The Hundred And Twenty Ninth Dream Of The Waiting Prince

This morning I told my Lord of my dream of the night before. And I said to him, “My dear Lord, last night as you slept, I dreamt. And in this dream I was as old as the mothers of my mothers’ mothers. And I ran from room to room to search for someone with which to speak. But there were none to be found, no matter how many rooms I searched, no matter how many palaces I owned. For all the people of the Court were preoccupied with the worries of their duties, and had no time to spare for me.”

The Hundred And Twenty Eighth Dream Of The Waiting Prince

And this morning I spoke to my Lord of my dream of the night before. And to him I said, “My dear Lord, last night as you slept, I dreamt. And in this dream, I was surrounded by others, for it was the night of the Dance of the Risen Spirits. Yet I yearned in vain for solitude, for I did not feel in the mood for revelry. And I stepped through the halls of the Palace, in search of a window through which to gaze in thought. And I walked through the corridors of the Palace, in search of a corner in which to sit and contemplate. And I searched through the grounds of the Palace, in search of a shrine in which to meditate. And I searched through the cellars of the Palace, in search of a tomb in which to mourn. Yet no matter how far I searched, I found no solitude, for all the while I was pursued by the sound of my footsteps, by the sound of my own ragged breaths, by the unceasing clamour of my every thought.”

The Hundred And Twenty Seventh Dream Of The Waiting Prince

This morning I told my Lord of my most recent dream. And to him I said, “My dear Lord, last night as you slept, I dreamt. And in this dream, I sat within the carriage of a train, as it passed through the Plains Of Untold Memories, so as to reminisce upon some old joy, that though I felt in my mind, could not bring towards my heart. And it was only on waking this morning that I felt again its warmth.”

The Hundred And Twenty Sixth Dream Of The Waiting Prince

This morning I told my Lord of last night’s dream. And to him I said, “My dear Lord, last night as you slept, I dreamt. And in this dream I walked the Woods of the Sun of the Daily Sorrows, alongside my seventh daughter, who was very dear to me. And as we spoke together, she told me of last night’s dream. And to me she said, “My dear Mother, last night as you slept, I dreamt. And in this dream I walked the Woods of the Moon of the Nightly Sorrows, alongside my first brother, who was very dear to me. And to me he wept, and said not a word, and faded away, like last night’s dream. For when I awoke, I could not remember my brother at all, nor myself, nor you, nor your dream above.” And then to me she wept, and said not a word more, and faded away like last night’s dream. For when I awoke, I could not remember my seventh daughter at all, nor my dream of her, nor her dream of you, nor any dream of the night before, nor any dream of these nights since, the nights that have yet to come, but shall come, and keep coming, until the whole of our lives are behind us. Yet for now they are as unimaginable as all the heavens and all the hells that one day we shall enter, as surely as we shall sleep, as we shall dream.”

The Hundred And Twenty Fifth Dream Of The Waiting Prince

Now this morning to my Lord I recounted last night’s dream. And so to him I said, “My dear Lord, last night as you slept, I dreamt. And in this dream I moved about unseen in the dark. Yet by the billowing of the curtains around your bed did you see me. And in this dream I swam unseen in the depths of the sea. Yet by the bubbles on the surface did you see me. And in this dream I crawled unseen through the uncut grass. Yet by the sudden flight of nesting birds did you see me. And in this dream I lived unseen in the palace. Yet by the devotions of your servants did you see me. And in this dream I walked the corridors of your mind. Yet never there did I catch so much as a glimpse of me.”

The Hundred And Twenty Fourth Dream Of The Waiting Prince

Now this morning I spoke to my Lord of last night’s dream. And I said to him, “My dear Lord, last night as you slept, I dreamt. And I when I woke, it was as if from a bad dream, and I felt some great anxiety that I could not dispel. For it felt to me as if I had committed some great crime, yet what this crime was I did not know. And though the first of my sisters tried to comfort me, telling me I had done no wrong, and had nothing to regret, I went away feeling no less anxious than before. And so I went to bed, and tried to take comfort in the pleasures of sleep. And though I slept soundly, when I woke it was as if from a bad dream, and I felt some great anxiety that I could not dispel. For it felt to me as if I had committed some great crime, yet what this crime was I did not know. And though the second of my sisters tried to comfort me, telling me I had done no wrong, and had nothing to regret, I went away feeling no less anxious than before. And so I went to bed, and tried to take comfort in the pleasures of sleep. And though I slept soundly, when I woke it was as if from a bad dream, and I felt some great anxiety that I could not dispel. For it felt to me as if I had committed some great crime, yet what this crime was I did not know. And though the third of my sisters tried to comfort me, telling me I had done no wrong, and had nothing to regret, I went away feeling no less anxious than before. And so I went to bed, and tried to take comfort in the pleasures of sleep. And though I slept soundly, when I woke it was as if from a bad dream, and I felt some great anxiety that I could not dispel. For it felt to me as if I had committed some great crime, yet what this crime was I did not know. And though the fourth of my sisters tried to comfort me, telling me I had done no wrong, and had nothing to regret, I went away feeling no less anxious than before. And so I went to bed, and tried to take comfort in the pleasures of sleep. And though I slept soundly, when I woke it was as if from a bad dream, and I felt some great anxiety that I could not dispel. For it felt to me as if I had committed some great crime, yet what this crime was I did not know. And though the fifth of my sisters tried to comfort me, telling me I had done no wrong, and had nothing to regret, I went away feeling no less anxious than before. And so I went to bed, and tried to take comfort in the pleasures of sleep. And though I slept soundly, when I woke it was as if from a bad dream, and I felt some great anxiety that I could not dispel. For it felt to me as if I had committed some great crime, yet what this crime was I did not know. And though the sixth of my sisters tried to comfort me, telling me I had done no wrong, and had nothing to regret, I went away feeling no less anxious than before. And so I went to bed, and tried to take comfort in the pleasures of sleep. And though I slept soundly, when I woke it was as if from a bad dream, and I felt some great anxiety that I could not dispel. For it felt to me as if I had committed some great crime, yet what this crime was I did not know. And though the seventh of my sisters tried to comfort me, telling me I had done no wrong, and had nothing to regret, I went away feeling no less anxious than before. And so I went to bed, and tried to take comfort in the pleasures of sleep. And though I slept soundly, when I woke it was as if from a bad dream, and I felt some great anxiety that I could not dispel. For it felt to me as if I had committed some great crime, yet what this crime was I did not know. And though the first of my sisters tried to comfort me, telling me I had done no wrong, and had nothing to regret, I went away feeling no less anxious than before. And so I went to bed, and tried to take comfort in the pleasures of sleep.”

The Hundred And Twenty Third Dream Of The Waiting Prince

Now this morning I spoke to my Lord of my most recent dream. And I said to him, “My dear Lord, last night as you slept, I dreamt. And in this dream, I walked through the Burning City. And I followed a trail in the ash, made of glittering jewels. And the first had been scorched as black as grief, yet the second was as clear as fresh tears. The third was as gold as the sun, and the fourth as silver as the moon. The fifth was as green as the shoots of spring, while the sixth was as yellow as the sands of summer. The seventh was as blue as your unclosing eyes. The eight was as red as your freshly spilled blood. And beyond the eighth there lay jewels without number, without end. And these colours I did not yet know.”

The Hundred And Twenty Second Dream Of The Waiting Prince

Now this morning I recounted to my Lord my dream of the night before. And I said to him, “My dear Lord, last night as you slept, I dreamt. And in this dream I saw the birds flying in the sky. And in this dream I saw the birds fighting in the sky. And in this dream I saw the birds falling from the sky. And in this dream I rushed to them as they fell to the floor. And in this dream I gave to them my help. And in this dream I gave to them my love. And in this dream it was not enough, and they died there in my arms.”

The Hundred And Twenty First Dream Of The Waiting Prince

And this morning I told my Lord of my dream of the night before. And I said to him, “My dear Lord, last night as you slept, I dreamt. And in this dream I walked within a tunnel, and the further I walked, the lighter it became. And the lighter it became, the quicker my footsteps became. And the quicker my footsteps became, the happier my heart felt. And the happier my heart felt, the louder I began to sing. And the louder I sang, the closer I came to waking from the dream. And the closer I came to waking from the dream, the more I wondered whether I truly dreamt at all. And the more I wondered whether I truly dreamt at all, the more I remembered of my life outside the dream. And the more I remembered of my life outside the dream, the less clear the answers became to all the questions I had ever thought to ask.”