“Were there elves too?”

She looked down at him. His eyes were wide, frightened. She wondered if he was afraid of being alone. She could understand that, especially in this vague, haunting landscape.

She sat back down, oddly relieved. “Yes, there were. There was this one- shot like a maniac. He was kind of tall, and blonde and-”

The boy snorted, a weak, watery sound. “Knock-off. Idiot couldn’t even come up with their own elves, had to steal them.” The boy’s voice had a sarcastic edge to it.

“Well, you can only dream what you know.” She reasoned with him. “If that was the only elf they’d ever seen, stands reason they’d dream him that way.”

“Just seems lazy is all.” His voice was much calmer now. It also seemed older somehow. “What else did you see? Did you do anything exciting?” he sounded torn. He was interested, but he didn’t want to be. He didn’t want her there, but clearly couldn’t stand her leaving.

She nodded “So much! I rode a flying horse- wild. It doesn’t feel the same flying riding something else and flying by yourself, did you know? I did that in some other dreams, it’s amazing. There was this forest- it went on forever. Literally, its name was ‘The Never-Ending Forest’.” The boy snorted again “that was pretty cool. There was this pond, with naiads in it. They were fabulous. There were the dragons I mentioned, one had a horde all of rubies, some were as big as your head.” She motioned the size of the rubies, eyes wide. “I met a wizard, nasty fellow, spoke all in riddles and wanted to curse me. I managed to get away, but just barely.” She sighed contently. “Too bad that dream had to end.”

The boy looked up at her curiously. “What do you mean it had to end?”

She shrugged. “The dreamer woke up, so the dream ended. It happens every time. The secret is to know when it’s happening. After all, you don’t want to get caught in the end of a dream.” She answered gravely.

“Why not? What will happen?” His voice was demanding.

She shrugged again “No clue. Never want to find out. It’s terrifying.” She shuddered. Nothing scared her like the end of a dream. Nothing. “It’s all dark, and empty and, well, terrifying.” She cast a quick glance at the boy. “You’re not near waking, are you?” he shook his head, she relaxed. “Good, I’d hate to leave just yet.”

“Why?” He demanded, his voice a little hesitant.

She hesitated. She couldn’t very well say she was worried about him, he might get angry, as he did when she asked about his crying. “Well, for starters, I haven’t talked to a real person in an extremely long time, ever, as far as I can remember, so that’s new and exciting. Also, you seem interesting.” He snorted. “You do! For example, you look about five, but you sound much older.”

He looked down at himself and chuckled. “Well that’s easy enough to solve. I’m not five.”