“Hello. My name is Jonny S, and this is Late noon with Jonny S. Today, we have in our studio the famous Author. He’s agreed to give us an exclusive interview. Hello, Author, how are you?”

“Hello, Jonny. Hi everyone. I am good, just tired a bit. You can call me Thor, by the way.’’

“Don’t mind if I don’t. So, Author, tell us why are you tired on this cloudy Spring Friday?”

“Well, you know, the usual stuff - juggling a day job, spending time with my family, and writing. Writing only at night. Same old, same old.”

“Leave the job and just write, then! It is that easy. Take me, for example - I left pointless dwelling in your imagination and became the host of my own Commercial break show. I am not tired at all, and I am having the time of my life.”

“It is not that easy, Jonny. I am real, and, more importantly, I am an adult - I have responsibilities and stuff. My world is pretty much the same as the one in the Book - to get by you have to work and earn money. Or hustle. But the thing - I don’t know how to hustle, so I just work.”

“You are THE Author, can’t you imagine ten million coins in an instant?

“They will work only in the world of the Book. Moreover, I cannot just imagine them even there - the Book is about balance and..”

“..equal opportunity, yeah-yeah, we have already heard this bull shit countless times. We may have a solution for that, though - Initiation by Big Bertha. And yes, coins will exist only in the Book world, but there is a solution to that problem also. Live here. Leave that boring world of yours.”

“Who said it is boring? It is quite exciting in some areas.”

“Yeah-yeah. And people create their own worlds because the world they live in is too exciting. Who are you kidding? I am an artifact of your imagination! I know everything you know and, maybe, even more. Let’s come up with your initial blessing and curse, shell we? I am not Big Bertha, but I think I will handle it. So let’s start with a blessing - ten million coins. See - easy. Now - the curse. It should be something outrageous involving death and hidden conditions. For example.. um… an immortal sn…”

“Drop it. Our interview has lost its course. Let’s get back on track with it, ok? How we’ve agreed..”

“Your wish is my command. Dear audience, the Author prepared a special gift for you today, exclusively at the Late noon with Jonny S.”

“Thanks, Jonny. Now it is time to talk. As unusual as it may sound now, it will be I who talks instead of you. I noticed that you all really want to have dreams while you sleep, and I have prepared the recipe for you. It will be different for each and every one of you. I want to warn you - it won’t be easy. Successfully completing all items from it will let you see dreams.

You'll ask me why

and I'll reply

with sparks in eyes

with pure and shy

while crying sky

will hide the lies.

With no deny

until you cry

with blood... just drive

to sunny side

among allies...

I was polite

enough - combine

all that is mine

and bitter smile

on face will rise

and tears got dry

and soul like fly

won't rich the height

cause it'll be blind

from burning shine

of truth - I tried...

Once in the wild,

I beg, come by,

around July

can I rely?

It's good. Bring grapes

and apple pie

at last, forget about the tie

there are no strangers nearby

just clear skyline

don’t complify,

don’t think - collide,

explore your mind...

Ok - goodby

just don’t forget the fallen guy…”

***

When I woke up, I remembered almost nothing from a dream...um… commercial break. Except for the sad and tired face of the Author and the last line: just don’t forget the fallen guy. I will try not to… I swear.

The shadow from the head-shaped boulder was already gone, with the local star..hm.. starts.. shining bright in the sky. Paige was nowhere to be found. I stood up and stretched my legs. Somehow her absence wasn’t bothering me at all.

I approached the fringe of the plateau and looked down. The view around was breathtaking still. Under the light of a day, the forest looked not so dense anymore but full of life. Some birds flee above the trees; large squirrel-like creatures tried to hunt those birds but mostly unsuccessfully. At the small swamp near the plateau foot, a cow-sized toad sat. From time to time, it shot its tongue to catch fish and even some king of rabbits. I started to understand why Paige prefers to walk around at night.

I went to the spring and washed. At first, I planned to wash only my face and torso, which I did. The weather and water were so pleasant, though, that I’ve washed completely. The suns were hot, so I’ve dried pretty fast.

When I returned to our temporary camp, Paige was standing on top of the boulder, facing the forest, in some meditational pose.

“Have you see that commercial break?”

“Yep. I assume it is unusual?”

With one airy somersault, she appeared on the ground beside me. When she turned, I’ve read fear and glimpses of hope in the eyes.

“It changed everything, Tad. We need to hurry.”

She touched my cheek where the number tattoo was.

"Five already..."

Paige turned around in one smooth compound move and headed towards the edge of the plateau. She stopped several centimeters from the abyss.

"Let's go. Adventures wait for us." - She said.

And jumped.