Why do we dream?
A third of our lives is spent in sleep, yet as we dream we venture to wondrous and bizarre places. Are dreams merely subconscious illusions? Or are they something more profound?
Everyone has probably pondered these questions at one point or another. But I’ve clung to them as tightly as Linus clings to his blanket. The more we learn, the more insistent our curiosity becomes. And the more complicated our questions get, the more we wish for simple answers.
This is especially true for me when it comes to sleep and dreams. The unknown, mysterious rift between yesterday and today is a space I’ve found myself filling with joyful imagination. As I started writing this story, I enjoyed the way my imagination and reality fondly drew closer.
This is a story about a shopping village you can only enter when asleep. It’s full of interesting people and places that capture the hearts of sleeping customers, like a food truck that sells snacks to ensure a good night’s sleep, and the grumpy Noctilucas who frantically dress those customers who arrive without nightgowns. There’s Maxim’s back-alley nightmare-making workshop, as well as a mysterious dream maker hidden in a Million-Year Snow Mountain cabin. Products on offer range from Babynap Rockabye’s conception dreams to the flying fantasies of Leprechauns.
But most of all, it is a collection of stories about the Dallergut Dream Department Store—the sleeping customers’ favorite spot, so popular that once you try it, you’ll always go back. Each floor offers unique dreams in special packaging, filling up the endless shelves and enhancing the customers’ everyday lives. I hope this place holds a special place in your heart, too.
And lastly, if this story enriches your life at all and helps you have a good night’s sleep—and a good night’s dream—I could not be happier.
Miye Lee