Susan replies crisply, ‘Mola. Malky did not come here to be told what to do about Seb by you or by me. It’s not his fault. He’s just scared.’

‘No, Susan,’ I sigh. ‘She’s right. That’s kind of exactly why I came.’

‘Yeah!’ says Mola, pleased. ‘He’s scared! And should be. Messing with things like that. It’s like a video game to you, innit? Bam-bam-bam, now I’m dead, press “replay”, new life. And now you find out it’s real! These things, these dreams, what we call milam … these are the result of years of study, of thought, of meditation over centuries. Centuries, boy! Then this fella comes along with his … his toy –’ she spits the word out as if it tasted foul – ‘and you expect it to be all la-la-la fun-games. Huh?’

What can I say? My mouth has turned down with sorrow and shame, and worse a tear is leaking from one eye. And still this fierce little old lady is going on at me, while Susan stands by, not stopping her. Though how she would, I’ve no idea.

I say it so quietly that I’m not sure it’s even audible above the fluttering of the prayer flags. ‘What should I do?’

Mola steps forward and stands in front of me. ‘You asking? You asking my opinion?’

I nod.

‘Cos, you know, the opinion of one old lady don’t mean much. But –’ she raises one finger – ‘if you asking me, then I say you go back. You fall asleep under your toy and you do the only thing possible. You go back in your dream. And, while you there, you take the greatest leap into the unknown. And you take your brother with you. You can put right what you have put wrong, Dream-boy.’

I don’t understand any of this. It sounds like gibberish. A leap into the unknown?

‘What do you mean, Mola?’ I say, sniffing and wiping my eyes. I’m not going to start crying now, because I am trying to concentrate on what this strange old woman has just said.

‘You need to go to the edge of your dream and then go further. Go beyond.’

I blink at her, desperate to understand, and she smiles back at me.

‘You’ll know when you get there. Sometimes the greatest journeys have no map.’

Then she places her palms together and says, ‘There. Now it is yoga time. Excuse me. May all things be well – tashi delek.’ She turns and walks back into the house, leaving me and Susan standing by the flagpole.

Go to the edge of your dream and then go further.

Simple.

Only – with no Dreaminators, how am I supposed to get there?

Chapter 57