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A young boy walked quickly through the bustling streets, careful not to meet anyone’s eyes. He looked nervous, and he felt his stomach churning with anticipation. It was an overcast afternoon, but still pretty bright; he had no trouble weaving through the busy crowds and finding his way to his destination.
Eventually, he found what he was looking for. He rounded a corner and started to descend into a small, outdoor amphitheatre tucked away in the city. Currently, there was no one there, other than the occasional wild bird, and even those flew away at the sight of the boy slowly making his way down the stairs.
Will sat patiently on a seat at the front, tapping his hands on his legs nervously. He hadn’t met up with Helen since he first saw her in person a month ago. They had conflicting, busy schedules, especially after the excitement of Will’s football game and Helen’s concert. He still felt as though he didn’t know her well, even after the adventure they had in Nightopia together, and he didn’t know how she would act around him.
Fortunately, the boy didn’t have to wait long. There was the sound of footsteps, then a timid, “H-hello? Will…?”
Will jumped to his feet immediately and turned to face the voice. Helen was still descending the stairs, wearing a casual but cute dress and leggings. Will was also wearing a comfortable hoodie and shorts. “Oh, hey Helen… It’s good to see you again!”
“Yeah, you too…”
Silence stretched out between the two kids; neither of them were all that sure of what to say. What do you say to a friend you had previously met in a dream? Will felt uneasy and shy, and he took a breath.
“It’s been a while, huh?” He hoped that his nervousness wasn’t so obvious.
“Yeah, it has been,” Helen agreed politely. She sat down next to him, setting her instrument case on the ground by her carefully polished shoes. “I’ve been busy with all kinds of stuff… School, mostly. And practising the violin.”
“That’s cool!” Will said. “I’ve also been busy with school, especially after the football game… I had a lot of schoolwork to catch up on. Are you planning on playing today?” Will reached for the violin case curiously. It was decorated with various stickers of flowers and hearts, and Will couldn’t help but smile to himself as he lifted it up into his own lap.
“Oh, well…” Helen’s face flushed red as she stared at Will picking up the case. “I mean, I could? I wanna talk to you a little first!”
Will smiled and set the case down. “That’s fine! I was thinking…” He paused, then drew back a little. “Uh, you know how NiGHTS helped us get our Ideya back? I’ve been feeling a lot braver since meeting them, and you…”
Helen’s eyes lit up at the mention of NiGHTS, and she immediately jumped out of her seat to face Will. “Me too, actually! After doing that concert with my mum, I’ve felt so much better about talking to her and practising my violin.”
“Yeah, I get that, too! After my football game I’ve felt a lot better about hanging out with my friends and talking to Dad…”
“NiGHTS helped me feel more confident!” Helen’s face was beaming, and Will couldn’t help but smile, too. “I miss them a lot… We had so much fun flying together in Nightopia. Did you see any of those big monsters?”
“The Nightmaren? Yeah, I did!” Will paused to think, shifting a little in his seat as he tried recalling his previous adventures in Nightopia. “I mostly just liked hanging out with NiGHTS in the different Nightopias, though. The Nightopians were so fun to play with!”
“Flying with NiGHTS was so fun…” Helen recalled dreamily. She twirled a little in place. “I miss doing those spinny attacks. You could go so fast! And it was fun looking at everything from so high up! Owl always got mad at me for trying to fly higher and higher!”
Will laughed. “Yeah, and exploring all the different areas was so fun! I mean, as long as Reala wasn’t lurking around…”
Helen’s face fell at the mention of the red first-level Nightmaren. Will regretted bringing them up almost immediately. “They really caused a lot of problems for me. For both of us. And NiGHTS too…”
She moved to the stage of the auditorium and sat down. She was further away from Will this way, but her voice still carried in the open space. Even from this distance, Will could tell that she was upset. “You know, I haven’t dreamed about them at all since then. Any of them.”
Will looked over at her, wide-eyed. “Really? You too?”
“Yeah…” Helen frowned. “I mean, I know that NiGHTS isn’t coming back, but I was really hoping…”
Will couldn’t help but frown. He was worried about NiGHTS, too. Even if the two of them had only known NiGHTS for a single night, they both had felt a connection to them by the end of the dream. Will still found himself daydreaming about the little purple nightmaren, wishing that they could meet once more.
Will sighed, then got up to join Helen on the stage. He sat next to her, pausing as he thought about what to say to her. “Even if they don’t come back to see us, aren’t you glad that you got to meet them in the first place?”
“Well…”
“No, listen to me.” Will took a deep breath. “NiGHTS wouldn’t want us to be sad about what happened. I mean, we did something important, right? We were protecting our dreams, and they fought with us without any hesitation. They brought us together, too!” The boy caught Helen’s gaze and smiled. “Aren’t you happy that we got to meet through them?”
Helen thought about this, then smiled. “Yeah… I am happy about that.” Her eyes twinkled as she spoke. “Meeting you and Owl and NiGHTS helped me realise that I’ll always have friends that want to fight for me, even if I feel alone.”
“Yeah!” It was Will’s turn to jump up excitedly, and he bounced on his heels as he spoke. “I’ll always be here for you, Helen! We may not be able to meet up often, but we fought and defeated Wizeman together! You’re my very best friend!”
Helen laughed at that, and she smoothed the wrinkles out of her dress as she stood. “You’re mine too, Will. I hope we’ll be friends for a long, long time.”
The two kids hugged, and there was a moment where everything felt right between them. Even with the distance, even with their shared experience of losing a friend, they gained their own happiness in that moment. They would always have each other, and they would always have their memories of Nightopia.
“Hey, you brought your violin for a reason, right? What did you want to show me?”
“Oh!” Helen pulled away from Will and ran to grab her violin from its case. “I wanted to show you the songs I’ve been practising lately, if that’s okay! After the Bellbridge concert, I decided that I wanted to work really hard and make NiGHTS proud!”
Will grinned, looking almost mischievous. “I’d love to hear what you have so far!”
Helen took a few moments to carefully tune her violin and warm up. Will thought it sounded awful, but he didn’t want to be rude, so he just sat and watched her patiently.
“There we are,” she said after scratching her bow across the strings for a final time. “I think I’m ready to play now. Thanks for waiting, Will!”
“Yeah, no problem,” Will said, his gaze laser focused on Helen and her violin. “What are you gonna play?”
“Oh, well…” Helen’s face flushed pink, and she sheepishly grinned. “It’s just a little something I’ve been working on…”
“Well, go on then!” Will ushered. “I’d love to hear it!”
The girl took a deep breath, then carefully assumed correct posture, positioning the bow across the strings of the violin. She started to play; the song was slow at first, then steadily became much heartier and more confident as Helen continued to play.
Will watched as she played. He thought she looked like she was dancing. He recognized the tune, but it wasn’t until the song was nearly over when it finally dawned on him.
“Helen!” he called after she had finished playing. “I recognize that song! That’s the one you were playing when we met here, right?”
She looked startled at first; Will thought she was going to drop her violin. “You remember it?”
“Of course I do! How could I forget? It sounds so familiar…”
The girl rushed to his side, kneeling down at the instrument case to pack her violin back up. “It’s the song I learned in Nightopia with NiGHTS,” Helen said, her voice a little quiet with embarrassment. “They taught me how to play. I think it’s called Dreams Dreams?”
Will laughed. “The name sounds fitting for a song like that!” he said. He reached out and patted his friend on the shoulder. “I think it sounded lovely, and I’d love to hear you play it again sometime. I bet with some time and hard work you’ll make it sound really good!”
“Wait, you didn’t think it sounded good?”
Will’s eyes grew wide, and he clapped a hand to his mouth. “No, that’s not what I meant! I thought it sounded great! I just meant…”
Helen laughed, and she moved to sit next to Will. “It’s okay, I know what you meant! I think I could use more practice, too. Maybe I’ll be able to perform it on stage someday! I’d like to honour NiGHTS in that way.”
“That sounds absolutely wonderful,” Will said, a huge smile spreading across his face. He was so happy to have a friend as talented and nice as Helen. “If you do that, I’ll definitely attend!”
Helen’s face beamed, and Will thought she never looked happier. “Well, if that’s the case, you should invite me to watch you play football sometime! I’d love to come see you in action!”
“It’s a deal!”
The two friends spent the rest of the afternoon chatting aimlessly together. When they finally parted ways, it was with the knowledge that they would definitely meet again, no matter how far apart they were or how long it would take. They both felt the warm glow of the red Ideya in their hearts, and they knew that, even though they couldn’t see NiGHTS anymore, their nightmaren friend would always be with them.