Delilah and the Hall of Dead Dreams: Chapter 1 – The Cost of Dreams

Chapter 1 – The Cost of Dreams

Everyone has a dream in life. Many people go out of their way and take the most dangerous risks to achieve their dreams. Among these dreams is Delilah who wants to be one of the most entertaining puppets in the world. Since puppets are best at entertainment, she has to do a lot to stand out from the hundreds of other puppets. She’s tried singing, comedy, and acting, but every puppet managed to outdo her and get more attention. During one event, her parents cheered more for the eventual winner than her. This crippling loss made Delilah run away in shame.

While wandering the town, she comes across the new and interesting building that was built recently called The Hall of Dead Dreams. Many people have gone to it and come out as different people. The changed people say they fulfill their dreams, but they also act strange at certain times. Curious to see what’s in the strange building, Delilah enters the building to find a dimply lit antique shop with no one inside. The orbs on the shelves have different events in them taking place each labeled with a specific dream. Each dream plays out within the orbs as it shows the beginning, middle, and end of the dream, but the one that catches her eyes the most is the one about being a famous actress.

“Ah, an actress is what caught your eye,” a man says from behind her.

He startles her by coming out of nowhere. The man has a long nose, big head, and is dressed properly in a black tuxedo and bowtie with black pants.

“Oh, yes. I’ve always dreamt of being one of the best puppets to entertain people and put smiles on their faces,” Delilah says to him.

“That’s a lovely dream. Most puppets want to be entertainers just for the riches and the attention they’ll get, but you’re different. I can see it in you. You can be what you dream of.”

“You really think so?”

“I know so. Isn’t that right, dear?”

“Yes, dear,” a woman says from behind Delilah. A woman is dressed in a long white dress that acts as a contrast from her husband in black. “But before we say anything else, I think we should introduce ourselves.”

“Oh, I must’ve forgotten my manners because I was so excited to see a puppet of such quality as you. My name is Fidato.”

“And my name is Onesta. The orbs you see in front of you are called dead dreams because they have no one to give them life, however, you can be that person if you place one within your heart. You said you wanted to be one of the best actresses, right?”

“Yes! Can you help me bring my dream to life?”

“I can at a simple cost. After you put this orb in your heart, you will lose a part of yourself. That simply means that you will lose whatever was preventing you from achieving your dreams,” Onesta says.

“It’s a side effect of the orbs. If we didn’t put a trade-off on them, then the devil certainly would’ve done it for us. You can trust us. We are trustworthy people. Don’t you think that the people who make the dreams of others would be?” Fidato says.

“We’re the most honest people you can find. Guaranteed. I’m sure you’ve seen our happy customers in town. Our good deeds speak for themselves.”

Delilah quietly considers the offer.

“So, will you accept your dreams coming true at such a small price?” Onesta asks.

“You won’t do anything sinful. We promise,” Fidato reassures.

After thinking about it some more, Delilah answers them, “Yes! Please, make my dreams come true!”

Fidato and Onesta smile then laugh before Onesta grabs an orb from the shelf and gives it to Delilah. This orb has the appearance of a flower with a golden eye in the center. The orb shows Delilah a scene with her receiving attention and love for her acting. She only needed to look at it once to be sure to put the orb into her heart. When she looks back up, she sees that she’s in the scene she just watched. She continues acting unlike she’s ever acted before and manages to win the attention of the entire town.

“That was great, Delilah!”

“I didn’t know you were such a good actress!”

“You finally managed to find the spark to light up your career!”

Among all the praise Delilah received, she hears the voices of her parents.

“That’s our daughter!”

“I’m so proud of her. I knew she would eventually impress everyone.”

This praise from her parents brings tears of joy to her eyes. The exhaustive day ends in a feast for Delilah. She then goes to bed only to awaken shortly after. Unbeknownst to her, her body has changed so that her eyes have become triangular and her hair has become spikey. All she knows is that her body feels strange and that she’s not in control of herself as she walks out of the house without waking her parents.

“What’s going on?” she asks herself.

“I’m trying to remove some obstacles in our path to our dream,” a darkened version of her voice inside her says.

“What do you mean? Who are you?”

“I’m the new part of you that helped you entertain everyone today.”

“What do you mean? I did that.”

“No, you didn’t. I did. You gave up part of yourself so that I could achieve your dreams.”

“But who are you?”

“I’m you or more specifically a new part of you. One that can help your dreams come true.”

“What is happening right now?”

“I told you already. I’m trying to remove some obstacles in our path to our dream. I’m in control of your body and I’m going to take care of your rivals.”

“Don’t hurt them!”

“I’m not going to hurt them. I’m just going to level the playing field. Now, go back to sleep.”

When the new part of Delilah tells her to go back to sleep, she falls back to sleep in her head, but only partially. She hears the muffled sounds of walking, cutting, and the slight sounds of muffled screams. Once she wakes up, she starts thinking to herself like she did last night.

“Hello? Are you there? What did you do last night?”

There’s only her and herself in her head. She does her daily routine and goes out to do more acting. This time she tries to get a role in a musical. There are other puppets there who are trying out for the position. What’s strange about these puppets is that there are a few of them that say they were attacked by a mysterious and scary figure as an excuse for why they aren’t able to perform their best. Their valid excuse doesn’t help in them getting the role though they are told they will be considered for later when they get better. Delilah gets the role in the play, but she feels like she didn’t earn it. This is especially true since the judges didn’t find her singing too impressive.

Wondering if her singing didn’t improve with her acting, Delilah goes to sing in a singing contest and falls short.

“I thought that orb was supposed to make my dream come true,” she thinks to herself.

“It did,” the dark voice from before says, “You’re an amazing actress, but you aren’t an amazing singer.”

“You! Did you have anything to do with those puppets who were injured?”

“Maybe I did. What does it matter?”

“You hurt them!”

“So what? I told you I was leveling the playing field. We wouldn’t have gotten the role if they were feeling okay. Just be glad that we can entertain people tomorrow with our amazing performance.”

“I guess that’s I can do.”

“Thatta girl. Let’s practice our lines for tomorrow’s performance then get some well-deserved rest.”

Delilah does what her thoughts tell her with a guilty feeling in her chest.