Chapter 14: A Place for Everyone

The atmosphere in the room suddenly changed from solemn to one of exuberance. They all hugged and laughed, as they couldn’t contain their happiness. Danny recounted his adventure several times, as everyone had an abundance of questions, as he was looking for answers himself. As their excitement started to wane, they realized it was still the middle of the night. They said their goodbyes and congratulations, then they left. When they did, Danny put all the furniture back how it was.

Danny and Emily couldn’t sleep, but after their ordeal, they were both hungry. When Danny went to cook, Emily wanted to take a shower. She turned on the water to get the shower ready. Then she started to undress. Danny was about to light the stove when he heard Emily calling his name. His first thought was that something bad had happened, so he ran to the bathroom.

Emily was standing there naked pointing at the butterfly on her chest, and then at the heart on the front of her hip. Danny took a closer look at the butterfly.

“These are not tattooing,” he said. “This is your actual skin.”

That wasn’t all he noticed. She also had more muscle tone. His first thought was that she had Emmella’s body, but that wasn’t right. It was a perfect blend of the two. She was more beautiful than ever. He couldn’t help but kiss her. Half an hour later, or so, they were both getting dressed from their shower.

“I wonder what else changed?” Emily asked, “I mean, I feel stronger and more fit, but everything around me feels different.”

“Well,” Danny said, “I merged you and Emmella together, and I shared some of my energy with you. As far as I know, you should be just like me. Let’s try something. Close your eyes.”

Danny gathered some medial energy. Then he took her hand and put it in the energy.

“Do you feel that?” he asked.

“No,” she said. “Wait, I do feel it. What is that?”

“That is medial energy,” he said. “Try to move it.”

She concentrated for a minute. She was about to give up when it started to move. She moved it up, down, left, then back to the right.

“I did it!” she exclaimed. “What else?”

“Imagine a ball,” Danny said, “then open your eyes.” When she opened her eyes, there was a small ball in her hand. Then he saw a mischievous look in her eyes as she flipped her hand over. Instead of one ball, more than a dozen balls fell to the floor, and then they all disappeared after the second bounce.

“So, I can do anything you can do?” Emily asked.

“I don’t see why not,” he said. “You’re like me now, plus you’re part of me.”

“Even here?” she asked.

“Sure,” he said.

She concentrated for a few seconds, then snapped her fingers. Frilly curtains appeared over the window, the rug on the floor changed patterns, and there was a new sheet set and comforter on the bed.

“You learn faster than me,” Danny said.

“Not really,” she said. “You’re a great teacher. I’ve seen a lot. of what you can do. Now, thanks to you, I mostly know how to. I guess the rest is imagination and concentration.”

“I have an idea,” Danny said. “The sun is about to come up. Let’s go to the private garden and have a picnic while watching the sunrise.”

He opened a cabinet and pulled out a basket.

“This is a magic picnic basket,” he said. “Just reach inside, and you can pull out anything you want, regardless of size.”

To demonstrate, he reached in and pulled out a rather large cheese wheel. Then he put it back and showed her the basket was still empty.

Then Emily reached her hand in, concentrated for a minute, and pulled out a bottle of champagne.

“We’re supposed to be celebrating,” she said. “Now, we just have more to celebrate!”

With the basket in hand, they went out the back door. As they were walking through the yard, Emily stopped and looked at the treehouse. Without saying a word, she took Danny’s hand, and drawing some of his energy, she made a sandbox and children’s swing set with a slide. Then she continued walking.

When they got to the tree and set up the picnic, Danny asked her what that was about back there.

“Hope, “she said. “For the future.”

Danny looked at her puzzled. “Hope for the future?” He asked.

“Yes,” she said. “At the wedding, I was talking to Walter and your parents. At the time they didn’t think we would be able to have children.”

“They said that?” He asked. “They were right,” she said. “For me to get pregnant here, Emmella would have to get pregnant there, by the father’s double. You don’t have a double, so you would have to get both of us pregnant. That would create a moral dilemma for all of us.”

“You’re right,” he said. “I’m not sure that’s a line we would want to cross.”

“Tell me about it,” she said. But now, it’s just you and me with no doubles. That means we can have children together.”

“Hope!” he said. “It’s just a shame we had to lose Emmella that way.”

“We didn’t, “Emily said, “not really. When you gave me some of your energy the first time, so I could share this world with you, I think it expanded my connection. It’s the only explanation for why I felt it so strongly.”

“That makes sense,” Danny said, “but what do you mean we didn’t?”

“Well,” Emily said, “because she’s in me. Her personality, her emotions, everything that made her who she is, it’s all in me now. When they damaged her brain while keeping her alive, her mind had no place to go except to me. And I know she’s grateful for that.”

“So, you can hear her thoughts?” Danny asked.

“We’re the same person now,” she said. “We share one personality and have the same thoughts. But she’s a separate part of me. Also, she is just as in love with you as I am, and she would be happy to bear your children with me. By the way, she’s not embarrassed that you saw her naked, and wanted to thank you for dressing her.”

When they were finished eating, Emily reached into the basket and pulled out the bottle of champagne. Then she pulled out two champagne flutes. She noticed Danny looking at her as she poured.

“Don’t worry,” she said, “I’m not taking up drinking. It’s non-alcoholic. It’s a symbolic gesture.”

“I know,” Danny said. “I was just noticing that you seem to have more confidence.”

“Does that bother you?” she asked.

“No,” he said, “I love it. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve always loved everything about you, but I was always worried about you. I guess I was so busy taking care of and worrying about you, that I never really stopped to think about me.”

“I’m sorry,” Emily said.

“Don’t be,” Danny said. “I loved every moment of it. Maybe I have a hero complex and you’re my damsel in distress, but I love this change. Plus, I find it sexy.”

He grabbed his glass, and they toasted, “to new adventures.”

A few minutes later, they started putting everything back into the basket. Emily folded the blanket and put it in the basket. After cleaning up Emily decided she wanted to walk the nature trails with Danny. So, they crossed the bridge and followed the trail into the forest. After their walk, they headed back to the cabin. When they entered the cabin, Samson was waiting in human form.

“We need to talk,” he said.

“Okay,” Danny said, “let’s have a seat.”

“Do I need to go somewhere?” Emily asked.

“No, my lady,” Samson said. “This concerns you too.”

Emily grabbed a chair for Samson, then Danny and Emily sat on the couch. After everyone was comfortable, he began.

“I know you’re aware of the conditions on the other side,” he said. “Especially for dream folk. You created a sanctuary to help them escape, After all. This past week, more and more dream folk have been gathering together. We’ve formed into a large community, but we would like to form a dream nation.”