The world of Dream is a place that we can only enter when we sleep. The dream dimension is where fairies live, and humans can visit when they’re sleeping. The world of dream is ruled by a good empress named Hilda, an immortal shape-shifting fairy in charge of all the fairies and actions that are in this dimension. When humans enter the  Dreamworld, fairies slide into the subconscious and act out their thoughts. World of Dream has places built from humans’ imagination that comes alive from their dreams. The humans dream it and the fairies build it. 

There are islands, mountains, kingdoms, oceans, caves, forests, deserts, icebergs, and jungles. Basically, anything that humans can dream is in dreamworld. It has things like monsters, dinosaurs, angels, aliens, kittens, puppies, birds, beavers, magical creatures, robots and more. It’s a place with infinite possibilities. 

 April, a young teenager, awoke from a dream with an anxious feeling. She passed the feeling off as first day school jitters. Flashes of her dream came back to her.  She shook her head and told herself it was just a silly dream. She was brushing her teeth, and her dream popped into her head once more; a silly dream of herself being naked at school and kids laughing at her. 

April’s family were in their usual chaotic behavior as their daily morning routine began. Norman, her youngest brother was playing with a toy car, pushing it back and forth on the table. Milo, Norman’s twin, was running around the house. Brock, the oldest of the boys, as usual could not find his sneakers.  However, nothing seemed usual to April.

April was in a panic. Nothing went well for her. She tripped on Milo’s toy and fell bruising her knee and breaking a nail. Now she couldn’t wear the perfect skirt she had picked out and her beautiful manicure is ruined.  Brock suddenly turned off the water heater while she was in the middle of her shower.  “I’m going to kill you Brock!” she shouted.  

April’s father Nick, quickly scolded them “That’s enough. You boys better be getting ready for school.”  

But they weren’t getting ready.  They were goofing around and having too much fun teasing April and playing video games. April’s mother Liz, reprimanded the boys “No video games before school or you will lose your Switch.”  

Just then smoke in the kitchen had set off the smoke detector and there is a screeching sound throughout the house. Grandma and Grandpa were making a special first day of school breakfast but it went horribly wrong. Looks like it would be toast and pop tarts for all. 

Liz shouts, “Let’s go boys! Time’s up.” Brock who’s starting fifth grade finally comes down and not far behind come the twins who are starting third grade.

At high school, April starts making friends in her chemistry class. She hangs out with a partner to work on a science project. April is chatting with her partner but she is distracted by her nightmare. She tries to think beautiful thoughts, but the dream was very intrusive.

April felt the long school day would never end but finally the school bell rang, ending the day. She hurried through the halls pushing  pass the slower kids to the outdoors. Once outside, she spotted her father’s car. Running to it, April jumped inside, and slumped in the seat. April’s father asked her, “How was your first day of school?” 

“It was odd. I couldn’t stop thinking about my dream,” April replied.

“What dream are you talking about?” asked her father. 

“It was a dream that I was naked at school and everyone was laughing at me.”        

“Naturally. What a funny dream. I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

April quipped, “I’m so glad you think it was funny,” as she turned up the radio. 

Dinner was a nightmare for April, not because of the usual crosstalk of ‘pass this’ or other table chatter, but because she just wanted to get to her room for some peace and quiet. She had a terrible headache and wasn’t hungry. 

“What’s wrong dear?” her Grandma asked.  

April replied, “My head is killing me! I didn’t sleep well last night.”

“I have just the thing for you, an herbal tea that will cure your headache and bring you sweet dreams.”

“Thanks Grandma. That sounds good to me.”

Grandma promptly made the tea for April who eagerly drank it down despite the strange taste and went straight upstairs to get ready for bed. As she was brushing her teeth, she started to feel lightheaded. It was like a wave washed over her. She could barely make it to her bed. She was out like a light and immediately transported to the mysterious Realm of Dream. April entered into the fairies Realm and began walking around. In this dreamworld, everyone she saw, said you are not supposed to be here. Maybe others were dreaming too and couldn’t wake up, thought April. There were tiny humans with wings flying everywhere. They could pick a person up and fly them anywhere in an instant. The streets and trees looked like the one’s April was familiar with, except the grass and trees were all blue.  The sky and clouds were a magical rainbow of colors while the sun shined green. The oceans were a  turquoise crystal clear color and April could see so many fish swimming in every direction. 

When April had first arrived, the fairies were shocked that April could see them at all. Several of the fairies flew her around to many places just to see if she could see them, and she could.  While flying with the fairies, April was amazed to see all the places, deserts, jungles, islands, volcanoes, and more, where all these fairies lived. She then met the dream catcher team. The dream catcher team consisted of Freddy Martin, Sasha Wilson, Skinney Denny, Max Lincoln, Sandra Robinson, and Cal Norman. They told April they would help relieve her anxiety and that the fairies who are responsible for her dream are Sassy Williams and Red Ramsey. First they said April would have to meet the Empress Hilda. They traveled through pinkish clouds and landed on top of a blue mountain where the Empress lived. April was speechless.

“What on dream world is going on?” asked Empress Hilda to April.  

April was in awe as she gazed at the most beautiful magical creature she had ever seen. Although she was enamored by her presence, she confidently pleaded her case. 

“I had a dream that I was naked at school that everyone was laughing at me and now I can’t think about anything else,” April said.

“That’s not what I am asking. How are you here at my castle?  Humans are not aware of our realm. They can only see what is occurring in their dreams.”

“This is a dream? I don’t know!”, April replied. “My grandma made me some tea to help me rest and feel better. I went to sleep and woke up here. Then I find out that some of your fairies are responsible for my misery. I want them to be punished, and I’d like to go back to being normal. How are you going to help?”

“Perhaps there’s some fairy dust to help you forget.”  Then Empress Hilda yelled, “This is unacceptable, bring me Sassy and Red who caused her to have this nightmare.  We must eliminate the tea before the humans wander in our realm.”

The fairies did as instructed but couldn’t find the tea. What they didn’t know was that it was a home brew made from Grandma’s garden. 

April woke up late the following morning feeling weird but didn’t remember her experience in the realm of dream or her nightmare of being naked at school. She rushed to get ready amongst the usual chaos of her brothers antics. 

“Let’s go April” shouted her Dad

“Coming, Dad.”

“Did you dream you were naked at school again?” he asked her.

April stared at him blankly, having no recollection of the dream. 

Hearing this, Brock immediately began teasing “Gross!  How many people did you blind?” Milo and Norman rolled around from laughing so hard. 

“Who was naked at school?” asked their Grandma.

“No one. Don’t listen to them. I don’t know what they’re talking about,” April replied. 

“Hi sweetheart. How are you feeling this morning?  Did the tea I gave you help you rest?” Grandma asked.

April didn’t remember drinking any tea but just smiled at Grandma and replied she felt fine. 

Meanwhile in the realm of dream, Empress Hilda scolded Sassy and Red for their mischievous deeds. She had given them kitchen cleanup for 4 weeks as a punishment.  This was especially unpleasant , as the fairies regularly enjoyed food fights. 

“Freddy you must find out what tea April’s grandmother gave her”, ordered the Empress.  “Our realm will be in chaos if the humans can see and interact with us. How will we do our work?  You must post a member of your team at the Johnson home until we uncover the mystery.”

“Yes Empress. You are wise to be cautious. I will send Cal Norman. He will surely find the tea.”

Cal was not happy to hear he was given this responsibility. 

Cal hated the human realm. He thought it so boring. Who will manage the sound effects? he thought. Sassy and Re…

He burst out laughing before he finished his thought. The last time one of them engineered the sound, the Lion in the dream meowed and Milo was so surprised he woke up in the middle of a terrific dream. It was a huge letdown. 

Cal prepared for his departure to the Johnson home. The journey to the human realm is peculiar.  A fairy can travel to earth by attaching themselves to one of their humans in their dreams. The process is a tricky one. First they must be miniaturized to the size of an action figure. Then they must construct a dream in which the human picks them up and holds them until they wake up. The team decided that Milo was the best candidate since he had the best imagination and loved role playing as a toy. 

At 9pm they put their plan into action. Since Milo frequently dreamed about toy adventures of superheroes, Cal dressed in armor, a cape, and an eye mask. 

Sassy teased him, “Oh! You look so cute in those tights.”

“Shut up!  It’s your fault I have to go to the human realm,” complained Cal.

The fairy team set the scene for Milo’s dream.  They used a metropolis landscape. Ugly aliens were cast as the villains, and set to reek havoc in the streets. Super Cal would play the hero, who will battle to save the city.  As planned Milo seizes Super Cal and thus ensued a battle to defeat the aliens. It was epic. The team had a great time, especially Cal who really took a liking to his role. 

A few hours later Milo was grasping Super Cal and sleeping safely in his bed. He was awakened by April, screaming.  Brock had let his pet tarantula loose in April’s room and she woke up with it crawling on her face. 

“Brock, you are dead meat!  Dad, you’ve got to do something about these wild boys.”

There was a loud thud, followed by a weird groan. Their Dad was showering and April’s screams startled him which caused him to slip. Their Mom ran in the bathroom finding her husband lying flat on his back. “Are you alright? Can you get up?” 

“Yeah, I think I need you to help me.” Nick held on to Liz as she helped him rise up, and dry off.

“What are we gonna do about the boys tormenting their sister?” he asked.

“They are young, they will out grow it,” she answered.

“They need stronger discipline,” he replied. With a determined expression he got dressed in his pajamas and robe, marched to the boys’ room, grabbed each one by an arm. “You three will apologize to your sister, then when you come home from school there will be no video  games, TV, or phone use. You will sit in a corner till I get home from work for one week,” he ordered.

However, their father could hardly walk. His back was injured from the fall in the shower.  Their Mom insisted that he call in sick from work and get some rest. He reluctantly agreed. 

The ride to school was tense. Mom was worried. The boys were brooding and April was still angry with her brothers antics.  Brock had the nerve to ask Mom do we still have to sit in the corner when we get home, since Dad wasn’t going to work today. 

“You boys better be on your best behavior or you will be begging to sit in the corner.”

At home, Dad struggled to get comfortable, but Grandma made him lunch and her special tea to help him rest. 

It’s nice having mom here to care for me, he thought.

“This is just what you need to feel better,” his mother said, handing him a cup of her tea.

  During all of the commotion, Cal was in the correct place at the perfect time. Since he knew Grandma had made the tea, he had made his way down stairs to the kitchen to find the right place to gather intelligence. He strategically hid behind the toaster next to the stove where any tea would be brewed.  Unfortunately, Grandpa was cleaning the kitchen and found his hiding spot. 

“These boys leave their toys everywhere!” he shouted as he tossed Cal on the floor. The family dog, Lucy immediately clenched Cal in her mouth and ran out the dog door to the back yard. Cal had become a chew toy and had drool and grass all over him. That was all the humiliation Cal could take, so he shape shifted into a butterfly and left poor Lucy dumbfounded.  

Cal heard Grandma talking to Lucy. ‘What’s wrong girl?  You look like you saw a ghost.” as Lucy ran whimpering into the house. 

Grandma had a small basket and was walking to the garden. There she picked several herbs. Cal flew into her basket and was careful to note each one so he could take a sample of each back to his home for analysis. 

“Are you making your famous sleepy time tea for our son, Nick?” asked Wallace. “It always fixes me up and delivers me straight to dreamland. You could put it to market and make us billionaires. When are you going to share your secret recipe?”

Grandma replied, “If I share it, then it wouldn’t be a secret. I’m keeping it to myself.  For now it will just be for our family. I’m still working on perfecting it.”

Cal shuddered at the thought of mass marketing the tea. He took samples of each herb and made mental notes of the quantities she used.  He knew Grandma was bringing it to April’s Dad, Nick and followed her upstairs so he could return home when he fell asleep. 

Cal followed Grandma upstairs with the herb samples he gathered and hid himself on the side of the headboard of the bed. He was amused at the conversation Nick was having with his mother. 

“How are you feeling son?”

Nick let out a groan. “Like I was hit by a truck.”

“I’m sad to see you in such a state. You haven’t looked this pitiful since that time you fell off your skateboard when you were trying to impress the girls on the block.”

“What do you mean trying?”

“I’ll hand it to you, they were lining up to visit you.  There wasn’t anything else that would fit on that cast.  As soon as one would leave, another showed up. I should have charged for admission”

Although his laughter caused discomfort, he was happy for the distraction and comfort from his mother. He happily ate his lunch and drank her potion which visibly brought him peace. As Grandma tiptoed out the door, wishing her son sweet dreams, Cal delicately landed in the palm of Nick’s hand so he could voyage back to the Realm of Dreams.

Once they arrived in Dreamland, Cal transformed back to himself and immediately headed to Empress Hilda to reveal his findings. He was startled to hear Nick call out to him. 

“Hey!  Where did you come from?  What is this strange place?”

Cal realized that since Nick had drank the tea, he could see the fairies. 

“Welcome to Dreamland. You won’t believe the story I’m going to tell you. Walk with me to Empress Hilda’s castle and I’ll tell you all about it.”

Cal recounted the series of events.  Indeed, Nick couldn’t believe his ears. First he thought he was in some crazy dream but he recalled April telling him about her ‘naked at school dream’ and then somehow, she seemed to forget all about it. 

“Are you going to erase my memory of this too?”

“Probably”, replied Cal.

“What if I can help you?  My mother has been making this tea my whole life and I never had an experience like this until now.  She has always experimented with recipes. She must have added something that has created this awareness.  One time she added something to her meatloaf recipe that gave us hiccups for three days. It was miserable!”

This made Cal laugh.  “Your mother is certainly interesting.  I brought samples of all the herbs she used, so we should be able to determine the cause.”

Nick asked, “How will you know?  Won’t you have to test it on a human?  Perhaps you will need my help.”

“That will be up to Empress Hilda who likely will not be pleased to see you.”

On the way to the castle they encountered the other members of his dream catcher team. The team was excited to meet Nick, who was a favorite because he frequently dreamed of exploration. Some of the most famous places in dreamland were created from his dreams, particularly the cave of gems. Nick was surprised by his celebrity status and truly enjoyed the attention. 

Freddy patted Cal on his back for a job well done. “Great work retrieving the herbs buddy. Empress Hilda will surely be impressed.”

“I sure hope so.  What do you think she will say when she sees our guest?”

“Looks like we won’t have to wait that long. I see her sparkling wings heading our way.”

Nick was unaware of her approach. He hadn’t noticed that the team had stopped walking and stood still in attention. He was startled by her sudden appearance and even more surprised by her harsh tone. 

“Who is this?  This is not what I had in mind when I sent you to earth Mr. Norman.”

“Hello Empress Hilda.  My name is Nick Johnson.  It is an honor to meet you.  I believe you know my daughter April.”

“Yes Mr. Johnson. At least you have better manners than your daughter.  Apparently you have drank the wretched tea that threatens our realm.”

“The dream catcher team has informed me of your predicament. I’m afraid my mother is responsible for this.  She is somewhat eccentric and likes to experiment with her recipes.  She thinks she can cure any ailment from her garden.”

Cal interjected, “I brought you all the herbs she used to make the tea.  We must destroy the ingredient responsible. During my reconnaissance mission I overheard Nick’s parents discussing mass marketing this tea.”

Nick burst out in laughter.  “My father is always telling my mother she can make us rich with her secret recipes. No matter how good her creations are, it will never happen. Although her tea is very comforting.”

“That’s it!” Empress Hilda said. “We cannot take any chances. We must eliminate any possibility that this tea will be readily available for consumption. I don’t care what it takes!”

Nick was alarmed by these words. “What do you mean?  Surely you wouldn’t hurt an old lady?”

“I’m certainly not in the business of harming any human!  Our realm and indeed our purpose exists symbiotically with your human realm.  We must identify the culprit of ingredients and use our magic to modify it’s properties.”

Nick was visibly relieved. “I will happily help in this endeavor, whatever it takes to keep everyone safe.”

Empress Hilda contemplated their course of action and accepted Nick’s offer to assist. She insisted he swear an oath of secrecy.  After the very formal oath ceremony, Nick was told to readily stand by for further instruction. 

When Nick awoke in his bed, he felt like he had been transported to another world. It was like no other dream he had experienced but logic kept him from believing it was anything other than a dream intensified by the tea made by his mother. 

Hearing the familiar sounds of his family, Nick went downstairs to greet them. He was surprised how much time had passed while he was sleeping. 

“How are you feeling honey?” asked Tammy. “I hope you had a good rest.”

The boys quickly quieted down and proceeded to sit in the corner looking quite pitiful. Apologies and pleas of mercy echoed from the mouths of the brothers.  

Wallace interjected, “Time for supper!  Grandma has been busy all day making a feast for us to enjoy.”

The boys immediately sprinted to the table and the rest of the family eagerly followed. 

“This looks and smells amazing!  Thanks Mom”, exclaimed Tammy. 

A chorus of “Thanks Grandma,” reverberated around the table as the Johnson family thoroughly enjoyed the lavish dinner.  What they didn’t realize was that Liz had used the culprit herb on the roast and in the middle of dessert a round of yawns erupted. 

Nick firmly instructed the kids to complete their homework and for Liz and Wallace to rest while he and Tammy clean up the kitchen. Without any fuss they obeyed and soon later everyone was keen on putting on their pj’s and calling it an early night.  

Empress Hilda, with her newfound knowledge of the tea’s potential to disrupt the balance between the human and dream realms, faced a difficult decision. She knew that destroying the tea’s recipe would mean eliminating a beloved family tradition, but the risk of human exposure to the dream realm was too great.

After much deliberation, Hilda decided on a compromise. She would ensure that the tea’s recipe remained a secret within the Johnson family, but she would also place a protective spell on the tea to prevent anyone from accidentally ingesting it and entering the dream realm.

From that day forward, the Johnson family’s tea remained a cherished tradition, passed down through generations. However, the secret of its magical properties remained known only to the dream catchers and the Empress Hilda, ensuring that the delicate balance between the two worlds was preserved.

As for April, she continued to have dreams, but they were no longer filled with anxiety or fear. The experience of visiting the dream realm had opened her eyes to a whole new world, and she carried a newfound sense of wonder and appreciation for the power of dreams.