Dreaming in Digital

Being a member of a party planning company, I was surrounded by dwarves from high fantasy stories. The stout and stocky built dwarves that grow to about four feet, and burly with wide shoulders. As the lead planner laid out the plans for a rich client's young son's (six to nine year) birthday party by a tall, three tiered red velvet cake still being iced, he told his second in command how he'd asked the child what he wanted for entertainment, to which the child demanded a large swimming pool and something else I can't recall, but the planner told him it wasn't possible. When night fell, everyone involved in the party plans gathered at a picnic table outdoor. The area was lit up by candles and the dwarves occupied the bench with beer in their hands. Each one of us was going to supervise a station for the child's birthday, and I suggested seven dwarves for seven stations; I was also going to run a station too.

The next day, I arrived at the party early as dawn arose and everyone was gathered in the hallway of my old apartment building with what they needed for each station. I had musical instruments for mine, with my recorder from grade five, to entertain myself in case children didn't want to play in my station, and a green, plastic tambourine, along with a few others. When we arrived at the location, one dwarf didn't like the set up of flat roads and grass and took apart the land as if the place was built with Lego or more accurately, Minecraft blocks. After a while he called us all he was done, and it looked magnificent and defied gravity. There were winding, white cobblestone roads that reached to the sky and was supported by nothing underneath. Every few metres were wide sidewalks for everyone to set up on. I picked a sidewalk, set a picnic blanket on the floor and laid out each instrument. As no children came to play, I fell asleep.

I woke up on a soft layer of grass. Not getting up, I recalled where I was and remembered the party, but I wasn't panicked that I fell asleep. Relaxed, I raised the green tambourine to the sun, its round shape parallel to the sun's glowing sides and laid it down when I heard someone call for me and came. A girl of seventeen with pastel green hair approached with a big smile, and I realized I'd slept for years. She wore a pink dress, accented with black and white, wristbands on her arms and a labelless baseball cap on her head. I asked if I'd fallen asleep and she giggled and nodded and said it was fine. I fiddled with my recorder, playing 'Shepard's Flute' from Lineage II as she said children didn't come to my station because I slept. She told me to follow so I left the instruments and held her hand through the grassy field and other stations. We stopped at the foot of a few steps leading to a platform. There were three thrones on top, and in the middle one sat a young man with the same hair and bright smile as hers. He wore a gold crown atop his head and black clothing with a sheathed sword on his belt. She ran up the stairs to her brother, who rose out of his throne to hug her and warmly welcomed me with one as well. I was close friends with these two, but closer friends with the brother rather than his sister. She soon left us and the king walked with me, watching the children play about at his birthday party.