Unfinished Stories – Dream, by Redzuan Abdul Rahim & Dawn Locklear

/ Jeff Crow

Good afternoon friends.  Redzuan, or Red to his friends, is another fresh face to Unfinished Stories this week.  His entry, finished by a returning Dawn Locklear, is a fantastic tale that will leave you thinking about it long after.  Enjoy and see you tomorrow.

—

“Welcome, welcome!” barked the lanky man as he stood atop his makeshift wooden stage.  Within the dark, his shadow flitted about the crowd against light of the torches.  He could see the lights of of his captive audiences’ eyes and he smiled from his perch.

“Today is a special day.  Today is your birthday!”

The crowd stood motionless.  The silence of the room only broken by the sound of the light.  He broke forward towards the crowd, a silhouette of stars, stripes and a top hat.  Around him trailed his shadow; its tendrils fading from the faces of the crowd and centering upon His person.

“I know you’re confused but have no fear!  I am here to guide you.” cooed the lanky man.  “You are all here because your people brought you here.  They came looking for a better life.  I am here to provide a better life for you!”

Languidly he paced across the stage addressing his audience in a choreographed fashion.

“This is a time of transition.  You may see my traditions and customs as odd.  I may say that about yours but that is neither here nor there.”

He gestured with his arms, marking this moment that the still audience should take note of.

“You are here to make something of yourselves.  That’s what your people want.  To make new legends of yourselves!  You can forget the tragedies of your previous lives.  Here, your potential is limitless.  It doesn’t matter if you were a pauper, a broken egg or an eyeless witch.  With hard work and a little luck, you can achieve anything!”

With a smile he stopped back at the center of the stage.  With his right hand, gloved in white, He removed his striped top hat revealing a young clean shaven man.  His smile beaming across the audience.

“You may call me Dream!” He boomed,” And I welcome you Ellis!”

In a jolt, his shadow erupted across the ground snuffing out the torches.  A slow whirr of carnival music began to play and brightly colored lights began to flicker into existence.  What was dark slowly became a silhouette of a city in the distant horizon.  Stairs were revealed leading its way from the ground to the same stage Dream stood upon.  Behind the stage sat a locked gilded fence that looked to keep people in more than out.

“There is only one rule in Ellis,” Dream stated as he placed the top hat back upon his head.  His smile faded into a stern stare fixated towards the audience.

“I am the Mayor.”

“Are you the Messiah?”  Someone called out seriously. The first voice from the audience.
“Those the pearly gates?”  A man snickered and caught the crowd in laughter.
“Great questions my dear folks.”  Dream announced as he took off his high hat again and in a grand and elaborate bow, waved his arms down to accentuate his glistening bald head.
But then he abruptly he stood up straight, demanding silence.  “I am the Mayor,” he simply said.
All was still dark in the audience and the hush he demanded trembled throughout the people.  Movement in the crowd caught attention to a woman that made her way to the wooden stage.  Dream did not move as she approached him.  When she turned to face the frightened faces, they stirred and murmured, for she only had one eye.
Dream put his arm on her shoulder, “this is Treenchess.  She has lived among you, yet you probably didn’t know she’s a witch.  Her people have asked her to reinvent herself, her Transition is NOW!!!”  He boomed.
Treenchess, an old woman, wearing a tattered dress of dismal grey, stood very still with no expression.  She was the poor creature, people ignored and children made fun of because of her crooked nose, wart and all.  But now seeing her up there, the crowd shuffled their feet as if to get away but could not.  It was as if they were glued to the floor.  Fear bellowed among them as the tendrils of Dream’s shadows invaded toward them.
“I AM THE MAYOR.  I AM THE MAYOR.  I AM THE MAYOR.”  He shouted at them.  And Treenchess was a gilded site to behold.  She transformed before their eyes into a shinning beauty.  Her hair and dress gleamed gold as she twirled around, smiling, free of the ugly version of herself but a moment ago.
Dream smiled his beam across the audience again, marking this other moment the now awed crowd should take note of.
And oh they did.
—
Redzuan Abdul Rahim –
Dawn Locklear – SparkleSpins.com

Let me know what you think.