When she awoke, the sky was beneath her feet.
Surrounded by fluffy clouds, the girl Miri blinked at her surroundings. Above, stars drifted through the daytime sky; below, a silver city stretched out at her feet.
“You’re finally awake.”
At that muffled voice, she turned—and there stood a gray cat wearing a pocket watch around its neck. Its golden eyes gleamed.
“Here is the Dream Kingdom. You are the Chosen Sleeper.”
“W‑What? A talking cat…?”
“My name is Toco, the Clockwork Cat. I’m your guide in this kingdom.”
With that, Toco turned, beckoning Miri to follow him.
In the Dream Kingdom, everything existed as though in dreams. Streets made of candy, whales swimming through sky, a library where books sang. But beneath all that wonder lay a troubling silence.
“The King can’t sleep,” Toco revealed.
“As long as the ruler of dreams stays awake, the kingdom must collapse. We must find the Seed of Slumber.”
“Can I even do that?”
“You hold the key of ‘reality.’ That’s why you’re here.”
Though unsettled, Miri set off with Toco by her side.
They visited the Valley of Memories at the eastern border of the dreamlands, scaled the Hills of Forgotten Dreams, and ascended the sleepless Clock Tower itself.
Along the way, Miri felt a strange dissonance.
The dream-people she encountered had faces that felt familiar. A teacher from school, friends from childhood, characters from her picture books. The boundary between dream and reality slowly blurred.
“Toco… am I… still asleep?”
At that question, the cat nodded slowly.
“You are in a hospital bed, experiencing a long dream. This kingdom is made from your consciousness. The Seed of Slumber is your awakening itself.”
Miri was speechless.
Was this entire journey—meeting Toco, the trials—all just part of her dream? If she woke, would it all vanish?
Then suddenly, she heard cracked sky. Black rifts split across the dreamscape, and dream‑people dissolved into nothingness.
“We must hurry!” Toco cried, leading her to the tower’s summit.
There lay the King, lying on a glass bed, holding in his hand a small glowing seed.
“That is… the Seed of Slumber?”
“Yes. It’s the future you will choose. If you grasp it, the dream continues. If you let it go, you will awaken.”
“Toco, what about you?”
The cat smiled faintly.
“I am part of your time. I am the cat you devised to awaken yourself. Soon, my clock will stop.”
Suppressing tears, Miri touched the seed lightly.
“Thank you, Toco.”
“This is not farewell. I’ll see you again—in dreams.”
Light burst forth. As the King’s eyes closed, Miri’s vision turned white.
—Beep, beep, beep—
She opened her eyes to the bright white ceiling. Familiar electronic beeps. Miri found herself in a hospital bed.
Her mother’s sobbing filled the air. Nurses rushed in.
“Miri‑chan… Miri‑chan!”
Miri smiled softly. Somewhere she thought she heard the ticking clock stop.
But the promise exchanged in the Dream Kingdom remained in her heart—
The friendship born between sleep and waking,
And the memory of a journey given to her by a clockwork cat.
