Twilight on Dreamworld

"You know what? YOU'RE NOTHING!!" He screams, his voice cracking. "You're nothing but a monkey in a cage, you know that?? I took away your book, I took away your power, and I took your dignity too! So why don't you sit down, shut up and get comfortable because you aren't going anywhere…EVER!!"

My eyes narrow angrily at him. His words cut me deeply, but I refuse to give him the satisfaction of knowing that. "You're scared to die. That's it. You are afraid of fading out like every other dream. You're afraid I'm going to get old and stop dreaming, and you'll be nothing but a distant memory. Admit it. That's what this is all about."

"You better believe it!" Seth stands up suddenly, shouting at me. "When was the last time you wrote anything about my little brother?? When was the last time you even drew him?? You stopped dreaming of him when you were eleven, and he disappeared about a year or so after." Tears flood his eyes and fall down his cheeks. "I MISS HIM!" He stomps down with a foot like a child throwing a temper tantrum. "Do you even remember his name anymore??"

My hands press against the Plexiglas, my eyes wide and full of shame. My head lowers slightly. "Bryon." I frown. "He was my imaginary friend when I was little. I made you up when I was eight so he'd have company when I went to the therapist."

"Because he couldn't go with you to the therapist. There was too much Banality there and it hurt him too much." Seth wipes his nose with his knuckles and sniffles loudly. "Oh god, Jasper, I miss him so much." He begins sobbing, and Anubis puts a hand on his shoulder. "Why did you have to listen to them when they told you he didn't exist? He was so sick for so long, and one day he was just gone."

"I don't…" I take a deep breath. "I don't have any excuses for you. I can't say I'm sorry enough times for you to believe me."

"You don't have to say a thing." Seth bites his lip. "Just stay there and behave so it doesn't happen to anyone else." They didn't understand. How could they? And that's what Anubis meant when he said that he was doing this for Osiris. It had been about a year since I drew him. Hell, since I even thought about him. He was probably getting sick too. Anubis was only trying to help make sure he wouldn't fade away.

I'm such a fool. We all are. "Seth, Davis, Anubis…I'm afraid all your planning was for nothing." They look up at me nervously when I give them a calm, knowing smile. "You see, you were right. This is MY realm. And it doesn't matter how many of my sketchbooks you take away from me. It's not the paper and graphite that holds my power…" They all watch in shock as I put my index finger in my mouth and bite hard enough to draw blood. "It's all in the wrist." I use my bloodied finger to draw a circle in the glass just big enough for me to climb through. The glass disappears and I climb out. They watch helplessly from a distance.

"No! You don't understand!" Davis crumples to his knees before me. "I can't fade away like that the minute you decide to forget me! I can't just lay down and die!"

"And neither can I!" I growl back at him. "Tell me, Davis…you're a brand new dream. Brand new dreams don't just think of how they're going to die." I give him a stern look. "Who put you up to this!?"

"I did." A familiar, sexy, seedy voice echoes through the warehouse.

I look up with a blank expression. "Osiris. I should have known. You did know where to find the secret passageway in the courthouse, after all."

"Your mistake." He comes closer, out of the shadows.

"You were getting ill, weren't you?"

"More than that. You have no comprehension of what it's like."

I cross my arms. "And you have no idea that this is inevitable. It doesn't matter whether I'm home or trapped in a box, Osiris. It doesn't matter if I grow old naturally or stay in some unnatural stasis. My mind will still progress naturally and I'll still stop dreaming. That's just how people are!"

"Untrue. People stop dreaming because of a horrible thing called shame. Admit it, there came a day where you felt shame over pulling out a chair so Bryon could sit at a table with you. That was the day he died. You felt silly because your society thinks people shouldn't have imaginary friends. If you're surrounded by dreams, that shame will disappear because there will be no need for it."

"But the magic of dreams is fleeting. If I'm trapped here, surrounded by it every day, it will stop being magic to me, and you'll all die that way. This is a lose-lose situation. You should have seen that." For a moment, they are all silent, looking at me with defeated anger in their frightened eyes. They know they've lost, all too well. "Hmm." I smile, rubbing my chin. "Fortunately for you, I have an idea. This idea, I think, will make everybody a winner."

"We're listening." ___

I make the finishing touches to my new drawing and close my beloved Book of Men, placing it gently down by my computer. My mother finally fell asleep after catering to me all day. She was so afraid I had run away because of her, she vowed never to hurt me again. She even apologized for defacing the picture she found crumpled up in the den garbage can.

"I understand that you are probably gay," She admitted earlier. "But you're still my son and I love you reguardless. Just don't bring any gay guys in here or we're going to have problems."

It truly felt good to be home. I yawn and stretch, picking up the book and glancing at my new picture as I walk into the kitchen to get a midnight snack.

Motaau' kneeling over and healing a badly hurt but not dead Lazarus. Motaau' was born as a jaguar, and all humans look alike to him. Lazarus' identity remains safe for now, providing he be more careful about taking off his mask in the future. Crazy kid.

I smile as I look up at all the portrait drawings I have hanging on my fridge. There's one of Osiris and Anubis, another of Steven and Pat, one of Daisy and Darryl, Talis and Craig giving each other the horns, a big one of Motaau' in both his jaguar and human form, one of Dean and Russ, Artemis and Alejandro, one of Seth wielding his sword with confidence and pride, Davis and his new lover, Quentin with their arms around each other, Lazarus and Base being their usual adorable selves and a nice one with Russell flying over the Johanes Courthouse bell tower. Hell, I even had a picture of Matthew. They were the preliminary sketches of to-be posters, buttons, tee shirts and anything else I could think of that would last a lifetime. I planned to hand them down to my children, and them down to theirs. Well, after I get through job hunting tomorrow.

After microwaving some leftover mac & cheese, I sit down at the table and smile to myself as I pull the chair out next to me for Bryon. I imagine what he must look like, all grown up like me.

"Yeah." I say aloud. "It's been far too long, my friend."