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Any World You Choose
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9
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"Heh, you didn't show it. I thought we were both dead, but you just
stood there with a split lip and telling him to take another shot. You
just looked at him and he chickened"
Peter smiled and laughed at the memory. Richard joined him and it felt
good. Somewhere, the wail was changing. Becoming softer, losing the
piercing quality. Peter looked at him again and his grin widened.
"I'm sorry you've carried this around with you for so long Rich. You
should have forgotten like everyone else, but you were too scarred by
that night. The trauma of coming in contact with them was too much."
"What are they Peter? My grandma used to tell me stories of the old
country, sprites and changlings and..."
"Forget all that. It's not really easy to put the other place into
terms like that. It's just the place where our dreams go I guess, and
they are the keepers of that place. The keepers of our dreams, that's
the only way I know to descibe it. Worlds without end. We're full of
worlds, did you know that? Except I miss this world sometimes. I miss
you and my parents, and I miss real people. Flesh and blood people who
live and die and hurt and cry. It's different when you know it's not
really real."
A little of the sadness had come into Peter again, his eyes had lost
some of their shine. Dimly, Richard was aware that the shadows had
gone. The wail was gone also, replaced by a lilting melody that spoke
of far off lands.
"Can I come this time Pete? Can I come with you this time?" Around them
the light was growing brighter. Richard could see that Peter seemed to
be losing some of his solidity.
"Only if you really want to Rich. It's funny in a way. You were always
the withdrawn one, moody, and introspective. Like the world was just
too big for you, like the whole universe was crushing down on you and
it was too much. I was the one who always wanted to get away. I wanted
to runaway. I thought there was a better world out there somewhere,
that there had to be, and I ended up running into my dreams."
Richard thought of them as they had been years ago. Both unsatisfied
with what the world seemed to offer them, as if it were not enough, as
if the bargin was a poor one.
Both of them wanting more, Peter chasing his adventures and dreams, and
Richard looking inside himself for something more, afraid of the hurt
around him.
"You can come this time Richard. If you stay nothing may change. You
still might be afraid, you'll still get hurt, you may lose Susan. Yes,
I know about her from your dreams. You're afraid you'll lose her.
You're afraid she doesn't love you. That's the real world Richard."
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10