It was as if the sun was beating into my eyes, the light was so bright. But it wasn't the sun. That light wasn't this white. No, the light that demanded my attention came from a different source.
It was not so much that I stood up from what I felt was laying down, but more of a feeling of being picked up and dusted off, much like a parent would a child. Hands, unseen, lifted from me once I was righted, hands which I did not know where there when I awoke. It took but a moment for those hands to clear, and the image extended from them into the man who they belonged to.
"So he awakes. I had begun to believe that you were going to follow your sister"
"Father?"
The man before me smiled, more of a patient one rather than any amusement. "Who did you think it to be? Am I not the one who created you?" He spread his hands, as if to encompass all that which was in and around him. "Did I not create all of this?"
"You did, Father, but why bring me here" What could possibly be of use for me here?"
"You still do not understand, do you, son. I created all this, but I placed its care in your hands. I created you from the logic of your brother and the love of your sister. You are what you are because of them, and are the better of them. Do not get me wrong, I would never choose you above the other two, for they are of me as well, but you hold both of them in you, the best of them in you. Because of that, you were given the task of looking after the Dream."
The look that passed over my face must have been interesting because the man before me chuckled and sighed. "Open your eyes, boy! Has not the world changed as you have" Has it not reacted to what you feel?"
"Yes, but the Isles have always been thus because I am tied to them, Father!" There was an almost whining tone that caught my voice. That didn't sound like me at all.
"Fool of a child, listen! The Isles are your creation, yes, and by that they would feel your moods, but it's more than that place that changes. I will not stand here and tell you what you should see. You are smarter than that and you know of what I speak."
I stood there, a moment, trying to deny once more what I already knew, and knew as well that it was futile. "Yes, Father, I know what you speak of. It is only' I do not want this burden alone any longer."
"It has and always will be yours alone. No amount of companionship will ever change that fact. You know that, so get this silly notion of love out of that thick skull of yours. Even now, while you lie there, others are looking for you, yes, but they are not looking for you because they are your true mate. They do it because they are your friends, and that is all they will ever be." The sneer in his voice only seemed to grow thicker as his lecture grew. "Even now, the one who you gave your bone to companions herself with another. The one who broke the dream stays with the one she was with. The one that was your wife still strays from you, choosing her own way rather than you. It is your lot' get use to it boy.?
