In My Dreams

I was lying in the hammock in my backyard, when all of a sudden, I wasn’t. I scrambled to my feet and dashed after you, laughing. You turned around and chased me, up and down and around this huge grassy space that I was sure wasn’t my backyard anymore. It could have been anywhere, but for some reason the name Montana comes to mind… You finally caught me (I’m super fast, but I can’t run forever, and apparently you can…) and we rolled over and over in the long grass that kept getting longer. Then we just lay still, breathing hard from all the running. You tapped the end of my nose with your finger, and I giggled. Then you stood up, and pulled me to my feet. “Where are we going?” I asked, but you just put your finger to your lips and shushed me. Then, hand in hand, we tiptoed into a stand of maples that wasn’t there before. They all looked the same, until we got to one that looked different. You reached out and laid your hand against a knot in the wood, and a doorway opened up, with stairs inside. They went up and down, and you led me down. Down, down, down. There were never any lights, but we could always see. Then, you leaned against the wall again, and all of a sudden it was light, and we were outside. There were butterflies everywhere, and birds, and trees of all sorts, and flowers. The smell was fantastic. “Here’s where we were going,” you said, and I believed you. I held out my hand, and a butterfly landed on it, and you laughed. I set it on your head, and we both laughed some more. We had the most wonderful time there, wherever it was, and I wish there was a way to get back. I don’t know what happened. Maybe I woke up. Maybe it was all just a dream.

Dreams are wonderful things. I wish I had more of them. My favorites are the ones that go from being realistic to being preposterous so gently that you can’t tell where reality ends anymore. I wish the line between reality and my dreams was really that fuzzy. Until you get into nightmares. Which shouldn’t be classified as dreams at all. There should be a whole other word for them, one that doesn’t bring to mind the word ‘dreams’. I see rolling hills and waving plains… Tall pine trees and prickly cactus… Hummingbirds and eagles… Oh, the things in my head. I think someone dropped me when I was born. (No offense, Dad!) How else did I get this way? My brain cells are not in their proper places. Like somebody took a blender to them. Not damaged, just mixed up. Oh well. Mom, I’m tired. Why can’t I go to bed? Oh, that’s right. Because I still have homework to do for tomorrow. So tired. Do homework. Tired. Homework. Tired. COFFEE! Hyper! Well, I guess I’ve got that taken care of. It’s so late. I WANNA GO TO BED! Anyhow, none of this is real.