Colin, Madelyn, and Yumio enter our living room first. Then Justin does. Then Charlie and Joy, holding hands. Joy and Justin are the only ones who don’t seem afraid. Justin, perhaps, because it is his mummy. And I’m not sure why Joy isn’t more cautious. But at least she’s protected by five Dreamers who will leap to her aid if one Dreamer goes crazy.

Master Mind follows next. Suzy peeks through. 

“Oh, my,” Suzy says. “There is a mummy in our living room!” 

I peek as well. Yup, a mummy, a dead mummy, an ancient dead mummy. 

“I love it!” Yumio says with enthusiasm. 

Amahle enters last and with her spooky music begins in the background. “Is there really a mummy here, Susan?” she asks. 

“You bet your life!” Yumio says. “I wish I’d dreamed of a mummy!” 

“So all we have to do,” Justin says, “is move the mummy from here to Colin’s dream. I have a few ideas about how to do that!” 

“Justin,” Madelyn says forcefully. “Do you hear Amahle’s music? We all have the same question. Is this mummy going to start moving? Is it going to attack us?” 

“Attack? Of course not! It’s on loan from the museum. We just have to move it to the whatsit museum in London.” 

“The British Museum?” Colin says. 

“That’s the one!” 

“And that’s why you need my dream?” 

“Why are you all afraid?” Joy says and walks straight up to the mummy. “This is Dad’s dream. It’s not going to hurt me!” She puts her hand on the mummy. “What’s a mummy anyway? It looks like a statue.”

And suddenly I realize what the real danger here is. “Joy,” I say softly. “Take your hand off the mummy and step back!”

“Why, Grampa?” 

“There is one mummy here and six dreamers. Step! Back!” 

(To be continued…)

—Told by Grampa Walt