Chapter 16

I woke up and I was on an island.

Hmm, that's strange.  When did I get on an island exactly?

I tried to think of when, but my mind wasn't telling me any answers.

I got up and looked at the big, lonely sea.  I wasn't just anywhere-I was on an island.

Well, at least I'm good with my firewood!  And it's so warm and toasty here, ah....

I walk closer to the shore and I notice a boat.

Oh yeah-that's it.  It was a shipwreck.  My giant boat sunk that I was on, and I managed to get the only lifeboat that didn't sink!

By some miracle, I saved myself and forgot about the whole event. Yeah-yeah, that's what happened.

But then I started to run, suddenly panicked.  I was starving, and really, who knows how long it could take to get food on a deserted place such as this.

On my little journey, I passed a magnificent waterfall, but I told myself I had no time to gaze at its beauty.  Food first, gazing second.

And then I arrived at the food I sought!  There were a few bushes of grapes-some that looked delicious-but I had something else in mind.

I started to make myself a fortune cookie.

So glad I brought this with me when the ship broke down!  It's genius, I mean, who couldn't go for a fortune cookie on a deserted island?  There is just so much that it could predict.

'You are going to be deserted on a deserted island for the rest of your life.  You lucky numbers are 11, 12, and 13.  But especially 13.'  That would so happen!

When I opened up my fortune (yes, a bunch of those were already premade, and I slipped one inside), it said.

Something significant is going to happen in your life soon.  It could be positive, negative, or neautral.  It's outcome is not yet known.

Your lucky numbers are 10, 21, and 11.

Yeah, um...what exactly significant can happen on a deserted island?  A rescue party?  Not likely.

I ate my fortune cookie and was disapointed by its taste.  Ooo, bland.  So awesome.  Why do fortune cookies even have to taste like this? 

I should've brought the chocolate fountain instead!  I could go for a chocolate covered oreo right about now...

 After I was finished with my mini (disapointing) feast, I decided to go to the top of the island, just to see it in perspective.  It was a surprisingly tall island (good, that means that this must've been volcanic at one point, so it should stay up for many centuries to come!).  Looking at everything was so beautiful...

But then I realized something.  This isn't real, I'm not really stranded on a deserted island!  This is a dream.  How silly of me to think so!

So then, I decided to fly down from my high up place.  I was doing it pretty well, considering lucid girl wasn't there to watch over me.  I seemed to always be able to fly so well with her along.

Ah, lucid girl.  I miss her presense!

Soon enough I reached ground.

I am SO going to spend the rest of this dream looking for lucid girl.  Now, what would lucid girl do?

I thought about it, and I had my answer.

I know!  I'll make people appear in my dream and imagine one of them being lucid girl.  It always seems to work so well for her!  Or-better yet- I'll teleport to where I think she'll be, and if I THINK she's there, then she will be.  This is my dream and believing dictates what happens!

I was about to teleoport, but then I looked around my island one last time.  It was beautiful, and surprisingly not very hazy at all.  My whole dream was pretty clear, in fact.

But then I could feel my dream escaping from my fingertips.

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I then woke up and sighed.  Lucid girl hadn't been in my dreams lately...

What's wrong with me?  Why won't she come anymore and save the day?  I miss her so much.  Oh llama, I miss a person from my dreams!  What's wrong with me?  I have more...no, no, of course that's not true.  No no, that's not possible.  I just especially like her because my own mind made her up!  Of course I'm going to especially like a girl that I see that has no flaws as my mind is tricking me!  My mind is begging for a relationship, and this is what's happening!  I still know exactly what she looks like.  I'll never let myself forget!  So it's not that.  She will be in another dream, and soon!

After thinking about my dissapointment, I realized it was August fifteenth, the day I've been waiting for!  Today is the day of the dream presentation.  I wonder what they will tell us!

I went downstairs to eat some cereal and got on the road.  I am all set, Mr. Simmons gave me the day off no problem, and Marshall and Jeff can just have breakfast made by our butler!  This day will be perfect.  I had to get there at 10:00.  It's in Bridgeport, so I had to leave bright and early (that's nine for me).  I go there sometimes, and it being a big city and everything, an hour isn't bad.

Soon enough, I arrived at Bridgeport's Town Center (a lot of events take place here).  I was arriving a little late thanks to traffic (I really need to time things better.  I'm not used to Bridgeport's traffic).  But unlike Cassandra, I wasn't sweating.  Too much.  But unlike with us, I was arriving somewhat late and not right on time.

"Yes, hello sir.  May I help you?  Are you here to look at the art gallery?  It's just right down the hall."

"Actually, no.  I'm here for the dream conference."

She gave me this big eyed look, but it soon changed.

"Ok, can I see your ticket?  Hang two lefts, and you'll be there"

"Yes ma'am."

It did cost a little money, but it is supposed to go to some dreaming institute that studies dreams, so I figured it was worth it.  What's five simoleons to a working man?

When I arrived in the room, it was fairly empty.  And I now understood why she gave me such a funny look.  Not only were there such few people there, but everyone besides myself and one other guy (oh thank llama) was geeky with very bad clothes.

Apparently I wasn't so late, because the presentation began about five minutes later.  It was like they were waiting, and hoping, for their to be more people there, but that didn't happen.

"Hello everyone, thank you for attending this dream presentation.  I am Rachelle (Ra-shell) Turnwise, and I am a dreamer."

She had a really interesting name.  I've never heard of Rachelle before.

"I would like to start with a little backround information of myself.  I have always been somewhat fascinated with dreams.  In seventh grade, I had my first lucid dream.  A girl told me that I was dreaming, and there were a bunch of other people there.  I believed her, but that dream didn't last long.  A lucid dream is a dream that you know you're dreaming when you're dreaming.  You'd be considered very lucky if you have these dreams often, you would be considered a natural.  However, I am not a natural.  When I was fifteen, I became a member of a dream site and started a dream journal, and learned more about lucid dreaming.  Thanks to this site, I got many more lucid dreams.  When I'd stop going on that site, my lucid dreams became less numerous."

"Soon, I became quite good at not only having lucid dreams but also learning how to control them.  I read about things I could do, and I also taught a few techniques to myself.  Today, I would like to share with you how you can learn to get lucid dreams if you're not one of the lucky naturals.  But even naturals can learn to fine tune their skills.  Before trying to lucid dream, you should be able to remember your dreams.  It wouldn't really pay to have a lucid dream if you can't remember it!  To remember your dreams, some can just simply think about your dream throughout the day.  Upon waking, try to go through every last detail of your dream.  Sometimes thinking about it for a minute can help everything come back, even if you think it's hopeless at first. Talk about your dreams, too.  But make sure first that those people are willing to listen and appreciate dreams.  There are all too many people that don't."

Understatement of the year!

I noticed throughout her presentation she was glancing at me.  It was really discreet and I could detect it.  She had some major perpheral vision going on.  I had this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach when I was listening to her speech, and I wasn't quite sure why...  I could tell that she was starting to sweat.  Nervous about public speaking?  I guess so.

"If those things don't help you remember your dreams, then you will have to write a dream journal.  Type it up on microsoft word, or write it on a notebook, it doesn't matter.  Just write everything that you remember about your dream in as much detail as possible.  Preferably this should be done upon waking, but if you don't have the time you can write brief notes and finish them later."

"So, after that you should be able to remember your dreams.  After a while, you may even remember multiple a day!  But do not get discouraged if you can't remember them that well at first.  Sometimes it takes a very long while for this to work for some people.  Just make sure you don't smoke or drink, or do any sort of drugs, because this also is very bad for remembering your dreams.  Now, let's hear Jake tell us about reality checks!"

I could tell that Rachelle was feeling very uncomfortable during his speech.  She was figiting a lot and not daring to look at the audience.  It seemed like she was thinking.

"Yes, hello everyone.  I am Jake Struskie and I have been a natural lucid dreamer all of my life.  You wouldn't be able to imagine the places I've been, the dream characters I've seen.  Now, once you remember your dreams, reality checks are a very good way to help you become lucid in dreams.  The idea is that you'll do the task in your dream and ask yourself if it's a dream, and if you do one of the tasks I'm about to tell you, hopefully it 'shouldn't work', and you'll become lucid.  I do not reccomend pinching.  Sometimes you don't feel the pain in dreams, or you think that you will feel the pain.  That is very unrealiable-but there are other ways that are almost one hundred percent reliable.  I usually do the watch test.  The idea is you look at a watch or a clock in waking life.  Before you look at it, you ask yourself if you're dreaming.  Now, don't joke about it and think 'duh this isn't a dream', because then you'll believe that and go on believing in reality.  No, you look at the clock and ask yourself if you're dreaming.  Look at the time.  Then, whole heartedly ask yourself again and look at the time once more.  If you're in a dream, almost one hundred percent of the time the time will change drastically and you'll know it's a dream."

He went on to list a bunch of other reality checks.

But then, Rachelle sprung out of her chair, whispered in the girl's ear next to her, and left, leaving me puzzled.  I looked at my watch and it was eleven o' clock.

"The one that I like to use the most is this.  You ask yourself how you got to where you are.  Because in dreams usually you don't know how you got there.  In order for these reality checks to work, you have to make sure you do them a lot in waking life, so you can ensure that you will ask yourself in dreams.  I reccomend doing it every hour.  But if you can't do them whole heartedly, don't do them as often.  Nothing like doing a reality check in a dream and then thinking it's still reality!  You don't want that.  After time, you should be able to get lucid sooner or later.  Eventually you may even become lucid without a reality check.  I believe this is because dreams have an "aura" that don't feel like reality.  Eventually, you will be able to feel this aura.  Now, let's hear it for Lilly with her techniques!"

"Hello everyone, I'm Lilly Useabaga and I am a lucid dreamer.  I am not a natural like Jake, but I use the techniques already stated on a regular basis to get my lucid dreams.  I cannot stress it enough:  do not give up!  Some people have to try very hard to get lucid dreams sometimes, but it's worth it.  Trust me.  The satisfaction you feel when you're lucid for the first time is undescribable! Just don't feel too excited in your dream or you could wake up!  Just knowing that you can do ANYTHING in a dream is just what has always allured me.  I am quite satisfied with where I am currently in my dreams, but I still have much to do!  On of the things that everyone loves to do with flying."

She talked about flying for literally ten straight minutes!  I never knew there were so many flying techniques and ways to recover from falling!

"Teleporting in dreams is also quite fun.  I have jumped in a mirror, through a television, in a book, through a door, simply through closing my eyes.  There are so many ways it could be done.  Just believe that what you're going to go through will bring you to a different place, and it will.  Talk to your dream characters.  Sometimes what they say will make you laugh, and other times make you think.  And other times, you could be digging within yourself through talking to a dream charactor."

She went on and on talking about many other things she has done in her lucid dreams.

"If you ever feel like the dream is slipping, you have a few options.  First, focus deeply on something in your dream.  Often, that brings you right back.  You have to concentrate on not thinking too hard because this could make you lose some of your dream.  Also, spinning works too."

She talked for like another twenty minutes!

"Thank you for attending this dream conference today.  I hope that we have been informative and an inspiration to you to start or fine tune your lucid dreaming skills.  Have a nice day everyone."

When it was done, I had some time to think.  I was really concentrating on all of their advice, and wow was there a lot!  I'll have to use some of that in the future.  But then I started to think about the first girl that presented-Rachelle.  I was having a mental battle in my head.

Oh no, of course I don't know Rachelle!  She must live in Bridgeport and it's such a big city.  Of course I've never met her before!  That's crazy.  But-but-I feel like I know her really well.

Five minutes later, I came up with something.

Pch, of course she can't be-no, no that is impossible.  The laws of science don't allow it!  It's an imposibility, no, no.

But, somehow I knew that I was only trying to think against my gut.

I know this girl, she is from my dreams-Rachelle is lucid girl.  I must find her.  But the question is-does she know me, or did my brain just spawn her in my head somehow?

My mind was blaring crazy.  How could the impossible be true?

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Now, was anyone expecting that?

If you look closely, I have something hidden in it.  If you saw it, you'd know what I mean.  I guess you'll have to skim it!  Tell me if you know what I'm talking about.

I know that I went totally crazy on the dream presentation thing.  All of that stuff is fact, and I didn't look any of that up on google!  All of that is in my noggin.  I know a lot about lucid dreams, it's true!  LOL.  I hope that some of you try some of that stuff and tell me about it :).

I still can't comment, FYI >:(.