In a sleepy town called Pierpont, there lived a young girl named Sam Wilde. Sam was unlike most children her age, in that while most were defiant to their bedtimes; she was excited. She never told her parents that she wasn’t tired nor made excuses to stay out of bed.

Some nights she would even be sitting on the couch with her parents, anxiously awaiting her seven o’clock bedtime. This was one of the nights, as she sat feeling each tick-tock of the clock’s hands beat inside her head. Excitedness buzzed in her like a bag full of bumblebees.

As soon as the minute hand released the time to be 6:45, Sam leaped off the couch, ran across the living room and up the stairs to the bathroom. She tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for the bathroom door to open. She knocked three times in succession in hopes that it would make the doors open faster.

“There you are! Cmoncmoncmon!” She exclaimed.

A moment passed before the door opened with a creak and out stepped a thirteen-year-old boy with messy black hair, wrinkled blue striped pajamas, and a line of toothpaste still stuck to his chin. Sam thought her brother, Isaac, was an interesting kid.

When they both were younger they were close friends, always playing and reading and swapping stories together. Ever since Isaac hit the age of thirteen and became a teenager, he realized he was too cool to be doing these things with younger sisters and they drifted apart. He liked to tease her often, but Sam believed this was his way of showing her that he still loved her.

“Jeez,” He huffed. “I’ve never seen someone so excited to brush their teeth. Your breath must be horrible!” He chuckled at his joke and walked away to his room.

Sam didn’t take the time to retort. Instead, she drowned her toothbrush in toothpaste and went to war against gingivitis.

When she had finished, she turned off the light and ran to her bedroom and jumped on her bed just as her mom walked in to tuck her in. Then came Sam’s favorite part of the day; the reason she was always so excited for bedtime.

Mrs. Wilde gave her a great, big hug. And her hugs were known to be the warmest and most comfortable hugs in all the world, at least that's what Sam would tell you. She tucked the sheets tightly over her daughter so she was snug. She then gave Sam her teddy bear.

This teddy bear’s name was Teddy and he was given to Sam’s mom from her mother, and then passed down to Sam a year ago. Legend has it that Teddy was a good luck charm to ward off bad dreams.

A glass of water was placed on the nightstand next to Sam’s bed and a gentle kiss was delivered to her forehead.

“Are you excited about tomorrow?” Mrs. Wilde asked

“Is it obvious?”

“A little, but it’s normal. You only turn ten once in a lifetime.”

Sam smiled and readied herself for sleep, clutching Teddy close to her chest.

“Story, please.” She requested.

Her mother smiled and obliged. She made up a wonder-filled short story about a castle far away and a kind young princess that danced with fairies and pixies and went on many adventures.

When the story had ended, Mrs. Wilde kissed her daughter’s head once more and walked out of the room.

“Good night, my love. Sweetest dreams.” She whispered.

“Goodnight, mommy.” Sam yawned.

Her mother left, leaving the door open a crack to assure her that no monsters would be lurking in the dark this evening.

She then shuffled a bit to get comfortable and when she found the right spot, her breathing slowed and her eyelids fluttered as she fell gently asleep.

⥈⥈⥈

Almost as instantly as she fell asleep her eyes opened again, but this time she was not in her bed. Nor was she laying at all. She was standing at the top of a grassy hill, overlooking a vast lake. The sky was a milky swirl of twilight, with the sun melting down past the trees. The light made everything it touched appear with a golden hue.

Around the lake stood a boundless forest of evergreen pine trees. The trees seemed to hum and move in the wind like they were dancing with each other. The water was calm and reflected the golden sky making it look like a sea of fire-colored stain glass.

Beneath her feet, there was a path of gray rocks leading down the hill to the water. She followed the path noticing the faint rainbow shine on each rock. The path led her to a gate that guarded the edge of the water. One of the doors of the gate was silver, the other gold.

The light from the setting sun made the gates sparkle. The beauty of the sparkling gates tempted her. She couldn’t resist and pressed her hand against the doors. The touch made the doors spring open, Sam jumped out of the way just in time.

Curiously, the rocky path ended right at the doors of the gates. On the other side of the door, there was only grass leading down to the edge of the water. She steeled herself and walked through the gate.

As she passed through, there seemed to be music playing in the air. A slight breeze blew, making the blades of grass dance. Sam made her way to the edge of the water and found a long brown, wooden dock stretching out over the water.

Sam bit her lip and put one foot out on the dock. The wood creaked and the smell of fresh lumber filled her nostrils. On the wind came the sound of a high pitched whistle and then appearing out of nowhere was a grand wooden ship.

The ship’s hull was painted red and white with gold trimmings. The ropes that adorned the vessel were made of thin strings of diamonds that dazzled in the light of the setting sun. The sails were bright white and furled as it stopped at the dock. On the side of the ship, written in red cursive was the ship’s name: The Sweet Dreams.