\u201cI don’t remember anything, except that I slept terribly badly. By morning I’m sweating through my blanket\u201d.
\n\u201cI was afraid of that\u201d Pete sat down next to the bed. \u201cGiovanni, while I’m telling Lucy everything, copy the notes from today quickly so her mum doesn’t get suspicious!\u201d
\nPete also made Lucy promise not to say a word about Manono to anyone, and then told her everything he knew.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s one thing I\u2019m not getting\u201d said Lucy, \u201cwhy is the dream thief taking our dreams? What’s in it for him?\u201d
\n\u201cUntil yesterday, all I knew about him was that he had been banished from the island a long time ago for stealing dreams. Islanders say he did it because he drew energy from the dreams. You see, the dream thief has no dreams of his own! But on the island, they never talked about him again; they always said that even mentioning him gives him new energy. So, for years no one had even thought of his existence, until yesterday, when the plant’s dream image filtering equipment broke down\u201d.” “\u201cWell, that\u2019s great. I’ve had trouble sleeping before, and now I\u2019ll be afraid to sleep, too. Thanks, guys\u201d.
\n\u201cCome on, Lucy,\u201d.said Giovanni, who had finished copying the notes in the meantime. \u2013 \u201cWe only wanted to save you… And the others, because this morning Julie and George didn’t come to school either, and three others were so unwell that they went home after second period. So, you actually do owe us a big thank you\u201d.
\n\u201cDon’t fight now, please! Lucy, I promise I will try to find a solution. And meanwhile, my dad is working at the plant to erase the virus. Everything will be fine; I just don’t know how yet. You rest now, and we’ll come see you again tomorrow\u201d.
\nGiovanni accompanied Pete to the boat; as they walked, they thought about a solution.
\n\u201cYou said this someone is stealing dreams because he doesn’t have any of his own, right?\u201d Giovanni asked.
\n\u201cThat’s right\u201d.
\n\u201cWell, then it’s simple: give him his own dreams, and then he’ll stop!\u201d
\n\u201cHow did this not occur to anyone before? You’re a genius, Giovanni!\u201d In one leap, Pete was in the boat and paddling home at the speed of sound.” “\u201cWell, that\u2019s great. I’ve had trouble sleeping before, and now I\u2019ll be afraid to sleep, too. Thanks, guys\u201d.
\n\u201cCome on, Lucy,\u201d.said Giovanni, who had finished copying the notes in the meantime. \u2013 \u201cWe only wanted to save you… And the others, because this morning Julie and George didn’t come to school either, and three others were so unwell that they went home after second period. So, you actually do owe us a big thank you\u201d.
\n\u201cDon’t fight now, please! Lucy, I promise I will try to find a solution. And meanwhile, my dad is working at the plant to erase the virus. Everything will be fine; I just don’t know how yet. You rest now, and we’ll come see you again tomorrow\u201d.
\nGiovanni accompanied Pete to the boat; as they walked, they thought about a solution.
\n\u201cYou said this someone is stealing dreams because he doesn’t have any of his own, right?\u201d Giovanni asked.
\n\u201cThat’s right\u201d.
\n\u201cWell, then it’s simple: give him his own dreams, and then he’ll stop!\u201d
\n\u201cHow did this not occur to anyone before? You’re a genius, Giovanni!\u201d In one leap, Pete was in the boat and paddling home at the speed of sound.” “\u201cThen why don’t you say the mission is impossible?\u201d
\n\u201cBecause it’s actually not completely impossible. It has happened in history before that some people didn’t have dreams, and then they started having them\u201d.
\n\u201cBut how?\u201d
\n\u201cHe who cannot laugh has no dreams. When you learn to laugh, you will have dreams. That’s how it works, son\u201d.
\n\u201cSo, the dream thief can’t laugh?\u201d
\n\u201cI never saw him even smile when he lived here with us\u201d.
\n\u201cAnd tell me, shaman, how can you find the dream thief?\u201d
\n\u201cThink for a moment. What does the dream thief want?\u201d
\n\u201cDreams\u201d.
\n\u201cAnd when will he appear somewhere?\u201d
\n\u201cWhen he steals a dream\u201d.
\n\u201cThere you go. You are quite smart there!\u201d
\nPete ran to the dream shield factory in a frantic rush to catch his father. He was lucky, because he came out of the gate just as Pete arrived.
\n\u201cI did not find the virus. It’s something new, and it’s so cleverly coded that it’s impossible to catch. Moreover, it has already spread to the calmness generator. If children start to act out and become uncontrollable during the day, it will be because of this. I have no idea what to do\u201d.” “The next morning, no one was waiting for Pete at the harbour. He ran to school as if his life depended on it. When he got there, it was as if his worst nightmare had come true: in the beautiful schoolyard full of trees, a large group of children were running amok, trampling the flowers and breaking the branches of the trees. Giovanni was nowhere to be seen.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s getting out of control! But the worst thing will be if the dream thief starts stealing my dreams, because then I will get ill, and there would be nothing I can do! I need to find him!\u201d
\nPete knew that he couldn’t go to Lucy’s now, because her mother wouldn’t let him in, it was school time, and she would get suspicious. So, he headed for Giovanni’s house. It was as he suspected: Giovanni was lying in bed, down with something.
\n\u201cHe attacked you too! This is terrible! Moreover, these are only the first symptoms: soon you will be raging and shouting like the others, and then I won’t be able to help you. The virus has attacked the calmness generator, and the dream thief is having a field day with us!\u201d
\n\u201cI have an idea\u201d Giovanni moaned softly. \u201cTonight, I’ll pretend to be asleep, and then maybe we’ll catch him\u201d.
\n\u201cAnd I already know what we have to do to make him stop the stealing spree!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1128,"template":"","class_list":["post-1130","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n