"There’s something I’d like you to see,” the Author said to Sam.

There was a faint pop and next to them appeared a hot air balloon. The Author nodded to Lionheart, opened the weaved door of the basket, and helped Sam inside. He ignited the flame and the rose into the air.

As they rose the Author had been waving his arms around, much like a conductor leading an orchestra. After they were high above the lake, Sam noticed that out of the lake the wreckage of the castle began to float upwards.

“Everything will be alright now; thanks to you.” The Author gleamed again with pride.

“Thank you. But, it wasn’t just me. It was Aster and the Queen. Lionheart. Earl Grey and the unicorns. Even Issac helped.”

“You’re right. It was all of us. You know, I think I was foolish keeping the rest of the dream world from the children, we are much better joined together.”

With another wave of his hand, four stone bridges shot out of the ground rose up to where the castle was being pieced back together.

“So that we may all enjoy this world.” He smiled.

“That sounds nice,” She said sleepily.

She yawned. It struck her as strange that she was tired despite already being asleep. She crossed her arms of the edge of the basket and rested her head there as she stared at the lake and the castle. She fought to keep her eyes open, much like in the hospital room with her mother, but soon lost the battle. The Author went to put his hand on her shoulder but instead landed on a tuft of fur.

“So, you’ve sent her back then?” He asked with a smile.

“Yes,” Lionheart said. Neither took their eyes off the lake. “She deserved it.”

“She deserves a lot; her brother too.”

“You know, they remind me of a couple of boys that I met ages ago.”

The Author grinned. He felt exactly as Lionheart did. He turned to the lion.

“And my brother?”

He hadn’t seen his brother since they arrived back at the lake.

“Doing just fine, of course. He’s already hard at work bringing things back to order. The Nightmares did a real number on the fabric between the awakened world and our dream world. You should visit him soon; I’m sure you both have a lot to discuss.”

“That we do. Now that you’ve returned from your field, what do you plan to do? Or do you plan to go away again?”

“I’ll be around for a while. I will return to my old kingdom; there’s a fat cat that needs to be dealt with. I’ll check in once the castle is rebuilt.”

With that Lionheart leaped from the basket and his body came apart and drifted as golden streaks in the wind. The Author continued to float above the castle and watched as it rebuilt itself.

Sam felt her body be pushed away from the dream world, but not quite where she would be awake. She was no longer in the air but instead was standing on a dirt path, stretching forever in each direction, surrounded by verdant green leaves. The smell of the air reminded her of the flower field. She stood in silence until she heard a word repeating through the leaves like the hooting of owls.

Onward.

Onward.

Onward.

With each mention of the word, the world grew brighter and brighter until she was completely enveloped in it. She was no longer standing but was instead laying in a bed, her head propped up by a pillow.

She opened her eyes and saw that she was sitting alone in the hospital room. She waited a moment to see if her mom or dad would come through the door, but they never did. She threw off the sheets and ran out of the room.

The hospital was eerily quiet; a stark difference from when she first came with her parents. That seemed like ages ago. She looked into a couple of the rooms as she ran by, surprised they were empty. She made her way through a set of double doors and found a nurse's station.

The nurse at the station had a kind face, but an exhaustive look in her eye.

“Can I help you?” The nurse asked.

“Yes. My name is Sam Wilde. My brother, Isaac, was in room 113. Do you know where my parents could be?”

The nurse smiled, rubbed the bridge of her nose, and proceeded to dig through some paperwork on her desk.

“Oh yes, the Wildes. It looks like they have gone down for lunch at the cafeteria; a lot of families have. Almost all of the kids have fully awakened and they have been starving!”

The nurse called another nurse and walked briskly with her to where the cafeteria was located. Sam thanked her and dived into the sea of families reuniting with food and fellowship. She walked around the tables, anxiously looking at people’s faces until she breathed a breath of relief; she found what she was looking for.

Sitting at the end of a long, plastic table, there was her family, sitting solemnly talking to each other. She ran to them. Her mother, seeing her daughter from the corner of her eye, rose from her seat and opened her arms to give Sam a hug. Her father joined and soon, reluctantly, Issac joined as well.

In the days to come, sleep cycles returned to normal. The school reopened. Sam and Bella became closer friends, playing as often as possible. Isaac still gave his sister a hard time, but every now and then he would share a dream or a story that would make her laugh, and more importantly, would make her feel like a friend.

Sam still loved bedtime. She delighted in the routine of running up the stairs and brushing her teeth. She adored being tucked in and being told stories because honestly, who wouldn’t? And most of all she loved the warmth and strength of her mother’s hugs. Those hugs could quite literally save the day.

Sam was not defiant to falling asleep, because she knew that soon she would be by that lake again, ready for another new adventure in the dream world.

THE END.