Astronomy, reprised, and Dinner Guests

[This post recounts the last two entries from the Original Untitled storyline, and carries that story forward]

Jack barely heard the knock at his door over the scratching of his pencil.

“Hey,” Beth said, her backpack clutched in front of her.

Shores of Dreamland: Fallen

“When he woke up again, he had trouble speaking. He couldn’t move one of his arms. He couldn’t stand. He could write. Very slowly, but his parents weren’t the most patient people, nor the best readers.”

Shores of Dreamland: Troublesome

“I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s going on, Beth.”

“I don’t know that you could help me even if you knew,” she said.

Shores of Dreamland: Possibilities and Prices

“You’re saying I pulled you out of your dream, and into… here?”

“Yes. No. That’s not entirely right,” Beth said.

Jack clutched at his head. “Now I’m getting a headache,” he grumbled.

Shores of Dreamland: Disagreement Sandwiches

“Not here, please,” Beth said.

Jack struggled to find his voice.  “I thought…” he started. “I mean, I sort of knew, but…”

They stared at each other across the table.

“A hundred years?”

Shores of Dreamland: Timelines

“Oh, I don’t know, Jack….” Beth hedged. She glanced back over her shoulder, up the stairs. “I’m still trying to get everything organized upstairs, and…”

“You’re supposed to be resting your hand,” Jack said. “Come on. Mom says it’s okay.”

Shores of Dreamland: An Afternoon with the Mouse

“All right, mister. Off with you.”

Jack looked up from his sketchpad. His mother stood over him, pointing towards the screen door. He looked out, at the late summer morning, then turned back to the aimless doodles marching around the border of the page.

Shores of Dreamland: Repercussions and Regrets

“Don’t look up,” Beth said, as she steadied Jack.

“It’s like I feel like I’m falling every time I look at it.” He blinked, waiting for his stomach to settle. He didn’t look back at the tree after they started walking again.

Shores of Dreamland: Impressions Beneath the Dragon Tree

Beth sighed. “You recognize it.”

“I drew it. Years ago. After you gave me this.” He slipped his index finger through the ring, watching the late afternoon sunlight catch and slide along the curve.

Shores of Dreamland: Dreams on Either Side of Sleep

“Jack! Please come down from there! Please!”

Jack looked down from the branch. Beth stared up at him, her hair whipped by another strong gust from the east. It wasn’t raining just yet, but the storm clouds were gathered in a long gray line, like knights lining up to charge.

Shores of Dreamland: Disclosure and Debts

Tapping at his bedroom window awakened Jack shortly before 5. He thought it might be a bird, and there had indeed been a squawk as he threw his pillow a the window. But birds didn’t call his name.

Shores of Dreamland: Dinner Guests

Jack’s father got home just before six o’clock. The truck’s headlights flashed through the front door, and the heavy rattling thud of the old pickup’s door sounded, followed by the steady crunch of work boots on gravel.

They were comforting sounds. They were routine, regular. Something that happened like the sun coming up, the stars turning in the sky.

Shores of Dreamland: Subtlety and Solitude

“I think I’ll go finish my book,” Charlotte said, and disappeared around the hedgerow. She stomped a bit too heavily on the gravel, and the screen door cracked as it swung shut. Jack’s mother’s voice drifted faintly across the yards, and he didn’t need to be able to make out the words to know she was asking if Charlotte was raised in a barn.

Shores of Dreamland: Moving Day

Book 2: Waking

“Jack? You’ve barely touched your breakfast. Did you sneak a late night snack?”

He looked up from the pancake, where he’d been making circles in the maple syrup. Golden circles within circles.

Shores of Dreamland: Old Flame

Jack’s fingers slipped from Green Eggs & Ham. He glanced down at the sketch pad in his lap, even though he knew better than anybody just what was drawn there.

“What did you say?” he asked.

Shores of Dreamland: Brother and Sister

“We’re having a little party tomorrow night,” Patty said, as she and her sister followed Jack down the hill from the school, towards the idling school bus. “To celebrate the end of our first year of middle school.”

Shores of Dreamland: Vanished on Either Side of Sleep

Jack’s stomach flip-flopped and his throat felt like it was two sizes too small. He didn’t really want to talk, because he felt tears welling up. He knew if he said anything, out they’d come.

Shores of Dreamland: Shopping Trips and Sirens

“Do not wander away,” Jack’s mother said. “You are not to leave this department store. I want you back here in an hour.”

Jack and Hannah both nodded.

“How come I get stuck with blob duty?” Charlotte whined.

Shores of Dreamland: Plans, Robots, and Regrets

“Hey, Champ. Chairs are for sitting, not sleeping.”

Shores of Dreamland: Wishes, Woods, Whispers, and Warnings

“What about wishing? Did you try wishing?” Charlotte asked. She handed the ring back to Jack, who sat across from her in the back seat. It was a rare event, getting to ride to school in the big white station wagon, but Jack’s extra bath meant that he missed the bus.

Shores of Dreamland: Magic and Miracles

“Jack, we lost power again last night. Breakfast is ready!”

Hannah knocked on Jack’s door. “Jack! Come on. Breakfast!” When she didn’t hear any response, she turned the knob, stepping in from the small landing.

Shores of Dreamland: Reconciliations and Promises

“I’m sorry, Jack.”

He looked up from his sketchpad. Patty stood beside the reading carrel. Catty stood beside her sister, and gave her a poke in the side.

“I… shouldn’t have colored on your picture.”

Shores of Dreamland: To Trespass in the Shadows

They ran until they reached the far end of the garden. A long open stretch gaped between them and the gate that led to the stairs. That space was filled with rain and darkness and more than one pair of red-eyed shadows.

Shores of Dreamland: The Stairs and the Storm

“Good morning, sweetie,” Jack’s mother said, when he came downstairs. “No sketchbook?”

Jack yawned and shook his head. “I already finished what I wanted to draw.”

The Shores of Dreamland: The Beach

Author's note: More than just moving around the furniture, this is more like a remodel of the house.