iris

Even as it melted and crumbled bit by bit, you never chose to leave.

But somehow, you forgot the most important thing.

What... What did I forget?

*sigh*... What a stubborn, blind grown-up you are.

No wonder nobody of age has found their way to the Castle of Dreams in so long.

Do you have on you, right now, the item you left with the Castle?

Eh? Oh, oh, oh.

The children hid inside their home, but with a single puff, the terrible beast blew off their roof.

The children panicked and ran outside, but with a single tap, the ferocious beast destroyed the last things they had.

With nowhere left to go, the children followed a trail of breadcrumbs, and in the forest they found a candy house.

That candy house you built for them was as sturdy as a castle.

And that is a fairytale ending.

Mhm.

But what kind of ending is it, really, to have nothing aside from a castle?

The evil witch may well gobble up everyone within.

The tyrant king would soon make slaves of them all.

What really matters is what stories take place inside the castle.

What did you write on the first page?

'One day, I will make everyone read the fairytales that I write.'

Yes, fairytales.

We see to it that wonderful, hopeful fairytales take place, inside those tiniest castles in the depths of every child's heart.

We use the castle to keep them safe and sound, to protect them.

Don't we?

And yet all I gave them was fear.

I'd forgotten the fairytales I wrote myself.

But you still believe.

How else would Bena and I be here?

And of course, it isn't just for your sake.

It's for Jurian's, too.

Blue... Iris. Blue is called Iris.

A fairy, right?

Are... you really real?

Indeed I am.

'Where am I?'

So thought Jurian as he woke up in the forest. He remembered how if he followed the forest trail, he would find the way to the Castle of Dreams.

Jurian walked and walked, until he found a teapot with no lid.

It was the talkative Audrey.

'Jurian, Jurian! You've got to hear this, yesterday, I saw a manglerbeast in the forest burying honey in the ground.'

'And then! And then!'

'And then he walked around and around, and around and around, waiting for the honey to grow, hahahaha!'

Jurian and Audrey walked and walked, until they found a necklace inlaid with jewels.

It was the tempersome Ronnie.

'Hmph! I was waiting forever for you.'

'Are you thick, Jurian? Manglers don't bury honey, they wouldn't do that.'

Jurian and Audrey and Ronnie walked and walked, until they found a faded building block.

It was the faithful playmate Peewee.

'Come on, come on!'

'We're almost to the Castle of Dreams!'

Jurian and Audrey and Ronnie and Peewee walked and walked.

Until a path in the forest opened up before them.

There, the castle, every bit as dreamlike as its name, opened its grand gate wide.

Out before them came but a fairy dressed in blue, who gave an elegant greeting.

'Welcome to the Castle of Dreams.'

'I am Iris, Master of the Castle of Dreams, Keeper of the Cradle.'

I've had a talk with Granny. Jurian will be staying at the Castle of Dreams.

He'll greet and guide every child lucky enough to pay the Castle a visit.

Thank you. Really, I don't know how to thank you enough. That you'd do all this for Jurian.

You needn't thank us.

It's the fairytale ending children ought to have.

Mm, mhm.

I've sold off the manor and the rest of my belongings, and found a new place in the city, and a new job.

I'll be working with orphanages for as long as I live.

I'll see that every child hears my fairytales.

Once something is returned from the Castle of Dreams, the time magic loses its effect.

You'll have to take care of your fairytale collection yourself from now on.

I will.

Then I believe Jurian, and the rest of the children, will very much look forward to the day they can hear of the fairytales you write.