CHAPTER TWENTY
The sun shone brightly over Bellbridge, the jewel of Europe. Established in the year 1320, it had grown from a small little hamlet to a beautiful and lush metropolis. The city had a large river running through its center and a tall bridge that carried those in need across it. The buildings seemed packed together on either side of the city, yet despite this…as the sun rose higher and higher into the sky, changing it from purple and yellow to the familiar bright blue that people so loved, the people of the Bellbridge began to awake and start their days.
And there, at the center of the city was the fabled Bellbridge Clock Tower. Which our heroine had a good look of…if she'd only turn around. But she wasn't looking at that. She wasn't looking at the beautiful red and pink fields of flowers around the large, white house that was her home, either, with it's grass-green roof and windows and a beautiful, open porch. She wasn't looking at the white gazebo she stood in, about 100 yards from the house, with white flowers lining around it…
She was standing next to her mother, a blond woman with a light white shirt and a green skirt had floral patterns on both items of clothing. She was wearing a tannish/pink jacket, and was, along with her daughter, playing the violin. Her daughter was wearing a pink jacket as well, only it was shinier and more pinkish. She had a blue pair of shorts, green pants and pink shoes. Like her mother, she had beautiful, sparkling blue eyes and blond hair…only she had tied HER hair into a ponytail.
However their duet was cut short. A cell phone rang, also pink. The little girl, Helen Cartwright, picked it up and looked at the message displayed: "Ready 2 go".
"Alright!" Helen exclaimed, putting the violin down and running off with a hasty wave to her mother. "Sorry Mom!" She called out, taking off down the path and heading into town. Her mother held up an arm to try and call her back…but it slowly sank back down. Mrs. Cartwright looked at her daughter's violin, sighing sadly, then turned to look at a calendar that was on the table where Helen had left the violin…there was a date marked…the 24th of May…
"Sigh…" Mrs. Cartwright sat down in a chair, imaging the roar of a cheering crowd…
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…the roar of a train filled Helen's ears as she and her friends walked through town, cars beeping and honking. As they made their way down the sidewalk, Helen laughed and chatted with her friends, talking about their respective flavors of ice cream-yes, they had not only gone out on the town to go shopping, but had scored ice cream. And…they'd been unable to decide which flavor was better, so…they'd gotten all of each other's favorites in a waffle cone to decide who's favorite was the tastiest of all. Boy, did they feel sorry for decisive people.
But something suddenly caught Helen's attention as she turned her head. Suddenly she felt a pang of regret as she looked at what was in the window of the store she was facing…a beautiful violin on display against a red background, almost…calling to her.
Helen turned away from the display, looking downward. "I'm sorry, mother…" She whispered sadly. She could imagine her mother's face looking back at her through the window, a sad, disapproving expression on her face…
Then the expression turned foul and evil, a snarling howl that cracked the window of the store, making Helen turn to face it with a look of surprise on her face. Seeing a terrible red glow emenate from her mother's eyes made her gasp…and then the glass exploded, releasing dark clouds into the air. She fell backwards on her butt, dropping her purse and ice cream in shock…
Things turned dark all around her. Her two friends morphed and stretched into dark specters of smoke with red eyes and gaping mouths, rushing at her, trying to envelop her! She raced for her life to escape, but then…she saw a beautiful white light ahead of her, which banished the darkness back. Arms outstretched, she ran towards it, eyes closing, welcoming this light…
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…a strange place greeted her. Darkened skies without stars, but a peaceful forest surrounded an empty fountain in the middle of a square with a road leading right up to it, past a large gate. Then…she heard a voice.
"Oh-hoo-hooo! We have a guest! Is this your first time here, mademoiselle?"
The owner of the voice flapped into sight…a brown wl wearing a pair of glasses, a jacket and a big smile upon it's friendly face. He bowed politely. "Please, allow me to explain."
"Oh, uh…go ahead…" Helen said, blinking in surprise.
"You are now standing at the entrance to what your people would call…the World of Dreams!"
"The world of…dreams?" Helen asked, tilting her head to the side slightly in confusion.
"Hoo-hooo!" The owl called out, laughing lightly. "Listen well, young lady! Don't be fooled by that title "World of Dreams"! I don't meant to imply that this world you see doesn't truly EXIST. It is…how shall I put it?" The bird thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "It is another world, one that you humans can only visit when you are fast asleep. We denizens of this place refer to it as the Night Dimension. People who come to this dimension from YOUR world are called visitors!"
Owl plopped down onto the ground, bowing. "Forgive me, please. "I do tend to rattle on! You may call me Owl, visitor!"
Then, with a twinkling of golden dust and a whistle, something burst in between the two of them, knocking both flat upon their bottoms. Helen moaned as she rubbed her butt, while Owl tried to stand up. "What-what's this?" Owl asked, rubbing his head. Then he adjusted his glasses, getting a better look at who it was. "Dearest me, you gave me quite a fright! You ought to know better than to startle your elders!" He said, puffing himself up.
The offender was a jester with a two-pronged purple cap and had a red and pink vest with a sparkling red crystal on the front as a clasp and gold trimmings. It also had had purple pants that appeared to be quite tight and smooth, and wore white gloves. This jester had on pink boots with purple tips and big, large, cat-like eyes that were the color of the sky. It lazily sat in midair, looking them over.
Then it floated over to the girl. "Hey there! Sorry about the old bird over there!" It told Helen. "I know it's kind of a drag listening to him squawk on and on!" It laughed.
"Ex-EXCUSE me? A DRAG? I was simply welcoming the visitor-!!" Owl protested.
"Who…who are you?" Helen asked as the jester whizzed around in the air above her, letting little blue trails of light flicker behind it.
"My name is NiGHTS! Let me tell you, you'll have a much better time flying around with me than chatting with old Owl?"
NiGHTS flew down, extending her hand. "So how about it? Want to dualize with me and try your hand at flying around?"
Helen looked down at the hand. "Dualize?...f-flying?"
"Hoo!" Owl exclaimed. "Yes, NiGHTS is able to dualize with visitors! The process allows for you to assimilate your bodies!"
"What do you mean?" Helen asked.
Owl sighed. "It's…eh…it's easier to explain if you'll just try it. Go over and touch NiGHTS…that is, of course, if you're interested in that sort of thing."
Helen blinked, then approached NiGHTS, who raised her hand forward. Helen put her hand on the female jester's, and a beautiful shining light surrounded them. In an instant, she was transformed, and…
"I…what's happened to me?" Helen asked.
"You and I have dualized together." NiGHTS explained. "We now move as one! What you do, I do, and vice versa! Here, let me show you how to fly around…"
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…eventually Helen began to get more accustomed to flying, to feeling the wind sooth her face. She laughed as they hovered over the forest, moving towards the abyss before them.
"Hey, hang on, there's something I forgot to tell you!" NiGHTS announced, bringing them to a stop and pointing forward. "Do you see that? That's the Dark Ocean." She said, pointing into the cloudy abyss. "You'd be best off if you don't go anywhere near it!"
"You mean that ocean with the cloudy, milky black water?" Helen asked.
"Right…" NiGHTS said, crossing her arms. "I don't really know exactly what it is myself…but…" She hesitated. "It's said it that it can destroy a Visitor's soul!"
Helen's eyes went wide.
"And then…they can never return here again!"
"Oh my!" Helen gasped.
NiGHTS then shrugged. "But anyway, I'm sure it's just a story…let's get back to the dream gate!" And with that, they flew off through the air.
Author's Note:
What ho! Helen's tale begineth! Revieweth-sorry, uh, review please!