Reinvented

Reinvented

By: Musketeer Adventure

Summary: Gault and Fiddler’s Green are home again, and much has changed.

________________________________________________________________________

Created in the Dreaming, she witnessed, experienced and lived amongst many wondrous things. Invented creatures, dreams, nightmares, and mesmerizing places that only the King of Dreams could imagine and conjure roamed this realm.

Things invoked beyond beauty, beyond glorious, beyond treachery or degradation. She thought, “I have seen it all.” But this, this moment she experienced now was beyond anything she had ever felt before.

This was beyond wondrous.

Here, soaring above it all was magnificent. Everything was perfect. The air was sweet. The sky was pink and purple. Soon, the sun would rise in all her glory to greet her as something … someone new.

Air buoyed beneath her wings. Yes, her wings.

Twisting and turning to take in their elegance, she could feel them flutter and carry her above the trees, the oceans, the mountains … the realm of Dreaming.

Laughing aloud she could see her essence vibrate and hear it sing. Soft, beautiful, delightful, flawless … notes of clarity bringer her peace; chasing her other self, that horrid nightmare away – to hide from her and be no more.

She was transformed. Made anew. Reinvented. Resurrected from the Darkness. No longer lost. She was found – reborn and made whole. Given a chance to build rather than destroy; give rather than take… inspire rather than frighten.

Lifting her arms to embrace the hues of a new day; her face to feel the warmth of the sun – she smiled true. Joy filled up her heart.

Where once there was only darkness, fear trepidation … now there were sensations of life, love, freedom, choice … giving her hope.

To no longer be a Nightmare, hovering in the shadows, inflicting pain, regrets or remorse felt strange. But it was always what she wanted, what she secretly dreamed. It was why she left.

This was who she was buried beneath the nightmare. This was who she wanted to be. Hope.

Higher and higher she climbed and circled above the Dreaming. Happy. Happy. Happy. Her essence, tingling, overjoyed with elation – still singing to the heavens.

Air pressed against her cheeks, flowed through her hair; caressing her gift of flight.

Her gift… no, this was his gift to her, of a new purpose. To help, inspire, bring comfort – to love.

Leaving here had been the right thing to do. It had given her a chance to grow. Time away, spent among the humans in the Waking World had given her the opportunity to be something different; to do something different … to make a difference in some way.

Descending slowly to Fiddler’s Green she thought of Jed. A small boy with a big heart, who’s waking life, was a living nightmare of torture and abuse. How could she continue such pain down into his dreams? What insight would that yield? She found that she did not have it in her.

She could not. No more. And now………

Landing lightly she felt the soft grasses tickle her bare feet. She would go back. Find Jed. Enter his dreams and instill a hope for a better future. Fill his dreams with heroic acts of kindness, of overcoming great obstacles, of helping others.

Sitting beneath a shade tree, Gault closed her eyes to rest and consider what came next. Her wings, tucked in tight gave her comfort.

Leaning back against bark, she began bit by bit to relax into her new reality, and after taking a deep cleansing breath Jed appeared to her through a tornado of sand. Hands on hips, his smile was wide and free from distress.

The bright orange and yellow of his costume; the cape swaying languidly behind him, and that silly mask – too large and slightly askew over his eyes made her laugh.

“Come”, he laughed with her, reaching down to help her up – with sand spinning wildly about his ankles. “Let’s go and save the world.”

__________________________________________________________________________________

It was good to be home.

He hadn’t meant to be away so long. It was never his intention to abandon his responsibilities or purpose here in the Dreaming.

He had been spurred on you see by one of his many visitors some centuries ago. A man of great thought and wisdom who said to the Green, “I know one thing, that I know nothing.”

This got him thinking, as he wished to know everything. Always he yearned to learn, to observe and gather information. It was his dream. So when the opportunity presented itself, he left.

And while there among humanity he read, studied, watched, immolated, absorbed their ways - and then after decades of learning he met Rose Walker. He took to her straight away. She was kind, thoughtful … empathetic. He sympathized with her plight and wanted to help.

So instead of returning home, he stayed.

And was glad he did… for when it was all said and done, he had fulfilled his purpose and helped to save the Waking World and Rose. He had no regrets.

What mattered now – above all – was that she was reunited with her brother and was safe; living her life with people she loved … happy and content.

His only wish was that somehow she would find her way here in her dreams to visit – to talk to him of her accomplishments, to share her adventures. He looked forward to that – for stories; her stories … as her stories would certainly bring him joy.

Thinking of her now, flowers spontaneously bloomed; trees sprouted from the earth, fish sprang from the pond and splashed water to nurture the glade. Crickets called to one another and the wind whispered her approval.

Though he missed Rose Walker, he was glad to be home and basked in the beauty of it.

Ships would sail in now that he was back. Sailors would depart and come ashore to find solace. Curious visitors would wander through to rest, look around and accept the reassurances offered – then move on to search out some other realm for a permanent resting place.

But there sitting among the shade trees was a surprising visitor – a recently returned Gault. She seemed somewhat changed as Nightmares did not usually frequent Fiddler’s Green.

“You are home.” he inquired of her, “for good it seems?”

Sitting up, Gault stretched arms about her head, spread her wings and smiled … Jed drifting away amidst a swirl of sand.

Fiddler’s Green gasped and the clouds shifted east. She was beautiful.

Standing to her feet, she extended her wings out to capture the sun’s rays and looked on them with wonder and amazement.

“You have been pardoned.” he surmised, “As have I.”

Nodding, she spun around with delight, and with her head tilted back lifted lithely from the Green, answering softly, “Yes.”

Then, more strongly asked, “But what is next? Who am I now that I am a Dream and no longer a Nightmare? What should I do with what Morpheus has offered me?”

Fiddler’s Green thought on this as Gault floated back down to gently land on the limb of an oak tree and stare solemnly out over the horizon.

“Whatever you decide,” he imparted slowly – reminded of prophetic words read from a book back in the Waking World, “whatever you do in life will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.”

Gault smiled slightly and studied the sky, pondering Fiddler’s Green’s words. She did not understand their meaning, but that was his way – to speak in riddles for others to decipher.

Suddenly she thought of Jed and his words to her of saving the world.

Maybe that would be her small contribution. She would do this. Help save the Waking World one person at a time.

Standing to her feet – tip toeing across the tree limb, Gault looked to the heavens with determination in her eyes, and took flight – leaving Fiddler’s Green behind.

…….. Fiddler’s Green, who thought of the sea, the wind and how fared Rose Walker.

________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for reading. This universe is new to me. The episode of The Sandman where Gault gets a second chance spoke to me. I hope I got this right.

“I know one thing, that I know nothing” – Socrates, according to Plato

“Whatever you do in life will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.” - Ghandi