Charlie disappears from his dream without warning. 

Fortunately, he and Joy were playing in the park and the park stays even when Charlie is not there. 

Joy’s mood changes, becoming more somber. “All right,” she tells me and Master Mind. “Let’s go home.” 

She takes her jetpack, which is lying on the grass, as Master Mind heads for the elevator that leads to one of the suns. The elevator doesn’t disappear, either, when Charlie wakes up.

Master Mind always goes with Joy. He’s her security. 

I go with Joy when she allows me, since I do like being with my granddaughter. But I also like looking at the Dream and learning how dreams work. 

“Joy, put on your jetpack,” I tell her. 

She shrugs. “When I get there.” 

The elevator door opens, and we get in. She presses the button and the elevator heads towards the sun. 

When the door opens, we are only a few centimeters from the tunnel. In the middle of the sun, it’s not that bright, as the edge of the tunnel shines outwardly, filling Charlie’s dream with light. 

“We’re going to your dad’s dream, right?” I ask. 

Joy nods. She’s the boss. I’ve learned that we can’t make her do anything. 

The tunnel, slimy, with strange pock marks, always makes me feel woozy. The fact that it seems to be shrinking slightly and expanding slightly doesn’t help. The fact that I have to lower my head to walk in it also doesn’t help. I really hate these tunnels. 

We come out to stand on Charlie’s Shroom. I look around, feeling disoriented. The Shrooms are not in the same position as they were when we came in. 

“Which one’s ours?” I say, looking around. 

Master Mind and Joy both point down and ahead. “That one,” Joy says.

I stand almost at the edge, looking down. Oh, right, I should have spotted the Fairy Flies around the stem. They seem to be attracted to our stem the most. 

Joy stands next to me. “It’s not a hard jump, Grampa. You can do it.” 

I shake my head. Master Mind always carries me on the jumps, and that’s bad enough. I wouldn’t risk breaking bones or slipping or just falling.

Then, suddenly, the ground shifts and falls from under our feet. 

Before I realize what’s happening, I lose my balance and fall out. 

Joy, next to me, grabs my hand, but for support, since she’s also falling. The jetpack is in her other hand, not on her back. 

The ground stops falling, and I begin to scream, as I am now falling out, and Joy with me. 

Master Mind’s powerful hand grabs my shirt and holds me steadily. I see now that his other hand has grabbed Joy by her hand. 

He pulls us both in. 

“My god!” I say, walking towards the stem and away from the edge. “What happened?” 

Master Mind puts Joy next to me and lets go. “The Shroom fell,” Master Mind says. “As far as I have seen, all Shrooms fall a little bit every day, but I do not yet know why or when. Are you all right, Little Pirate?” 

“I’m okay,” Joy nods, clearly a bit rattled. 

“You nearly gave this robot a paper heart attack!” Master Mind says. “From this point on, you will wear the jetpack before stepping on a Shroom!” 

She nods in agreement and looks around. “My jetpack! It fell! I lost it!” 

Master Mind looks up. “Your father’s dream is now above us.” He’s right. We fell and now it’s about two meters above us. “I could throw you accurately, but I do not wish to take that risk. We must wait here until your father or Charlie arrive.” 

Joy slumps and sits down with resignation, leaning against the stem. 

She doesn’t like it but she’s used to it. Justin has gone to explore other dreams safely. He may be back today or he may not. Charlie probably won’t be back today. They’ve played long enough. It’s probably morning for him and he has to go to school. 

We may be here until tomorrow, when either Justin sees Joy is still gone and comes out to look for her. Or until Charlie comes out tomorrow to play with Joy.

We are in for a long wait.

—Told by Grampa Walt