Page 46 of Barbie: Dreamscape

I’m struggling with a math problem, throwing down my pencil in frustration, and then watching as that pencil becomes a dragonfly that flies to my nose and makes me smile. Then Robin sits next to me and says, “What do you say we try again?”

And all those numbers are peeling off and floating, and that’s how she explains the equations.

She turned darkness into light.

Always.

So can I.

I open my eyes, and the shadows scatter. My necklaces beam a pink so bright it cuts through all of them.

And from the back of my outfit bloom magnificent pink wings.

I look toward the opening, at the surface. Push off the ground.

And race up to meet it.

Wonder and Whimsy

Wind blows my hair back. It whistles in my ears.

The dark gray cliffs on each side are just a blur as I hurtle toward the bright blue sky, and finally—

I’m out of the trench.

And this world is transformed.

My necklaces form an orb around me, their pink glow vanquishing all this land’s darkness. Everywhere I turn, there’s only nature, and light, and an endless sea of rainbow colors.

Posey is waiting, her purple wings translucent in the sunlight. She’s beaming. “You did it!”

Strange—I’m grateful she didn’t just save me. It meant I had to find this light and strength within myself.

I never expected I could do something like this… in my dream-life existence, I’ve never been pushed to my limits, and then pushed even further. Until now.

And… I did it.

I sprouted wings. I’m flying!

And there, floating nearby, is the bell with wings, the key out of this land and into the next. “Thank you,” I tell Posey. “I hope you find what you’re looking for.” I turn to reach my hand toward the bell.

“Wait!”

Slowly, I turn back.

“Are you leaving? Already?”

I look at the key… then back at her. “This is what I came for.”

Posey slowly shakes her head in disbelief. “You just created wings. Don’t you want to try them out?”

Of course I do. I’m flying! But I have a destination.

She seems to read the words in my head, because she juts out a hip, still floating several feet above the trench. “You’re acting like your destination is the entire point of your journey.”

“Isn’t it?”

“No! Journeys are never about the destination, Barbie.”