Jack and Jill: What's on the Hill

The Dream

As Jack slipped into a deep unnatural slumber, he noticed he was fully lucid. At first everything was dark. Pitch black like the time he got lost in the local cave and his candle went out. Luckily the villagers knew where he was and found him easily.

There were no sounds either except the thundering echo of his heartbeat. This disturbed Jack some as made his heart race faster as he contemplated it beating.

Then Jack noticed a small pin point of light in the distance. Then a concentrated beam of white light shot out of the pin point and placed a warm pin point of light on Jack's slightly tanned, naked chest directly in the center of his sternum. At this time the thundering sound of his heartbeat ceased to be heard.

Jack looked down at his chest and wonder what could possibly be happening. "HELLO," Jack yelled out with drug out syllables.

When the last syllable finally left his lips, the distant source of the pin point light exploded and suddenly a whole cosmos of stars and galaxies with purple splendor appeared.

A pleasant warmth rushed into Jack's body and a gentle and elegant woman's voice entered Jack's ears. "I have waited a long time for this moment Jack."

"Who are you?" Jack sounded confused. "I am dreaming," he said confidently. "So you must be me," Jack adamantly exclaimed.

"No, Jack, you are not actually dreaming," the voice said like a mother speaking to a child. "Your body sleeps while your spirit has been called to this realm so that I may speak to you."

In a puzzled voice Jack asked, "Who are you?"

"It is not my place to tell you who I am at this time. Just know that I have watched over you since your birth and your father, Stan, longer than that."

"Where are you? Can I see you?" Jack had become exceedingly curious.

At this time, one of the stars in the purple cosmos came down in a flash and instantly before Jack stood a young slender woman with blond hair, green eyes, and white skin. He hair was straight and long down to her waist and covering het shoulders. "Her I am Jack."

"It is nice to see the owner of the voice," said Jack. He scanned her up and down with his eyes and took notice of her glowing white gown while noticing that he no clothing on whatsoever.

"I am sure you want to know why you have beem summoned here," the lady spoke.

"Yes, please, why am I here." Then Jack got a puzzled look and asked, "why am I naked but you are clothed?"

"Silly boy," she chuckled. "In this realm we manifest as we choose to be seen. You are choosing to be naked here."

"What ... How?" Jack became distraught as he tried every so hard to wish himself wearing clothes.

"Don't worry Jack. It takes time to learn these things and you will not be here long enough to master this illusion."

"May I have a name to call you by, please," Jack asked.

"Hmmmm," she sighed. "I am not sure what name I should give you. But as you wish, call me Zora."

"Thank you Zora." Jack seemed more at ease being able to address this celestial lady by a name.

"As for the matter as to why you are here." Zora paused for a moment and continued. "I am sorry for what happened to you this day. I was restricted from intervening."

"Why did that happen to me," Jack asked as fresh tears welled up in his eyes.

"A great trauma had to occur to you to awaken something deep inside you. It was my hope that you would go war like your father and be awakened there. I do not know the future and war is far off by all accounts. We needed you awakened now in order to fight a great evil that no army could possibly vanquish. I was forbidden from intervening. "

"Wait," Jack said with a hint of anger in his voice. "Who is we and how did they determine to let an evil occur to me when they could have stopped it?"

"It's not like that Jack. One day you will understand. For now, you must start learning what was awakened in you through this trauma."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then all of the material universe will cease to exist," she said sternly.

Jack looked down and said, "very well Zora but realize I am not happy about this."

"Tomorrow when you awake, prepare for your normal routine to go into the woods like you normally do. When you reach your favorite tree, dig between the two biggest roots. There you will unearth a key. Take this key and look toward the direction the sun rises and head that direction up the to the top of the distant hill."

"That hill is covered in thick brambles. How am I supposed to climb that hill to its top in a day. It would surely take more than a days labor to hack a path through the brambles," Jack said inquisitively.

"Ah yes this is part of the defenses keeping the wrong person from climbing the hill." Zora then laughed out loud. "Now that you have been awakened, the hill will recognize you, and the brambles will open a path for you to reach the top."

"Really?" Jack sounded excited, confused, and shocked all at the same time.

"Yes Jack. When you reach the top of the hill you will find the ruin of an old keep from the days when the elves ruled the land. The stucture no longer stands tall enough to be seen from any vantage point. When you get there, enter the ruin and look for a trap door. This trap door is made of an elvin material and guarded by strong magics. The key that you will get from the roots of the tree will open this trap door."

"Ok Zora, this is now starting to sound interesting. I thought the stories of elves, goblins, and dragons were make believe to entertain children."

"Where as many of the stories are made up, the realities of goblins, elves, dragons, and magic are very real."

"What happened to the elves and such then Zora," Jack asked with curiosity.

"I can answer this one question for you." Zora took a deep breath then said, "the original denizens of your ball of rock had explored powerful magics. The elves took these magics and cast a spell to remove all evil from the realm. This spell was so powerful that it cleared all sentient capable of any thought beyond basic survival instincts from existence. This eliminated dragons and goblins from existence and to the suprise of the elves, the evles ceased to exist as well."

"Then why are humans here," asked Jack.

"Humans came along later. The universe wants sentient life within it. Humans came about as a result of that. The ideas about elves and goblins and dragons was implanted into the minds of your ancestors by the universe. It misses its former denizens but did not want magic again so humans were created without knowledge of magic. Not that they cannot use magic but that the universe has kept it from them."

"How exactly do you know all this, if I may ask," Jack stated.

"Simply know this. When the elves ceased to exist in the material universe, our spirits came here for eternity."

"So I am talking to an elf," Jack excitedly asked.

"Yes, well former elf. Our bodies in the physical universe defined us as elves. In the spirit we are all the same. There are bi species or races in the spirit. I chose to appear to you as I looked when I lived as an elf in the material world."

"This is all so interesting," Jack exlaimed."

Yes Jack, now its time for you to return to your material body and sleep. I will make sure mind does not give you restless nightmares."

At that time Jack felt himself being sucked into a vacuum. The purple cosmos quickly fade into the distance and Jack returned to his body. As Jack's spirit merged back to his mind and he journeyed to the land of dreams he wondered what magical curiosities lay beyond the trap door.