"Hahahahahaha! ooooh that was a wonderful show you put on!" he said.
I look at the Flying Man wondering if I should speak. He is bowed in homage and looking straight ahead at the Old Man.
"Why are you laughing? What show?"
"That Fit Fiddle tries to be the star of every Golden Faire, but you stole his thunder and even got the Muses riled up! Tee hoo! Cherry-o! HAHA!"
"I didn't mean to steal anything from anyone!"
"That's what makes it so funny dear Miss! You don't mean to. You just do! Oh, it's been a very long time since we've had a human here...that is what you still call yourselves or am I mistaken?"
"Yes, I am human. I'm a girl. I am also dreaming and should be waking up anytime now!"
Out of the twenty-nine billion human beings, you are the only one who is awake! The rest are mindless automatons who wouldn't know a unicorn from a peppercorn! Oh no dear, you are not dreaming, you are a dreamer. You are a creator. You are one of only three beings I know that has a Chimera."
"Lamassu sir, if you please. Chimera is so...rustic." said my Lamassu.
"Rustic! Maligner! Libeler! Why I ought to transmute your smug lips into satyr sauce!" said Frandrake.
"Frandrake! What are you doing here?" I said.
The Old Man placed a gnarled hand over Frandrake's mouth. Butterflies escape Frandrake's nostrils in response, each a different color, all attracted to the lamp on the desk.
"Frandrake is my Chimera. He is rather fond of the term. He invented it." Said the Old Man.
Frandrake calms down, almost seeming to melt into the arms of the Old Man. He gives my Lamassu an indignant glare and then closes his eyes fast asleep.
"You said there were three Chimeras. If Frandrake and my Lamassu are two such creatures, where is the third?" I ask.
"Oh he's been among you the entire time. You've been listening to him, but you can't see him. You see, the Flying Man is mute. He was born with incredible dreams, but no voice for them. That beautiful, wonderful voice you've heard belongs to his Chimera. It is by far the largest Chimera ever known, entirely blue, filling up the sky between your world and ours. He sings the thoughts of the Flying Man, and the Flying Man loves him as he has loved no other...until now." Said the Old Man.
"I had...no idea. What? Until now...what do you mean? Is the Flying Man alright?"
"Oh he's better than alright, he's in love."
"In love? Well that's great! Whom...?"
"Anything is possible just think it and it's true
Make your dreams reality sure as the sky is blue
Reach for the stars as is your fate
Find what's in your heart your time is not too late..." The Flying Man sang.
"I did not know my dreams would take me to the stars
I did not know I'd go so far
I found answers to questions deep inside
I found a heart given from a man who flied
Singing, Dancing, Dreaming
Now I am whole
For the very first time." I sang.
Our hands reach to each other, entwined like branches from the tree of life. I smile and blush deep red. The Muses glow bright blue as we touch. I will not attempt the words to describe how I feel at the moment. Symbol-based communication can never hope to be up to the task of thought. I suspect the Flying Man's Chimera could explain, but he is silent.
"Hmmm! Haha! Now that business is settled, we should discuss your dire circumstances here on Cinereo." said the Old Man.
"Am I to be punished?" I asked.
"HAHAHAHAH! Perspective is a great deceiver...or aid...depending on how you see things! HAHAHAHA! A leadership role can be a pleasure or a burden. I wish to discuss your ascent to the throne here."
"What? I can't lead. I'm a nobody. I'm just a girl who has learned that dreaming is wonderful!"
"You can lead. Many in roles of leadership are not leaders. Sometimes you must learn to follow if you are to lead. Learn, teach, respect, listen...these are not difficult skills for a person with imagination!"
"Your subjects want to banish me at best. Why would they follow me?"
"They will follow you because I am dying and I say you should be the Queen!"
"Make the Flying Man your King, I should be going home to my mom...what...you are dying?"
"Oh he shall be King and you shall be Queen. Yes, dear girl I am kaput...a goner. I have witnessed the rise of mankind. Every dream, every creation, has made us stronger in Cinereo. Mankind has done wonderful things. He created gods, ghosts, dreams, science, magic, music, spoons and unicorns. Some of these ideas are so great they took on lives of their own. I age very slowly, but nothing lasts forever. Even dreams fade. My time is linked to the imagination of mankind. Once you take my place I intend to take a well deserved dirt-nap. I will dream of things no longer remembered and I will feel the wonder as when the first fire was started using flint and steel. Do not pity me. My body will vanish but my thoughts will endure. Its nothing I can change."
"I can fix things! I can help you before it is too late! I can go back. I can make them listen. I will start small. One child. Then another. They can change. They can remember how to dream and hope and sing."
"I have no doubt you can do these things girl! If anyone has the power to do so it is you. Hehe! They won't listen. They have rules. They have grand purpose! They have no time for Chimeras!"
"So there is time to save them!"
"From themselves? HAHA! Doubtful! But you might. I am fading fast. This last Golden Faire was more like a county fair from your home. Converting the green cheese to golden light to power these galas drains my soul. Without the dreams of mankind to fuel me I have only my own will to aid me...and of course Frandrake."
"Frandrake! What will happen to him if you pass on?"
"Frandrake? He may linger a few days to make sure his museum is cared for, but he will fade too. Chimeras and their dreamers are linked by energy and thought. The old fop would not get on without me."
"Frandrake would do marvelous, as he has always done. This Old Man is lucky I feel ashamed of his poor fashion sense or I am sure I would have found a more palatial setting, befitting a brilliant master artisan such as myself long ago!" said Frandrake. A single golden tear betrays Frandrake's bold statement.
Then something happened. It was more of a reaction than a thought. Somewhere deep inside an emotion boils to the surface, although I've only just met the Old Man. Just as I knew inside how the Flying Man loves me and I love him, just as I know mankind can be redeemed, I know I could do something for the Old Man. I grab the Old Man without warning. Our eyes lock. On instinct, my Lamassu grabs me to pull me away but I am too strong. She is now locked in gaze with the Old Man as well. The lamp on the table spins like maple seeds in a hurricane. The Muses surround us silhouetting our forms in brilliant blue auras. Light, energy, dreams, flow through me and through the Old Man and back again. Lightning crackles, then shatters the windows. The boom from the thunder drowns out the merriment of the Golden Faire. I sink to my knees exhausted.
"What...what have you done? Why?" The Old Man asks.
When my legs are strong enough to stand I rise. "You did not want to die. So I won't allow it. I shared my silliest childhood dreams and you have shared your wisdom and knowledge with me. We have both gained."
The Old Man stands up from his wheeled contraption and looks at his long black hair, stroking it with his youthful, strong hands in wonder. "At what cost to you dear girl, at what cost?"
"Oh its nothing!" I said.
"Wow, you are a beautiful woman. You are...half-naked!!! Your clothes are far too small now." Said my Lamassu.
"What...what have you done? Why? My dress! My perfection! Rude as a rutabaga! This won't do!" Said Frandrake.
Before anyone could move, Frandrake pulls bolts of shiny fabric, spools of thread and the tools of a tailor out of thin air and begins weaving around me.
"I feel like a bug being wrapped up by a spider!" I said.
"Tush girl! Your fidgeting endangers a work of exquisite perfection!" Frandrake said.
In moments I am decked like the Queen of Geishas heading to the ball for martinis. Frandrake has also fashioned a crown and scepter for me and the Flying Man.
"I don't understand...why did you make us crowns Frandrake? The Old Man will remain King of Cinereo!" I said.
"You two are now Duke and Duchess of Dreams...Viziers of Visualization. Count and Countess of Creativity. With my color palette and your good judgement the Golden Faire will be the event to dwarf all others...much like my presence awes and humbles those who should catch a glimpse of my magnitude!" Said Frandrake.
We can hear the sound of the Golden Faire denizens entering the room, but with the wave of a hand, the Old Man reassures them. Then, a flash of his eyes and a burst of Golden light enters the Faire like a wave filling it with sound, smells and a flourish of merriment. One by one the Muses fade from the room until only three remain. They enter our mouths, the Old Man, the Flying Man and me and settle in behind our eyes, a blue glimmer visible when we smile.
"What will you do now girl? Are you really going back to Earth?" Asked the Old Man.
"I'm going back there now. Oh, not forever. I need to plant the seeds. Someone needs to help them remember who they are. We are the dreamers, the singers, the dancers and doers.
We speak in rhyme when it is time.
We laugh and play, we do it all day.
Magic is not a word. Magic is a world.
I must have fun, for the when I am done,
the Flying Man will take me straight to the Sun.
We'll dance on a flare of solar-y air,
we'll sing of the work that he's done.
So I must go,
So I must run,
my feet finally touching the ground.
But though they touchdown,
I won't have a frown, because I remember the Faire!
Oooh,
I walked to the Moon without a balloon
I walked to the Golden Faire
The breeze in the trees is made of green cheese
And they have a fine time there
Once to the Moon,
Once to the Faire
Once to see the Old Man
When I return, if I return
I'll never look stern
Or the Old Man will follow me home
I'll sing of the breeze
I'll sing of the trees
I'll sing of the Golden Faire
The town folk will say
My mind's gone astray
But the Old Man knows the truth
The Old Man knows the truth
Once to the Moon
You sing like a loon
You sing of the Golden Faire
---Touchdown---