Conscious, Conscientious

Lammy stood alone, staring into the darkness of the woods. Only an instant ago, Deon was laughing and talking to him…and then he vanished.

“Deon?!” Lammy cried.

No response came.

Lammy had just come to terms with the fact that Deon was trying to leave, but for a moment it looked like it wouldn’t happen. Deon said the invisible wall was always there, but this time—of all times, this time was different. Panic quickly set back into Lammy’s gut.

He tried calling to Deon one more time, and his dread only increased when there was still no reply. Did something bad happen to him? Was it dangerous out there?

Lammy couldn’t bear the thought. “Are you alright?!” he cried, rushing to the spot where Deon disappeared.

He tripped on a root, toppled forward, and immediately, a white light overcame his vision.

Lammy blinked. Now he was lying facedown on the ground, but the air felt warmer. He could hear birds singing high above him.

Huh?

He lifted his head to find daylight. The woods continued on for as far as he could see, but Deon was nowhere to be found. Lammy stood to his feet and felt his foot squish something underneath it. He lifted his foot to see a long, yellow fruit he was unfamiliar with. Looking to the trees, Lammy noticed all kinds of colors and shapes of fruit.

What is this place? He wondered.

But his attention quickly returned to searching for his cousin. Deon had only passed through the wall seconds before him, so he couldn’t have gotten too far. Lammy just wanted to know he was safe.

He quickly appreciated how much easier it was to hurry through the woods in the sunlight as he scanned the area for his cousin. Yet after a couple minutes of calling for Deon and rushing around, he was starting to doubt his chances.

Lammy paused against a tree to catch his breath. I get that Deon wanted to leave Tailpiece, he thought, but I had no clue he’d be in such a rush! Despite his failed attempts, he at least knew wherever Deon was, it didn’t seem to be very dangerous.

Then with a deep thud, something crashed to the ground beside him. Lammy looked down to see a round, brown fruit next to his foot. He lifted it—it was unexpectedly heavy, and seemed to be covered in brown hairs. Lammy looked up to see that the tree he stood under carried several more of these shell-like fruits. They shared no resemblance to apples or berries that grew on Tailpiece trees. Curious, Lammy surveyed the trees ahead of him to see if there were more like this.

Then his heart skipped a beat as he laid eyes on the most amazing thing he had ever seen.

There was a thick tree a short walk away, and lying under it was a woman in a fancy green dress. Usually Lammy didn’t pay too much attention to girls like Deon did, but he couldn’t deny that she was absolutely beautiful. Her face was captivating; it was calm and smooth, with large eyes, a graceful pointed nose, and a small, elegant mouth. Her long brown hair flowed around her dress elegantly. It took Lammy a moment to realize she seemed to be asleep, and beside her shoulder lay a larger version of the round brown fruit Lammy held.

Wait a second—is she okay? he wondered. He dropped his fruit and started to make his way towards her, growing increasingly nervous—firstly because he wasn’t sure if she was hurt, and secondly due to his strong shyness towards girls, especially one as striking as her. As he neared, he noticed she appeared to be around Deon’s age—maybe a bit older, and wore very expensive-looking silver jewelry around her neck and wrists.

Soon Lammy stood above the woman, unsure of what to do, watching her as his cheeks turned red. He pretended to clear his throat, hoping that would wake her, but nothing happened. Lammy wanted to say something, but kept hesitating. She looked so peaceful and content, so maybe it would be wrong to disturb her…

…But at the same time, the heavy fruit next to her hinted that perhaps it had fallen on her, in which case it would be necessary to see if she was alright...

Lammy sighed shakily and somehow managed to make his legs move. He shuffled closer to her side and leaned next to her. “Um…Miss?” he practically whispered. Knowing that would do no good, he gently placed a hand on her shoulder. “M-Miss?” he repeated louder.

The woman took a quick breath in and her eyes opened. They were a dazzling green, perfectly matching her dress. She seemed rather surprised when she looked over and saw Lammy there.

Once her eyes met Lammy’s, he froze completely. Everything locked up and all he did was blush even more. Sound vanished, along with time. If the woman said something to him, he wouldn’t have noticed it.

“Hello? Can you hear me okay?” she asked him. Apparently she had said something, and he missed it. In fact, she was already sitting up.

Lammy faltered, and blinked repeatedly. “Oh! Um…sorry…what?” he stuttered.

The woman smiled, which only made Lammy freeze up even more. It was as if the entire woods lit up around her. “I said: ‘Hello, my name’s Zayza. What’s your name?’” she repeated. Her voice sounded incredibly lighthearted and soothing.

“I—I—I—I…” Lammy attempted.

“Eye-eye-eye-eye?” asked Zayza. “That’s a unique name…”

“No…I…” Lammy paused and took a moment to gather himself. “I’m Lammy,” he said slowly.

“Lammy?” Zayza laughed, speedily covering her mouth with a delicate hand. “I’m sorry, I’ve never heard that name before. Where are you from?”

“Tailpiece,” Lammy told her, pointing in the village’s general direction.

Zayza looked to where he was pointing, and then returned her gaze. “I’m afraid I’m not familiar with that place. What country is it in?”

Country? Lammy wondered. “Um…I don’t know, I don’t think it has one.”

“Hmm…that’s interesting…” said Zayza with pondering eyes. “So can I help you with something, Mr. Lammy?”

He was confused for a moment, but then realized she was trying to understand why he bothered to wake her up. Clearly Zayza seemed fine, so he felt stupid for disrupting her. “I was just…um…wondering...if you were okay. Sorry to wake you.”

Zayza continued to watch him for a moment, as if he were still talking. “Oh, that’s alright,” she said with a smile. “The fact that you checked on me simply says that you’re a caring person. Besides, I suppose I must have looked rather odd sleeping under a tree in the middle of No Man’s Land like this.”

“I…guess…”

“But don’t worry; I was just searching for something,” Zayza reassured.

“That fruit?” Lammy asked, gesturing towards the one beside her.

Zayza laughed again. “Oh, this coconut? Not quite, I have that just in case. I’m not searching for something out here.”

Lammy was perplexed. Then why are you out here? he wanted to ask.

Zayza seemed to sense his confusion. “I’m sorry, I haven’t properly introduced myself, Lammy,” she began. “I’m a Dreamer.”

Lammy was certain that was supposed to mean something significant, but he had no idea what that was. He wanted to ask, but instead found himself nodding awkwardly.

His disguise clearly didn’t get past Zayza. “Oh, I supposed it’s not the most common type,” she reasoned politely. “A Dreamer is a consciousness type that enters another realm in our dreams. Whenever I’m asleep, I go to the Dream World. It’s a very strange but inviting place.”

‘Consciousness type?’ Wondered Lammy. Hmm…so there must be more than one kind of special power out here…and Zayza’s kind sounds fascinating!

Suddenly his nerves vanished, replaced by nerdy excitement. “Where are you from? I’ve never met a Dreamer before because we only have one type in Tailpiece.”

“I’m…” Zayza started, but then she simply sighed. “Well…that’s what I’m trying to find out,” she explained.

“You’re trying to find out where you’re from?”

“Yes—that and many other things,” she told him. “Almost all of my memories seem to be missing. All I know is that my name is Zayza and I’m a Dreamer. That’s why I’ve been exploring through the Dream World, searching for the rest of my memories…but I haven’t found anything yet…” Her eyes started to water and her expression smoothly but quickly switched from lively to heartbroken. She resembled a puppy being snatched away from its loving owner.

Her watery eyes set off an alarm in Lammy’s mind. “Oh—don’t cry…” he said. “I don’t know anything about the Dream World, but I’m sure you’ll get your memories back eventually…just don’t give up.”

Zayza wiped her eyes and tried to smile. “Thank you, Lammy. You’re a nice boy,” she said. Then suddenly, her happy demeanor reappeared. “You know what? You’re right! All I have to do is keep looking! I’m far too excited to try and fall asleep again now, so it looks like I’ll have to go to my backup plan!”

She grabbed the coconut beside her, held it in front of her head with her arms extended, and winced as if preparing for a collision.

Lammy almost had a heart-attack. “Whoa! Stop! What are you doing?!” he shouted frantically.

Zayza stopped and looked at him, appearing to make a mental connection. “You’re right,” she responded, and then offered the coconut to him. “Could you please hit me on the head with this? It would make more sense if you did it—I would probably hold back and not hit myself hard enough…again.”

“W…what???”

“If I want to be awake there, I can’t be awake here,” Zayza tried to explain.

“So you’re going to knock yourself out with that? That’s how Dreamers get to Dream World??” Lammy asked.

“I’m not sure…but that’s what I do sometimes.”

Question marks shot out everywhere like a volcano eruption in Lammy’s mind. So this lady’s suffering from amnesia and she’s dealing with it by hitting herself in the head…talk about irony…

“I promise I won’t be mad at you, Lammy,” Zayza tried to convince him. “Besides, you’d be helping me get my memories back.” She continued to present the coconut to him.

“You—you really want me to hit you with that,” confirmed Lammy.

“Yes, on the head, preferably.”

Despite his inner protests, Lammy considered the idea. Zayza was right: she was asking for his assistance, and Lammy didn’t want to pass up befriending someone with powers he had never seen before. But when he looked at her, the friendliest and prettiest girl he had ever met, he couldn’t picture himself doing it, even if she wanted him to.

“Don’t be so shy, here,” insisted Zayza, pressing the coconut up against Lammy’s chest. “You can’t just inspire me like that and then deny me a chance to keep searching.”

“But all I said was—”

“Please?”

Then it happened again. Upon hearing her say ‘please,’ he became a living statue. Zayza’s eyes seemed to grow larger and shinier, and everything around her face turned into an array of wonderful bright colors.

“Lammy?” Zayza asked. “Are you broken?”

With a shake, Lammy sprung himself back to life. The coconut was still against his chest, and despite his own inner objections, he placed his hands on it. “Fine…” he uttered.

Zayza smiled even wider and released her grip on the coconut. “Great!” she said, standing to her knees to fully face him. “Now don’t hold back—just give me a good bonk on the noggin!”

This can’t actually be happening, thought Lammy. There’s no way I can do this, it’s ridiculous!

But then a sound resounded from him: the loud, thunderous rumble of his stomach growling. He realized it must be that time of night back inside Tailpiece, when he would sneak into the kitchen for a quick midnight snack.

Upon hearing it, Zayza appeared quite troubled. “Are you okay?” she asked.

Lammy blushed. “Yeah.” But the groan of his stomach served as an urgent reminder: he had been away from home too long. If he didn’t get back soon, he didn’t even want to think about how much trouble he’d be in. “To be honest…I really shouldn’t be out here right now,” he confessed.

“Oh…I see. Will you be on your way then?” Zayza wondered, trying to cover up her disappointment.

“Uh…well…” stuttered Lammy. “You can come too, if you want,” he offered.

“Really?” Zayza said. “But I don’t want to impose…”

“You’re not. I’m sure my parents won’t mind,” Lammy assured.

That was absolutely untrue: his mom and dad would find it bizarre of him to bring home a fancily dressed stranger as company. Moreover, his mother wouldn’t appreciate his snooping around beyond Tailpiece. But if this would get him out of having to knock Zayza out with a fruit, he figured it was probably worth it. And maybe his parents could help with her amnesia. While they were strict about rules, he knew their kindheartedness would outweigh their frustration.

“If you insist…” Zayza accepted. “Thank you, Lammy. I’ve just been stuck outside since I got here. The last time I was actually in a building was…well, I don’t remember…”

With that, Lammy and Zayza departed from the tree, and Lammy began retracing his steps back to where he first fell. All the while, Lammy could hear Zayza humming an improvised cheery tune behind him. He couldn’t help but laugh to himself.

He began to wonder if he was remembering correctly, but soon enough, he saw the squished yellow fruit he had stepped on earlier.

“Interesting, I didn’t know bananas were out here, too,” Zayza commented.

Lammy stepped forward to re-enter Tailpiece. Time to get the scolding of my life, he thought.

That scolding never came. Lammy banged face-first into an invisible wall.

Oh no…he thought.

“What’s this?” Zayza asked from behind.

“No…no…no…” Lammy uttered to himself. He turned to face her, swallowing hard to conceal his panic. “Um…we might not be able to get into my village…” he explained shakily.

“Oh, dear. But you need to get home, right?”

“Yeah…” he quickly turned back around to make sure Zayza couldn’t see him freak out, and began pressing the wall in various places to find an opening.

“I suppose your town must not like me,” Zayza wondered.

“That’s not it.” Lammy began walking along the barrier, feeling for any break as he became more and more frantic. But the wall was endless. “I’m really sorry, Zayza. I swear my village is through here, but I don’t know how to get back…I’m lost…I’m…I guess I’m stranded like you…” he rambled, too embarrassed and scared to look at her.

There came no reply.

“I’m sorry for getting your hopes up…”

Still no response.

“Zayza?” Lammy finally turned around. He had assumed Zayza was following him this whole time, but she was nowhere in sight. Alarmed, Lammy hurried back to the squished banana.

The subject of his panic immediately changed.

Several trees away, Zayza stood stiff and timid. There was a glistening knife against her neck, held by a man who stood hunched over her. He covered her mouth with his other black-gloved hand.

The man had seemingly bad posture, yet a toned build. His spiky and disorderly pitch-black hair covered most of his face—all but one thin dark eye—and a gray bandana masked his mouth. He wore all black and his clothes were slightly ripped all over, but it was unclear if this was due to his stylistic preference or history of fighting. His thin boots seemed designed for silent but hasty movement.

The man noticed Lammy immediately and shot a disturbingly calm glare at him, tightening his hold on Zayza. Zayza’s eyes also met Lammy’s, and they were full of sheer terror and confusion. They all stood motionlessly, as if they were one with the still trees around them.

The whole woods felt tense with impending violence.

A twig cracked off to the side, causing Lammy’s ear to twitch. Another man entered from that spot: this one tall, very thin and well poised. His rather fashionable light blue jacket, matching outfit, and intricately styled pale blond hair indicated he clearly wasn’t dressed for combat or dirty work. His long face was stern and focused, and he carried himself as if he knew exactly what was coming next at every moment. He had not looked at Lammy yet, but somehow Lammy knew the man realized his presence.

“Zayza…it’s been a while, has it not?” the blonde man said. His voice sounded like a lullaby. “You’ll be coming with us now.”

“What of this boy?” the other man asked, gesturing to Lammy. His voice was even stranger: it was practically a whisper, if not for the rasp behind it.

The blonde man finally glanced at Lammy, and his cold eyes made Lammy want to cry. “Did you make a new friend, Zayza?” he asked quietly. “I hope you don’t mind us killing him. You can keep his head if that makes you feel better.”