The Soliloquy of a Crooked Man.

Deep into the woods and far beyond a grove of persimmon trees, is a house that stands between the world of the living and the world where the unhuman dwell. It has stood there for centuries and centuries on end, waiting for a dreamer to cross its threshold. It has been there for so long that not even its walls can recall of a time when it was not in waiting.

So it continues to wait in perpetuity, silent and still, until it is seen.

Finding the House of Dreams is by no means an easy task. For its existence is like the wisps of a fading dream; once seen, it is easily forgotten—as if it had never even stood there.

But sometimes, if you are in the right place or are in the right time, you will see a bird soaring under the light of the pale moon. It will be unlike any bird you have seen before, for in the place of feathers it will have a plume of silk brocade and in the place of eyes it will have a pair of silver buttons stitched on its head.

If you are bold enough (or foolish enough) to follow the bird's path, it will lead you to the house's door. Sometimes, the door will be found at the corner between two streets, or in the space between a telephone pole and your neighbor's fence, or sometimes it will be through another door.

You will know it is the right door when you see an emblem of the moon carved in the center of its aged wood.

If you are fortunate enough, the door may open for you and you can enter the house.

And if you are even more fortunate than you give yourself credit for, you may be welcomed by The Dream-Peddler and be allowed to peruse her wares. She may offer you a peek into a dream so sweet that your heart will burst, or perhaps a glance into a dream so bitter that your lips will curl, or perhaps, maybe, even a glimpse into someone else's reverie.

Or sometimes, she may even offer to buy your dreams. 

But fret not, for The Dream-Peddler is always fair with her prices. She will not take what has not been offered and likewise will not offer what has not been asked for.

The choice will always be in your hands. As long as it is a decision that you have independently come to—whether it is to leave or to stay—The Dream-Peddler will abide by your wishes, no matter what.

But that is only if you are fortunate enough.

If you are unlucky and never see the bird of providence beating its silken wings above your head, then you will never be able to enter The House of Dreams. You will never get to experience its splendor and opulence, nor will you ever get to see The Dream-Peddler with her golden earrings that go clink, clink clink at every small gesture she makes. 

You shall see none of this and live the rest of your life ignorant of the magic that hides at the corner of your eye.

But perhaps, this is for the best. 

For dreams must always come to an end. 

--Excerpt from Wa'nan's journal (1936)