Shamrock appeared in Sarah’s bedroom. He apologized to Sarah for vanishing the night before. “I used too much magic. If I use too much, I wake up, and I can’t dream anymore until the next night.”
From his pocket, Shamrock revealed the green jewel. He handed it to Sarah, then reach behind his back and revealed the mirror. “Are you ready to try again?”
Sarah looked at the jewel resting on her palm. Each time she transformed into Clover, her recall of dreams increased. It felt like only a short while ago when she left the beach, and the ocean that tried to drown her.
“There’s nothing in the mirror,” Sarah said.
“There won’t be until you transform,” Shamrock said. “Only the green jewel can reveal dreams in the mirror.”
She wrapper her fingers around the jewel. In a flash of light, Sarah became Clover. In place of the jewel, her wand appeared in her hand, and the jewel took its place on top.
“What do you see in the mirror now?” Shamrock asked, holding it up for her.
“Nothing,” Clover replied. “Different from before. Now it’s… Just nothing.”
“Is anyone in danger? Does someone need help?”
“I don’t see anyone. It’s dark. Everything is dark.”
“What will you do, Clover?”
“I’ll go in there with my wand, an’ light up all of the darkness.”
Hearing Clover’s words, Shamrock set the mirror on the ground. He took hold of the top of the mirror, and pulled it up, stretching the mirror until it was tall enough for Clover to step through.
“I’ll be there when I can,” Shamrock told her. “Turn on all the lights so I can find you.”
“Okay!”
Shamrock watched as Cover stepped into the mirror, vanishing into the darkness on the other side. He gazed into the dark, waiting to see what the dream on the other side would look like once lit up. He continued to watch, but the darkness remained. “Clover, are you all right?”
“I think so,” Clover’s voice replied from the reflection’s darkness. “I can’t see anything.”
“Use your wand to make it light!”
“Um, I dropped the wand.”
“Can you find it? I can’t see anything in the mirror. It’s too dark. Feel aroun for it.”
“I can’t. I’m stuck. I think I’m between two walls. I can’t move. It’s so dark in here…”
Shamrock pressed a hand against the mirror. He tried to press through it, but the glass surface blocked him. “Clover, you have to find the wand. Step around a little to see if it’s under your feet.”
“My legs are stuck, too. I can’t move them. I can’t move anything.”
“Listen, Clover, I’m going to try and find you. Try to get the wand if you can, and don’t give up.” Shamrock pushed the miirror back to its normal size, then he placed it behind his back, the mirror vanishing. He hurried to Sarah’s bedroom door. He opened the door.
On the other side of the door, cowboys rode by on their horses. Arrows rained down around them. Shamrock closed the door, then opened it again.
A treasure hunter on the other side of the door lifted an ancient relic from its resting place in an ancient tower, causing everything to shake. Shamrock closed the door quickly, the bedroom still rumbling.
This time, Shamrock opened the door slowly. As he peered through, a wall of water pushed the door open. Sarah’s bedroom quickly filled with water, leaving Shamrock submerged. The wall of the room along the side of the house pushed out from the weight of the water, pouring Shamrock out, onto dry sand.
The heat of the sun quickly dried Shamrock’s clothes. Looking around, Shamrock found a vast desert stretched in all directions.
In the darkness, Clover tried to move, still unable to. She desperately tried–and failed–to move an arm, a leg.
Shamrock started walking. He needed to find a house, something with a door. Conjuring a door with magic wouldn’t work. “I can’t see anything but sand.” Shamrock gripped his gloved hand into a tight fist. “Maybe birds can see past the desert.” He pushed his legs into a sprint through the soft sand. “Fly!”
Giant white wings appeared at Shamrock’s back in a glitter of blue light. They lifted Shamrock into the air, gliding his body higher and higher into the sky. In the distance, he spotted a river which lined itself on eitheir side with green, spotted with small villages along its length.
Upon arrival at a village, Shamrock found no one around. Seeing empty villages wasn’t uncommon when travelling between dreams, and Shamrock took no notice.
He went up to the nearest door, finding it to be locked, and unable to open. He tied another door, to the same result. The next few doors proved to be the same, one looked door after another.
Not discouraged, Shamrock placed his gloved hand against a door. “This door doesn’t have a lock.” The door dimly glowed blue, and changed its appearance to a door with no locks. Sharmrock placed his other hand on the doorknob, giving it an effortless turn, and the door opened.
Darkness leaked out from the door, casting long shadows across the uninhabited town.
Shamrock reached into the room. He slid a hand along the wall until he felt a light switch. He flipped the switch on, but the room remained dark. Shamrock recalled having seen before that light switches didn’t work in dreams. Magic would be his only option.
“Darkness loses to a Boy Scout’s best friend,” Shamrock said into the room. “The flashlight!” A blue sparkle left a flashlight in Shamrock’s hand. A narrow light appeared from the flashlight, filling a small section of the room inside.
“This is…” Shamrock walked into the room. The door shut itself behind him. “This is Sarah’s room. Why’s it so dark?” He turned the flashlight to the side wall. Rather than a long window, the wall was completely solid, blocking all light from outside. “Clover? Are you in here?”
“Shamrock?” a muffled voice replied. “I still can’t move,” the voice said, tembling. “It’s dark in here. I can’t move.”
“Keep talking,” Shamrock instructed, as he looked around the room, and listened carefully.
“What if I never get out? I don’t want to be stuck like this forever!”
“The closet… Clover, you’re in the closet. I can’t open the door, or I”ll be taken somewhere else. I’ll shine a light under the door.” He placed the flashlight on the ground. He turned it back and forth. “Do you see any light on the ground?”
“I can’t move my head,” Clover replied. I think I’m looking up.”
“I’m going to try something else.” Shamrock set the flashlight to the side. He placed his gloved hand against the edge of the bottom of the door, pressing it against the small gap beneath the doorway and the carpet. “Fireflies. ust like the ones we saw camping.”
“It’s light,” Clover’s voice spoke. “Lots and lots of little lights are over me.”
“Can you see anything else?”
“The wall is behind me. Something big and brown is in front of me. I think its my dresser. I remember this somehow… It happened before.”
“Dreams are connected to what happens when we’re awake. What happened before.”
“I don’t know. I’m trying to remember anything about being awake, but I can’t. I don’t remember it very well.”
“Clover, if you’re afraid of the dark, or afraid of being stuck and not being able to move, then you have to remember what happened. If you don’t, you’ll keep having this dream.
“I was crying. I wanted to call for help, but I was crying. I didn’t think anyone would ever find me.”
“Then what happened?”
“I don’t know. I remember feeling afraid, and sad, and lonely. And then… Then I heard a voice. A familiar voice.”
“Your mother? Your father?”
“No, it was… It was your voice. Samuel came for schooling, and he was looking for me. He heard me crying, and he opened my closet door. He climbed onto the dresser, and looked down at me.”
‘I think I remember this,’ Shamrock thought. He closed his eyes, and pictured the event in his mind. ‘We were only four or five years old. There was a lot of room between the dresser and the wall, and the dresser isn’t that tall. After I opened the door, I helped Sarah climb over the dresser.’ Opening his eyes, Shamrock found himself sitting on his knees on top of the dresser in the closet. The top of the dresser nearly reached the ceiling, leaving little room for Shamrock to move. He managed to look over, and could barely see Clover in the small space between the dresser and the wall.
“Something’s different,” Shamrock said down to Clover. He set his gloved hand on the back edge of the dresser. “There was a lot more room behind the dresser. And isn’t it a lot smaller than this?”
With a blue glow, the dresser shrank to half its size. It barely reached Clover’s shoulders, and Clover now had enough room to kneel down and pick up her wand. Want in hand, Clover hurried around the dresser, and to the closet door.
“You must always keep the wand in your hand,” Shamrock told Clover. “If you leave it behind, or drop it, you won’t be able to use your magic. Tomorrow night, someone else’ll need your help. Don’t let them down.”
Shamrock reached to the doorknob, opening the closet door. The sunlight from the light blinded the two, forcing them to close their eyes. When Sarah opened her eyes, she found herself back in her bed.
