“Stop that at once,” said Grayson. “You’re making my flesh creep. Oh, hi, Henry. Have you ever dreamed of a dream in a dream?”
As usual, Henry had approached without a sound. I’d have liked a little longer to prepare myself to look at him casually. All things considered, my effort might not be entirely perfect, but it was a good shot. Anyway, I was glad that the new nightgown looked so good. Even if I felt a little overdressed in it.
“Everything okay here?” asked Henry.
“We’ve only just arrived,” Grayson told him.
Henry got down on the floor with us. “Have you checked that the air’s clear in Mia’s dream?”
“Er … no. What do you mean?” Grayson looked at him in confusion.
Henry sighed and stood up again. “I mean, someone could have walked into the dream before you arrived.” He was making for the door. “I’ll take a quick look.”
“Wait!” I cried, jumping up myself. “You can’t just walk in like that. It’s Mia’s dream—and you don’t have anything of hers. Besides, I’m sure she wouldn’t want you to.”
Henry let go of the door handle. “But how else are we to find out if there’s anyone in there?”
“We could simply wait,” suggested Grayson. “An intruder would have to come out again sometime, and then we’d catch him.”
Henry frowned. “Anyone in there is probably too clever to be caught in the doorway like that. And it could be too late by then.”
Deep down inside, I felt that he was right, but an obstinate part of me wouldn’t admit it. “I mean, seriously, she could simply be having vivid dreams, and if she were sleepwalking, I’d be awake by now. We’ve been tying our ankles together with a jump rope.”
Henry, who had been avoiding my gaze, suddenly looked at me. The corners of his mouth turned up, and a very familiar glint came into his eyes. “With a jump rope?” he asked, amused. “You know, Liv, sometimes I really miss—” He broke off and bit his lower lip. “Maybe it would be best if you go in on your own and make sure she’s all right.” He cleared his throat. “If she is, you can come and tell us. If not—”
“Then I’ll come and tell you too,” I said. My heart was beating a little faster, not so much because of Mia’s dream as because I would have loved to know what exactly Henry sometimes missed. But I could hardly ask him that. Not in front of Grayson.
I turned to the door and cautiously pushed the handle down. It wasn’t locked. And there was no one guarding it, not even Mom. I didn’t understand Mia’s unconscious mind—surely she must sense danger looming ahead.
“See you soon,” said Henry. “And, Liv…”
I looked over my shoulder.
“Be careful. If only because of the new nightgown. Which really suits you.”
I managed not to smile, closed the door from inside, and looked around me. I was in a cottage garden, and it was summer. Mia’s door fitted perfectly into the cottage itself. The picket fence had blue sweet peas climbing over it, while marigolds and herbs bordered a little garden path that led to a large orchard of fruit trees. Beyond the fence, sheep were grazing in the sun. It was an idyllic scene. I was glad to think that Mia had such lovely dreams. I heard her laughing somewhere, and I was about to run over and reassure myself that all was well, but for safety’s sake, I turned into a dragonfly in case some intruder really had slipped in. Although the dragonfly reminded me painfully of B’s dream, it made me small enough not to attract attention, but large enough to avoid being snapped up and eaten by one of the many birds twittering for all they were worth in this garden. I flew cautiously along a washing line with picturesque white laundry pegged out to dry, and came to an apple tree with a large swing hanging from it. The kind of swing we’d always dreamed of having.
Mia was sitting on its wide seat. And beside her—so was I.
For some reason, I was wearing the smoky blue ball gown I’d worn to the Frognal Academy Autumn Ball, and I must say it really suited me. In fact, Mia and I made a pleasant sight, sitting side by side on the swing, laughing. I settled on a leaf and watched us, feeling touched.
“If you had to make a list of the most embarrassing moments in my life, what would you put first?” asked Dream-Liv.
“That’s difficult,” said Mia. “There are so many of them.”
That made us both giggle, and I tossed my hair back over my shoulders. Feeling slightly ashamed of myself, I noticed—or the dragonfly-me noticed—how silly that looked.
“Well, I guess top of the list would be that time in Hyderabad when you suddenly wet yourself on the bus.” Mia dangled her legs. “You wrapped a beach towel around you so that no one would notice.…”