls and then touch it with the tip of a golden unicorn horn then it will cause a light which will chase all the nightmare dragons away.”

Penelope threw her head back and squealed and clapped her hands. “Yes, that is how you will win,” she exclaimed. “That is exactly how you defeat the nightmare dragons.”

Julie smiled with satisfaction. “I’m afraid that now I’m much too excited to fall back asleep.”

Penelope gasped. “Oh no. But you must sleep so you can enter dream land, and you must enter dream land to save the earth from nightmares.”

“Can you tell me a bed time story or sing me a song to help me sleep?” Julie asked.

The fairy fluttered closer to Julie’s face. “First of all lay your head back down on your pillow and close your eyes.”

Julie flopped back into her pillow and squeezed her eyes shut. “It’s not working. I’m still awake. Unless you are a dream?”

Julie heard Penelope giggle. She felt the fluttering wing wind tickle her ear. She heard Penelope sing in a sweet and pleasant voice.

“Go to sleep sweet Julie Swanson The world needs you to dream To defeat the nightmare dragons Peace and happiness you will bring Go to sleep, sleepy girl Go get the heart stone and make it shine In your dreams you can save the world And leave all the darkness behind.”

Penelope’s sleep singing spell made Julie yawn and the back of her neck tingle. Her head sunk lower in her pillow and her body deeper into her mattress. She slid once again into dream land.

“Aghhh!” she screamed. Her dream picked up where it had last ended: her yelling as she plunged into dark depths, her banana boat filled with stone pebbles instead of marshmallows. “Don’t wake up, don’t wake up, I must stay here to save the world,” she told herself.

“Gris, come puff up and float back up,” Julie yelled. She deiced to name her pet hedgehog Gris. She saw Gris float back up and face her, its little body now puffed up as big as a balloon bigger then her head. Julie breathed deeply, stood and balanced herself on the edge of the tumbling banana boat. “Be brave,” she told herself. She leaped from the boat and reached for the feet of Gris. She grabbed a hold. Firmly latched onto Gris, she floated back up into the dark clouds, cold wind and frozen rain. “Go to the land of the grump trolls,” Julie yapped boldly to Gris. “They have stolen the heart stone and we will steal it back.”

Gris squealed a happy yes in reply to Julie’s command. As they flew into the dark clouds of thunder and lightning more nightmare dragons circled around her, blowing on her with icy breath and swiping at her with their claws. Julie squeezed her eyes shut and told herself to be brave. “I am in control of my dreams and they cannot hurt me.”

She opened her eyes and saw herself floating above the land of the giant grump trolls. “To the castle,” she directed. Gris floated into a castle window. Gris then deflated and Julie tumbled into a giant bowl of grey lumpy mush. A spoon scooped her and Gris up. She found herself in the center of a giant wood spoon being lifted into the gapping mouth of a two toothed giant grump troll. “Wait!” Julie yelled.

The giant troll grunted in surprise. It placed its spoon under its giant nostril and inhaled. Julie and Gris lifted into the air for three seconds until the troll ended its sniff. They splat back down into the grey porridge in the giant wooden spoon.

“What are you?” growled the troll.

Julie stood confidently and brushed some mess off of her pink nightgown. “I am Julie; I have come to take the heart stone from you to save the world from nightmares.”

The giant peered at Julie. “You are a nightmare,” he grumpily declared.

Julie put her hands on her hips. “I am not.”

“Am I a nightmare then?” the troll asked.

Julie thought. “No,” she exclaimed. “You do not scare me.”

The troll huffed. “I should scare you. I can swallow you like a crumb. You will end.”

Gris cowered behind Julie.

“I know that you will not,” Julie confidently said.

“You do not know the future,” the grump troll growled. “There is always darkness ahead. Always.”

Julie thought. “I do not know that,” she said. “I do know that I am meant to take the heart stone now and make it shine. Penelope believes in me. She’s a fairy.”

The grump troll smiled. “I like fairies. I and my brothers build fairy houses in the woods for them. They return our kindness by making the flowers bloom.”

Julie laughed. “So do I. Do you like nightmares, troll? What is your name?”

“My name is Gris,” the troll answered.

Julie laughed. “That is the same name of my pet hedgehog.” She scooped up her pet hedgehog into her hands and showed it to Gris the grump troll.

Gris the troll laughed boisterously. “I have the same name as such a small creature? That is funny.”

Julie matched the troll’s laughter. “That is funny.” She stopped laughing and leaned forwards. “Do you like nightmares Gris?”

“I do not,” Gris admitted. “No one does. Not always anyways.”

“Will you help me end the nightmare dragons?” Julie asked. “I need the heart stone in order to stop the nightmare dragons.”

“I do not have the heart stone,” Gris the grump troll said.

Julie grimaced. “Yes you do.”

“I do not,” Gris protested. “You have it.”

“I do?” Julie asked.

“Yes,” Gris said. “But only I can pry the heart stone from you.”

Julie cocked her head to the side. “How?”

“By telling you the secret words,” Gris answered. He brought the spoon closer to his lips. He whispered: “You are loved by many. If you leave many will be hurt and sad. You must never leave. Remember this when the darkness comes. You do not produce all light yourself. You reflect the light others shine on you. Your light then shines on others. And then the darkness flees.”

Julie nodded, trying to understand.

“You may not understand all the words now, but someday you will,” Gris the giant said. “Just repeat the words and the heart stone will appear in your hands.”

Julie pressed her lips together. “Okay,” she said. “I do not remember all the words. Will you repeat them for me please?”

“Yes,” Gris said. He said the words again, line by line. Julie repeated the words. When she finished the words she placed her palms out in front of her. A glowing orb formed over her palms. She then felt in her hands a smooth stone orb.

“That is the heart stone,” Gris the giant said. “You should leave soon. My brothers may not like that I have helped you.”

“Thank you,” Julie said. “Why did you help me?”

“Because I see and know that you are special and good and a friend,” Gris said. “You are the one who will end the nightmares and save the world.”

Julie smiled. Gris her pet hedgehog opened its mouth and pointed towards its mouth. “You will carry the heart stone for me?” Julie asked. Her pet hedgehog smiled, squealed and nodded.

“It is good to accept help,” Gris the giant said.

Julie put the heart stone in the mouth of Gris the hedgehog. Gris then puffed up into a balloon. Julie grabbed onto the feet and lifted into the air and out the castle window. “To the rainbow waterfalls next,” Julie said.

She again flew through the dark clouds as nightmare dragons swirled around her. She closed her eyes and pretended that they were not there even though she felt their icy breaths and heard their growls. She opened her eyes and saw herself floating above the rainbow waterfall. She set down and walked into the pool. She felt the rainbow water splash over her. Gris spit out the heart stone. Julie picked it up and raised it over her head. The rainbow water splashed over the stone.

She noticed a unicorn shuffling in green bushes by the pool. The unicorn looked at her and she looked at the unicorn. “Come here,” Julie softly asked. “Touch the stone with your gold horn.” The unicorn twitched but hesitated. “There is nothing to fear,” Julie told the unicorn. “I will not hurt you.”

Gris the hedgehog squealed. “You’re right Gris,” Julie said. “I should remember the words that Gris the giant told me. My light shines when others shine their light on me.” Julie closed her eyes as she felt the rainbow water splash over her. She thought of her father and mother. She thought of her uncles and aunts. She thought of her pet cat Fluffball and her plants. She thought of her teachers and her friends. She knew that all of them cared for her and loved her and that if she would leave that they would all be hurt and sad. “I will never leave you,” Julie thought, “just as I know none of you will truly leave me.”

She opened her eyes and saw the unicorn standing inches from her face. The unicorn bowed. Julie touched the heart stone on the tip of the unicorns gold horn. When she did this the heart stone burst in light. Julie flew up into the sky, into the dark clouds. The nightmare dragons disintegrated as did the dark clouds. The purple clouds and silver streaking stars appeared once more. Julie cried.

Julie woke and sat up in her bed. She looked for Penelope the fairy but did not see her. She wiped her eyes and heaved a breath. She crawled out of her bed and out of her room. She looked down the stairs. She heard the television on, turned to the news. She meekly walked down the stairs, trying not to be too loud. She stood in front of the television. She saw her reflection in the television screen. Her father turned off the TV and popped up from his recliner chair, spinning to face his daughter.

“Julie, you should be in bed. You should not be watching that, it will give you nightmares.”

Julie sniffled.

“Julie, are you okay? Did you have a nightmare?” her father asked.

Julie’s lip quivered. “Daddy, will you hug me?” she asked.