I was up most of the night talking to a new acquaintance. I probably could've kept talking with her until dawn. That was certainly the case with her. Just once again proving my maxim that the best girls are either taken or hundreds of miles away. There was one hiccup in our conversation after I had mentioned my father. I didn't elaborate, and thankfully she didn't press the issue. I wish I could say the same of my subconscious.
Not long after I hit the pillow, around 3:47am, I was seeing a cloudy gray sky through the window of a car. My mother and aunts were in the other seats, and we came upon the cul-de-sac that we used to live in. And there was my old house, looking much the worse for wear.
At one word from my mother we ran out of the car. My aunts and mother ran into the house, remarking at it's decrepit state. I had another target. I found the side door to the garage and picked the lock. The interior was dark and dusty. The faint lights overhead did little to help me see my way, but I saw a box on the broad platform we had at the back of the garage.
I flipped the top open and I saw my old electronic keyboard. This was something to hang on to. I pulled the box down and kept looking around. My aunt came up behind me to retrieve the keyboard and she told me to look for my trumpet. Looking around, I couldn't find the case, although did see a euphonium hanging on the wall.
The room brightened up suddenly, and out of nowhere came a bunch of little kids running around and playing. They were even outside and somehow I knew they were my father's. I ignored them, getting back to the search. I needed to grab anything of value while I still could. This wasn't my home anymore, and until I find one I'll need to hang on to whatever I can.
I opened a trunk and found a bunch of odds and ends. Mainly ancient, rusted thick iron tools. Laying on top of these was a pack of machetes, folded up in wax paper. I picked up a blade and one side was engraved with the mexican eagle, a snake in it's talon. As much as I love blades, I didn't care much for these. They were the first I handled, and a preferred tool for yard work. But these particular blades felt like the tools of a slave. I would be happy to leave the behind.
I closed the trunk and rose to my feet. I hadn't noticed before, but the garage door was open with what looked like a setting for a birthday party beyond. I looked over the cake and party favors. It was probably for the kids that were running around outside.
I walked back out of the garage into the backyard. This place hadn't changed much, the grass was still green and vibrant, the thorn bush at the door was still growing out of control. And the patio seemed as smudged and dirty as it did when I left. A little boy ran into me from the side. I looked down at him and our eyes met. He kind of reminded me of myself when I was younger. He ran off towards an adult that might have been my father and I awoke to the sounds of the TV from the living room.
I've left homes before. That one held more memories than most, some of which I've lost. I try my best to hang onto the ones that matter. I had to check soon after I got up, but I still have my trumpet. The keyboard is in storage.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
The Princess Is In Another Castle
There wasn't really a princess in my dream, but I'm old enough to remember the 8-bit generation. And some parts of this dream really do remind me of those classic Mario games. Anyways, I was up until 5 am last night with a bad case of acid reflux. I should probably see the doctor about that, I might have had a decent night's sleep otherwise, but it took awhile for me to nod off.
The first thing I remember seeing is the road. I was on a motorcycle, a black cafe racer, winding in and out of traffic. The asphalt similarly winded through hills covered in dry grass, giving them a gilded look that was accentuated by the sun setting near the road's end on the horizon. Despite the speed at which I was careening around trucks and cars, I was feeling very calm, very peaceful. As if I was in my element and nothing can touch me.
Soon, I had left the traffic behind me, and the road stretched on relatively straight towards the setting sun, glowing a fiery orange in the distance. It was almost gone, barely a sliver peeping above the horizon, yet it's light still illuminated the area brightly without it being blinding to look at. Then I heard her voice.
I don't know who it belonged to, or where it came from. I didn't have a radio on me, there wasn't a passenger, or anyone else on the road at that time. But a female voice spoke as if narrating my dream. It came from everywhere and nowhere. I can't remember exactly what she said, but it was something like. "I've waited too long. I've saved myself for a reason I can't remember. It's not worth it any more. Next time, I'll give him everything."
Those words shattered the peace I had felt up to that point. I felt a jolt of sheer panic, nearly losing control of the bike before steadying myself. I could feel my heart crack with those words, but I steeled myself. Whatever happens next, I must be ready for it.
I wasn't ready for what happened next. I rode on until night fell, and the road ended in front of a stereotypical stone castle, with towers framing the front gate. It looked like a casting call for the next harry potter movie. A bunch of high schoolers in capes and uniforms swarmed in and out of the gates. And as I entered, many were walking down the halls toward what looked like classrooms.
I hadn't noticed at the time, but I know where this part of the dream comes from. On a lark, I had went to see a midnight showing of the latest harry potter flick with my sister. The entry room of the castle looked just like the entrance to the movie theater. Which explains all the cosplayers. Except where the concession stand was, there were a quartet of large wooden doors with velvet ropes stretched across them.
I took the hall to my right and peeked into a few classes. The first one, much to my surprise, had my old religion teacher, guiding the class in the basics of fortune telling. I think I know where that came from as well.
I was notorious in my religion class for not paying attention. It was when I was going through my angsty agnostic phase, and I cared little for the class. Still, it wasn't for lack of trying. She wanted the class to read a passage from the old testament together, but I got bored and skipped ahead, after which I stared out the window or doodled or something. Of course, that caught her attention, and she told me to open my bible and read along with the rest of the class. In the discussion afterward, she had mixed up the interpretations of the dreams and I had corrected her. She still gave me an F for that day.
I walked further along the corridor, which was lined along the ceiling and walls with a dark wood, and at the end, hit a trap door. I don't remember falling, it was more like I was teleported into a pitch black cellar. I felt a moistness in the air, it definitely felt like I was underground.
I crept along, using my hand against the wall to guide me to a passageway lined on both sides by pistons, which were illuminated in the darkness by intermittent flashes of spark and flame from beyond them. Their steel joints would jut out into the corridor with each pulse, creating a gauntlet before me.
I crouched low and broke out into a sprint, using small quick steps to avoid being hit. I had reached the end when a gout of flame burst from my left side, and I leaped over to the right to avoid it, landing on a type of flat cart. Reaching up along it, my hands grasped a set of handlebars like on my bike earlier when a motor rumbled to life beneath me. I barely had time to register this in my mind when it surged forward, and I found myself going headlong into another dark tunnel along with it.
I tried to steady it with the handlebars, bit it was still a wild ride. The tunnel opened up into a small dimly lit room, and I turned as hard as I could to avoid the wall up ahead. I could feel the underside of the cart scrape it as I pulled it around in a tight turn.
I had to stand, if only to regain my bearings. The air was a lot cooler here, and moist. I saw a faint glow coming from another running perpendicular to the one I had just left. And from there came a low grumbling sound, as if from an immense animal. At first, I thought it was an echo, but then I realized the sounds were coming from multiple mouths. In my mind, I envisioned the guardian of the underworld, Cerberus. My next challenge, perhaps?
I climbed onto the cart once more and grasped the handle bars firmly. I've always wanted to see if I was a match for a legend. Defeating such a beast sounded like fun. I opened up the throttle and the cart streamed into the tunnel. The glow started to get brighter. As I sped along, the right wall of the tunnel opened up to reveal a river of a bright amber liquid, swiftly flowing in an underground cavern.
I suddenly lost control of my vehicle and it gave a great lurch, flying out to the river taking me along with it. It skipped along the surface like a stone flung by a child. After the third skip, I jumped off onto the bank of the river before the cart started to sink. Despite the swiftness of the liquid, my ride sunk slowly, as if in molasses. Glad I wasn't going down along with it.
I followed the river upstream, and it led to some stone steps, above which were a set of four wooden doors. One opened up, and a fat bald guy in a starry wizard's costume came out. Looking beyond him showed the doors to be the same ones I've seen earlier. I came full circle.
He waddled past me, down towards the river and out of sight. I walked up, and to my left was another large wooden door with a thick red carpet leading up to it. My feet sank an inch into it as I walked up to the door. It had a large brass ring that was weathered with age. It still felt pretty solid as I hefted it and gave the door a tug. As it slowly opened, so did my eyes, and I found myself in bed with a very stiff neck.
I wonder what Tex would think of this.
The first thing I remember seeing is the road. I was on a motorcycle, a black cafe racer, winding in and out of traffic. The asphalt similarly winded through hills covered in dry grass, giving them a gilded look that was accentuated by the sun setting near the road's end on the horizon. Despite the speed at which I was careening around trucks and cars, I was feeling very calm, very peaceful. As if I was in my element and nothing can touch me.
Soon, I had left the traffic behind me, and the road stretched on relatively straight towards the setting sun, glowing a fiery orange in the distance. It was almost gone, barely a sliver peeping above the horizon, yet it's light still illuminated the area brightly without it being blinding to look at. Then I heard her voice.
I don't know who it belonged to, or where it came from. I didn't have a radio on me, there wasn't a passenger, or anyone else on the road at that time. But a female voice spoke as if narrating my dream. It came from everywhere and nowhere. I can't remember exactly what she said, but it was something like. "I've waited too long. I've saved myself for a reason I can't remember. It's not worth it any more. Next time, I'll give him everything."
Those words shattered the peace I had felt up to that point. I felt a jolt of sheer panic, nearly losing control of the bike before steadying myself. I could feel my heart crack with those words, but I steeled myself. Whatever happens next, I must be ready for it.
I wasn't ready for what happened next. I rode on until night fell, and the road ended in front of a stereotypical stone castle, with towers framing the front gate. It looked like a casting call for the next harry potter movie. A bunch of high schoolers in capes and uniforms swarmed in and out of the gates. And as I entered, many were walking down the halls toward what looked like classrooms.
I hadn't noticed at the time, but I know where this part of the dream comes from. On a lark, I had went to see a midnight showing of the latest harry potter flick with my sister. The entry room of the castle looked just like the entrance to the movie theater. Which explains all the cosplayers. Except where the concession stand was, there were a quartet of large wooden doors with velvet ropes stretched across them.
I took the hall to my right and peeked into a few classes. The first one, much to my surprise, had my old religion teacher, guiding the class in the basics of fortune telling. I think I know where that came from as well.
I was notorious in my religion class for not paying attention. It was when I was going through my angsty agnostic phase, and I cared little for the class. Still, it wasn't for lack of trying. She wanted the class to read a passage from the old testament together, but I got bored and skipped ahead, after which I stared out the window or doodled or something. Of course, that caught her attention, and she told me to open my bible and read along with the rest of the class. In the discussion afterward, she had mixed up the interpretations of the dreams and I had corrected her. She still gave me an F for that day.
I walked further along the corridor, which was lined along the ceiling and walls with a dark wood, and at the end, hit a trap door. I don't remember falling, it was more like I was teleported into a pitch black cellar. I felt a moistness in the air, it definitely felt like I was underground.
I crept along, using my hand against the wall to guide me to a passageway lined on both sides by pistons, which were illuminated in the darkness by intermittent flashes of spark and flame from beyond them. Their steel joints would jut out into the corridor with each pulse, creating a gauntlet before me.
I crouched low and broke out into a sprint, using small quick steps to avoid being hit. I had reached the end when a gout of flame burst from my left side, and I leaped over to the right to avoid it, landing on a type of flat cart. Reaching up along it, my hands grasped a set of handlebars like on my bike earlier when a motor rumbled to life beneath me. I barely had time to register this in my mind when it surged forward, and I found myself going headlong into another dark tunnel along with it.
I tried to steady it with the handlebars, bit it was still a wild ride. The tunnel opened up into a small dimly lit room, and I turned as hard as I could to avoid the wall up ahead. I could feel the underside of the cart scrape it as I pulled it around in a tight turn.
I had to stand, if only to regain my bearings. The air was a lot cooler here, and moist. I saw a faint glow coming from another running perpendicular to the one I had just left. And from there came a low grumbling sound, as if from an immense animal. At first, I thought it was an echo, but then I realized the sounds were coming from multiple mouths. In my mind, I envisioned the guardian of the underworld, Cerberus. My next challenge, perhaps?
I climbed onto the cart once more and grasped the handle bars firmly. I've always wanted to see if I was a match for a legend. Defeating such a beast sounded like fun. I opened up the throttle and the cart streamed into the tunnel. The glow started to get brighter. As I sped along, the right wall of the tunnel opened up to reveal a river of a bright amber liquid, swiftly flowing in an underground cavern.
I suddenly lost control of my vehicle and it gave a great lurch, flying out to the river taking me along with it. It skipped along the surface like a stone flung by a child. After the third skip, I jumped off onto the bank of the river before the cart started to sink. Despite the swiftness of the liquid, my ride sunk slowly, as if in molasses. Glad I wasn't going down along with it.
I followed the river upstream, and it led to some stone steps, above which were a set of four wooden doors. One opened up, and a fat bald guy in a starry wizard's costume came out. Looking beyond him showed the doors to be the same ones I've seen earlier. I came full circle.
He waddled past me, down towards the river and out of sight. I walked up, and to my left was another large wooden door with a thick red carpet leading up to it. My feet sank an inch into it as I walked up to the door. It had a large brass ring that was weathered with age. It still felt pretty solid as I hefted it and gave the door a tug. As it slowly opened, so did my eyes, and I found myself in bed with a very stiff neck.
I wonder what Tex would think of this.
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