There is that silence again.
Is there a way that any of this, Joy’s life, can be explained? Is there a way that Suzy’s and my existence here for the last two years, more or less, can be explained?
It’s obviously possible, but how is it possible? How is it that a human girl lives in the Dream? How is it that she has abilities here that she wouldn’t in the waking world? How is it that I, a scientist, have never given it too much thought?
“I’ll tell you what the worrying thing is,” Justin says. “I keep forgetting what her powers are.”
“Abilities,” I correct him.
“I want to talk to you about it, and then I forget.”
“By my evil creator,” Master Mind says. “I have just found that it is the same with me. I have re-examined the two years in which I have been freed from my cell in the Infinite Prison, and have awakened a memory that had been lost from my immediate recall.”
“What is it?” Justin asks him.
“Do you remember the first time we visited the Sunless One’s dream? We could see nothing, while the Little Pirate could see perfectly well.”
“Yes!” Justin points the sharpie at the killer robot. “Yes! I forgot about that! I’ll write it down.” He thinks about it. “How do I write that down?”
“Just write the facts,” I tell him. “She could see in Amahle’s dream.”
Justin nods and writes it down, “Can see…in Amahle’s…Dream.” He raises his eyes. “I need to ask Amahle how to spell her name. I never thought about that.”
He puts down the sharpie.
“She’s going to wake up any second.” He gives Suzy the paper. “Hide this. Hide it. Listen, Dad, Mom…I’ve noticed that some things in the Dream are hard to remember. Sometimes it’s hard to concentrate. I’ve been wanting to talk to you about this for at least a year and I kept forgetting. So I wrote this down. And I'm counting on you. To remember.”
Suzy nods, takes the list, and goes back into our home. Something is bothering me. Something… Something… Oh!
Justin keeps forgetting. Master Mind, with his robotic mind, forgot two of her abilities even though he had been there to witness them. And me…I never bothered to think about it scientifically. Is that also something she does?
“Justin,” I begin, but then I see Joy emerge from her cabin on Bonny’s Revenge behind Justin. “Good morning, Joy!”
Justin turns around to look at her.
I wanted to say something. What did I want to say? Ah… It’ll come to me.
—Told by Grampa Walt