Missing June

 Welcome to the Spot Writers. This month’s prompt is “June” because it’s… well, you get the idea! 

This week’s contribution comes from Chiara De Giorgi. Chiara is an Italian author and currently lives in Berlin, Germany. She writes fiction, with a focus on children’s literature and science fiction.

 

Missing June

by Chiara De Giorgi

created with Canva

 

When June woke up that morning, she immediately felt that something was wrong. 

It was the last week of school at the Boarding School at the End of Dreams, where she was enrolled in tenth grade, and she was looking forward to the last day because in the evening there would be a school dance for students from tenth grade onward. It would be her first prom, she had a beautiful dress, and her friend Ronnie, a werewolf from the World of Fairy Tales whom she really liked, had asked her to be his date. 

With a sigh of anticipation, June tore the May page from the calendar hanging on her bedroom door. And a strange thing happened. The first strange thing of the day, actually. The June page was missing: the calendar went from May 31st directly to July 1st.

“Oh, well,” she muttered. She wouldn’t be able to cross the days as they passed, but it wasn’t such a tragedy after all. 

But things got stranger and more worrying from there. When she went to class, her desk wasn’t there. No student seemed to recognize her, so much so that she rushed to the bathroom and checked herself in the mirror to see if she had changed overnight. It happened to creatures coming from the World of Dreams like herself sometimes. But no, the mirror reflected the same face as yesterday: her bronze skin, golden hair, and vibrant green eyes were all there.

She went back to class, and the teacher surprised her by asking her to introduce herself. 

“I am June,” she said, on the verge of tears. “How can you not remember me? I presented my essay on the ecological balance in the northern regions of the World of Dreams just a couple of days ago!”

“You must have been dreaming,” commented the teacher, shaking his furry head (he was a tall yeti who liked to dye his fur, which was currently grass green). “Did I give you a good grade?”

“Yes, you did,” muttered June, unable to hold back tears.

“Oh, well,” concluded the teacher with a smile. “At least it was a good dream, eh? Why don’t you go to the library and get some rest? I’ve already contacted the secretary and we’ll figure out this mix-up as soon as possible.”

***

The library was a good place to be when you were upset, June was convinced of that.

The silence enveloped her. It was the type of silence that carried meaning, which came from all those books, thousands of pages filled with the wisdom from all the Worlds. 

Señor Sebastian Fernandez-Caballero, the centuries-old Talking Turtle in charge of the library, welcomed her. Seeing that she was clearly in distress, he offered her some sage tea and asked her to share her troubles. 

Two cups of tea later, June concluded her sad account with tears streaming down her face. 

“…I was so thrilled thinking about the end of school, the ball, and Ronnie… and now I don’t even know who I am anymore.”

“There, there,” said Señor Sebastian. “You are in a library! Don’t you know that all the answers are found in books?”

June sniffed and wiped her eyes. “Really? But… there are so many!”

Señor Sebastian nodded sagely, then pulled a pipe from his cardigan pocket and winked at June. 

“This helps me think better, but don’t tell anyone. One oughtn’t smoke in the library—and on top of that in front of a student… But if we want to solve your problem, we have to be ready to break some rules.”

June widened her eyes. “I don’t want people at school to remember me again just so they can kick me out,” she said.

Señor Sebastian puffed a bit of smoke out of his mouth and waved her worries away. “Just be quiet about my pipe,” he said, and winked again. “Now. Let’s get to the World of Dreams section…”

He made his way to the other end of the library, and June followed, for the first time walking slowly enough to be able to admire the beautifully carved wooden shelves and stuccoed ceilings.

A couple of hours and several cups of tea later, the pipe forgotten, Señor Sebastian finally found what he was looking for. 

“There it is!” he exclaimed triumphantly, tapping his finger on the yellowed page of a green leather-bound big book. 

“What should I do?” asked June eagerly, dropping the book whose index she was quickly scrolling through.

“You were in someone’s dream, but they woke up before they finished the dream. For things to go back to the way they were, the dream must be completed.”

June was left speechless. 

“But… how do I know who was dreaming about me? And how do I get them to complete the unfinished dream?”

Señor Sebastian closed the big book and put his pipe back in his mouth.

“My girl,” he said benevolently, “you come from the World of Dreams yourself… I’m sure you will find a way.”

***

It was a long night for June. 

She visited the dreams of her classmates one by one, until she finally found the dream she was looking for. It was Ronnie’s dream! He was dreaming about the dance: June was behind a door and waiting for him to open it, but the poor wolf boy was so excited, that he had an anxiety attack and promptly woke up before he could open the door.

She smiled to herself and tiptoed into Ronnie’s dream. In her beautiful dress, she walked to the door, put her hand on the knob, and opened it. 

“Hey, Ronnie…” she called softly.

The boy, who was wringing his hands and whose heart was beating a little too fast, looked up. She smiled at him and reached out a hand. Ronnie returned the smile and took it in his. Soon after, they both woke up.

***

As soon as June opened her eyes, she jumped out of bed and ran to her bedroom’s door to check the calender. The June page had reappeared! 

“Hopefully this means that now everyone remembers me!” she muttered as she went back to sleep.

Upon waking the next morning, June found a note that someone had slipped under the door of her room.

I can’t wait for the dance! See you in class. Ronnie.

June pressed the note to her heart and smiled. The last week of school was going to be beautiful!

The Spot Writers:

Val Muller: http://www.valmuller.com/blog/
Catherine A. MacKenzie: https://writingwicket.wordpress.com/wicker-chitter/
Phil Yeats: https://alankemisterauthor.wordpress.com/
Chiara De Giorgi: https://chiaradegiorgi.blogspot.com/