Do you now miss them and the things that they said

Four or five days later, Tom and Corinne lay in bed, quietly seeking Morpheus, but they did not find him. Instead, an unfamiliar figure appeared to them from the world of dreams. She was wearing a white satin dress, and her raven hair was pulled back a bit too tightly. From above her prominent nose, blazing eyes looked downward, staring intently at the candle she held at waist-height. As its flame cast light which danced across her face, she beckoned. A haunting melody began to play from somewhere far behind her. She looked up. Everything faded to white.

<table> <tbody> <tr> <th>Corinne's dream</th> <th>Tom's dream</th> </tr> <tr> <td> Corinne found herself swimming through the brightness, and slowly the white light dimmed. She began to see shapes moving about in the distance. Were they protists? No—they seemed to be whales. As the light continued to dim, she realized that she was in the ocean. A dugong passed by, following by a manatee. Then a marmot darted straight at her and stopped an arm's length from her face. « What is your business here? » it demanded officiously. « I seek mine own heart's desire, » she replied, in a voice that was not her own. « That path is closed to you! » the marmot shrieked angrily. « How can you breathe underwater? » Corinne asked, in her own voice. « I have special dispensation, » the marmot replied arrogantly. « What you should be asking is how you can breathe underwater. » Corinne thought about this. « You think you're so smart, » crowed the marmot gleefully. « You're not! You're faking it. You can't breathe underwater! » Corinne's lungs filled with water, and everything faded to black. When she awoke, she had washed up on a sandy beach. She coughed painfully and tried to drain the water from her ear. Then she squinted and looked around. There were palm trees bearing coconuts. Was that a toucan? It was. Was it gesturing at her? She lifted herself up and crawled on her hands and knees to where the toucan stood. The toucan spoke. « I am the Toucan. I rule this realm, from the sand to the sea, from the air to the water. You are my champion. You are my hope. You will not fail me, or you will die. » « What? » The answer came in the form of a sharp, sickening pain that seemed to constrict all of her internal organs. </td>

<td> Tom found himself floating in the white. A white door opened, revealing a black passageway. Tom tried to move to it, but he was weightless and unable to propel himself. He closed his eyes and envisioned himself moving toward the opening, and when he looked again, he was floating slowly toward the door. From the black passageway, a man wearing gold-lamé overalls and an oxygen mask pushed off the wall and cruised to intercept him. « What is your business here? » the man asked officiously. « I seek mine own heart's desire, » he replied, in a voice that was not his own. « That path is closed to you! » the man shrieked angrily. « Why are you wearing that mask? » Tom asked, in his own voice. « Because I need air to breathe, » the man replied matter-of-factly. « What you should be asking is how you are surviving without any oxygen. » Tom thought about this. « You're not very intelligent, » the man declared. « You're completely unprepared. You're not surviving without oxygen! » Tom gasped, trying to breathe in air that wasn't there. Soon, everything faded to black. When he awoke, he was in a hospital bed, connected to a respirator and an IV drip. He blinked several times and looked around. There were strange glowing crystals, in red and green. There was a man in a space suit. It bounced over to him and sat by the bed. Tom peered through the helmet, and started when he saw that there was no one inside the suit. The space suit spoke. « I am the Astronaut. You will serve me, or you will die. » « What? » The answer came in the form of a sharp, sickening pain that seemed to constrict all of his internal organs. </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>

Tom and Corinne sat up in bed, both sweating profusely. Their hearts were palpitating like crazy, and they twitched a bit before looking at one another.

« Bad dream? »

« Bad dream. »

They calmed down, fixed the twisted bed covers, snuggled together, and went back to sleep.

They did not reach down to get their laptops. They did not record their dreams in their dream journals. They did not present their dreams to one another. Corinne did not get to point out that Tom had misspelled “astronaut”. By dawn, all was forgotten.

Posted on 2005-10-04

Tags: parabola