sleep demon

there was once a land where the most expensive commodity was sleep: seconds of it, minutes of it, hours of it. sleep was contained in a silvery pouch, a golden crescent embroidered on the fabric. sleep was the most precious product of all, more valuable than jewels and more -- than love, for what better comfort is there than to fall asleep in your loved one's arms? the rich could afford to sleep for days, while the poor saved up for a few precious moments of sleep-time.

but why was sleep so important to this land? it was a land of hard workers, people who worked so hard they went on endlessly for days and weeks and months without so much as closing their eyes. years before the king had bargained with the demonlords below to help make his kingdom prosperous; the demonlord wanted the collective sleep of the kingdom in return to become some sort of drug for his captives. he populated their dreams with his own inventions, and it amused him to see his captives struggle in their sleep as though falling, as though being cut in two, as though falling in love and living a happy life. he gave them sleep sparingly, just enough to whet their imagination only to plunge them deeper into depression and restlessness.

the rest he smuggled into the kingdom in discreet quantities. it was a successful business because he was clever and made sure the king would not find out. at the same time he was providing some relief to the weary souls whose bodies were on the verge of collapse but could not find release.

one day, in his dealings, he encountered a gnarled old woman and a beautiful child of six in tow. the woman emptied out her pockets and begged him to allow her child a minute or so of sleep. disgusted, he threw her small coins on the ground and was prepared to leave when the old woman cried, "please show some kindness... the child is blind!"

he pulled her aside roughly. "blind?" he laughed. "then very well, i will give you what you want." he answered smoothly. "i want to see if blind people can be able to see things in their dreams!" he laughed loudly, and handed the woman an expensive looking pouch.

"but on one condition." the woman shrank back. "i want to have the child for a few days."

the woman wailed and sank on her knees before him, but he would not be appeased. he took the pouch from the woman and opened her mouth so that she could breathe in sleep. the woman fell alseep, sprawled on the ground, while the blind child tugged at his hand. "let's play," she insisted.

"what sort of game do you want?" the puzzled demon asked her. but the child did not answer, and only tugged at a scaly claw forcing the demon to instinctively arch his back, poised in flight. and fly they did, the child laughing and shouting, her hands trying to touch the air. "you can't catch the air," the demon told her.

"of course i can catch it!" the the girl protested. "the air is in the form of a puppy dog that likes to play and play for hours. you just need to be patient, and the dog will come and play with you." the demon looked up, and the child smiled. "i know you find it hard to believe me, but it's true. just because i'm blind it doesn't mean i can't see things too."the child held his hand trustingly. "little girl, you doth trust too much. for all you know i could be a demon, ugly and fearsome." the child answered, "if you are a demon, then you must be the kindest one i have ever met."

"tell me about your home," the child commanded.

"well, my world is soft and comforting because it is made up of sleep. do you know what sleep is? it is closing your eyes and sinking into the comfort of darkness, moving in a world full of dreams and visions. then when you wake, you will remember nothing or very little - that is the best sleep of all, the sleep of forgetting. but if your slumber isn't so peaceful, you have dreams but remember them, good or bad.."

"that sounds like a very nice home indeed," the child said, very pleased. "i want to see it sometime."

"but you will see me what i'm really like, and you might be afraid of me or hate me for being ugly and evil."

"i don't think you're evil," the child said. "i think you think too lowly of yourself."


- to be continued -