In Dreams

Below are three characters from Brilig & the Dreamsea drawn by manga-ka Binah Moon.





Brilig lay in the darkness of his room and listened. An irregularity in the night sounds of the house drew him from his bed and into the long hall that led to his father’s room, where softer snores intermingled with Togrove’s familiar ones. Brilig halted his advance when he realized his father must have found company for the night.

He half turned to re-enter his room but froze when the figures emerged. Togrove came first, a milky ghost slipping through the outer wall. This, Brilig realized, was his father’s dreamself, heading towards the dreamcove.

The second figure, the dreamself of Mrs. Horlig, the blacksmith’s wife, lingered in the hall. Her eyes had a faraway quality and she seemed unaware of her lack of clothing. Brilig painted her with the colors of his memories. She had shoulder-length red hair and a plump body with very large breasts--a common feature in all of Togrove’s companions. She slipped through the wall and Brilig moved to the window, which offered an ideal view of the sleepy town.

Dreamselves rose from thatched roofs and smoking chimneys. The ritual must have occurred every night but had, until this night, gone unseen. The dreamselves moved quickly, emerging from the small houses and flying immediately towards the shore. Some of the nearer figures, Brilig saw, maintained sleep-like poses as they flew, curled up or lying flat on their backs.

When the last of the figures vanished, Brilig drew the shutters against the cold night. The rhythmic breathing still filled the house, signifying that the adults had departed in spirit only.

Brilig crawled back into bed and tried to steady the rapid rise and fall of his chest. He pulled the covers over his head and played the strange images over and over in the theater of his mind...

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