Chapter 3: Walking Through a Dream, Part 1

A man steps into a surreal, dream-like world where he meets familiar people he's never met before.

Walking Through a Dream 

Part 1

 

     I was lost. Both metaphorically and literally. Metaphorically, for reasons I’d rather not delve into. Literally because, well, I was in the woods and had no clue where I was headed. It didn’t matter, though; I had nothing to return home for (or rather nothing I cared to return home for) and wanted to explore new places anyway.

     It was a dreary Sunday when I decided to drive up to the mountains for a little adventure. I packed a backpack full of food and planned a hiking trip for the day. Halfway up, though, I got bored with the pre-laid out path. This was a new mountain, but I’ve been hiking plenty of times before and this really felt no different than any other trip.

     I sat down and broke out a water bottle. I began drinking a little when I noticed a forest nearby. This wasn’t completely unusual on trails near here, but on this particular hike I hadn’t seen any trees on the hour I’d been climbing, so I thought I would mix it up a bit by going into the woods.

     Sometime into the thicket, a fog had enveloped the area. It was a little toxic; I could feel myself getting dizzier, or sleepier. I’m not sure, but the further I went on, the more surreal everything seemed to become. Trees seemed to blend together in a blur and take on strange shapes. Giant tree trunks and branches started holding colorful, exotic flowers that stood out in the dense fog. I decided to follow them. The woods were playing tricks on me, and I fell for the enticing “beacons” they laid out for me.

     I fell asleep at some point, and several times afterwards. I ran out of food and water and began regretting my decision to explore. If the trees hadn’t formed a canopy above me, then all I could see of the sky was fog.

     I went for some time without food, I’m not sure how long but my stomach began crippling me from hunger after some times and forced me to collapse. I began thinking of my family, my friends, co-workers and classmates, dozens of people I’ve met and parted with over the course of my life. 27 years of memories, both good and bad, began flooding back out of nowhere, and for whatever reason, I began crying and shivering. I was lonely, and was going to die by myself, lost.

     I’m not sure if it was a dream or not, but after that realization, I remember walking in a daze past trees that slowly turned from pine green to dark red to dead trees to lush green. It was as if I was traveling through the seasons in a matter of minutes. Or hours… time seemed very strange in these woods.

     My hunger eventually wore off to the point where I felt like I never needed to eat or drink again. My strength returned, and I felt something stirring inside of my soul that hadn’t been there for some time. I saw a wolf soon after. I was cautious, at first, but he was very tame. He sat, looking at me very calmly. When I approached, he slowly rose and began walking away. I followed him to a randomly placed cave. He sat outside of it. He must have wanted to lead me here for some reason, but no continue with me. I pat him on the head in thanks and continued on. He reminded me of my old dog from when I was a kid. I looked back at him as I was walking into the cave. He had his head turned back to face me, like a sad puppy. He howled and ran off.

     The cave eventually led me to a wooden door. It was odd, but I felt such an urge to continue that I opened it without any hesitation. I was a little cautious, sure, but I was intrigued. On the other side was a basement of a modern house. It was made out to be a room of some sort. There was a television and carpeting, and even a refrigerator. I climbed the stairs to find another door, and when I opened it I faced a family sitting down for dinner. I was a little surprised and about to apologize for interrupting their meal, but they didn’t seem to notice me. I stood there, watching the mother put food on the table while the kids came in from the other room.

     “Hi,” I said to the mother.

     She turned to me and smiled. “Hello, there. Dinner’s almost ready. Would you like to join us?”

     I was surprised at how calm she was, how unsurprised or worried or cautious she was at the fact that a stranger emerged from her basement. But I was also a little surprised at myself. I agreed just as naturally and sat down with this woman and her family to share a meal.

     “How was school today, Emily?” she asked her daughter.

     “Fine. Billy Hendrickson pulled the fire alarm and we got to stay outside for a long time,” Emily replied, chewing on her chicken nuggets and playing with her macaroni and cheese.

     The mother laughed. “Well that sounds fun. How about you, Kyle?”

     “Fine,” he mumbled as he cut his meatloaf. He was older, probably 13 or 14. I couldn’t tell how old Emily was, but I think she was in grade school.

     Someone else came thumping down the stairs. She, like the rest of the family, did not seem surprised at my presence. She was definitely either closing her high school years or starting her college ones.

     “Hi, Holly,” the mother said.

     “Hi, mom,” she replied as she grabbed a biscuit from the table.

     “Are you eating with us, tonight?”

     “No, Jake is picking me up in five minutes,” Holly said as she took out her cell phone and started texting.

     “Where are you going?”

     “Out.”

     “Where’s out?”

     “Just out.” Holly continued texting while her mother struggled to continue the conversation.

     “Don’t you have school tomorrow?” she asked.

     “Uh-huh,” Holly muttered.

     We sat through dinner in silence as I watched the mother struggle with her oldest. Other than a few brief attempts to get something out of Holly, the only sounds were silverware and the clock.

     A car honked outside. “That’s him.” Holly got up and headed out.

     “Be safe,” the mother said, but Holly had already left home.

     When we were finished, I helped the mother clean up while her other children left the room. She washed dishes while I dried them. The clock continued ticking while we stood in silence.

     “Thanks for the help,” she said.

     “You’re welcome,” I replied.

     “I hope dinner was all right.”

     “It was great. Thanks for letting me join you today.”

     “You’re welcome,” she said.

     A man came downstairs. “I’m off to work,” he said to the mother.

     She went to the fridge and pulled out a bag. “Okay. Here, make sure you eat tonight.” They kissed each other goodbye and he left.

     Somewhere outside, a clock tower chimed 8 o’clock.

     “It’s getting late,” the mother said as she handed me the last dish to dry. “It’s been weird since he started his night job. We only get to see each other for a few hours every day.”

     I nodded as I listened to the mother.

     She sat down and closed her eyes. “When I’m awake, he’s asleep. And when I’m sleeping, he’s at work. His job demands so much from him.”

     I stood at the sink, taking my time drying the last dish. “Why doesn’t he look for something else more convenient?”

     “We need the money he brings in. Holly’s going to college soon.”

     I felt bad for her, never getting to see her husband who works for his children, and they’re completely unaware of the sacrifices they’re making.  I wanted to say something comforting, but I never found anyone to settle down with. I don’t know the experience of raising a family. All I could say was, “My parents worked on opposite sides of the day, too.”

     She chuckled, then got up. “Good night,” she said. She walked over to the couch and laid down.

     “Good night,” I said, but she had already fallen asleep. I put the last dish away. This place was familiar. I had never seen any of them before, but I remember playing with children like hers

when I was little. It was weird coming back as an adult and seeing the parents’ side.

     “And thank you,” I whispered before heading for the front door.

     I opened it up and stepped outside onto a cobblestone street. Lampposts lit the sidewalk. I followed them like I followed the flowers from the foggy forest. The street led downwards, but that mother’s home was the only one on it. There were other buildings, or at least they looked like buildings, but there were no windows or doors on them. I followed the road down, and it took me around to a lake. For some reason, however, the night sky suddenly brightened to twilight dusk.

     There was a girl sitting on a blanket by the water. She was by herself. I kept walking down until I was just a few feet from her.

     She turned around and smiled. “Hi,” she said.

     My heart skipped a beat. “Hi,” I said.

     “It’s a really nice night. Do you want to sit?” she asked.

     I nodded and sat down next to her.

     “When I was little, I would come here with my friend a lot.”

     I nodded, unsure if I should say something or not.

     “He had a crush on me. I could tell. I thought it was cute, at first. I used to tease him a lot just to make him blush.” She sighed. “But then he told me how he felt one day. And I’m not sure why, but I saw him differently. I knew he liked me, but when he finally confirmed it for himself… I don’t know. I felt like this little flirting game we played may have been wrong.”

     “You didn’t like him, too?” I asked.

     “I didn’t, at first. I just didn’t think of him like that. He was a grade younger than me, too. And that meant a lot back in school.” She began picking at some of the grass next to the blanket. “We stayed friends, but when I moved to college I started missing him. I missed how I teased him and I even began missing the fact that he had a crush on me. When I came back for vacation and saw him, I was relieved. He hugged me and said it was good to see me again. And… I don’t know. I kissed him.”

     I nodded again, unsure if I should say anything.

     “He moved back. He asked what I was doing. And I… I froze. I didn’t know what I was doing. I just knew at that moment, I had a crush on him, too.” She looked at me. “But he was over me. He had found someone else after I left.”

     I looked back at her, into her clear blue eyes. They looked tired, like they were hiding tears that she wouldn’t let out.

     “We stopped talking after that. I got over him, but I still miss him. He was a good friend.”

     I felt guilty. This girl I’ve never met unloaded all of this onto me, and there was nothing I could say to comfort her. I think she just needed someone to talk to.

      

Author's Note

Aah I dunno. I ran out of time. : b I like this dream-like setting I have, but it's obvious I have no direction (but I guess dreams are kind of the same thing, anyway). Any suggestions with where to go?