Lenny
feat.Dreamily
Images generated by Stable Diffusion
The chap was so maladapted to society that he could be quite annoying and the others were all worried about him. They’d seen him as a child, but since then he had been in and out of various homes and with the help of some friends, he had found his way into the foster care system, which seemed like the right place for such an abnormal creature. As an adult, he didn’t talk much or at all and when asked what they should call him, nobody had come up with anything. They weren’t sure if he even liked to be called by his name, though it was the last thing they wanted to hear. It felt wrong calling him ‘the chap’ and he hated it. So they went from nickname to nickname until they settled on “Lenny”, which he agreed with wholeheartedly and it stuck.
They were used to seeing Lenny running around everywhere. He would sometimes go outside and play, especially with his dog, who he named after himself. He never spoke, only laughed and smiled. Nobody thought too much of it, though, because Lenny seemed normal most days, except for when he talked, which was really strange and sometimes sounded like some alien language. That happened especially during the night when everyone would watch him sleep. They always assumed that it was some sort of nightmare and would wake him. He would just smile and tell them what he dreamt up. They never saw a reason not to believe him, and after hearing about his strange dreams every time, they believed him entirely.
He was a strange sight to say the least. He looked nothing like you would expect a decent person to look like. His hair was long and dark and covered one eye so he couldn't see from it properly. Even though his skin was pale, there wasn't a visible mark anywhere, not even where the sun shone directly on his face. In fact, his entire person was covered in a white aura and it made people afraid of him at first until they noticed that he wasn't actually harmful. After a while, no matter what they did to keep him away, they just couldn't get rid of this oddity.
But despite their fear, he never showed any sign of being hostile and that was more than enough for them to let him stay as they hoped he’d stay. As time passed however, Lenny slowly grew quieter and less cheerful but that was fine because everyone thought that maybe he needed a little bit more attention. They didn't need to say it to make him feel better though. Instead, they gave each other knowing looks and small smiles, hoping against all odds that somehow, he would be able to fit in.
Until one day Lenny accidentally had his little magic mushroom experience. Of course he didn't mean to do it on purpose but it was only an accident nonetheless. That is, until he fell over in the woods and ate some of the mushrooms. And boy, what happened next! Poor Lenny had his first good day. When he got home he danced around his room and sang along to music through earbuds. He spent the whole morning fascinated by this painting he’d had forever. Lenny couldn’t get over the fact that it was a painting of a room inside his own room. It was his favorite piece of art and he loved every second of it. Then he saw the mirror hanging above his desk and decided to draw a face on it. He drew himself and then smiled at his reflection. The mirror was so shiny that when Lenny moved around in front of it, he could clearly see himself. That's how he ended up spending most of his morning. When he finally got hungry again, he ran downstairs and prepared a simple meal, just something easy to cook that wouldn’t take too much time. After he was done eating, he decided to go outside.
The sky was full of pink and purple clouds and he felt like he was floating and everything was so bright and beautiful, he was laughing happily, just floating around. When the world had stopped moving and he realized where he was, he saw himself lying on a beach, covered in flowers and surrounded by colorful butterflies. Everything was so pretty, the sand, the waves, the clouds, the flowers, the birds. He just lay there for a moment and closed his eyes, enjoying himself completely. He hadn't felt so relaxed in years, maybe ever.
When he finally opened his eyes again, he saw two people who looked really similar to him standing in front of him, smiling kindly. The man who looked most like him spoke in a calm and collected tone; he said, “Lenny, I know you’re confused right now, but this isn’t a dream, it’s real and we can explain everything to you. You just have to trust us, ok?” The woman on the other hand said, “Yes sweetie, we’ll take you somewhere you’ve always wanted to be, where your life will change forever and where you will finally find peace.” She took her hands gently and helped Lenny stand up, keeping her arm around him the whole time. She started talking to him quietly so as not to startle him, as she led him through the park , trying to make sense out of his thoughts and feelings. She told him that once they reached their destination, he'd feel like his body was on fire or something else equally unpleasant, but he wasn't supposed to worry or panic too much. All he needed to do was relax, think of the happiest memory and concentrate hard on it; then suddenly, everything would be okay. If he did that, everything would become clear and perfect.
After a while, they reached a big building with a huge glass roof. It looked kind of familiar to Lenny but when he tried to remember where he’d seen such a structure before, he came up blank. At first, he thought it might be some sort of hospital or mental institute but then it occurred to him that the place was too clean and nice and it smelled fresh and natural. “You don't have to decide if you wanna live here or not now,” the man who had talked before explained as he smiled softly at Lenny. “We're not forcing you to do anything you don't want to. Just remember that you belong here.”
As the woman took a step forward, taking one more glance at Lenny, he wondered if the place might actually be some sort of paradise or if he was crazy. Either way, he couldn't wait to explore it and spend all day with the strange couple. He was about to ask a question when they entered the building. Inside, it seemed empty, apart from a single staircase leading to the second floor. The woman led Lenny up the stairs, and as soon as he put his foot on the last step, he gasped loudly. His surroundings appeared exactly like in the painting in his room. Except for the door in front of them, which had a fancy golden handle and was standing wide open. Lenny's eyes were blown wide open with confusion. The image was definitely different than what he expected but yet it looked exactly the same as the painting in his room and yet it didn't. Before he could turn around and say anything to the woman, she had already grabbed him by the waist and pulled him towards her. She pushed him onto the edge of a table and climbed onto it, sitting down on his lap and rubbing herself against his crotch. “I’m sorry about the paint, honey. We can wash it off later if you want.” She began undoing her shirt and pulled it over her head, letting the fabric fall to the floor. Her breasts were huge and she looked gorgeous sitting there, naked and waiting for his touch.
Lenny's mouth hung open slightly and he couldn't help but imagine her underneath him, moaning. The feeling was weirdly foreign and exciting, but he couldn't think straight. The woman seemed completely unfazed by that and continued playing with the zipper of her skirt. She leaned closer to him and whispered in his ear, “Are you gonna join me, baby?” Lenny couldn't speak, he just nodded. He had to admit, it felt amazing and it was making him hot inside and he was sure she must have felt it too. However, that was all the encouragement the woman needed and she stood up to remove her bra and panties. Now she was practically naked in front of him. She sat back down in his lap and wrapped both of his arms around her body, pressing his forehead against hers. She began kissing him and he let himself drown in the sweetness. He loved this moment and he couldn't stop staring at her body. It made him wonder how someone so delicate and beautiful could look so sexy at the same time. As he stared into her deep violet eyes he started to feel warm and tingly inside. He was getting dizzy and his vision became blurry until everything turned black.
The sound of someone knocking on the door brought Lenny to awareness and he opened his eyes in confusion. He looked to see what time it was but found it difficult. He couldn't tell where anything was. Was that normal? Had this happened before? Was he dreaming? But before he could dwell further on these questions, he noticed that he was naked; he got up immediately after that and tried to find clothes in an attempt to cover himself. His brain was telling him it was important for him to hide from whoever might see him in such a state of undress, which meant he would need to wear something, so he grabbed the biggest piece of clothing he could find and went outside.
To his surprise, when he got outside, the whole city was white, and everyone was walking around naked. Not only phisically naked, as he would later find out, but also spiritually. When Lenny approached a group, they turned around to speak to him and Lenny almost screamed. Their eyes were so naked that just by glancing at them he could see straight into their souls. And as he walked past them, he noticed that he could hear everything they were thinking; what they were feeling. It was quite creepy, but at least he knew that he wasn't alone. Although they weren't necessarily pleasant, there wasn't any reason to scream. And even if there was, nobody heard him anyway, unless, of course, they were listening to their own heartbeat, which could be very possible. So instead, Lenny decided to go find something to wear and hopefully somebody to talk to.
It didn’t take him long to come across a nearby store, so he decided to try that. He was surprised that there actually were things inside, but nevertheless, he decided to try them all out. The clothes in there looked expensive and probably brand new as well (maybe even better). He grabbed a sweater, a pair of jeans and a cute backpack. After a quick check, he figured that his outfit couldn’t possibly be any better than the previous ones and went to buy the stuff. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to afford everything, as the prices would surely be too high. Apparently, the store keeper could hear his thoughts and told him not to worry about money.
Lenny didn't have to pay. In his opinion, that sounded absolutely incredible, especially given that he had no idea what he even was anymore. And yet, it seemed that everything around him changed with every move he made and the words he uttered. It was like someone, somewhere was playing with a huge invisible ball, spinning it around and around and throwing it into the air. He just hoped that wherever he ended up, he would never get tired of exploring his own soul and discovering what was really happening to him.
As he finished that thought, Lenny found a child who looked just like a younger version of him. The child was also naked and, like everyone, had big naked eyes. Lenny thought about saying something, but the kid talked to him first. “Lenny, you’re safe here, you’re home here and you belong here.” Lenny frowned deeply and shook his head slightly, hoping to understand what the kid was trying to communicate. “You mean my soul? Like in dreams, you can’t wake up if you fall asleep?” He asked, trying to make sense out of it, although he was already starting to understand what the boy was telling him.
“No, silly, not your soul. The world exists in three dimensions, but everything has been created in four. In order to see, touch and know, you must learn to use the fourth dimension. For example, right now you are inside of a dream, but the world around you is real and I can show you what’s around you. If you want to live here, you will need to do so, because you won’t be able to stay in the dream if you don’t accept yourself fully. Do you understand?”
Lenny just nodded slowly at first, then he remembered that the boy couldn’t see him so he answered him, “Yeah, I get it now. So I’m in a dream right now, is that right?”
“That's exactly right, darling. That is why we call this type of dream a dreamscape.”