A day-dream remembered

I think that everyone has had one of those days when everything seems to be going their way, and that's the way it was for me upon this one Spring day. No, I hadn't won the lottery, or received a raise, or met the girl of my dreams, as I had yet to meet my wife. It had more to do with the way I felt inside. The air was just beginning to warm up from a bitter winter, but it was still pleasantly cool. Flowers were beginning to bloom, and the birds were singing. I have always loved Spring, but this day was special somehow. My friend John had just moved down to Florida, and my younger brother, Barry, was visiting for the Summer vacation from college. Now I'll admit that we had been having a little fun at the beach the past few days, and frequenting a few taverns at night, but the feeling that I had upon this particular day had nothing to do with any of that.

The days had been slowly getting longer, and on this Saturday morning the time was pleasantly flowing by. For lunch that day we ate outside by the lake on the picnic table that I had built. It was built in a hexagon shape, with an opening in the middle for the large oak tree it wrapped around. The canopy had just exploded with a new growth of bright green leaves and it was just the most beautiful thing to me. I took it upon myself that day to prepare a light meal, with a freshly stocked fruit bowl. Hanging from a limb over the table, I had placed a fresh stalk of bananas that I had cut from a tree the day before, and they were so sweet. It was nothing spectacular, but for a group of bachelors it was a deluxe setting.

After eating, John and Barry were ready to go cruising the beach, and then later on, perhaps play a few games of pool. They asked me to join them, but I just wanted to linger there beneath that oak tree, and so I did. I sat there for a while by myself, taking in the beauty of the bright coleus growing unchecked from a long abandoned garden, I listened to the song of the mocking birds, and I took the time to admire the bright green blades of grass. For most people a single blade of grass means nothing, but could you imagine how that would change if that same blade of grass was discovered growing on the moon? Life in every aspect is amazing.

It was around two O'clock when I went inside to kick back and do a little reading, but I soon fell asleep. It seemed as though I had been sleeping for the longest time, when I was awakened by a bright beam of light striking my face. I reasoned that the sun was probably going down now, and it was now shining through the hallway from the bedroom window. Then I heard the clucking from chickens, and opened my eyes to see what I thought was the inside of a barn. There was a gaping hole in one wall, and that's where the light was coming from. I walked outside, and that's when I realized that what I thought was a barn, was actually a large ancient boat. Hearing laughter, I headed in that direction. I soon came upon a group of well dressed children gathering flowers. "What's going on here?" I asked, and a boy replied, "the Prince of the Wind is marrying the Daughter of Time. Now we must go, we can't be late." Right now I suppose you're thinking that everything just got weird right? Well, dreams rarely make much sense, but this dream was like no other that I had ever had. It was in color, and the imagery was so vivid that I honestly thought it was reality.

I followed those small people down into a valley, surrounded by green rolling hills. In it's heart was a little village, where everyone was gathering around this statue of a beautiful woman. I too was drawn to that stark white effigy, and standing in its presence, I heard these words, "you are not supposed to be here."

"You can speak!" I gasped in disbelief, then backed up, shrinking away into the crowd.

The statue sudedenly turned its attention to the young villagers. "I have warned you," it said without emotion, when the Daughter of Time marries the Prince of the Wind, time will no longer stand still, and you will all grow old."

A wisp of an image appeared then, a spectre gliding across the courtyard, slowly materializing into solid form. The creature took on the appearance of an old man, with deeply cracked skin, and two dark voids where there should have been eyes. Raising his bony fingers above his head, he began to speak words that I could not understand. He kept up with this jargon until a funnel cloud began to form overhead. The wind began to whistle fiercely, as the funnel cloud evolved into a small twister, dropping downward engulfing the statue. Within the midst of this turmoil, I saw the figure of a man with the statue, and then the stone ladies body became fluid with motion, turning to flesh. A moment later the couple evaporated into the spiraling wind, with the twister rising skyward, carrying their essence with it. It was then that I heard the weeping. The laughter of children had turned into the tears of aging adults. It was a heartbreaking scene, and I wanted so much to do something to help, but I was powerless. Slowly the crowd began to disperse, with the villagers going their separate ways.

I turned my attention then to the tall, and gaunt form that had presided over the ceremony and asked, "how do I get back home?" He turned to face me then, and the depth of those awful dark holes he had for eyes, appeared to be infinite. I wanted to turn away, but couldn't. I was compelled to stare into those black abysses, and saw the birth of a universe. An explosion of stars scattered throughout space, with planets forming from dust, and then saw the fading light of dying suns. Suddenly the ancient one raised his long slender arms, then clapped his hands, and vanished.

I was alone now, and decided to try to find my way out, of wherever I was. After leaving the village I walked for some time until I came upon a bench in the forest, and there I took a seat. At that point I was feeling afraid. When I was about three years old, I wanted to go with my older brother after firewood, but was told to stay home. Without his knowledge, I followed after him anyway, and got lost in the forest. I kept trying to find my way back, but nothing looked familiar any more. That's how I felt at that moment. I hung my head in despair, and then something changed. The grass beneath my feet became brighter, and there was this sweet scent in the air. I lifted my head, and standing before me was the most beautiful woman that I had ever seen. On one side of her stood a white stag, and on the other a white panther. The eyes of the woman, and the animals as well, were all a brilliant blue. Her face was a light peach color, of perfect symmetry, and she exuded an aura of love that kept me spellbound from the moment I saw her. "Follow me," she spoke softly, "and I will take you home."

I stood up then, and as I got closer, I could see delicate vines entwined within her long dark locks, and there were small buds growing, blooming into blue flowers. Humming birds were darting about her, feeding off of the nectar from those flowers. Reaching out, she took my hand, and there was this electrifying, euphoric charge that surged through my body. As we walked through the forest, it became alive with small animals scampering around her, showing no fear of the large cat that accompanied us. This was the most wonderful moment that I had ever experienced, and then I felt the warmth of the sunlight upon my face, and I remembered the villagers. "Can you help them" I asked, fully knowing that she understood who I was talking about.

She stopped then, and smiled. "They have lived for eons," she replied in that soft voice," and now it is their time to rest." Her image began to fade then, and I knew that I was about to wake up, "What's your name?" I asked, and she replied, "Eloquen."

When I did actually awake that afternoon, I was expecting it to be dark outside, but I had been sleeping for less than an hour. It was only two-thirty. At first I wanted to run outside to see if I was really home, the dream had been that real to me. That night I told John about my dream, and said that I would some day write a book based upon it. It just seemed too good not to share it.

Ten years passed before I actually got around to writing that book. When I began, I realized that I didn't have enough material to create an entire book, and I went to sleep that night with that in mind. As I slept, I had another dream, and though at first it appeared to be unrelated to that dream from long ago, I soon realized that it was indeed the beginning of my book. That dream was just one of many that I would have over the next year, with each one being another stepping stone leading me forward until the completion of my first book, Lost in the Dream Place.

Since the time of that first dream, I have never looked at life the same way. Before that day, I would sometimes find myself disliking my job, and just living for the weekend, but afterward, I have never wanted to squander away a single second of my life. The last dream that I had was over twenty-five years ago, and recorded in my book. Shortly after completing it, I was diagnosed with a painful spine disease that prevents me from reaching REM sleep.

Randall Guinn