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The sun had set hours ago, tucking itself behind the hills and leaving the world in the quiet care of the moon. In her bedroom, eight-year-old Lily was busy building a towering castle out of wooden blocks. She was determined not to yawn. She was determined not to rub her heavy eyes. To Lily, sleep was the ultimate enemy. It was a boring, dark pause button on her life. Why would anyone want to lie still with their eyes closed when they could be building castles, coloring pictures, or reading adventures?
Her mother had tucked her in at eight o’clock, kissed her forehead, and turned on the small turtle-shaped nightlight. But the moment the door clicked shut, Lily had thrown off her covers, slid out of bed, and resumed her very important playtime. Now, the grandfather clock in the hallway chimed eleven times. A deep, heavy weariness pulled at Lily’s shoulders, but she stubbornly stacked another block on her tower.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Lily froze. The sound was faint, coming from the large window across her room. She turned slowly, her hands still holding a red triangle block. Pressed against the glass on the outside of her window was a moth. But it was not a dusty, frantic little bug attracted to the porch light. This moth was the size of a dinner plate. Its wings were a breathtaking shade of deep sapphire blue, edged with glowing silver dust that seemed to pulse in time with a slow, steady heartbeat.
Tap. Tap. Tap. It bumped its fuzzy head against the glass again, its large, intelligent silver eyes looking directly at Lily.
Fascinated, Lily set down her block and tiptoed to the window. She pressed her nose against the cool glass. The moth fluttered backward, hovering in the night air, and then, to Lily’s absolute astonishment, it spoke. Its voice was not a bug’s chirp, but a soft, melodic whisper that seeped right through the glass and into her mind.
“Let me in, little Waker,” the voice chimed, sounding like windchimes caught in a gentle breeze. “Your garden is withering, and we are running out of time.”
Lily’s curiosity was far stronger than her fear. She unlatched the window and pushed it upward. A warm, sweet-smelling night breeze drifted in, carrying the scent of blooming jasmine and damp earth. The giant moth glided gracefully into her room, leaving a faint trail of sparkling silver dust that dissolved before it hit the carpet. It landed gently on her bedpost, folding its magnificent wings.
“I am Lumis,” the moth said, bowing its fuzzy head. “I am a scout for the Great Dream Gardener. And you, Lily, are causing a terrible drought.”
“I’m not doing anything!” Lily whispered defensively. “I’m just playing.”
“That is exactly the problem,” Lumis explained, his silver eyes filled with a gentle sadness. “Every child has a plot in the Slumber Garden. When you sleep, you travel there, watering your garden with your dreams. The flowers that bloom there are the source of all your daytime creativity, your imagination, and your joy. But you fight the night, Lily. Because you refuse to visit the Slumber Garden, your patch is turning to gray dust. If it dies completely, your wooden castles will lose their magic, and your crayons will lose their colors.”
Lily looked down at her blocks. The thought of losing her imagination made a small, cold lump form in her tummy. “I don’t want to lose my colors. But sleep is just… nothing. It’s boring.”
“Sleep is not nothing,” Lumis corrected softly, his wings shimmering. “It is the grandest adventure of all. But your garden is too far gone to heal on its own now. You must come with me to the Midnight Realm. We must gather three magical seeds to replant your patch before the sun rises. Will you help me save your imagination?”
Lily looked at her cozy, brightly lit room, and then out the window into the beautiful, mysterious night. She was terribly tired, but this sounded like a real adventure. “How do I get there?”
“Just touch my wing, and leave your waking worries behind,” Lumis instructed.
Lily reached out her small hand and gently touched the moth’s velvety blue wing. Instantly, the room around her began to swirl. The walls melted into ribbons of shadow and starlight. She felt herself becoming incredibly light, floating off the floor. Together, the girl and the giant moth drifted out the window, soaring up into the starry sky, leaving the waking world far behind.
