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Um? Where am I? I was watching Auntie Ilya create weapons…. Some invaders were crying and begging…. The corpse puppets were chopping…. Um! I remember now! Ghosts came out of the invaders bodies and flew at me! My head hurt a lot, and I wanted to puke, and I suddenly couldn’t see anything. Was I eaten by ghosts? Is this the yellow springs? Mommy told me people went to the yellow springs after they died. Why isn’t the cute rabbit that Uncle Claw cooked waiting for me here? Mommy told me I would see the rabbit when I got here.
Um, never mind. I think I fell asleep after the ghost hit me. This is my dream! There’s the giant over there; he’s still painting in the sky. I dreamed about this place a lot…. How come I kept on forgetting about it? Um, I don’t know. Auntie Ilya tells me to think about things in a logical way when I don’t know things. She also tells me my logic is wrong a lot, but she tells me to keep doing it. One day, if I do it enough, my logic will be right. Um, let’s think. When I wake up, I forget my dreams. There’s someone in my head erasing my memories! Who is it? I only know two people who can erase memories: Mommy and … Auntie Ilya!? Has she been erasing my memories this whole time? What else have I forgotten? …I can’t remember!
Um!? The giant moved its foot! I don’t think it ever moved its foot before. I’ve only seen it move its hands. What is it doing? I wish I could get a better view. …I’m flying? Right! This is my dream. I can do whatever I want in it. I’ll fly up above and watch the giant. It looks like it’s dancing. Is it doing the Shadow Devil Foundation Building Technique? Um, it’s doing it wrong; there’s a few different steps. Also, there’s a tail! A tail sprouted out of the giant’s butt! It’s making my tail very itchy. I want to copy it! I’m going to copy the giant!
Am I doing it right? I think I am. There are more steps than the Shadow Devil Foundation Building Technique too. Um, some of these positions really hurt. Is my arm supposed to bend this way? I don’t think it is, but it’s a dream, so I can do anything I want. Um? Why does it hurt if I’m in a dream? That’s weird; I can’t make the pain go away. Do I keep copying the giant? I won’t.
Scritch, scritch.
Scritch, scritch.
Scritch, scritch!
Why is my tail so itchy!? It’s almost like it wants me to copy the giant! Is this what Mommy means when she says her tail talks to her? Um, okay, tail, I’ll copy the giant even if it hurts. The giant even stopped moving when I did. I think it’s waiting for me. Right hand here. Left hand here. Tail curls down there. Ears twitch over there. Fingers curl like this? Bend my knees over here? Um, this giant is very nice. It doesn’t move until I copy it exactly. It hurts though. Elbow over here. Chin this way? Um. I’m getting tired. Can I sleep in a dream? If I dream about sleeping, do I have to sleep even less? It sounds pretty logical to me, but my first guess is always wrong. I’ll ask Auntie Ilya to make sure.
Foundation of Dreams.
Um? Did someone say something? Foundation of Dreams? What’s that? Um! The giant disappeared! Oh, the whole world is breaking. I think I’m waking up. …I was right! I’m awake, and this time, I can remember everything. Auntie Ilya is over there…. She looks busy. Maybe that’s why my memory stayed this time.
A corpse’s head came into my vision from the side. That was scary! The corpse’s lips didn’t move, but I could hear it clearly. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“N-no reason.” Maybe she’ll erase my memory later since she’s too busy right now. I should stay away from her. “I’m going to go…, um, see if dinner’s ready.”
“It’s not,” Auntie Ilya’s corpse puppet said. She was still cutting apart the body on the ground. I think she was taking out its organs. She makes it look very hard. Maybe Mommy makes it look very easy? Mommy won’t let me cut apart animals; she says it’s dangerous for me to use a knife. “If dinner was ready, your mom would’ve teleported over here and took you away. How are you feeling? I didn’t expect you to faint. Was the execution of the prisoners too gruesome for you?”
“No, I think their ghosts attacked me.”
Um…? Auntie Ilya and all her corpses stopped moving. They all turned to look at me at the same time. “Come here for a second,” one of the corpses said. It was holding a dried-up hand.
“W-why?”
“I’m going to read your memories,” the corpse said. “I have to make sure you’re not being taken over by one of the prisoners.”
Auntie Ilya really does want to mess with my memories! “Stop! Get away from me! Mommy, help! Save me! Ahhhh!” Why are these corpses so fast!?
“Stop struggling.”
A cold hand touched my head. I can’t forget. I can’t forget. I can’t forget. Um? What did I want to remember? My dream! I can’t forget about my dream. I can’t forget about my dream. I can’t forget about…. Um? The corpse let me go? It walked away and handed Auntie Ilya a jade slip. She put it against her head. Should I use this time to run away? I don’t think she took away my memories.
“Sophia.”
“Y-yes?”
“If I took away your memories, you wouldn’t remember me at all, okay?” Auntie Ilya rolled her eyes. “You probably couldn’t remember your dream because of deficiencies in yourself, not because of anyone else.”
Deficiencies in myself? What does that mean? “How come I can remember it now?”
“You filled the deficiency, duh.”
But I didn’t do anything? “How?”
“Ask your mother. Anyway, cultivate that Foundation of Dreams technique, but don’t let anyone see you do it. Perform the Righteous Holy Foundation Building Technique in class, and do the Foundation of Dreams technique while you sleep. You probably can’t do it out here anyway; it looks like you’ll break a few limbs if you try.”
Um? “Okay.”