Dreams of Innocence

A fabulous new piece of technology has been released to the public, or so I've heard.

It's a machine called the Dream Emporium, and it's supposed to allow you to control your dreams and dream whatever you so desire. It's only been out for a few days, but already it's the newest sensation, probably bigger than anything that's been done before.

I don't know if I'd want to get it though. It seems like a hassle, connecting wires to your head and leaving them there all night. At the same time though, the idea is intriguing, to say the least. To be able to dream and have the world around you bend to your every whim... If anything, I might just buy it out of sheer curiousity.

~*~

For once, curiousity did not kill the cat! Battling a fierce skepticism (And the advice of many psychologists around the world protesting the device) I went out and bought this Dream Emporium, and I can honestly say that I've never been more pleased with a piece of technology.

At first the wires were a hassle, just as I had suspected they would be, and synching the device with my brainwaves was a pain. Not only that, my anticipation for what was to come kept me from falling asleep as fast as I normally can. Eventually though, I did fall asleep.

It was... indescribably vivid. Better than real life, even.

~*~

A dead girl is haunting my dreams. I don't even know her. I don't even know how I know she's dead, I just do. She's much like a person from a normal dream, one not enhanced by the Dream Emporium, foggy and vague, shrouded by shadows. I guess it's that darkly peaceful air about her that gives me the feeling that she is dead, as though she had drowned.

I've had the Dream Emporium for a couple weeks now, and I've noticed that, in every single one of them, even the first one, she was there. Strangely enough though, she never bothers me. She's just there. Sometimes she's as obscure as a drink server, or a riddling Player with a troupe on the side of the road. Other times, though, she plays prominent roles, such as the dark, brooding queen, or a partner within my adventuring group.

I've asked around, and no one I know has anything like that in their dreams. No, they live their fantasies unhindered by such things. Not that they would even notice half the time, I imagine. Everyone I know is so simple-minded.

But it's not that it bothers me or anything. She's just... there.

~*~

I cannot express just how much I love the Dream Emporium. For a couple months now I've been enjoying the best days of my life, heck, I've been enjoying the best lives. While I sleep, time seems to change to my fancy. I'm not surprised. Before I had the Dream Emporium, before I could remember my dreams, sometimes it would feel as though I slept only for a minute, and other times it would feel as though I had slept forever. Sometimes I wonder what causes that, but more often than not I don't care. I just want those beautifully, vivid dreams.

~*~

Something interesting has been happening lately. There have been mass reports of insanity (Or as they're calling it on the news, "sudden occurrences of mental instability") and sleep addiction. The general cause: The Dream Emporium. It hasn't happened to anyone I know, but hundreds of people across the country are being affected by one or the other. Sometimes even both.

The makers of the Dream Emporium have assured the public that they are hard at work constructing a second version, a version that shouldn't have such side effects. I wonder if I should get it, just to see if the dead girl disappears from my dreams. It's likely she would; she's an abnormality, one that doesn't belong in my dreams. I'm supposed to be able to control my dreams with the Dream Emporium, but no matter how hard I try to make her disappear, she remains. Surely she'll disappear, and my dreams will become that much better.

~*~

The new version of the Dream Emporium came out recently, and while I've bought it, I haven't synched it and used it yet. I'm not sure why I hesitate. The reports of insanity and sleep addiction have decreased since it came out, so I should have no reason to hesitate. Right?

In the meantime I've continued to use the first version, enjoying all the pleasantries that life has to offer. But I can't help but wonder how much better my dreams would be if I used the second version. Sometimes I've tried to dream of it, to dream a better dream, but it's merely going to sleep within a dream, which causes the dream to become hazy and not as easy to control.

So then, I've decided to set aside all my imaginary fears and use the second version tonight.

~*~

After my first night with the second version of the Dream Emporium, I awoke in a state of something I can only describe as terror. I was befuddled, and trembling from head to toe. It was short, ending in the middle of the night, though I had wanted to find bliss in my sleep until morning as usual.

For my dream that night I had chosen something simple. I chose a coffee shop as the setting, simple, yet ripe for adventures. Yet something was wrong. None of the faceless, imaginary people were there. At first I thought there was one, acting as the barista. When I took my seat, the barista had her back turned to me. She turned around and, to my complete shock, it was the dead girl.

I jumped out of my seat and stumbled backwards, away from her. There was something wrong about the way she looked at me. She stepped forward, climbing over the counter. Before I had gone far, the wall of the shop stopped me. I couldn't escape.

She continued to advance until she was close enough for me to notice that the irises of her eyes were not the pure black I had always thought them to be, but black speckled with tiny dots of various colors. Or course, this was not important, for I was fearing for my life at this point.

It was then that she spoke.

"I am the innocence of man, I am their dreams, the voice of their childhood," she said. "What are you?"

"What do you mean?" I cried.

"I mean that this is my territory. You and others have invaded it. Surely you can't be human. So then, what are you?" she demanded.

I woke up, and clutched my racing heart. I detached myself from the machine and got up to get myself a glass of water. As I did so, my pulse slowed, and I was able to push the horrid dream from my mind. For the time being, at least.

~*~

Her words infected my mind. The day after I had that dream I was dead tired, but I threw myself into everything I did so that I might not have to think about them. That night I did not use the Dream Emporium, allowing my dreams to be vague and uncontrollable. I also did not remember them, so if the dead girl appeared to me, I wouldn't know.

But the next day I couldn't help but let my thoughts ponder on what she had said. She is the innocence of man? The voice of their childhood? What was that supposed to mean? And what did she mean by asking me what I am? She may not be human, but that does not mean she can treat me as such! And what in the world is her territory?

~*~

Suddenly the reports of insanity and sleep addiction have returned, this time greater than before. They returned shortly after I stopped using the Dream Emporium. I wonder if those who go insane are visited by the dead girl. I wouldn't be surprised; I feel as though I am going insane myself.

I have frequent headaches, and I can't stop thinking about the dead girl, her words, the questions that come to mind, those color-flecked black eyes. The questions make me sick to my stomach, as I can't answer them, and I dare not ask anyone else, for fear they might consider me insane already. That is the last thing I want, to become a wack-job. I'll be rejected from society, thrust into a bunch of incoherent people... No, I can't let that happen.

~*~

Well, they've come out with the third version of the Dream Emporium. They assure the public that this time it will definitely stop all of the problems of the past two versions. I highly doubt that, but for all my doubts I've bought the third version. I feel silly with hope, and a little sick with fear. Still, I will try it, in hopes that it will cure my problem.

~*~

"So, you've returned, though I've clearly warned you that you're trespassing on my territory," said the dead girl.

"I've the same right as any to be here, you can't tell me to leave," I stated boldly.

"On the contrary," she said. "Unless you've got express permission to be here, you're not allowed. Yet somehow so many humans have come... Why? Why are they twisting everything to their selfish desires?"

"You say humans are selfish, yet you stand there saying that this territory--whatever your territory might be--is yours, and no one is allowed to come unless you say so!"

She turned to look darkly at me. "Who do you think you are, acting as thought you know everything? What makes you think I can grant permission? Do you think I want to be alone?!" she yelled, advancing towards me again. "Who the hell do you think you are?!"

When I awoke that morning I promptly swore and kicked the machine. It was supposed to allow me to control my dreams, not allow others to control my dreams.

~*~

The business that produced the Dream Emporium's was shut down recently. I'm glad of it, for now I'll never be tempted to buy another one of those wretched things again. Never again will that dead girl screw with my mind again.

~*~

Although I am glad that I'm not having to deal with the dead girl, I find myself missing the vivid dreams I used to enjoy. Luckily, I never trashed the first version of the Dream Emporium, and she never bothered me when it was just the first version. Maybe I'll start using it again.

~*~

"Did you really think this would be okay?" a furious voice spoke to me.

I turned, and it was the dead girl.

"Did you really think you could warp my territory to your selfish designs again?" she asked, and with every word she spoke, the scenery grew darker and more terrifying than I ever could've imagined.

"How is this your territory? What is your territory anyways?" I asked her boldly, hoping she wouldn't lash out and kill me.

"This! All this is my territory you stupid human!" she shrieked in so shrill a voice I had to cover my ears. She gestured around to the area we were in, but I couldn't see it.

It was hazy, and fading fast. But my question was, what was it?

~*~

I was in a white room. It was almost blinding. And that smell made me sick. I would almost rather go back to sleep and deal with the dead girl than endure this place. Why was I even here? Did society deem me insane? I wouldn't be surprised, after seeing that chilling grin, like a murderous Cheshire cat.

"So you're finally awake," said a familiar voice.

I struggled to sit up, and saw the dead girl. So, I was still asleep.

"Yeah, awake, sure," I replied sarcastically.

A door I hadn't seen before creaked open, and a couple of men and women in white coats came in. Their faces all held that same mute grin.

"Oh, you're finally awake," one of them said.

"How are you feeling?" another asked.

I decided that, since this was most certainly a dream, I would not answer them but walk out. If I still had any ounce of control over my own dreams, they would let me go. Before I got up, I quickly glanced at where the dead girl was, and saw that she was gone.

~*~

I awoke again in the white room. The dead girl wasn't with me, but the people in white coats were.

"You shouldn't try to leave," one said.

"You have to stay here until we say you can leave," said another.

They asked me a lot of questions, most of which I didn't answer. Those which I did answer were very simple, easy to answer. They still seemed concerned though. Finally they seemed to give up, and left.

I had the feeling that the dead girl had been there the whole time, for some reason. It was just that I wasn't looking in the right place for her. Sure enough, when I looked for her, she was there. Much like in a dream, where you look back at a place and something was there that you thought wasn't there before, but actually was.

There were a few more times when this happened. Every time people came in, the dead girl would quietly faze into the background, becoming nothing and everything all at once. And when they left, she would return, even though she had never left.

I knew she would never leave. After all, this was her territory.