My name is Aisling. I come from a family of architects. We are commonly known by humans as the mythical “sand men.” We are responsible for creating dreams. During our apprenticeship, each architect is assigned to an individual. We watch over them during the day so that we can craft their dreams at night based on the day’s events.

I was assigned to a girl named Emma. Architects are not supposed to form attachments with humans, but after watching Emma for the past month, something is stirring within me—new emotions that I’ve never felt before.

Emma has a very sweet spirit. She is kind toward everyone she meets, and she does very well in school. And yet—how is it that she is bullied every day? The other girls at school mock her and shun her because her clothes are old. Why is it that she must return to an empty home? Her mother is forced to work multiple jobs to make ends meet after her father abandoned them. This sweet, beautiful flower is being slowly crushed by those around her.

Tonight, I want to let her know that she is not alone. I cannot appear in her dream, of course, but I can create a character in her dream—a prince, perhaps, like those she reads about—that behaves similarly to me.

I wait for her to fall asleep, and then I start weaving a dream. I start by placing Emma in a dank dungeon. Then I create my prince character. Acting and speaking through him, I walk up to her jail cell where she is softly weeping. “May I be of service, Miss?” I ask.She gasps softly and looks up to face the prince—to face me. I smile at her and, grabbing a key from my pocket, I unlock the door to let her out. She wipes her nose and shyly approaches me—the prince.

“Who are you? Why are you helping me?” she murmurs.

Grinning, I reply—the price replies, “My name is Prince Alvar. I have come to free you, your highness, from your unrighteous bondage.”

She smiles and curtsies. “Thank you, your highness.”

The prince—I—offer my hand to her and say, “Let me take you on a journey you’ll never forget.” With that, we step out of the darkness into the light. I know that she will be facing her troubles again tomorrow, but maybe I can give her something to cling to through this dream.