I am standing at the edge of the tunnel and I am nervous. The edge of the round tunnel shines past me and into Justin’s dream. From afar, this is the thing that looks like a sun. From up close, it is a tunnel, the path out of the dream. 

Joy usually takes Master Mind with her when she leaves the dream. He protects her. And sometimes she takes me, too, when I ask. 

This time, she had purposefully left Master Mind on the small island and flown away with Charlie in Bonnie’s Revenge. Master Mind, surprised, had called out but it had not helped him. 

I had been on the deck, just by chance, and I had been no less surprised. 

Joy had waved to Master Mind from the sky and headed off towards the way out. 

Charlie and her had giggled as she had parked the warship in such a way that the plank had reached right to the beginning of the tunnel. 

I had asked to follow them, and, holding Joy’s hand, I had been able to walk the plank and get out to the Shroom. 

But when Charlie and Joy had begun to jump from Shroom to Shroom I couldn’t follow. Master Mind usually holds me. Alone, I know I can’t do that. 

And, more importantly, I had known I had to watch and tell Justin into which dream they had gone. Going into dreams alone, as we had learned, is potentially life-threatening to Joy. 

Once I’d seen that the third shroom is where they had meant to stay, I had headed back. 

But now, standing at the edge of the tunnel, I cannot find the strength within me to stand on the wobbly plank kilometers above the ocean. 

Sweating, I try once and twice, and then I just give up. 

I stand on the edge and wait for Justin to show up, hoping that he shows up soon, hoping that nothing bad will come to Joy.

(To be continued…)

—Told by Grampa Walt