Chapter II: The Astral Meeting

"Once you had gold,

Once you had silver,

Then came the rains,

Out of the blue.

Ever and Always,

Always and Ever,

No one can promise a dream come true,

Time gave both darkness and dreams to you."

- Enya, "Once you had Gold"

Will and Lyra were dreaming. A funny thing with dreams is that even though they take place in ones mind, they are larger then the world. So large, that sometimes two dreams collide and become one. Dreams have a long reach, sometimes even stretching between worlds, if the people dreaming are special or feel in a special way for each other. This was one such a rare occasion.

Will found himself wandering through a shadowy woodland, with Kirjava by his side. Dark trees and mist surrounded him and sounds that filled him with horror and dread emerged from within the deep shades. But worst of it all was the loneliness, the terrible loneliness that devoured his soul and left him empty and hollow and cold and miserable and pained him so much that he feared he would go insane. Each new step felt heavier then the last, as if his shoes were of led and his clothes iron. Finally he fell to his knees, overwhelmed by the sorrow and cried out into the night.

"Lyra!"

His scream echoed throughout the woods, mixed with Kirjava's equally painfilled cry. Empty tears rolled down his cheeks. His powers were all gone, and he prepared to be surrender himself to the darkness and the oblivion, which would devour him completely.

Will…

It was just whisper in the wind, barely audible, but as soon as Will heard his name a spark of hope was lit in his heart. He forced himself to his feet again, while once again calling out: "Lyra!"

"Will!"

This time he was sure of it, it was her! His powers returned for every step. He kept going and kept calling her name. For each time she answered him, somewhere deep in the forest, he move a little bit faster, until he was running like the wind, screaming her name with each breath. At the same time the woods changed around him. The mist disappeared and light penetrated the shadows, which died away. The trees, once dark and dying now became larger and healthier, with leaves of gold and silver. Finally Will understood that he was running through a forest of the same trees under which Lyra and himself had first discovered their love for each other.

And suddenly, there she was. Her hair glittered like gold, and her eyes shone from the light of her smile. They laughed and met in a warm embrace, kissing and hugging and loving one another, finally in each other's arms again after so long.

"Lyra," he whispered and felt the smell of her hair, the smell of spring and sunlight.

"Will, I found you…" she whispered back.

Suddenly the skies darkened once again. A chilling wind drew past them, biting into their bone with the same icy despair as before. Will could sense what was to happen. "No!"

But it was too late. The light disappeared totally. They were gliding apart. Will tried to reach her once more, but his feet had no hold of the ground. The world became fleeting and chaotic. He saw Lyra screaming silently in desperation as she disappeared out of view. And then he fell into the chaos.

Will and Kirjava awoke screaming in the middle of the night. The horrible sound awoke Mary Malone, who immediately grabbed a nightrobe and rushed over to his bed.

"Will, are you all right?" she asked. "My God, you are as pale as ghost! What happened?"

"A dream," he said with tears running down his cheeks. "A terrible dream. Mary, I saw her! We met in the dream and then we were torn away from each other again, just like last time!"

"Hush," she said and hugged him. "It was just a dream."

"No, it wasn't," Will whispered. "It was something more."

Mary was concerned about him. Ever the last two years they had come very close to each other and Mary admitted that she loved him like a brother. Seeing him in such pain broke her heart, and she wished that there was something she could do.

"Try to get some more sleep," she sad. "You will feel better in the morning."

Will laid back in his bed again. Kirjava, who was apparently still nervous after the dream she had shared with Will, calmed down somewhat and snuggled down next to him.

Mary returned to her own bedroom, but didn't immediately go to bed. She looked out the window. The night was dark and the sky filled with cloud. Only one small star could be seen in all that darkness. Mary frowned. Will had been melancholy last year as well. He was always sad around midsummer, but this year was worse then the first one. Will was a brave young man and always did his best to hide his feelings so that she wouldn't worry. Seeing him this out of balance made her wonder if he wasn't sliding into total depression. Mary decided that she had to think of something else for him to concentrate on, so that he wouldn't think about Lyra. Question was, what?

She observed the single star again. It seemed so small and helpless in the sea of blackness.

"Damn them," she whispered and returned to her bed.

Will lay awake in his bed. He could not fall back to sleep again, and he knew that his dæmon was also awake. He put his hand on her warm fur.

"It wasn't just a dream, Kir," he whispered.

"I know," came the answer.

"I must find her. God help me, but I must find her."

Kirjava sighed and looked at her master's face. It was worried and stained from too many tears.

"I will help you," she said.