Legends of the Dream Warriors: The Awakening
The Powaka world is very tempting. I was tempted to go back just the other day. I actually went to see one of them and asked about doing Task. I don’t know why; I hate Task. Immediately, this Powaka tried to use fear and intimidation to make me do what he wanted. Fear is the main force the Powaka use to hold their world together. It’s the rope they use to wrestle you to the ground, and the man they use to ride your back, hoping to eventually break you like they broke the wild horses.
“Come in tomorrow for an Eye-view,” he said.
But I didn’t want to. Something in me lurched. It was an instinctive reaction; something deep inside knew this was wrong. With that request, I realized I was at the Powaka World Gate about to be sucked in.
He said that if I didn’t come to the Eye-view, I wouldn’t get Task, even though my history was more than evident. It was a power game that the Powaka use to establish their dominance and authority over the Aku. He said he had a good Task for me that paid well and reminded me of all the cool things I could do and buy with Powaka money.
For a second, I started to fall under his spell. I began to believe that I was nothing without his Powaka Task. I started to feel smaller. This is exactly what the Powaka want. It’s a mind game they play very well. It’s their way of taming and breaking the Aku. Actually, the Powaka man was an Aku, but like most Powaka, he had been enslaved for so long he had forgotten. Poor soul, he actually believed he was a Powaka.
The Powaka make you believe that if you work for them long enough, you will find true happiness, but it is a lie. Following their way, you will never find it. They will only work you to death. Then, when you wake up on your deathbed, you realize that all along you were a slave and didn’t even know it.
What was even more disturbing was that this man was what the Powaka call a Kruter, a truly savage beast. Kruters are Aku trained by the Powaka to catch other Aku, ensuring a constant and steady stream of slaves to do their bidding.
Luckily, I am aware of the Powaka world and its tricks. My great-grandfather awakened me to this knowledge when I was only five years old. On his deathbed, he told me something I will never forget.
He said, “Listen to me, and never forget. All Aku have a thing called ‘Dream.’”
I asked him, “Dream? What is Dream, great-grandfather?”
He said, “Dream is a very special thing. It is light you carry inside your heart. Fear is its enemy and love makes it grow. There is nothing more precious an Aku can have.”
“But why, great-grandfather, why is it so important?” I asked, wanting to know more.
He leaned over as if to tell me some big secret. “Dream will take you to who you really are. Protect it, nurture it, and whatever you do, don’t let the Powaka see it. For nothing scares the Powaka more than an Aku Dream revealed. They know what most Aku do not. That Dream is the most powerful thing we have. If we Aku were to remember this, we would all be free, and the Powaka would have no power over us.”
I didn’t quite know what to make of this Dream magic great-grandfather spoke of. I looked at my chest for the next few nights hoping to see it, but nothing happened. Even so, throughout my life, I have tried my best to remember as much of ‘Dream’ as I could.
As the memories of my great-grandfather faded, I remembered Dream again. I was tempted to ask this crazy Powaka if he knew about Dream, but I knew it was futile. He was deep under the Powaka spell. If I had asked, he would have thought I was insane. Anyway, that night I came to my senses.
That night, my great-grandfather came to me in my sleep. As we sat by a campfire, he told me a story about a great Aku hero called Monet. Monet, my grandfather said, was one of the great ones. Against all odds and much ridicule, he walked away from the Powaka world. Monet knew about Dream and worked day and night to discover it in his own heart. Even though the Powaka had tried to scare it away and even though Monet could not see it, he never gave up.
Soon, after much searching, something started to stir in Monet. Dream had come back and awakened in Monet’s heart. Dream then talked to Monet, showing him things of the world he had never noticed before. Dream allowed Monet to see the hidden beauty and detail in all life. This beauty was available for all to see, but the Powaka were blind to it. The Aku too had long forgotten how to see in this way. Every now and then, a special Aku would glimpse this beautiful world but would be quickly told that it was just their imagination.
The Powaka had convinced the Aku long ago that no such beauty existed. To the Powaka and the enslaved Aku, the world was all misery and suffering, nothing more and nothing less. Both groups believed that with enough Powaka money, the suffering and misery might be tamed. But it is a futile effort. Money will not reveal this world to you, only Dream. Unfortunately, Dream the Powaka don’t have, and the Aku have forgotten. Realizing this sad fact, Monet dedicated himself to showing other Aku the hidden world of beauty that Dream had revealed to him. He knew that this beauty would help other Aku to find Dream. Because of his commitment, Dream guided Monet to a new and better life, and Dream’s magic protected Monet from the Powaka world. Because of Dream, Monet had finally found true freedom.
After that, great-grandfather faded into the firelight, and I awoke. Suddenly, I could literally see the Dream light beating in my heart. As I watched, I saw my own self reflected back. But it was not the old me; it was a better me, the person I truly am. I had never seen myself in this way before. I finally felt free and unencumbered. All these years, I had been looking in the wrong places, like in the Powaka world, for all the things that only Dream could give me. Now I realized that Dream was within me all along.
The next day, I visited that Powaka Kruter man. I told him I was already free and I would not be coming to the Eye-view. He thought I was crazy and gave me the most puzzled look.
“How can you leave such a golden opportunity?” he asked. “Don’t you know all Aku seek this? How will you live? How will you survive without Task?”
I didn’t answer; he would not have understood anyway. But not giving up, as I walked out the door, hoping beyond hope that some ancient part of him would awaken and break out of the Powaka spell that held him prisoner…
I asked him…
“What’s your Dream?”
The End
