When Eyes are Closed

By J. N. Sadler

In our lifetime, we have all had at least one nightmare. We are lucky to waken from it, frightened, but consoled in knowing that it was only a dream. It is then dismissed, and we go about our day. Not so, in the lives of Rachel Quick and Poncho Helios Petros. They have a rare disease which is not narcoleps

• Language: English
• Publisher: Global Summit House
• Release date: Dec 4, 2020
• ISBN: 9781637325629

J. N. Sadler

Janet Sadler is a resident of Havertown, Pennsylvania. She has published two volumes of poetry with her illustrations: Headwinds and Full Sail and has been published in many small literary magazines. Once member of the Mad Poets Society in Media, PA, and also the Overbrook Poets in Philadelphia, she reads her poetry at local venues. She was the former poetry director at Tyme Gallery in Havertown, PA and at Baldwin’s Book Barn in West Chester, PA. She has authored thirty flash fictions novels. Twenty-seven titles have been published through Xlibris and can be found at Xlibris.com, under J. N. Sadler Author’s email address: [e-mail]

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When Eyes are Closed

An Abstract Fable

J.N Sadler

Copyright © J.N Sadler.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by reviewers, who may quote brief passages in a review.

ISBN: 978-1-63732-563-6 (Paperback Edition)

ISBN: 978-1-63732-564-3 (Hardcover Edition)

ISBN: 978-1-63732-562-9 (E-book Edition)

Some characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Book Ordering Information

Phone Number: 315 288-7939 ext. 1000 or 347-901-4920

Email: [e-mail]

Global Summit House

www.globalsummithouse.com

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 1

A young Mexican farmer was badly burned in a house fire that killed his Greek wife, Helena. He saved their infant son, Poncho Helios, from the flames. Now, Josef Armando Petros was a weary old man, from a long line of Hispanic farmers. He leaned against his doorway. His small home, hewn of local timber, weathered the winds and droughts of an arid stretch of land. There were no neighbors for miles. His livestock inventory was down to a donkey, an old mare, a few populating chickens, and two Billy goats. The cows died of old age. He could not afford to keep them, anyway. He dreamed of dying during a fiery sundown on a summer day; rising in a golden cloud, getting younger as he rose up to Heaven to meet his wife.

His twenty-year-old son, Poncho, had a sleeping disorder. He was healthy, and quite handsome, perhaps from accumulating so many hours of beauty sleep. To the rest of the world, he was worthless…better off dead. His condition would arrest his life in a short while, said people in the medical profession.

A fine-looking gentleman in his forties appeared to Poncho before he dozed off. I am Fitz Halloran, at your service. Dream after dream, I have seen you emerge from the mist and become vital to the lives of those who have also wakened in familiar dreams, in different lands. I am a guide. You may want me with you as you go deeper into your illusions.

Poncho looked at him, curiously. His eyes were non-blinking. His body lay in state, covers kicked off. His mind was elsewhere; his body reassembled itself magically when he ascended to the dream yard. Dark hair haloed his face. Cool marble was underfoot as he lightly climbed the stairway to a different world. Fitz assisted him to level ground. It was composed of shiny, soft blades of grass and was warm, compared to the coldness of stone and gave under the weight of his steps. He followed this attractive man, who was kind enough to show him where he would be going on this night, though it was daytime at his home. Winds blew. His hair whipped around his face, and his shirt billowed, not keeping him warm. His feet were cold, and his cheeks became chapped as he squinted against forceful gusts.

Fitz put a fur around his shoulders and bid him to sit on a bolder on the path that appeared before them. He bound wool cloths around his feet and tied them tightly around his ankles, with thongs of leather. To keep him warm, he tied a soft wool scarf around Poncho’s head. Fur mittens fit his hands and then Fitz became ghostlike, at his side. He thought, oh, no, please, don’t leave me here. I have never been in such a cold and foreign place.

Fitz took his hand and helped him to his feet. He came out of his trance and looked around. Snow frenzied in the air. Winds howled with a strange echo. There were gigantic trees, covered in ice. A pale sun shined in the distance.

Where are we? he asked.

A long way from Earth, Poncho. You will stay in a deep coma at home on this journey. Fitz’s body was only an outline; the rest of him became see-through.

I wish I could wake up. I worry about my father. He is very old and doesn’t have long to live. Life is getting difficult for him. No one else cares, but me. Sleep is where I live, day or night. I am called away. I can’t stay awake.

Even though you are slumber’s slave, it is important work that you’ve been called to do. Your father will die as all earth creatures do. You will not, because your work is so important. One of the others will waken as your double and carry on, assisting your father. You will have been cured magically since totally leaving the earth to be here on this frigid ball of ice in the Dawn Galaxy. You have traveled very far. You will meet a race of people that no one has ever encountered. They will accept you readily, knowing that you are a space journeyer from a planet they know nothing about. They are intelligent and gentle. I will watch over you. Don’t worry. I know them well. I am one of them.

Poncho stopped walking. Who will take over for me? How is this done and what about my father?

You will find out more as you explore this new world of yours. I will introduce you to Euro. He suffered from the same problem you have had your entire life, too. He now lives here, visiting Earth from time to time in dreams, when others go to sleep or nap. Several people can use your energy that causes you to sleep longer. You will achieve balance.

He nudged Poncho to get him moving on the pale blue trail of ice that widened into a road. Up ahead on that road was a bridge that crossed a deep ravine. In the distance, there was a large rectangular building made of ice. Lights lit the windows. There were dark silhouettes moving around inside it. He pointed to it. We are going there to mingle and rest. Someone else wants your energy. They are from another planet…another one that we do not know. I will introduce you to Euro first and then you will return to consciousness in your bed at home.

Will I retain this memory when I waken?

Maybe you will. You are gradually advancing to your goal. We will make it clear to you in future dream episodes. Soon, you will be able to determine where you are, what you are doing, and how to control the sequence of unfolding events.

How many people are there in this state of between-worlds? Why doesn’t anyone look into this on Earth as a growing epidemic?

"We have shields that prohibit the detection of this phenomenon. This is an advanced society that you have become a part of. You are just a novice. You do have an energy-partner. We control your actions. He stared hard into Poncho’s eyes. Poncho woke up and dutifully walked toward the kitchen, where his father was sleeping, head down on the table. Fitz vanished through the front door, into the searing heat of the desert. Poncho didn’t waken his father. He fixed himself lunch, ate it, and returned to his unmade bed.

Chapter 2

The sign on the door read, Dr. Micklos Nichta, Psychiatrist. Inside his office, his only patient, Miss Quick, was stretched out on his brown leather c ouch.

Rachel, when I count to three, you will come back to consciousness and remember where you have been and what you have seen. I will be with you. There is no need to be afraid.

Her eyes were closed. She clutched a tissue in one hand and seemed at ease while he spoke. She nodded. The doctor leaned forward in his chair and began his interrogation.

When was your first journey to this world beyond dream? The one where you are compelled to revisit and investigate a mystery…where you are chased by frightening dark demons? How long ago was your first remembrance? His pen was poised to write down her responses.

After a long moment, she answered, eyelids fluttering, but not opening. I was in high school, maybe younger. The dream was not as frequent as it is now. Omit this sentence. Now, it is almost always. It is as though I live there. Oh, no! I am in the alley between tall buildings. It is dark. I hear them coming…NO! NO! Rachel’s face became distorted in fear, and her arms and legs twitched, as though she might be running in a dream.

Nichta interjected, I am with you, Rachel. You are dreaming. I am there to protect you.

She became still, and her face became peaceful for a moment. She jerked into a sitting position; eyes still closed. NO! NO! I don’t know where it is, or what you want…I don’t have it. Let go of me!

The doctor said, 1, 2, 3 and snapped his fingers.

Rachel shook her head and woke up sobbing. She screamed. Take them away! Help me, doctor, I don’t know what they want. They said I took something from them, and they want it back. They mean to kill me next time I go to sleep. She grabbed the doctor’s lapels and pressed her face against his shoulder.

He let her cling to him for a few moments, then gently pushed her away. She wiped her eyes with her tissue. All color had drained from her face. She had dark circles under her eyes. What she had experienced was very real to her.

"You are safe now. You are awake, in the