Memories of Hope
Chapter 8: Taking Control
"Are you serious?" After a short time with Locke, Hope wasn't nearly as afraid of him as before, and she was becoming convinced that he was messing with her mind.
"Deadly." He replied. Hope was sure that he liked to use words like that entirely for the dramatic effect.
"How does it work?" she had told Locke about Walt's idea of looking around in her own head, and was surprised to find that Locke had a theory on how to go about it.
"Well, lucid dreaming can be a tricky thing. Often, different kinds of foods can help to trigger them, but that's probably not much of an option around here." He smiled kindly, and Hope had a sudden feeling of déjà vu, as though she had seen that kind smile many times before.
"Your best bet," he continued, "is probably more of a meditative state. It's fairly simple, or so I've read. Before falling asleep at night, you repeat a simple chant in your mind. 'As I dream I will realise I am dreaming'."
"And then what?"
Locke laughed at all of the questions, realising for a moment that in reality Hope was only a young woman, though lately lack of sleep made her look far older than her years.
"Then, when you sleep you should be aware that you are dreaming. If all goes well, and with some practise I should imagine, you can learn to control what happens in your dream. You can ask questions, create events, and, hopefully, find some answers."
Hope smiled gratefully and the pair stood. "Thankyou, Locke, this is great. I'll start tonight."
"Well, I hope it works for you. No guarantees, of course, but I think you're bright enough to pull it off." For a moment he looked hesitant, "Though, Hope, if this is really a memory, as Jack suspects, are you sure you want to know all the details?"
Hope sighed, "I've been wondering that myself," she admitted, "but I can't see how I can keep living like this. Walt once told me that if we don't remember, we can't learn from what we've done wrong. I guess I just don't want to have to start all over again. And it would be nice to remember the faces from my life – the people that might be missing me."
"I can understand that." Locke said. He thought for a moment, and added with a smile, "Smart kid."
"You're telling me!" Hope laughed, "He idolises you, you know."
"He's got a lot of potential. Most people here are struggling to adjust, but he's right there in the thick of it, desperate to learn and help out. He's a good kid, sharp as a tack – he just might do okay out here."
"I think you're right." Hope prepared to head back to the caves, "Well, thanks again, Locke, I really think this might help me."
"No problem."
Hope walked slowly up the beach, towards the path to the caves.
"Hey!" Locke called out, causing Hope to stop and turn around. "Good luck!"
Hope gave him a genuine smile, and watched him turn back to sharpening his knives before carrying on in the direction of the path.
It took only a few minutes idly standing around at the caves for Hope to realise she would go stir crazy if she didn't do something. Walt was long gone, probably playing with Vincent, or bugging his dad for some attention.
Kate seemed to be spending the day at the caves, and she soon joined Hope for a drink of water.
"How's it going?" Kate asked, although she could see how badly the wear and tear was showing on Hope.
"I'm doing a little better now. I just spoke to Locke." replied Hope, as though that said it all.
"Maybe you should try talking to someone else." Kate suggested.
"Oh yeah? Who do you think? I think I've got appointments with every therapist in this place, after story time this morning. Speaking of which, you were pretty quiet." Hope thought it might be nice to hear about someone else for a change. "Anything going on?"
"Actually, I was planning." Kate laughed, "Scheming, plotting, the usual."
Hope laughed along, and waited for Kate to continue.
"Plotting about you, actually…" Kate trailed off.
"Trying your hand at a little matchmaking, Madame Kate?" Hope smiled at her friend, silently fearing her plans.
"Not yet, but it's not a terrible idea." Kate raised her eyebrows, and got a wide-eyed look in return. Kate turned serious for a minute, "I was thinking more about you and Sun. Maybe if you spent some time with her, it would trigger something for you. You could remember who she's standing in for in your mind."
"Nice theory, but I hardly ever see her around here anymore. She disappears early every day, and we don't see her again until night."
"I know. I was starting to wonder about that, too. But I found her a few days ago. She's been making a garden."
"A garden?" Hope wasn't sure why they needed flowers when they were struggling for survival.
Kate saw her confusion, "A food garden. Planting fruits – anything we can find, really. It might be nice for you to visit her there."
"Really? Would you show me where?"
"Sure. It's not too far, and we can collect some seeds on the way. Sun likes presents of the edible variety." Kate laughed.
"How do you know?" Hope joked. "She's not exactly the chatty type – not in our language, anyway."
Kate smiled knowingly, "You might be surprised… Now, about this matchmaking idea."