Note: The following chapter will be narrated as a first-person point of view by the character Rachel. Everything in this text will be coming straight from her mouth for this chapter alone. Any material that is recognized by outside readers in this chapter of the story are entirely and completely coincidental, credited from its source.


— WishExpedition23


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          It happened fifteen years ago last month, the day my childhood ended. By the time of day that you two first met me it had already been fifteen years and ten days over since what I'm about to tell you happened. I was just a little girl that time, a very shy little girl. I was almost seven-years-old. In those days, as I have kept telling you throughout this adventure, my father had been treating me and my siblings very terribly. Well, mostly me because I never came out as the son he had wanted and that me being born had resulted in my mother being considered that it was unsafe for her to get pregnant again. So if you ever hear my dad say, "I never got to have a son of my own. We weren't able to make that happen," what he really means to say is "[b]lame Rachel! It's her fault my wife can't provide me any sons." Technically, the way he really means to say it is a lot more vulgar to be verbally expressed, but I'll spare you those details. I hardly believe Figment's childlike sense would not be tainted if I told you how he says it.

          Everything my father gave to my sisters and adopted brother, I was given less. I did everything I could do to get him to love and appreciate me as I am, but no matter what I did, it was never enough. There were times when he tried to feed me less food than my mom and my siblings so that there wouldn't be another mouth to feed in the family. That's the kind of man he is.

          My mother, however, even though she has always expected a lot out of me as both a child and an adult, she was a lot more sympathetic for me. In fact, it was actually her that's caused the genesis of what was to come, which isn't to say I blame her for the whole thing. My mom is a court reporter. You probably don't know what that is, Figment, but I think maybe you do, Dreamfinder. Basically, a court reporter is someone who types down everything everyone in a court is saying during a trial. Mostly in some kind of abbreviations because they rely more on what the syllables sound like to match a word rather than relying on what specific word it is they say. Kind of like a dictator, if that's the right word. Anyway, every once in a while a court reporter has to attend a convention to update the processes of their career; which latest machines are more efficient, what the grammar and the format should currently be, and there are even some tests to re-certify your status as a court reporter or how experienced you are in that field. My mom today, one of the best! At that time, though, the convention she was supposed to go to was meant to take place right here in Florida. It was she who decided to make this a family trip to Walt Disney World. My siblings and I were excited to hear the news. My dad, however, he cared less about it really. Nevertheless, somewhere at the beginning of August, we packed up what we could bring and we flew all the way here in a five-hour flight for a two-week family vacation. 

          When we got here, we decided to come to the Magic Kingdom first. That's just up north from here. I was so excited. Everything that had happened in that park was like a dream come true. To meet all of the princesses Disney had that time, and there are a lot more today than that, I truly felt I was one of them...except my dad kept ruining everything for me. "Mickey Mouse isn't real! That's just a guy in a costume!" or "Fake! It's all done with mirrors!" or "Sit down and shut up! You're making us look like fools!" And more infamously, he says, "Nobody really cares about you here! You're not worth anything at all to the world!" I tried to disregard every one of those ranting comments throughout the night, but that last one always hits me deep. And he's made it much worse on the way back to the hotel by saying, "See? We're going back to the hotel now because of you. This is what happens when you cause trouble and make a fool of yourself." And right there in front of everyone in the monorail when we were leaving the park, where there was no escape route for me to run to, he says that he was ashamed that he's my father. I cried quietly in my sleep for hours that night.

          The next morning, we decided to come here to Epcot, the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, as it was always called since the beginning. I never knew it was an acronym then, but that's beside the point. Everything they had here at that time, I was really intrigued. Everything around me here was so science-y, I've never heard or realized such things could happen in everyday life. Heh, I remember...I remember when we met up with my grandpa, my dad's dad, who is much much nicer than my dad is, we went straight to a simulation ride called "Body Wars," where the point of the ride was to save a shrunken scientist from being carried away by a bloodstream inside the body while we were helping the patient remove a splinter from the inside. It was so cool! But then shortly after that, we walked all the way over through what was once called the CommuniCore at the center of the park, right behind where the Spaceship Earth sphere is. Upon arriving at the east side of it, we were heading towards the Magic Eye Theater at the Imagination Pavilion to see "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience." It was the only attraction in that area that was still in operation that time. I can still remember the shock I felt at the scene with the running mice.

          Just as after we finished that, my dad forced me to sit still and wait for him and everyone else while they were going through the "Land Pavilion." At that point, I was alone. I had no one to watch over me. I just sat there politely at that bench looking at the walls that had been boarded up outside the Imagination Pavilion. By the time I had come to Florida then, the original version of the "Journey Into Imagination" ride had been closed down for a refurbishment and the second version was closed and being reconstructed internally because of all the hateful criticism the guests were expressing at it. Mostly because you two were no longer in the ride as the animatronic figures they knew and loved. Later, the third version opened up to the public. They brought Figment back, but you, Dreamfinder, you were still gone...much to everyone's disappointment. Which is why what I'm about to tell you is likely enough to make a thousand fans really jealous...at least on one end.

          While I was waiting for my family to come back, I couldn't help but hear a little tingling sound in my ears. It was so peculiar. I assumed it was a sound effect that was coming from one of the surround speakers around me or at one of the other nearby attractions, but that wasn't really the case. I look around but I couldn't see anything. All I knew was that it was coming straight from the Imagination Pavilion somewhere. So I left the spot my dad told me to sit at to look around and investigate. The closer I got to the pavilion, the louder I heard the tingling grow. I turn a corner of those boarded walls, hardly realizing that I had just disappeared from public view. And that was when I first met these little sparks here. I was astonished at the sight of them. I mistook them for either fairies or will-o-wisps, whichever way it was. There were three of them then and I heard them all tingling and chirping amongst themselves as if they had their own language I couldn't understand. Not yet. Suddenly, one of them came up to me, it took me by the hand and guided me a couple of steps forward, but I was scared. I wasn't feeling the need to move another step. I just couldn't believe these small beings even exist. The other two sparks came up and they gently pushed me forward. I figured that they were trying to tell me that it was all right for me to follow them like they wanted to show me something. So I did. These little sparks guided me into the main building that was closed off from the public. The doors were all locked, but we managed to get inside through a hole in the glass that I heard was accidentally made during the renovation. It was a large enough hole for me to crawl though, so I didn't get any cuts from it. Ah! I forgot I still have a couple of cuts from yesterday at the academy. Don't worry about it. I'm fine. It's not as bad as it looks.

          We enter the pavilion all empty and abandoned. Everything in there is covered with plastic tarps so none of whatever material would either fall off or get cut up would affect them. The cars were covered, the controls were turned off, and all of the other props that decorated the room were covered and unoperational, too. There was a canvas tarp on the floor. I suspected they were going to do some painting in there. The sparks took me through the loading zone and into the darkness where somewhere in it I never realized would be a door that would lead us to the most fascinating place I'd ever see. You guys came through a door that said, "Dream Lab," right? Well, that's the current way to come in here, I had only just realized some time ago when the news announced a sudden leak of pink smoke coming out from there. But back then, the entrance to this place was a mirror in the Theater Arts scene that was left behind in the original version of the ride. That's where the sparks had led me. One of them went ahead first and disappeared going through the mirror. I remember the shocked expression I had on my face when I saw my reflection in the aftermath. The spark had entered through the mirror, leaving behind a ripple in the glass that would have looked so deceiving to be some sort of...I don't know. I suppose some kind of plastic or fluid ripple-like when a stone touches a watery surface and sinks, to say the least.

          As the other sparks went through the mirror, I closed my eyes and I followed them. The weird sensation I felt was unlike anything I had ever felt before like I was being filtered through fabric into tiny particles only to be reconstructed as I entered the other side. When we were all safely through the mirror, I was brought to this place. I discovered a place that was nothing I had ever imagined before in my life. This place...do you even know what this place is? Do you? As of now, we are standing in the place where people had always assumed it was upstairs where the ride is. This...is the real Imagination Pavilion! It's is the real deal! I saw everything in here light up and come alive! There were gadgets with small flashing lights and large valves and pressure meters. I saw chests opening up themselves with clapping hands that also fly away from me when I got too close. I saw many colors flooding all around me on the floors and the walls as they climb up all the way to the ceiling. The nature gardens that were here, all of the flowers lived and breathed like real people...kind of like Alice in Wonderland. Oh, Dreamfinder, you thought that too? Awesome! And then I saw sunbeams and rainbows and feathers and musical notes and everything! There were hexagon tiles on the floors called Stepping Tones. Anytime you'd step on one of those you'd hear a particular sound coming from it. The halls were all filled with music. Each time you'd walk from one hallway to the next you can't even tell the music turning off-key or fading or missing a beat. It's as if no matter where you'd go, the music is always fully synchronized in a symphony of different genres. And it just kept going and going and going and going and going like it never had an ending. I'm no good with writing or understanding which of those music notes make those sounds, but I can remember the music that had played here in my mind. It never left my head...ever. It was enough to overthrow and overwhelm the music I'd hear at the Disney parks back when I worked there. That's how catchy of a song it is.

          These sparks, they've guided me all of this place, though I couldn't help but notice that they were looking for someone in particular. Perhaps a much bigger spark that could have been their leader, or maybe they were guiding me here to stay with them forever, be their playmate and help me forget the life I had lived in. I still kind of feel that way about them today. I mean you've got to admit these beings are wonderful and beautiful in their own ways. If everyone had at least one of them as their companions, I believe the whole world would be a lot kinder. 

          As we were coming up to the Science and Technology Room, I suddenly heard a couple of voices coming from in there. That was when the sparks went off without me. Once again, I was just standing there all by myself. But this time, I was at the mercy of my own curiosity wandering off all over the place. I doubt most children that young in age would notice anything scientific yet being that it would probably be too advanced for their minds to consume yet. That's how it was with my mind back then, so everything I saw in that room had intrigued me, catching my eyes with their geometrically constructed contraptions. I had seen machines before in my young age, one of them being a compacter for trash and recyclables, but I never saw machines quite like these. In fact, I highly doubt anyone still has today. I started exploring the Science Room, observing every machine they had in here, trying so hard to figure out how they worked. Suddenly, I touched one of those machines and it started getting out of control. All I could do was scream and hide. But in the process of running away, I tripped over a cable and fell. I don't remember what I landed on, I know it was something hard and sharp, I may have actually broken a leg and scraped my knees when they banged them on the ground first. I couldn't move. I was filled with terror as I watched the machine still sputtering with sparks and moving uncontrollably. I didn't know if it was ever going to end. But just as I thought the mechanism was about to burst, someone had stopped it.

"Stupid child!" someone yelled. "Do you have any idea how long it took for us to build that?"

          I look up and I see the same three sparks that brought me here along with a man. The man came up to me with his shadow covering my whole body. He looked really angry. He had his hands in fists on his waist, his knees were locked and his whole upper side was leaning right over me. You know him. He's the one who had imprisoned one of these little sparks back at the academy. That's right. It was Dr. Channing. He was there alright. He was there when this whole thing started. And he was a lot younger then, too. It was the first time I ever met him and even then I started having a bad vibe coming from him. He started yelling at me for starting that machine and breaking it to pieces. I guess some of the parts inside it got melted while it was sputtering. He was just as bad as my father. The yelling, I mean. And I knew for sure he was going to hit me, too. But just as he raised his hand to do it, another man comes in. No one you know, but he seemed to have rushed out just as quickly as Dr. Channing raised his fist in the air.

          This man...he was really something else. Heh-heh. Now that I think about it, he was a lot like you, Dreamfinder. And I mean really!  When he came out, he didn't seem as horrible as I thought. I remember his first words.

He said, "Nigel! What is it? Did the machine work? What came out of it? I'll bet it's a..." wait for it, "...little girl?"

          I could tell he was shocked. When I think about it, I guess he was expecting some kind of new imaginative idea coming to life from that machine...whatever it was. I thought I was really going to get in trouble for what I did. When you have one man mad at you, you're busted. With two men, you're dead! That's what I thought, at least. The other man stared at me for a bit while Dr. Channing continued to rant and rant and rant and rant at the machine being destroyed. I quivered on the floor, hurt and afraid. I really believed I was going to get beaten. But as I cringed, I felt a soft hand petting my head. I look up and I see the second man smiling at me.

"You poor thing." The second man said. "How did you get in here...and in this mess? Are you alright?"

          I was scared, still. I didn't know what to say. The least I could do was try to nod, but I couldn't. Every time I moved a muscle, it would only make me cringe and my leg would hurt more. All I could do was shut my eyes tight and whimper. His shadow overcame me as he picked me up in his arms and I cried a little with my head buried in his chest.

"Poor thing?" Dr. Channing shouted. "That girl destroyed the Dream Combobulator. It took us over a year to build! We should hand her over to security for what she did!"

"Nigel, have a heart!" said the second man. "This child is hurt! I'm taking her to the patient's room to mend her as best as possible. Come along now, my dear."

          I didn't like the sound of the "patient's room." When someone says something about a "patient," that usually means doctors. And God knows I was never into seeing the doctor as a kid. I'm still like that way today. But that was the least of my worries. As we, as in the second man, the three sparks and I were leaving the room, I noticed that the rooms were changing shapes. The colors were changing, all of the furniture around us were morphing, and the atmosphere in the room became totally different. The next thing I knew, we were instantly walking right into the patient's room. As if by magic, we were instantly transported from the previous room to another! And he was the one that made it happen! I asked him how he did it.

His response was, "My dear child, it takes a great deal of imagination to get from one place to another like this."

          I didn't understand what he meant that time. I mean, was I supposed to believe that he used his imagination to transport both of us to another room? Well since I was a child, I was likely to believe anything. He then placed me on the patient's table thing and took a look at my leg. I remember groaning at him while he checked. He told me to be calm and keep still while he did his work. I'd go into the details of how he actually did, but I hardly believe that even you two would believe me. Long story short, he used his imagination to help heal my leg back to normal. He helped me stand on my feet when he finished. That was when we finally made out our introductions. I told him my name first and then he told me his.

"Rachel?" he said. "That is indeed a very lovely name. My name is Elias Dean Finder. If you'd like, you can call me 'Uncle Eli.'"

          And so I did. He was really nice to me. Uncle Eli was perhaps the nicest and most interesting person I had ever known in my childhood. He was an artist, an author, a pilot, an actor, a musician, an innovator, and a scientist; a multi-purpose kind of man, if you will. But he was more than that to me. For all the time I've known him, he's treated me like how a real father should. I was even tempted at one point or another to call him dad. If