Chapter 2: First Friend
Set before the movie*
Sandy loved his job. Despite the fact that he was constantly working (as it was always night somewhere in the world), he never grew tired of the vast imaginations of the young children. They never failed to amaze him with the wacky scenarios and amazing adventures that their little brains conjured – from dragons to wizards to winning the world football cup.
Due to the demanding hours that he worked, he didn't really have much time to interact with other spirits. However, lately, he had noticed someone new; someone he had never seen before, and that was unusual for the Sandman as he travelled constantly all over the globe. The said spirit had hair as white as snow, extremely pale skin and wore a brown cloak. That was the first odd thing about him as it meant he must be very young (cloaks were all the rage now). He hadn't met a new spirit in a few centuries.
The second odd thing about him was his connection to the wind. Sanderson had never seen anyone ride the Wind the way the youngling before him did, yet he flew with ease, as though they (the boy and the Wind) had been friends his whole life. The third thing about him was that he was constantly speaking to himself, making the Sandman wonder if he was maybe slightly mad.
The more the dream giver observed this odd spirit, the more intrigued he become. As the weeks passed, Sandy could see he wasn't mad at all, he was lonely. This broke the older spirits heart, reminding him of himself when he was first 'born'. Being one of the very first spirits, and the first Guardian, Sandman recalled how desperate he was to have a companion. Obviously, he couldn't speak to them, but the interaction was enough for him.
So, he made a promise to himself, and to the unknown spirit, that he would never let another feel as lonely as he once did and the next time he saw him, he would fly down and say (in his own way) hello.
Jack was bored. Very bored. He had rose from the lake nearly fifty years ago and he had been alone ever since, only having his imagination to keep him company. For a while, he could make do with the fact that his only companion was his mind, for he was certainly gifted in his imagination. But every now and then, his situation caught up to him and he realised just how alone he was. He'd watch from afar as the children of the village laughed and played together, joyful in every aspect that seemed to neglect Jack. He had no friends and no family and your own mind can only keep you company for so long. He'd given up trying to get the children to notice him - the pain never dwindled no matter how many times he was walked through.
He had tried to befriend some animals a few times so he didn't feel as lonely, but they never seemed to be interested in him (he decided it was to do with his freezing body temperature and not his personality. At least, he hoped it was).
More often than not Jack found himself talking to Man in Moon. Well, it wasn't exactly a conversation, it was more him questioning and Manny not replying. He never replied. After a while, Jack simply decided that he was destined to be alone and ignored forever.
Which was why it came as a great surprise to him when a man of gold slowly floated down, landed in front of him, and waved. At him. Who was he?
"….hello?" Jack questioned the short man in front of him: was someone really here to see him, after all this time? The man waved back at him and Jack couldn't supress the smile from taking over his face any longer. He could see him!
Sandy looked at the boy suspiciously. Why wasn't he saying anything? He was simply stood ahead of him, staring at him with a huge grin on his face. It was then that the dream giver realised something – he was possibly the first person this spirit had interacted with, ever. He thought back to the first spirit he had ever met and found that he had had pretty much the exact same reaction.
This was going to be hard, he thought, not being able to speak to him. It was very rare that anyone (besides North, but they had spent centuries together) understood his silent language. He tried though, making a few images out of sand above his head, trying to introduce himself to the boy. Hopefully he would understand.
"Can you not speak?" Sandy shook his head as the pale boy looked at him inquisitively. The boy seemed disappointed at first, but his expression quickly changed.
"Well, my name's Jack, I'm the Winter Spirit and I live here in Burgess, by that pond." Jack pointed behind him to the surrounding area, filled with withering trees shivering from the frigid cold of November. The Sandman felt a slight pang of sadness for the boy, for not many could see such a place as a home, until he noticed just how wide Jack's smile was.
It was as though all memories of loneliness had instantly evaporated from his mind. He would never forget the hardships he had been through but with one look at the little golden man, the winter spirit knew he was no longer on his own in this world. Jack didn't care that the other man couldn't speak, just that he had come to see him, of all people. This was possibly the happiest day of his entire existence.
After that night, Sandy visited Jack whenever he could and, though the little man couldn't speak, they eventually found a way of communicating. After only a short while, which surprised Sandy, Jack got a hand of understanding his way of speech. Sometimes Jack even joined the man of gold on his cloud made of sand while he distributed dreams to the children. The sight of the shining yellow sand floating through the air into every house never ceased to astonish him, though it was normal for the Guardian. Jack's favourite dream that the Sandman gifted to the children was one of two children, a young boy and a girl, happily ice skating on a lake, their faces embellished with smiles and laugher, as if they didn't have a care in the world.
Up there, on Sandy's cloud, Jack was happy. Finally, after all this time, he had made a friend.