**Episode Seventy**
**THE DREAM THAT DREAMED YOU**
**Part Eleven: THE WORLD BEHIND THE EYES**
---
The jungle...
opened its eyes.
Not metaphorically.
Not symbolically.
Literally.
The trees...
blinked.
The sky...
breathed.
The ground...
pulsed beneath their feet.
And somewhere...
deep inside the darkness...
something laughed.
Tarzan stood frozen.
Banana raised.
Across from him...
stood the black-eyed version of himself.
Same face.
Same body.
Same hair.
Same ridiculous confidence.
Except...
the eyes.
Completely black.
No pupils.
No reflection.
No humanity.
Tarzan slowly lowered his banana.
"...I DON'T LIKE HIM."
Milo stared.
"That's you."
Tarzan pointed at the figure.
"NO."
Then pointed at himself.
"ME."
Then at the black-eyed Tarzan.
"BAD ME."
Diana whispered...
"I think that's an understatement."
The black-eyed Tarzan smiled.
Then...
it spoke again.
In Milo's voice.
"Run."
Nobody moved.
The girl watched them.
Almost...
patiently.
Milo swallowed.
"Why did it tell us to run?"
The girl smiled.
"Because it's already too late."
The jungle...
laughed.
1. THE RUNNING WORLD
Milo grabbed Diana's arm.
"RUN!"
Everyone moved.
Tarzan first.
Naturally.
He sprinted through the trees.
Gandalf followed.
Arjun.
The Keeper.
The Walker.
Diana.
Milo.
The girl...
simply walked.
Behind them...
the black-eyed Tarzan...
didn't run.
It walked.
One step.
THUMP.
Another.
THUMP.
Another.
THUMP.
But somehow...
it remained exactly the same distance behind them.
Milo looked back.
"IT'S NOT CHASING US!"
Diana shouted...
"Then why is it still there?"
"I DON'T KNOW!"
Tarzan suddenly stopped.
Everyone crashed into him.
Milo fell into a bush.
"WHY DID YOU STOP?"
Tarzan pointed ahead.
The jungle ended.
Beyond it...
was another jungle.
Exactly the same.
Milo stared.
"We're back where we started."
The Keeper shook his head.
"No."
"What?"
"This isn't where we started."
Milo looked around.
Same trees.
Same stones.
Same river.
Same sky.
But something...
was wrong.
Diana noticed it first.
"The moon."
Everyone looked upward.
There were...
three moons.
Gandalf slowly lowered his staff.
"That is concerning."
Tarzan looked up.
"THREE MOONS."
He thought.
Then...
"DOES THAT MEAN THREE BANANAS?"
Nobody answered.
The black-eyed Tarzan...
laughed.
2. THE WORLD THAT COPIES
The girl stepped forward.
"Welcome."
Milo stared at her.
"Welcome where?"
She pointed toward the jungle.
"Inside the copy."
Milo frowned.
"Copy of what?"
"Your world."
Diana looked around.
"Everything looks real."
The girl nodded.
"That's why copies are dangerous."
The Walker touched a tree.
His fingers passed through it.
He pulled his hand back.
"Not real."
Milo approached.
The tree looked solid.
He touched it.
Solid.
Warm.
Wet from rain.
He frowned.
"It feels real."
The girl smiled.
"Dreams don't need to be fake."
Milo looked at her.
"They only need to be believed."
The girl nodded.
"Exactly."
Arjun stared at the three moons.
"Then what makes this world different?"
The girl pointed toward Tarzan.
"This world knows him."
Tarzan blinked.
"ME?"
The trees...
began whispering.
"Tarzan..."
"Tarzan..."
"Tarzan..."
"Tarzan..."
Tarzan looked around.
"WHY DOES EVERY TREE KNOW MY NAME?"
Milo whispered...
"Because you're the center of the dream."
Tarzan looked horrified.
"THAT'S WORSE THAN BEING THE CENTER OF ATTENTION."
3. THE FIRST COPY
A sound came from the river.
Splash.
Everyone turned.
Something stepped out.
It was...
Milo.
Everyone froze.
The copy of Milo adjusted its glasses.
"Hello."
Milo stared.
"...No."
The copy smiled.
"That's rude."
Diana stepped between them.
"Who are you?"
The copy answered...
"I'm Milo."
Milo pointed at himself.
"No."
The copy pointed at him.
"Yes."
Milo shook his head.
"I'm the real one."
The copy smiled.
"How do you know?"
Silence.
Milo stopped.
The copy stepped closer.
"That's the problem."
Milo looked at the girl.
She wasn't smiling anymore.
"Copies don't believe they're copies."
The Keeper whispered...
"Then how do we know which one is real?"
The girl answered...
"You don't."
Another figure stepped from the trees.
Diana.
Then...
Arjun.
Then...
Gandalf.
Then...
The Keeper.
Then...
The Walker.
One by one...
copies emerged.
Each looked perfect.
Each breathed.
Each remembered.
Each believed...
they were real.
Tarzan looked around.
Then whispered...
"I THINK I WANT TO GO HOME."
Milo looked at him.
"Which home?"
Tarzan froze.
"...OH."
4. THE MEMORY TEST
The original Milo stepped forward.
"Fine."
He looked at his copy.
"If you're me..."
He paused.
"...what was the first thing I said when I met Tarzan?"
The copy smiled.
"HELLO."
Milo frowned.
"No."
The copy blinked.
"That's not what you said?"
Milo shook his head.
"No."
The copy looked confused.
"What did you say?"
Milo smiled.
"I don't remember."
Everyone stared at him.
Diana whispered...
"Then that test proves nothing."
Milo nodded.
"Exactly."
The copy smiled.
"You're learning."
Milo's smile disappeared.
"Learning what?"
"That memory isn't proof."
The girl nodded.
"Memories can be copied."
The Keeper stepped forward.
"Then what cannot be copied?"
Nobody answered.
The Walker looked at the black-eyed Tarzan.
"Choice."
The black-eyed Tarzan stopped smiling.
5. THE CHOICE OF THE COPIES
Milo looked around.
"Everyone..."
He pointed at the copies.
"Don't move."
The copies stopped.
"Now..."
He pointed at the river.
"Walk into the water."
The original travelers...
didn't move.
The copies...
didn't move.
Milo waited.
Nothing happened.
He frowned.
"Why aren't they moving?"
The girl whispered...
"Because they are waiting for your decision."
Milo stared.
"Why?"
"Because copies don't create choices."
Diana understood.
"They reproduce them."
Milo looked toward the copies.
"Then..."
He slowly raised his hand.
"Everyone..."
He pointed in different directions.
"Do something unexpected."
The originals moved.
Diana sat down.
Arjun laughed.
Gandalf turned around.
The Keeper closed his eyes.
The Walker walked backward.
Tarzan...
threw his banana into the river.
Everyone stared.
Tarzan shrugged.
"I CAN GET ANOTHER."
The copies...
remained frozen.
One by one...
they began disappearing.
Milo smiled.
"We found the difference."
The girl shook her head.
"No."
Milo looked at her.
"What?"
"You found one difference."
The jungle suddenly went silent.
The girl looked behind them.
"There are more."
6. THE THOUSAND TARZANS
The trees...
began moving.
Branches parted.
Hundreds of figures stepped forward.
Tarzan.
Tarzan.
Tarzan.
Tarzan.
Tarzan.
Every one of them...
different.
One was old.
One was young.
One was angry.
One was laughing.
One was crying.
One was wearing a crown.
One carried a sword.
One wore a scientist's coat.
One had wings.
One was made of stone.
One was made of light.
One...
was only a shadow.
Tarzan stared.
"...WHY ARE THERE SO MANY ME?"
Milo whispered...
"Different possibilities."
Tarzan looked at one wearing a crown.
"THAT ONE LOOKS IMPORTANT."
The crowned Tarzan nodded.
"I ruled a universe."
Tarzan pointed at another.
"What about him?"
The stone Tarzan answered...
"I became a mountain."
Another Tarzan raised a hand.
"I became a god."
Another whispered...
"I became nothing."
Tarzan looked disturbed.
Then he noticed one tiny Tarzan...
sitting beneath a tree.
Eating a banana.
Tarzan smiled.
"THAT ONE IS CLEARLY THE SMARTEST."
Milo sighed.
7. THE TARZAN THAT NEVER LAUGHED
The black-eyed Tarzan finally stepped forward.
All the other Tarzans...
disappeared.
Only two remained.
Tarzan.
And...
him.
The black-eyed Tarzan looked at the banana in Tarzan's hand.
"You still don't understand."
Tarzan frowned.
"UNDERSTAND WHAT?"
"You think you're fighting me."
Tarzan raised his banana.
"I AM."
"No."
The black-eyed Tarzan pointed at Milo.
"You're fighting him."
Everyone turned toward Milo.
Milo froze.
"Me?"
The black-eyed Tarzan nodded.
"You created the question."
Milo shook his head.
"No."
"You questioned the dream."
"Yes."
"You questioned the Dreamer."
"Yes."
"You questioned reality."
Milo swallowed.
"And?"
The black-eyed Tarzan smiled.
"You never questioned yourself."
Silence.
Milo stared at his own hands.
"What does that mean?"
The black-eyed Tarzan stepped closer.
"You assume you're awake."
The heartbeat returned.
THUMP.
Milo looked around.
THUMP.
The jungle darkened.
THUMP.
His vision blurred.
8. MILO'S DREAM
Milo opened his eyes.
He was...
home.
His laboratory.
Everything was normal.
Computers.
Machines.
Books.
Coffee.
The temporal displacement engine.
Milo stared at it.
"No."
A voice behind him...
"What's wrong?"
He turned.
Diana.
She smiled.
"You made it back."
Milo stared at her.
"How?"
She laughed.
"You saved everyone."
Milo looked around.
No Tarzan.
No Gandalf.
No Arjun.
No Keeper.
No Walker.
No girl.
Only Diana.
"Where is everyone?"
Diana looked confused.
"Everyone?"
Milo stepped backward.
"This isn't real."
Diana smiled.
"You always say that."
Milo looked at the temporal engine.
Its screen displayed:
DREAM STABILITY: 100%
Milo's face went pale.
"Who activated it?"
Diana didn't answer.
The machine began humming.
Milo walked toward the console.
Another message appeared.
SUBJECT: MILO FINCH
Then:
DREAMER: CONFIRMED
Milo stepped back.
"No."
Diana smiled.
"Why are you afraid?"
Milo looked at her.
"Because..."
The laboratory walls began fading.
"...I don't remember entering this dream."
Diana's smile disappeared.
"Neither do I."
9. THE DREAMER'S LABORATORY
The walls...
collapsed.
Behind them...
was darkness.
Milo stood alone.
Except...
he wasn't alone.
Thousands of versions of himself...
stood around him.
Scientist Milo.
Old Milo.
Child Milo.
Evil Milo.
Happy Milo.
Broken Milo.
Milo with wings.
Milo without a face.
Milo made of shadows.
All staring.
All silent.
One stepped forward.
"Which one are you?"
Milo looked at him.
"The real one."
The other Milo smiled.
"That's what we all say."
Milo clenched his fists.
"What do you want?"
"We want you to wake up."
Milo looked around.
"From what?"
The other Milo pointed upward.
"Your life."
Milo froze.
"What?"
"You've been dreaming."
Milo shook his head.
"No."
The other Milo smiled.
"You dreamed the jungle."
"No."
"You dreamed Tarzan."
"No."
"You dreamed the Keeper."
"No."
"You dreamed the Walker."
"No."
"You dreamed the Dreamer."
Milo stopped.
The other Milo whispered...
"And now..."
He pointed at Milo.
"...you're dreaming yourself."
10. THE GIRL RETURNS
A small voice...
came from behind him.
"Don't listen."
Milo turned.
The girl stood there.
"Who are you?"
She smiled.
"You already know."
"No."
"You've seen me before."
"In the sleeping world."
She nodded.
"And before that."
Milo frowned.
"When?"
The girl stepped closer.
"Before you could remember."
Milo stared.
"Are you the Dreamer?"
"No."
"Then what are you?"
The girl looked toward the thousands of Milos.
"I'm the part of the dream that refuses to sleep."
Milo whispered...
"Consciousness?"
The girl smiled.
"Close."
"Memory?"
"No."
"Choice?"
"No."
"Then what?"
She pointed at his chest.
"Awareness."
Milo looked down.
His heart...
wasn't beating.
Instead...
something else was pulsing.
A tiny blue light.
THUMP.
The girl whispered...
"That's the door."
11. THE DOOR INSIDE MILO
Milo touched his chest.
The blue light...
grew.
A tiny doorway appeared beneath his skin.
Milo stared.
"That's impossible."
The girl nodded.
"Good."
"Good?"
"Impossible things are harder for dreams to control."
Milo touched the door.
It opened.
Behind it...
was the jungle.
But not the ruined jungle.
Not the copied jungle.
Not the dream jungle.
It was...
the original.
Green.
Wild.
Alive.
Tarzan stood beneath a tree.
He looked directly at Milo.
"YOU TOOK LONG ENOUGH."
Milo stared.
"How did you get there?"
Tarzan shrugged.
"I WALKED."
"Through what?"
"THE DOOR."
Milo looked back at the girl.
She smiled.
"Every mind has a door."
Milo whispered...
"And mine was hidden."
"No."
She shook her head.
"You hid it."
12. THE THING THAT HID THE DOOR
A deep voice...
filled the laboratory.
"Enough."
The thousands of Milos disappeared.
The girl turned.
The black-eyed Tarzan entered.
But now...
he wasn't Tarzan.
His face changed.
Milo's face.
Diana's.
Arjun's.
Gandalf's.
The Keeper's.
The Walker's.
Every face...
and no face.
Milo stepped backward.
"What are you?"
The creature answered...
"I am the assumption."
Milo frowned.
"Assumption?"
"The belief that what you see is what exists."
The creature smiled.
"The oldest dream."
The girl stepped forward.
"You cannot control him."
The creature laughed.
"I don't need to."
It pointed at Milo.
"He controls himself."
Milo stared.
The creature whispered...
"Every time he says 'I know'..."
The laboratory shook.
"...I become stronger."
Milo understood.
"And every time I say..."
He paused.
"...I don't know?"
The creature weakened.
The girl smiled.
"Exactly."
The creature screamed.
13. THE POWER OF NOT KNOWING
Milo looked directly at it.
"I don't know."
The creature stepped backward.
Milo continued.
"I don't know what this place is."
Another step.
"I don't know who you are."
Another.
"I don't know whether I'm awake."
The creature began cracking.
"I don't know whether Tarzan is real."
Tarzan shouted from the doorway...
"HEY!"
Milo smiled.
"Sorry."
Then...
"I don't know what happens next."
The creature screamed.
The laboratory shattered.
Reality...
began falling apart.
The girl grabbed Milo's hand.
"NOW!"
"Now what?"
"Choose."
Milo looked at the blue door.
"What?"
"Choose without knowing."
Milo stared.
He had spent his entire life...
searching for answers.
But now...
the answer was not an answer.
It was...
a choice.
Milo stepped through.
14. THE WORLD WITHOUT CERTAINTY
Everything became white.
No sky.
No ground.
No horizon.
Only...
possibility.
Diana appeared beside him.
Then Arjun.
Gandalf.
The Keeper.
The Walker.
Tarzan.
The girl.
The older Tarzan.
All together.
Alive.
Real.
Or...
possibly neither.
Milo laughed.
"We're back."
The Keeper shook his head.
"Are we?"
Milo smiled.
"Good question."
The Walker looked around.
"Something changed."
Diana asked...
"What?"
He pointed toward the distance.
There was...
a city.
A jungle.
A mountain.
An ocean.
A laboratory.
A house.
A grave.
A star.
All existing at once.
But none had been chosen.
Milo whispered...
"This is possibility."
The older Tarzan nodded.
"The place before reality."
Gandalf smiled.
"Then we are free."
The girl shook her head.
"No."
Everyone looked at her.
"We are responsible."
15. THE WORLD THAT NEEDS A CHOICE
The possibilities began collapsing.
One by one.
The city disappeared.
The mountain vanished.
The ocean folded inward.
The laboratory faded.
Milo stared.
"What's happening?"
The girl answered...
"Possibility cannot remain forever."
"Why?"
"Because reality requires commitment."
Milo understood.
"Something has to become real."
The girl nodded.
"And whoever chooses..."
She looked at Milo.
"...becomes responsible for what follows."
Milo looked at everyone.
"Then nobody chooses."
The girl shook her head.
"That's still a choice."
Silence.
Tarzan raised his banana.
"I CHOOSE BANANAS."
Everyone looked at him.
Milo sighed.
"That's not what she means."
Tarzan frowned.
"YOU DON'T KNOW."
Milo smiled.
"Fair."
16. THE CHOICE THAT CHOSE ITSELF
Suddenly...
the tiny blue light appeared again.
The same light...
from before.
The First Dreamer's possibility.
But now...
it was larger.
Inside it...
were all their choices.
Every decision.
Every mistake.
Every dream.
Every fear.
Every future.
The light spoke.
Not with a voice.
With a question.
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BECOME?
Milo stared.
Diana stepped forward.
"I want to live."
Arjun nodded.
"I want to choose."
Gandalf smiled.
"I want to discover."
The Keeper whispered...
"I want to remember."
The Walker said...
"I want to walk."
The older Tarzan closed his eyes.
"I want to stop controlling."
Tarzan raised his banana.
"I WANT BREAKFAST."
Everyone stared.
Tarzan shrugged.
"What?"
The girl smiled.
Then...
she stepped forward.
"I want..."
She paused.
"...to wake."
The light pulsed.
THUMP.
The universe began forming around them.
17. THE LAST DREAM
The black-eyed Tarzan...
appeared again.
But this time...
he was alone.
No army.
No copies.
No darkness.
He looked tired.
Milo approached.
"You lost."
The black-eyed Tarzan shook his head.
"No."
"Then what happened?"
"I learned."
"Learned what?"
The creature looked at Tarzan.
"That a dream cannot survive without a dreamer."
Tarzan frowned.
"THAT SOUNDS COMPLICATED."
The creature smiled.
"And a dreamer cannot exist without a dream."
Milo understood.
"You need each other."
The black-eyed Tarzan nodded.
"Yes."
"Then why were you trying to control us?"
The creature looked at Milo.
"Because I was afraid."
"Of what?"
"Being forgotten."
Silence.
The girl stepped forward.
"You don't need to control people to be remembered."
The creature looked at her.
"Then how?"
She smiled.
"Let them remember you freely."
The black eyes...
began turning blue.
18. TARZAN'S CHOICE
The creature turned toward Tarzan.
"Will you remember me?"
Tarzan stared.
He looked at Milo.
Then Diana.
Then the jungle.
Then the banana.
Finally...
he looked at the creature.
Tarzan smiled.
"YES."
The creature looked surprised.
"Why?"
Tarzan shrugged.
"BECAUSE YOU'RE WEIRD."
The creature laughed.
A genuine laugh.
The sound echoed across the worlds.
Then...
it disappeared.
Not destroyed.
Not defeated.
Simply...
released.
Milo watched.
"What happens now?"
The girl answered...
"Now the dream belongs to everyone."
The jungle appeared around them.
Green.
Warm.
Alive.
Rain began falling.
Tarzan looked upward.
"REAL RAIN."
Milo smiled.
"Probably."
Tarzan looked at him.
"PROBABLY?"
Milo shrugged.
"We don't know."
Tarzan laughed.
"GOOD."
19. THE WORLD THAT DREAMS
They walked through the jungle.
For the first time...
nothing strange happened.
No doors.
No eyes.
No copies.
No machines.
No cosmic voices.
Just...
birds.
Rain.
Wind.
Trees.
Life.
Diana looked around.
"It's peaceful."
Arjun nodded.
"Almost too peaceful."
Milo laughed.
"Don't say that."
Gandalf smiled.
"Why?"
"Because every time someone says that..."
The ground shook.
Everyone froze.
Milo closed his eyes.
"...something happens."
Nothing happened.
Silence.
Milo opened one eye.
Still nothing.
He smiled.
"Maybe we're safe."
Tarzan suddenly shouted...
"BANANA!"
Everyone turned.
He ran toward a tree.
Milo laughed.
"Finally."
The Keeper smiled.
"Perhaps the dream is over."
The Walker looked toward the sky.
"No."
Milo stopped.
"What?"
The Walker pointed upward.
"The dream has changed."
20. THE WORLD THAT DREAMS
The sky...
was blue.
Completely normal.
Except...
there were stars visible in daylight.
Millions of them.
Diana stared.
"That's impossible."
Milo smiled.
"Probably."
One star...
moved.
Then another.
Then another.
The stars began forming patterns.
A face.
Not human.
Not divine.
Not monstrous.
Something...
new.
The face looked down at them.
Then...
it smiled.
A voice filled the jungle.
Not the Dreamer.
Not the girl.
Not the black-eyed Tarzan.
A new voice.
Young.
Curious.
Confused.
"Hello?"
Everyone froze.
Milo slowly looked at Diana.
Diana whispered...
"Don't answer."
Tarzan raised his banana.
Milo grabbed his arm.
"Absolutely not."
Tarzan frowned.
"WHY?"
"Because we've learned this lesson."
The voice spoke again.
"Is anyone there?"
Nobody answered.
The voice waited.
Then...
"Please."
The jungle became silent.
Milo looked at the others.
Gandalf lowered his staff.
Arjun held his breath.
The Keeper closed his eyes.
The Walker smiled.
The girl...
looked afraid.
Milo noticed.
"Why are you scared?"
She whispered...
"Because..."
A pause.
"...that's not a dream."
Milo's face went pale.
"What is it?"
The girl looked toward the stars.
"It's the thing that dreams dreams."
Milo stared.
"The Dreamer?"
She shook her head.
"No."
"Then what?"
The girl whispered...
"The Dreamer..."
She looked at Tarzan.
"...was dreaming inside something."
The stars...
went dark.
All at once.
Every single one.
The jungle disappeared.
The rain stopped.
The wind stopped.
The birds stopped.
Even time...
stopped.
Milo looked at his hands.
They were fading.
Diana's body became transparent.
Arjun vanished from the waist down.
Gandalf's staff turned into light.
The Keeper...
was becoming nothing.
The Walker smiled.
Milo shouted...
"WHAT'S HAPPENING?"
The girl answered...
"The world is waking up."
Milo stared.
"Again?"
She shook her head.
"No."
A pause.
"This time..."
She looked directly into Milo's eyes.
"...we are inside the waking."
Milo felt something behind him.
A presence.
Huge.
Ancient.
Impossible.
He slowly turned.
There was no jungle.
No sky.
No world.
Only...
an enormous face.
Its eyes...
were closed.
Milo whispered...
"What is that?"
The girl answered...
"The one who dreamed the Dreamer."
The eyes...
opened.
THUMP.
Reality screamed.
THUMP.
The stars shattered.
THUMP.
Every universe appeared at once.
And in the center of them...
stood a tiny figure.
A child.
Holding a banana.
The child looked at Tarzan.
Then at Milo.
Then smiled.
And said...
"I've been looking for you."
Milo froze.
"Who are you?"
The child tilted its head.
"I don't know."
The heartbeat stopped.
The child smiled wider.
"But..."
A pause.
"...I think you dreamed me."
Tarzan slowly lowered his banana.
For once...
he had nothing funny to say.
The child stepped forward.
And behind it...
an infinite number of worlds...
opened their eyes.
**TO BE CONTINUED...**
Written By,
Ivan Edwin
Pen Name :Maximus.
©All Rights Reserved