Chapter 5 — Once Upon a Time There Was a…
Dear reader, as the sun rises on a new day, let’s focus on Leyla, her companions, and their struggle to find the source of the nightmares plaguing Leyla. Another storm raged at night but did not affect Leyla this time. It was a breathtaking storm, turning the skies red, blue, and green, flickering with the electricity of the strongest solar storm in over 150 years.
Leyla didn’t see this storm breaking or feel the electrical impulses as they shot over her world. Crochet and Quaver watched the storm wax and wane, uncomfortable with the electrical impulses as they turned the skies red, blue, and green. The Inventor stood by, ready to intervene, if necessary, for Leyla’s companions are 100% robot and 100% biological dogs. Leyla’s world is in enough trouble with the hidden back door the protagonist created. No one needed the effects from the solar storm to fry Crochet or Quaver’s electronic circuit boards, giving the protagonist even more of an inroad into Leyla’s mind.
Wait…what? Why didn’t you wake us up? Why only tell us now?
Oh, narrator, we know you are not the controlling or confused narrator, but are you getting old? Should we now call you the old narrator? Did you sleep through the night instead of keeping watch over Leyla’s world? Or were you perhaps dreaming up new adventures for Leyla and her companions?
Hold on…if you were dreaming up new adventures for Leyla and her companions, Crochet and Quaver, then aren’t you the controlling narrator? Who is controlling this story?
Did you perhaps read the news, dear narrator? There was a solar storm on planet Earth, the strongest since 1859. How can the same storm affect Leyla’s world? Or wait a minute…is Leyla’s world linked to our world?
Who is Leyla, and who are her companions — Crochet and Quaver? Who is The Inventor, and who on earth is the protagonist — he who cannot be named?
Patience…dear reader…all will be revealed in time.
As you will recall, right at the start of this fairy tale…with its many tails, you asked who Leyla is. And the answer remains the same: She is whoever you want her to be.
But… oh controlling narrator, who might not be controlling after all, who might even be the confused narrator and the old narrator who sleeps instead of narrating Leyla’s story….how can Leyla be whoever we want her to be?
Hush now, dear reader…for Leyla rests. As she has turned her back on Crochet and Quaver for letting the nightmares slip into her mind, she has slipped back into her silent, non-communicative world, and we can only guess how she is feeling by watching her body language and what she is doing.
“Don’t presume to know what Leyla thinks and how she feels!” growls Crochet. He’s not reacting very well to the nightmares slipping through his defenses. “Help me fix the problem!”
How Crochet? I hear you; the readers, ask. As readers, we know why the nightmares are slipping through — but as we cannot communicate directly with Leyla’s companions, we have to stand by and watch…in frustration.
Dear reader…perhaps there is a way to help Leyla and her companions find the back door the protagonist has created in Crochet and Quaver to push the nightmares through. But the caveat is that the only person who can destroy the nightmares is Leyla herself.
How?
Remember, dear reader, the last nightmare in which the protagonist sang “ Ring-a-ring-a-rosies?” Well, it occurred twice. The protagonist caused the first time, and the second time, the residual memories left in Leyla’s mind caused it to replay itself a second time.
Wait..wait…oh, confused narrator, who is not supposed to be confused but is possibly confused — or maybe old — after all.
The question we want answered now is how we can help Leyla and her companions find the back door that the protagonist has created in Crochet and Quaver, not anything else.
Patience, dear reader. There is no need to be impatient. Yes, we might be able to help Leyla and her companions find the back door where the nightmares are slipping through. The only way to do this is to find a way to communicate with Leyla’s world — well, not the protagonist. He’d like us to think we are communicating with The Inventor, for he’ll do anything to prevent his back door from being welded shut, even pretend to be Leyla’s companions or The Inventor.
Who are you really, oh Narrator? I hear you, the dear reader, ask.
You seem to be a shapeshifter, shifting in and out of the tale…with its many tails. Sometimes, you behave as though you are controlling the narrative. And other times, you behave as though you are sleepy and confused. It is challenging for us, the readers, to follow Leyla’s story with an interchangeable narrator.
Patience…dear reader. All will be revealed…in time.
Oh, Narrator, that is becoming one of the most frustrating statements you have ever made — and probably will ever make. It is tough to be patient when we are continually confused. This storyline is running away from us!
Dear reader…what should I say if I can’t urge you to be patient? This story is Leyla’s story — her journey to healing and wholeness. As a result, it will take the time it takes. Neither you nor I can rush Leyla, especially now that she has retreated into her silent, non-verbal world.
But I will tell you this…As a narrator who is neither controlling, confused, or sleepy, my philosophy on narrating Leyla’s story is similar to Phillip Pullman’s — the author of the “His Dark Materials” Trilogy. Incidentally, Leyla’s world is very similar to twelve-year-old Lyra’s story. Lyra has a companion — a daemon Pantalaimon — while Leyla has two companions — Crochet and Quaver.
There are many similarities and differences between Lyra’s and Leyla’s stories. The most significant similarity is that both set out on a journey of sorts: Lyra sets out to find her father and rescue her friend Roger from evil kidnappers, while Leyla sets out to free herself from recurring nightmares and find herself.
Have I, the narrator, read this trilogy? If I respond in the affirmative, will you accuse me of being a controlling narrator?
But…I digress…
When asked about his role as author of his books, Phillip Pullman responded as follows:
“As a passionate believer in the democracy of reading, I don’t believe it’s the task of the author of a book to tell the reader what it means. The meaning of a story emerges in the meeting of the words on the page and the thoughts in the reader’s mind.”
Therefore, dear reader, I can only narrate the story as I see it. I can only place the words on this page — their interpretation is yours.
Wait…wait, what about Crochet and Quaver? Does Leyla set out on her adventures without them? How can she communicate with her external world if she has withdrawn into her silent, non-verbal world?
Dear reader, Leyla does not know she must go on a journey to free herself from her nightmares. As the hobbit Frodo Baggins embarked on a quest to destroy the One Ring to ensure the destruction of its maker — Sauron, the dark lord — so must Leyla embark on her journey. For we all have a journey to walk, and as the sun sets and rises again the next morning, our journeys continue whether we want them to or not. And, as Leyla noted in earlier chapters, she’d like her story narrated so that others will learn to communicate with their external — and internal — worlds without experiencing her pain.
Therefore, as frustrating as it is…we must let Leyla’s story unfold in its time.
But first…back to the question — how do we communicate with anyone in Leyla’s world, preferably The Inventor, to help figure out where the protagonist’s back door is?
Wait…wait…oh Narrator…Isn’t Leyla screaming and sobbing silently? Haven’t Crochet and Quaver noticed?
Yes, dear reader. They did notice, but remember…Leyla has turned her back on them. They can do nothing to help her, for they are respectful companions. If Leyla wants nothing to do with them, they will respect her decision, as difficult as it is for them.
Crochet turns to Quaver and growls in frustration. He really does not like being cast aside by Leyla. He takes his protection duties seriously. “Calm down Crochet” soothes Quaver. “Getting frustrated isn’t helping Leyla. Even though she has turned her back on us, she is still connected and can feel our emotions. So, if we keep calm, it will help her.”
“But Quaver, I can’t just sit by and not do anything,” huffs Crochet.
“Keeping calm and allowing The Inventor to find the back door is doing something. And that’s the best thing you can do now for Leyla.”
Dear readers, as we turn our eyes from Crochet and Quaver back to Leyla, we notice that what Quaver said is true. Leyla starts calming down because Crochet and Quaver are calm. They stand stoically beside her, even though she has turned her back on them.
“Hush up Crochet and Quaver” calls The Inventor. “While I don’t yet know where this dastardly back door into your systems is, I have been working on someone to help Leyla through the trauma of these nightmares. She’ll join you and Leyla on her journey to free herself from these nightmares.”
Who is it?
Tell us, oh, Narrator. Why are you so silent?
Patience…dear reader…all will be revealed…in time.
Not that again — Narrator.
“Leyla, my dear girl,” calls The Inventor. “Meet Melody. She is a fusion of the biological and robotic worlds — as with Crochet and Quaver — but her specialty is counseling — she is a psychologist robot — 100% robot and 100% human psychologist. She will help you deal with the emotional trauma of her nightmares.”
Leyla looked at The Inventor — and Melody — and turned her back on them, with tears rolling silently down her face. Oh dear…it seems as though the person Leyla is cross with is The Inventor. It’s not that she doesn’t trust Crochet and Quaver. She doesn’t trust the inventor because he is responsible for developing Crochet and Quaver.
What now? The story is at an impasse. How do we move forward?
Patience…dear readers…all will be revealed…in time. As we come to the end of today’s tale…with its many tails…we need to give this impasse to be resolved. Let’s leave Leyla to process all these changes. Will she turn back to Crochet and Quaver for support? Only time will tell.
