Charlie and Joy are sitting on the deck of Bonny’s Revenge, legs hanging out.
All five dreamers have gone to do various things, leaving Joy and Charlie under Master Mind’s care.
We are flying among the clouds and the dream is serene for a change.
“Does it hurt?” Charlie points to a scrape that Joy has on her knee from yesterday’s adventure.
“Not too much,” she says.
“Hmmm,” Charlie says. “I wonder if I could be hurt in the dream.”
“Don’t think so,” Joy says with confidence.
“Hmmm,” Charlie says. “I’m not sure. Hold on.”
I’m behind him, but he seems to be concentrating, maybe closing his eyes.
“Oooh! Look!” he says, pointing at his knee.
Joy gasps.
She jumps to her feet. “Grampa, look! Charlie dreamed he has a scrape just like mine!”
Charlie gets closer and shows it to me. It’s true. His knee is scraped in much the same way.
“What else can you do?”
Charlie concentrates. Suddenly, his finger begins to bleed. “I have a papercut!” he says happily. “I have a papercut!”
“Does it hurt?” Joy asks.
“Nuh-uh!” he says. “Look at the blood dripping!”
Master Mind looks back at the two from the wheel before returning to helming the ship. We’ve learned by now that he only faints at the sight of Joy’s blood. Other people’s blood is just fine for him.
“What else can you do?” Joy asks.
“I don’t know! Do you think I can break my arm?”
“Do NOT break your arm!” I raise my voice.
Joy and Charlie laugh at me. “I wasn’t going to do it,” he tells me.
“He wasn’t going to do it,” Joy agrees. “So what else can you do?”
I sigh inwardly. This is going to be a loooong dream!
(To be continued…)
—Told by Grampa Walt