Aslam
Legacy Name: Aslam

No kid in this world knows Aslam better than you do, dear reader, although he visited them in a dream, if not several times, at least once. Perhaps it has already happened to you to realize within a dream that you are dreaming, and from then on you become master of what happens in the dream. Then you will wake up and be surprised to find reality again, when, naively, a few minutes before, you were sure to be living far from home, somewhere else, maybe in another time. And no matter how far dreams take us, when we wake up, we know it was a dream.

And this is the very reason why Aslam visits children in their dreams: because in our world we must not believe (as we do in the dream world) that our choices and wishes are capable of controlling reality, as, you know, that would be terrifying.

This story I’m about to tell you is a very importante story because it shows how destiny is changed by choices, and because Jen was the last of the children in Sunderland that Aslam visited. Many years later, when she became a beautiful woman, she bought the orphanage and made of it a happy home for her foster kids.

Our story takes place in a certain unknown place, where there is a palace at the sunset, and in this palace there is a throne room. The book "The laws of matter inside the dreams" was opened upside down next to the throne, while Aslam had in his hands “Imaginary friends and how to make them real”. These were books, like the others in the library, that dated from very old years, in such a way that the name of the authors no longer had any meaning. But the books were still of importance for Aslam. The sunset light through the skylight brightened the room, and everything looked boringly beautiful this hour of the day.

Remy, at this moment, was organizing the archive in the library, a 30 feet tall hexagonal room, in the north tower, with all walls covered with oak wood bookshelves, and a tiny door hidden somewhere. The room was quiet and you could hear the ticking of the clock.

Remy was a fairy that, if any smaller, could be taken as on of the fireflies that came in through the semi-open stained glass window of the library. When it gets dark, they usually enter the palace through any gap they can find. Remy didn't realize it was night, at first, but the clock eventually struck nine, which was actually late, in fact, and she went to find Aslam, who was still reading.

“Shall we go to the dungeons now?” – she said, as she does all nights, since always.

And Aslam followed her in silence. Then he whispered her to go ahead, without realizing that he was whispering - though it felt right to do so, because it was very quiet in there, and dark, quite dark.

This was a giant room with no walls in sight, and the floor was cold and made of stone. The only light came from floating crystal balls, roaming a circular trajectory with variable speed, and appearing and disappearing over time.

Now, dear reader, that part requires a little creativity, if you may, and imagination. Each of these crystal balls had a name engraved on it, more specifically, the name of a child, an ordinary child, who lives in our world. And they displayed the scenes of these kids dreams, in real time, while they were sleeping. And you could tell if the kid was about to wake, because the crystal ball would roam faster, until disappear.

Remy observed the balls for a while, as if she was seeing them for the first time. They were indeed beautiful. And she got close to one, the light coming out of it oscillating as a candle. This one was travelling slower, and Remy was able to stop it. The scene inside of it started to elapse very slowly, until it froze, and she and Aslam could take a closer look at it.

It was displaying an orphanage, a few kids were sitting next to a fireplace, and a girl was reading a Christmas play for them. She was a very enthusiastic reader creating voices for the characters. On the corner of the room, there was a Christmas tree with many presents for the kids.

"Aslam, do you remember her? We used to observe her dreams when she moved to the Sunderland orphanage, in England. I think she must have stopped dreaming for a while, because I haven't seen her crystal ball in years!” – Said Remy, genuinely cheerful. “I suppose we ought to have a look inside of it then?”

Remy was small enough to just jump inside the crystal ball, but Aslam had to pass through it, as if it was a portal. Immediately the cold floor of the dungeons disappeared under their feet, and they could feel the heat coming from the fireplace. Aslam knew from the excited hearts of the children in the room that it was Christmas Eve.

“Aslam, it's so detailed, isn't it? Some of the dreams I visit are very confused and unstable, here even the children seem real”.

Now the girl turned her head, as if only now she realized the strange creatures that suddenly appeared in the living room. And all the other children followed her look like puppets. Gently, she asked:

"Well hello, and who are you?" she said, full of curiosity. She made silence for a while, in the hope that Aslam would answer the question she didn’t ask. Finally, she said "I think I’ve seen you when I was a little girl", and looked to the lion. "It was in a dream".

Remy whispered to Aslam: “do you think she knows she’s dreaming?”

And then he and Remy felt like they were in a train accelerating towards the horizon, until everything but the girl disappeared. She was still right next to them, in the same place as before. Everything was white for a second, then the ground turned into a lime green dewy grass. And blurred figures began to appear around them, inert, becoming more and more solid until turning into actual trees. They found themselves in a beautiful hill, in daylight.

“Yes, I think she knows she is dreaming. When Jen was very little, we used to come here in her dreams to run over the hills, and play. But well, it is no problem. Lets continue our mission.” –said Aslam, calm.

“It’s nice to see you again” – said Jen. “It has been a while”.

“Jen, we have been waiting for you to become older to ask you this question. If you could wish for something, what would it be? I must say, it must respect your worlds laws, you can’t ask to see the future, or to time travel, or to do magic. But real things for your life, this we can grant.” – said Aslam.

Jen had that answer ready, as if she had been waiting for the question her entire life. Of course, this assumption is absurd, but there are desires that remain constant for long periods, as you know, dear reader. You may even guess what Jen's answer will be, but not everyone can see the greatness of that answer.

"I wish to be adopted by a nice family, with my sister. And I wish we all together to be very happy." – said Jen.

“I’ll make your wish come true, dear friend. And you tell me all about it when we meet again. I’ll come back when you call me, no need to say goodbye.”

They once again felt the horizon was accelerating towards them, and everything disappear, now the girl too. And they found themselves one more time at the dungeons. It took a while for their eyes to get used to the low light.

"I like her", said Remy, "she has a pleasant smile". Aslam smiled too, and he also had a great smile.

"I'm coming back. You can keep observing other kids dreams for tomorrow night. I'll be looking for Jen when she wakes up for a while". And he went up the stairs to the tallest tower, where the mirror room was. This was a long room, with colorful stained glass windows. It was a very cheerful room, and Aslam liked it very much. In the background there was a mirror, which functioned as a window to the other world, the real world.

And Aslam saw it: there was Jen, at the orphanage. A modern car had pulled up to the door, and there was a couple talking to the director of the orphanage. The man was carrying a package under his arm, and Aslam knew it was an astronomy book, Jen could not like anything more than that. And they received her lovingly, and took her younger sister in their arms. Jen was sad to leave her friends at the orphanage, but she knew that wherever she went, there was a lifetime, huge, that she could hardly believe it would be hers now. She opened the book on a random page. There was the Leo constellation.

"Leo is one of the oldest constellations in the sky. Both the constellation and its brightest star were well-known in most ancient cultures. Recent discoveries in Leo constellation show a cornucopia of strange words, as well as at least one planet that is potentially habitable."

And Jen read the words again and closed the book. They echoed in her head for a while, and then she forgot them completely. She was too curious about her parents, what they had to say. Her father was a great storyteller.

Aslam turned and found Remy watching him. The two went to the main hall of the castle and talked about Jen and some things that Aslam had prepared for her. But of course, much of it depended on fate now.

"Do you think they remember, Aslam? That we visit their dreams?

I think some of them do, Remy. But they soon forget, you know, because there's something much bigger around them now, which is real life. They no longer live in dreams now.

Pet profile and story by Paula
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