Riley Bloom Dreamland Read Online Free PDF Page B

this, the guy who first told me about the place where all the dreams happen—why else would I find him standing right in front of me?
    For the second time in a row, even?
    And just when I was wondering if he’d recognize me, he turned and smiled and said,
    “Heya, newbie!”
    Newbie?
    I squinted. Not quite sure how to take that.
    Thinking at first he was taking a swipe at my age, but it wasn’t long before I realized he was referring to my glow.
    I was green. He was yellow. So clearly he’d been Here longer. You could tell just by looking.
    I smiled in return. Furtively looking over his shoulder for the friend he’d been with the last time I’d seen him—the one who was reluctant to share much of anything. And, as fate
    would
    have
    it,
    he
    wasn’t
    there—something I took as another good sign.
    “So, you find it?” Mort asked, taking his place at the front of the line when a cubicle was vacated and the person before him went in.
    I shook my head, careful to keep my voice lower than usual when I said, “Or at least not yet, anyway.”
    Mort looked me over, his two bushy brows merging together until they looked like an overfed caterpillar had collapsed on his forehead.
    “Do you think you could help? Or maybe even show me where it is? I mean, I know you’re busy and all, and I’m willing to wait. I was just hoping that maybe—”
    But before I could finish, another stall was vacated and a loud voice called, “Next!” Mort’s hands grew antsy, curling and un-curling by his sides, clearly eager to get inside the cubicle, observe his old life.
    And knowing I had only a handful of seconds before I lost him completely, I said,
    “I-just-thought-you-could-maybe-point-me-in-the-right-direction?” The words coming so quickly, they all blurred as one.
    He wavered, glancing between the cubicle and me. And just when I was sure that I’d lost him, that he’d decided against me, he sighed, waved in the person behind him, and said, “Guess you got an important message to share, eh?”
    I nodded. Even though I had no idea what that message might be, I knew that if I wanted his help, if I wanted to get to the place where the dreams go to happen, it was better to keep that fact to myself.
    He screwed his mouth to the side, causing his cheek to stretch and the wrinkles to flatten and fade. Returning to normal again when his lips dropped back into place, and he said, “I’ve got a granddaughter your age—name’s Daisy. What’re you—ten?” I groaned. Like, seriously groaned. I didn’t even try to stifle it. He’d insulted me in the very worst way.
    But Mort just laughed. Laughed for so long I was more than ready to cut my losses and strike out on my own, when he finally sobered up enough to say, “You sure you want to do this?”
    I thought about my sister and how much I missed her.
    I thought about seeing Bodhi with Jasmine and the way it made me feel.
    And when my eyes met Mort’s, well that’s when I knew that Bodhi had lied. The place where all the dreams happen wasn’t forbidden—Bodhi was just doing his best to kill all my fun.
    “Yeah, I’d really like to visit,” I said, my voice deep and serious. “Will you help me find it?”
    Mort glanced around the Viewing Room, rubbed his chin with a surprisingly well-manicured hand, then a moment later, he headed for the door. Holding it open and motioning for me to go through as he said,
    “After you, then.”
    7
    A s it turned out, Mort wasn’t nearly as charmed with the concept of flying as Buttercup and I were.
    Mort was old-school.
    Other than the occasional trip to the Viewing Room and the area where the dreams all take place, it seemed he worked pretty hard to keep to a life that was very similar to the one he’d lived back on the earth plane. And since he was the only one I knew who could help me to get there, I had no choice but to do it his way. Which pretty much meant that we hitched a ride on the train.
    We settled onto our seats, Buttercup