Chapter 1: A hospital

Editor's Note: This is the beginning of the manuscript that was included in the large envelope I received from Mr. Lambson. After my first reading I found it curious that Danny was writing the story in 3rd person. Thinking back, however, I vaguely remember Danny mentioning a story of heartbreak in his life that was so absurd, if it was ever to be told, it would have to be pawned off as fiction, because no one would believe it to be true. My gut tells me this is the start of that story.

Chapter 1: A hospital

Manuel was itching to get out of the bed. The sterile, mechanical, robotic bed that the doctors and nurses had forced him to stay in. The boy was so anxious that it felt as if his skin was unravelling. He grabbed a hand full of the cardboard-like crunchy sheets and cursed the idea of hospitals, doctors, nurses, IVs, shots, medicine, disease, and most of all bed rest.

It was a very late hour now. Visiting hours were long ago, and he found himself staring at an all bright blue television screen, due to the fact that it was so late, and the programming was done for the day. The blue screen mixed with the green from his heart monitor, and also a hint of red that he didn’t know where was coming from, it gave the room an almost eerie glow.

He was tired of this place. He didn’t want anymore flowers. No more get well cards. He never wanted another shot, surgery, cartoon band aid, catheter, or IV ever again. But the thing he despised the most, the thing he would completely destroy if given the chance, were lollipops and popsicles. It wasn’t so much the taste that bothered him, but just how the doctors tried to disguise their sneaky acts of pricking him with needles and jamming him full of tubes, by buttering him up with sweets.

“Why can’t I just get better!” Manuel thought to himself.

When his thoughts finally wandered away from his resentment and bitterness, he found himself longing for his old bunk bed in his room at home. He would have friends sleep over, which would be completely ridiculous and an impossible feat in his current room. Also there was something about his old mattress that was very comforting. It was so old, and broken in that there were a couple of springs that would sort of tickle you through the night. Manuel found himself aching for those springs now, but especially the sense of being at home.

Since there was no more television to be watched, and he didn’t much care for video games, he reached for the night stand and grabbed his favorite book. This particular book was a collection of a comic book series about a super hero named Marcel Mandrake. The boy was actually partly named after this hero; the hero’s full name being Marcel Manuel Mandrake. Not too many people had read these comics, or had even heard of them, but Manuel knew them by heart. They were written by his father, who would recite them every night until Manuel would fall asleep. And as Manuel read them on his own this time, he was comforted and he found himself yawning until eventually he drifted off to a state where he could not keep his eyes open.

After what felt like only fifteen minutes, the boy was awoken by the sun pouring in through the windows, but more importantly two familiar voices, and one familiar smell. The smell was of perfume –God he loved that smell- and it was coming from a woman named Amy Lambson, whom Manuel referred to as Mom. The other voice was from his Father, whom Manuel considered a hero.

“How’d you sleep bud?” his father asked through his bushy beard.

“Couldn’t,” Manuel ached.

“We don’t like this one bit either, but rest is gonna make you feel better sweetie,” his mom stated.

Manuel wanted to share how he just wanted some fresh air, and how he felt fine. He wanted to feel the green grass between his toes, and the sunshine on his face, with the wind tickling his neck. But he quickly found that his body wasn’t matching up with his mind, and that his mind wanted things that his body wasn’t willing to give. This made him frustrated and upset, and he started to get tears in his eyes.

Both his parents grabbed his hands and his mother told him, “Hang in there buddy, things will get better. We love you so much.” The family shared a long embrace, and then continued affirming each other with words of encouragement and hope, and soft gentle touches that restored each one of their hearts. Eventually his father spoke.

“You have a special visitor today Manny. This is exactly why your mother and I had to go out of town yesterday. Do you want to meet him?”

Before Manuel had the chance to say he didn’t want to meet another doctor, and that he didn’t want any more shots, a small man with a clean-shaven face, and a bright sea-foam green suit entered the room. As he approached the bed, Manuel found that the gentleman wasn’t a doctor at all, but what seemed to be a very nice man, with a very sincere smile on his face. Manuel was only half awake, but he felt as if the man was going to help him in a way that no one else could, and Manuel gave him his undivided attention.

“Hello Mr. Manuel,” the mysterious man said in way that made it seem they had known each other for years.

“Hello,” Manuel smiled.

“My name is the Honorable Noble Captain John Miles Berkowitzski. But I would prefer that you just call me Jack. I am here today, because I have some very important questions I need to ask you. Manuel, have you ever heard of the DreamGiver Foundation?”

“No,” Manuel answered curiously.

“Well Manuel today is your lucky day. It is my job to meet with boys and girls like you, and ask them what their biggest dreams are. And it is the job of the DreamGivers to make those dreams come true. Now I want you to think about this long and hard, and you don’t have to give me an answer right away. I want you to come up with what your biggest dream in the world is. It could be flying a plane, visiting Hawaii, swimming with the arctic penguins, bungee jumping, anything that you can think of. Can you think of anything Manuel?”

Manuel thought long and hard. He thought of being an astronaut, or a professional basketball player, but then remembered that these things had already been done. What he really desired was to do something that had never been done before. Something new. Something completely different. He wanted to leave this hospital and see new worlds and new people. What Manuel Lambson wanted more than anything was a brand new adventure.

Manuel tried to bring the words to his lips to describe what he wanted, but found it impossible to say. Like before his body couldn’t keep up with his mind, and he started to get frustrated and tears were coming to his eyes.

“Would you like to write it down?” the man named Jack asked in his bright green suit.

Joy reentered Manuel’s heart and he nodded his head. Then someone retrieved some paper and a pen, and Manuel very carefully took them and started to describe what it was he wanted. He wanted to fully explain his thought process, but in the end he decided to save his energy, and he simply wrote “a brand new adventure.” He looked it over, and the more he looked at it, the more he realized that this was what he wanted more than anything. Manuel picked it up, treating the piece of parchment as though it was sacred, and handed it to Jack the DreamGiver.

Jack looked down at the paper, and at first he seemed some what shocked, but then soon enough slivers of light developed in his eyes, and it looked as if his eyes were twinkling like stars. Jack seemed to be getting choked up, as if Manuel had proposed the most beautiful dream he had ever heard. The suited DreamGiver soon cleared his throat, and read the statement aloud so that Manuel’s mother and father could both hear what was proposed.

“Achem. Excuse me. It says, ehh…A brand new adventure.”

Jack seemed very proud of Manuel, and their eyes met one another, and there seemed to be so much communicated in that long stare that really can’t be put into words. The long look was almost a dialogue, with Jack’s look asking: “Do you really want this?”

And Manuel’s stare replying “Yes! More than anything! I can handle it!”

Amy and Danny Lambson, Manuel’s parents, looked at their son, and then at the mysterious man with the sea-foam green suit, and then back and forth at each other. Soon without any discussion they both somewhat understood what was going on, and that Manuel was very serious about this, and that the DreamGiver was very serious about making it happen.

Before anyone could say anything, or confirm the mysterious events that had transpired, Jack pulled a briefcase out of thin air and popped it open. Manuel peaked over and noticed it was empty. Jack placed the little piece of paper, which asked for “a brand new adventure” into the briefcase, and then shut it and locked it three times, checking each lock twice.

All eyes were on Jack and the case. Then the mystical man said, “Well Mr. Manuel I will get right to work on this. Mr. Lambson, Mrs. Lambson, it was very nice to meet you both. We will be in touch.” And before anyone could say goodbye, the man had vanished from the room.