The Dream and the Evening Star
In the Land of Sand there was a dream of a girl who had fallen in love with the hour of eventide. Her father thought it was because her hair was the color of the sea at sunset -- dark and deep, full of possibility and inexplicable iridescence. Her mother believed that it was because her eyes held the light of the twilit sky, a hundred shades of indigo, each foretelling a different destiny. In truth, when the child, Leilani, was young, her parents had told her that if she had a wish she should wait for the first star to be visible in the sky and whisper her wish. Being a precocious and determined girl (with a great many wishes), she watched every sunset for the first star, the Evening Star. And over time the Evening Star heard the girl’s deepest desires.
The Evening Star, whose true name was Kai, was also fond of that hour. During the day the stars would sleep and Kai would dream of a girl with sunset hair and shades of indigo in her eyes. When the overbearing Sun retreated below the horizon, the stars would awake from their slumber. At every sunset, Kai would be the first of the stars to gaze out at the worlds below. One evening, when the Sun had set during the deepest part of his slumber, Kai had awoken with his eyes still full of dreams. He gazed down at the Land of Sand and saw the girl in his dreams there. From then on, every evening, the Evening Star would shine down from the sky at the girl in the Land of Sand gazing up at him.
The Sun and the Moon, who were forever chasing each other across the sky, whose brief infrequent unions caused day to turn in to night, grew jealous of the girl and the star. They conspired to teach the two the truth of love. Together, during the height of day, they cast the Evening Star out of the sky. The fallen star landed not far from the Leilani’s home, with a brilliant flash and a thunderous crack. Leilani raced out to see what had happened and she came across a handsome young man lying dazed in blackened depression.
The Evening Star awoke transformed and saw the girl in his dreams. Kai spoke to her and told her his name; when Leilani told him hers, he smiled and for the first time she felt understood. He told her that he had loved her since her first whispered wish and she knew then that he must be the Evening Star that she had spent so many nights gazing at and confiding in. Together the traveled across the Land of Sand, to Leilani’s favorite places, from the Desert of the Forgotten where ancient monuments stood, smooth and featureless, abandoned long ago; to the Crystalline Caverns, where towering, multifaceted columns refracted light from the mist, giving form to shapeless thoughts. Seasons passed and their lives were both a dream come true and a wish fulfilled.
***
One night, while Kai was asleep, the Moon whispered to him a dream of a far away city. The next day, Kai asked Leilani if she had heard of the City at the Edge of Waking, but she had not. He told her that when he was still a star, he could see a shimmering city at the far end of the Land of Sand. They decided it would be a great adventure to seek out the City. The Sun and the Moon, took a great interest in their journey, watching them in turns, day and night, over many months. Eventually they made their way to the City, and found in full of marvelous sights and bustling with cacophonous activity. They discovered, at the eastern end of the City, a great archway. They stood there for a while before an old man, appeared out of the shadows to answer their unspoken question.
“It is a gateway to the Land of Real. Anyone may pass, but few choose to, for the gateway is difficult to find from the other side. No dream who has ever stepped through has found their way back.”
As the Evening Star, Kai knew Leilani’s deepest secrets. He knew that she had always longed to be Real. Leilani considered for a moment only then turned to Kai, “Before you came, there was nothing to bind me to this Land. Come with me and we can be happy in the Land of Real as we are in the Land of Sand.” She moved to pass through the portal, but Kai held back.
Kai looked at Leilani, “Dearest. I was once real, in the sky, dreaming of you. I long to be that again, but I am afraid that if we pass through together, we will be apart forevermore. I will be a star once again, and you will be a girl.” Knowing already how she would choose, tears began to fill his eyes, “I will watch over you always. If you choose to go, I will not hold you here in dreams.”
Leilani stood there for a long time, unable to put in words, what her heart already knew. Finally, with tears in her eyes, she said, “The time I’ve shared with you has been the happiest of my life and I think it they will always be. But you must be what you really are and I must follow my own heart though it tugs in two directions. I cannot live here, even with you, knowing that I could have been real.” She pulled him close and they kissed for a long time. “I will look for you every night,” she said
“I will love you. Always.” he answered. They stepped through the gateway hand in hand and as they were made real, so was their love. When they were gone, the old man, who was the Sun in disguise, revealed himself and cast morning into both Lands. The City at the Edge of Waking melted, a castle of sand before the tide of sunrise….
***
Leilani awoke. The waves of an unfamiliar shore lapped at her. She pushed herself up, her hands pressing against the firm, packed sand. In the distance she could hear unfamiliar noises, stark and mechanical. A cold wind blew and she shivered. She looked up at the sky and the stars above, growing faint and disappearing in the strengthening daylight. Sorrow overtook her then, in great, heaving sobs. She was completely alone.
The first few weeks were difficult, but in time she began to understand the workings of this world. Unlike the Land of Sand, things were much the same, day to day. Each day had a way of foretelling the next. Every tomorrow remembered its yesterdays. The Land of Sand seemed wild and ephemeral in comparison and the certainty of being real was strange to her. But eventually she grew to like this world for it simple beauties: a field of wildflowers in an empty lot, a bird nesting on an otherwise barren cornice, autumn leaves lending color to a rain gutter.
And in time her dreams faded; in time, she wasn’t so sure that it wasn’t all just a dream. Perhaps she had lost her memory; many people told her so. Perhaps it was all a world created by a vivid imagination trying to fill a void. She was tethered to this world now, with its rules and realities. She had begun to fill the gaps in her memory with mundane musings. Even so, she had not filled the great longing in her heart, though she had forgotten the name of that longing.
As days passed, Leilani clung to an inexplicable love of sunsets. At dusk every day, she took long walks along the beach. One evening, when the sky had melted into pastel patterns of purple and the foam off the waves seemed to phosphoresce, she crossed a set of fresh footprints leading from the highway nearby into the near blackness of the sea. So seldom did she see anyone on her evening walks that she often felt the beach was her own personal sanctuary. She thought about the stranger in the water nearby, and wondered if he too loved the hour of Eventide.
It was very dark then and she stood transfixed as the waves brought water into the hollow of the stranger’s tracks. She marveled how a living thing could leave such an impression and how, always, the sea brought something to fill it. Looking up at the Evening Star, she remembered something she heard once in a dream, “The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you will contain.”
A minute passed and then another. Then, daring to dream again, the girl with sunset hair and shades of indigo in her eyes took a deep breath and dove into the incoming waves.
The Evening Star, whose true name was Kai, was also fond of that hour. During the day the stars would sleep and Kai would dream of a girl with sunset hair and shades of indigo in her eyes. When the overbearing Sun retreated below the horizon, the stars would awake from their slumber. At every sunset, Kai would be the first of the stars to gaze out at the worlds below. One evening, when the Sun had set during the deepest part of his slumber, Kai had awoken with his eyes still full of dreams. He gazed down at the Land of Sand and saw the girl in his dreams there. From then on, every evening, the Evening Star would shine down from the sky at the girl in the Land of Sand gazing up at him.
The Sun and the Moon, who were forever chasing each other across the sky, whose brief infrequent unions caused day to turn in to night, grew jealous of the girl and the star. They conspired to teach the two the truth of love. Together, during the height of day, they cast the Evening Star out of the sky. The fallen star landed not far from the Leilani’s home, with a brilliant flash and a thunderous crack. Leilani raced out to see what had happened and she came across a handsome young man lying dazed in blackened depression.
The Evening Star awoke transformed and saw the girl in his dreams. Kai spoke to her and told her his name; when Leilani told him hers, he smiled and for the first time she felt understood. He told her that he had loved her since her first whispered wish and she knew then that he must be the Evening Star that she had spent so many nights gazing at and confiding in. Together the traveled across the Land of Sand, to Leilani’s favorite places, from the Desert of the Forgotten where ancient monuments stood, smooth and featureless, abandoned long ago; to the Crystalline Caverns, where towering, multifaceted columns refracted light from the mist, giving form to shapeless thoughts. Seasons passed and their lives were both a dream come true and a wish fulfilled.
***
One night, while Kai was asleep, the Moon whispered to him a dream of a far away city. The next day, Kai asked Leilani if she had heard of the City at the Edge of Waking, but she had not. He told her that when he was still a star, he could see a shimmering city at the far end of the Land of Sand. They decided it would be a great adventure to seek out the City. The Sun and the Moon, took a great interest in their journey, watching them in turns, day and night, over many months. Eventually they made their way to the City, and found in full of marvelous sights and bustling with cacophonous activity. They discovered, at the eastern end of the City, a great archway. They stood there for a while before an old man, appeared out of the shadows to answer their unspoken question.
“It is a gateway to the Land of Real. Anyone may pass, but few choose to, for the gateway is difficult to find from the other side. No dream who has ever stepped through has found their way back.”
As the Evening Star, Kai knew Leilani’s deepest secrets. He knew that she had always longed to be Real. Leilani considered for a moment only then turned to Kai, “Before you came, there was nothing to bind me to this Land. Come with me and we can be happy in the Land of Real as we are in the Land of Sand.” She moved to pass through the portal, but Kai held back.
Kai looked at Leilani, “Dearest. I was once real, in the sky, dreaming of you. I long to be that again, but I am afraid that if we pass through together, we will be apart forevermore. I will be a star once again, and you will be a girl.” Knowing already how she would choose, tears began to fill his eyes, “I will watch over you always. If you choose to go, I will not hold you here in dreams.”
Leilani stood there for a long time, unable to put in words, what her heart already knew. Finally, with tears in her eyes, she said, “The time I’ve shared with you has been the happiest of my life and I think it they will always be. But you must be what you really are and I must follow my own heart though it tugs in two directions. I cannot live here, even with you, knowing that I could have been real.” She pulled him close and they kissed for a long time. “I will look for you every night,” she said
“I will love you. Always.” he answered. They stepped through the gateway hand in hand and as they were made real, so was their love. When they were gone, the old man, who was the Sun in disguise, revealed himself and cast morning into both Lands. The City at the Edge of Waking melted, a castle of sand before the tide of sunrise….
***
Leilani awoke. The waves of an unfamiliar shore lapped at her. She pushed herself up, her hands pressing against the firm, packed sand. In the distance she could hear unfamiliar noises, stark and mechanical. A cold wind blew and she shivered. She looked up at the sky and the stars above, growing faint and disappearing in the strengthening daylight. Sorrow overtook her then, in great, heaving sobs. She was completely alone.
The first few weeks were difficult, but in time she began to understand the workings of this world. Unlike the Land of Sand, things were much the same, day to day. Each day had a way of foretelling the next. Every tomorrow remembered its yesterdays. The Land of Sand seemed wild and ephemeral in comparison and the certainty of being real was strange to her. But eventually she grew to like this world for it simple beauties: a field of wildflowers in an empty lot, a bird nesting on an otherwise barren cornice, autumn leaves lending color to a rain gutter.
And in time her dreams faded; in time, she wasn’t so sure that it wasn’t all just a dream. Perhaps she had lost her memory; many people told her so. Perhaps it was all a world created by a vivid imagination trying to fill a void. She was tethered to this world now, with its rules and realities. She had begun to fill the gaps in her memory with mundane musings. Even so, she had not filled the great longing in her heart, though she had forgotten the name of that longing.
As days passed, Leilani clung to an inexplicable love of sunsets. At dusk every day, she took long walks along the beach. One evening, when the sky had melted into pastel patterns of purple and the foam off the waves seemed to phosphoresce, she crossed a set of fresh footprints leading from the highway nearby into the near blackness of the sea. So seldom did she see anyone on her evening walks that she often felt the beach was her own personal sanctuary. She thought about the stranger in the water nearby, and wondered if he too loved the hour of Eventide.
It was very dark then and she stood transfixed as the waves brought water into the hollow of the stranger’s tracks. She marveled how a living thing could leave such an impression and how, always, the sea brought something to fill it. Looking up at the Evening Star, she remembered something she heard once in a dream, “The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you will contain.”
A minute passed and then another. Then, daring to dream again, the girl with sunset hair and shades of indigo in her eyes took a deep breath and dove into the incoming waves.