| A Sad Dreamtwo years ago a man lost his wife to a condition that was never diagnosed, and since then he has had many vivid dreams about her
here is his latest dream.
just woke up from this:
i was going climbing with some friends. we met at this sort of creepy cool old used bookstore on the outskirts of town. it was famous for being able to get whatever old out of print book you needed, and usually in good shape. i was walking through the stacks, and ran into angela lansbury. but she was in her teens. i didn't think anything of it at the time, just thought it a bit weird. i knew it was her, but didn't think anything of the fact that she was 19. i think maybe i had seen her a couple of times before this. i got some books, including some old climbing guidebook. went to the checkout aisle, and as i'm waiting to be checked out, angela lansbury--the writer, who's in her 60's walked by. i made eye contact with her, and asked her if she knew of any special books she could suggest i read. she told me to come over so she could whisper it to me. "you'll want to check out 'the linesman'." is all she said, but she winked as i drew back from her. i don't remember looking that book up, but when we (some climbing friends and i) left the store, i knew that the store was a time vortex or something. by reading that book, one would unlock the secrets of the time travel. that's how they got all those old books in great shape.
so, we're driving to the climbing spot, and my phone rings. i pick it up, and anna answers. she's been dead for two years now, and the same was true in the dream. i didn't want to spook her, because i was talking to her, and didn't wanna fuck something up or scare her or anything. she asked me a couple of things, oh, i remember having told her once a long time ago that i'd be seeing her soon. she asked me where i was, cos i had called a while ago, telling her i'd be home soon. i asked her where she was, but she wouldn't answer straight out. i eventually got out of her that she was at this mexican restaurant that we went to once. i know we only went there once. i said to her "this is gonna sound really strange, but what year is it?" she wouldn't answer. she sounded kind of put off, in fact, that i'd even ask. i didn't know if she was sick by this point or not. but that wasn't what i was getting at.
(break from the dream, this is the guy talking reality for a moment)
the last book we both read (her first, then me) was called the time traveller's wife, by audrey niffeneggar. if you haven't read it, i would highly suggest you do so. when you do, you'll know why this book especially means something more than just a book we read together.
(back to the dream).
i was trying to discern if she had read this book yet or not, in the time she was calling me from. i guess in the dream she was already sick, but she didn't know she was gonna die. in the book, henry dies, and claire knows it. but henry's the one who time travels, and is always hiding things from claire. it's a great turn of circumstances...i was trying to figure out if the anna on the phone had read the book, and put together that she was gonna die. but i didn't want to scare her.
i asked her a couple of times what the year was, but she wouldn't tell me. i finally asked if she had read anything by audrey niffeneggar. she finally said that she had, and she got a little choked up when she answered.
i knew that shew knew, at this point. that she was gonna die, i mean. in fact, she told me. something to the effect of "josh, i know." all i could do was manage to get out "i love you so much, anna. i miss you." and it was completely garbled, cos i was crying already, but i didn't want to not say them. she ended with "i know, josh. i know."
end of dream. |
