There is a magical shop that would open exactly at 12 AM until the witching hour. Interesting customers who traverse space and time come and go as they please. What they purchase is a secret between them and the dealer.
One fateful afternoon, however, a young boy of age ten strolled the lamp-lit streets of Duskov, curious about his new town which was frozen in eternal twilight. Yumeki was quiet, most of the time timid, though he liked a bit of adventure, like now. His curly white hair lightly bounced as he playfully skipped on the cobbled ground. The soft, lemon-colored lights illuminated the sparkle and vigor in his dreamy purple eyes.
Even when he had dinner already, he felt his stomach grumble and placed one of his pale hands on it. The boy chanced upon a shop in which a creamy, sweet scent was wafting from inside. A golden bell was triggered as he opened the door, and came face to face with the shop owner.
The master of the shop, Reeve, had a lax atmosphere to him as he was seated on a cushioned sofa, had a book on his right hand and a teacup in the other. He was in a formal dress shirt and immaculately black pants, had flowing pastel periwinkle hair and gentle crimson eyes that welcomed Yumeki in. Reeve heard Yumeki’s tummy cry out and asked if he wanted some fresh cheesecake, which fortunately, Reeve had doubled the ingredients because of his sweet tooth.
“Is it okay, mister… ?” Yumeki’s eyes traveled from Reeve’s face and darted at the ground because he knew not of his host’s name.
The enigmatic shop owner put down the book and teacup he busied himself with. “Oh, pardon me. I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Reeve, the owner of this quaint little shop. And you are?”
“Ah… um… I’m Yumeki.” the boy shyly said.
“Alright, Yumeki. Sit down on the sofa and I’ll get us some cake.”
Yumeki raised his right hand over his head. “Can I have some tea as well?”
“Oi, this isn’t a charity!” the shop owner protested.
Minutes later, Reeve came back from what seemed like his kitchen and carried a tray with two inhuman servings of cheesecake and small cups filled with blueberry elder flower white tea. Reeve sighed as he handed out Yumeki’s cake and beverage.
“You’re lucky that I brewed enough tea for six servings.”
Yumeki was dumbfounded. “EH?! Isn’t that too much?”
“Haha, that’s my normal intake. Well then, shall we dig in?”
Yumeki nodded happily when his smiling face turned into one of surprise and confusion. The fragrant tea looked normal, the cheesecake on the other hand looked peculiar. It still smelled nice and homey, but the serving and its appearance were absurd. Yumeki gulped first before asking Reeve his question about the cheesecake.
“Mister Reeve, isn’t this half of the cake?”
“Mm-hmm!” Reeve nodded as he started to chip away at his own serving of cheesecake.
“Why is it… Upside down?”
The shop owner talked with his mouth full. “This cheesecake is… An experiment!”
“E-Experiment?!”
“Mmm… I was tired of the old fashioned way of plating a cheesecake, so I turned it upside down! Of course, this was inspired by the pineapple upside down cake I had days ago. It’s weird right? The toppings are at the bottom and the cream is messy. Although, seeing the solidified graham crackers so neat like this really lifts up your spirits.”
“But… Why did you give me half of it? I like sweets and pastries, but I might not finish this. This is a ridiculous serving size.”
“That is why I’m here. Eat to your heart’s content and give me your left overs. I am a living trash can!”
“S-So proud.” Yumeki commented as a bead of sweat poured down his face.
As payment for having eaten the cheesecake, Reeve’s snow-haired guest had to buy a dream.
“A dream?”
“Yes, if you didn’t see the sign outside, it says, The Shop Of Dreams.”
“It smells like a pastry shop in here though, but I like it for its cozy atmosphere and chill vibes.”
“Mm-hmm. Correct. We also sell cakes and sweets if anyone of our customers get hungry and take a long time to choose a dream..”
“I see. Could you take me to where the dreams are?”
“Of course. Follow me.”
Reeve led Yumeki into a long, wide hall lined with sturdy shelves which housed thousand– no, millions of crystal bottles. Each of the bottles had something like a glittering star inside of them. Yumeki was awed by the beauty of the star-like things.
“These are… Dreams?”
Reeve smiled and nodded. “I’ve grouped them together by genre so it’ll be easy to find them. Like most people, you can have several dreams. Like, you can be a guitarist and a physicist at the same time. There are dark dreams though but let’s not go there.”
“Dark dreams, huh? Shouldn’t they be called nightmares?”
“Nope. Nightmares are entities that eat dreams, even if it’s a dark dream. I sometimes keep them at bay. That way, people will still be able to think of aspirations.”
Yumeki thought. “Then, mister Reeve, are you not from here? You’re pretty strange, considering this is the only shop that I’ve come across which sells dreams. And you talked about dangerous things called Nightmares.”
Reeve was surprised that Yumeki had caught on easily. “A bright one, ain’t cha? Yep, I’m from a place called Cloud Nine. But enough about me. Yumeki, what do you aspire to be?”
“Hmm, I haven’t really thought about it yet. But I’ve always wanted to be a pâtissier. I always helped my mom bake sweet treats when I was little.”
“Aww, what a cute dream. Well then, we’ll get it for you.”
The shop owner whipped out a gadget which looked like a clam shell cellphone and talked into it. “Aislinn, I need your assistance.”
Suddenly, from behind one of the shelves close to them, a white anthropomorphic rabbit appeared. A cute lime green ribbon adorned its head. It was dressed in a polka-dotted forest green dress, a white lacy petticoat, coffee brown knee-high socks, and midnight black Mary Janes. “You called Reeve? I wasn’t done doing my security rounds for the dreams. Since we have new ones, I still need to update our database and do an item check on each and every dream.”
Aislinn placed a pure white paw on her hurting head. “Frankly, I have a lot on my plate right now.”
She noticed the mousy Yumeki clinging on to Reeve’s shirt sleeve. “Oh? Hello there. Is he a customer?”
Reeve quietly nodded. “Yumeki wants to be a pâtissier. Please, fetch that dream for him.”
“What?! But the Cooking genre is far away, wabbit!”
“Aislinn! There will be no such bunny cuss words spoken in front of a young boy!” Reeve exclaimed.
The white rabbit froze for a while. “M-My apologies, Reeve, Yumeki.”
“I know you’re stressed, but you never let me help you out.”
“Reeve, unlike you, I am an OC bunny. You love to experiment a lot and you might just jumble up the bottles if you tried to help me.”
“Oh, that’s right. I forgot about that. Well then, carry on. We’ll be waiting here. Plus, I’ve a rare carrot for you from Carrot Isle!”
Reeve gave his data manager a heart-shaped carrot which had a sweet-scented glaze. Aislinn’s eyes sparkled and she did not hesitate to obey him.
Yumeki smiled. They get along so well.
Aislinn hopped through the many shelves until she arrived at the one that had ‘Cooking’ labeled on it. “Pâtissier… Pâtissier… Pancake… Parmigiano Reggiano… Pasta, nope… Aha! Pâtissier!”
She came back a few minutes later and handed the crystalline bottle to Yumeki. “Here you go, dear. I hope your dream of being a pâtissier will elevate to becoming a maître pâtissier!”
“Thank you miss Aislinn!” Yumeki said as he stared at the bottles contents. It was more spectacular up close.
Reeve chimed in. “Alright, kid. Pay up.”
The boy was taken aback. “But I don’t have money.”
Aislinn gestured with her hands on their refusal. “Oh no, dear. We don’t take money here. We only accept things that have real value to our customers lives. Perhaps your memories would do? Or maybe your voice?…”
The bunny’s beady eyes stared daggers at the ditzy shop owner. “Reeve, you didn’t tell him about the pricing?”
“Sorry, Aislinn. I seem to have forgotten. I’m really getting old for this.” the shop owner had a nonchalant expression on his face as he averted Aislinn’s deadly glare.
“Getting old, my bunny butt! You’re just a slacker! Anyway Yumeki dear, what will it be?”
Yumeki pondered for a bit. The price was a surprise for him. He didn’t want to lose any of his organs, or his voice, or his memories. A minute passed and he had come up with a decision. “Miss Aislinn, mister Reeve, I’ve decided. Given my chosen dream, I wish to offer my life as a price. I would like to work here as a pâtissier.”
Aislinn was the first to react. “Oh! That’s great! You’re a very clever kid! Reeve, what do you think?”
“You analyzed your situation very well. I like creative people. Okay, its a contract for life.”
The curious boy was about to open his dream bottle when Reeve stopped him. “But before all this, don’t you have school tomorrow? I mean, you are a kid. Also, what about your parents?”
“Hmm, school huh? Not really. Even if education is free, the schools have such high standards, like a high level of learning with advanced topics and the like. I only take lessons and tests online just to have enough knowledge on specific subjects. As for my parents, they aren’t always at home.”
“What? Then, do you take care of yourself?” Aislinn asked, a concerned tone with her rather sharp tongue.
“Pretty much. My parents are international officers, so they say. They often go on business trips which give them less time for me. But don’t worry. I’ve gotten used to my lifestyle.”
Reeve and Aislinn smiled at each other. They had gained respect for him.
“You’re really smart, you know! That’s really impressive! You’re definitely one who can reach his dreams!” Reeve said, excited for his new co-worker.
“You can open your dream bottle now, dearie.” Aislinn chirped.
With enthusiasm, Yumeki released the cork from his bottle. The sparkling dream went out and sprinkled itself onto him. Little by little it dissipated, until there was not a single glitter of it.
Then Reeve spoke. “Yumeki, you have earned your place to become a pâtissier. In life, dreams help people to become who they want to be. However, you must hone your skills and have a better understanding of yourself and your dream. Be passionate about your dream and it will come true if you never give up and patiently persevere.”
Aislinn took a glance at Reeve’s watch. “Now then, it’s about time to close up shop.”
“Oh, you’re right.” Reeve replied. “Time for us to go back to Cloud Nine.”
Yumeki felt a bit sad and asked, “Will I see you guys again?”
“Of course you will, dear! We work here everyday at 12 AM to 3:15 AM! We’re so excited to be working with you!” Aislinn declared as she clasped Yumeki’s hands with her soft paws.
Happiness filled the boy’s heart upon hearing the good news. So everyday from then on, Yumeki worked at the shop. Each day was fun, with him, Reeve, and Aislinn trying to perfect different sweet treats and selling them along with dreams.
This shop was certainly aspiring to inspire.
THE END
“The Shop Of Dreams” © Kaiser44, April 23, 2015.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Notes: Yeah, I have a new set of stories that I’m working on called The Dream Realm.
Starry Night Stories 
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