The Dream

The October Trilogy
My Dream

A few nights ago. - I almost never remember my dreams.

Laura and I are baby-sitting a three year old girl. She’s smiley and skinny and somewhat enigmatic - she is bound to a computer. We need to deliver her to her parents and so we go to a mall.

Its a dream mall that was part Japanese Pachinko parlor and part Gower Gulch only mall sized - bits of a Philippine mall and the Glendale Galleria were making up the background.

In the background the little girl is playing in full view of her mother and Laura - the women fade to out of focus.
I mention to the Father that we have his dream - ready for delivery - in this I become a sales person.

“It’s the SR-71 Blackbird. It’s in pristine shape.” I eagerly show him a picture of the cold war era iconic jet. And there is a wooden structure built around the Blackbird, as if built by Legos. The structure is built almost entirely like the Blackbird itself, only the 2nd story of the structure resembles a wooden Japanese shrine.

He looks at the photo with some slight approval

Laura is playing with the young girl in the background - the girl acts but does not look like my niece.
I turn - the lights and hazy follow over my forward line of site. The system is going haywire.
The scene turns white. I find myself in a garage. I need a ride.

Its an open road in the north. The car is a larger Japanese vehicle. The area is green, very green - too green to be Southern California. It resembles New Zealand or Minnesota. I am one of four people in the car - the other passengers are one male an two females. All three are brunettes.

The road unwounded before us, - the man drove and I was in the passengers seat. All three are completely subsumed in a self absorbed blase - I grow nervous as they go past the road that I need to go down. Feeling very self aware of my nervousness I only bring up it up in a whisper, there is a slight chortle from other passenger amused at my anxiety. Not wanted to seem ungrateful for the ride I internalize my anxiety and we keep moving on.

The outdoor mini mall is a slice of American generica intersecting a place a few very long blocks from my destination. Everyone vacates the car. I see the main security guard. He is a friend - in real life he is a library for the LA public library system Venice branch and fellow science fiction fan - but in the dream he is a mini mall security guard.
He talks with a devilish grin that implies some kind of mischief - the same kind that we got into when we took that real life road trip to Northern California in the mid 90’s -

The guy and two girls who gave me a ride move slowly to an outdoor waiting area to a door. A tall baseball capped man in a white shirt is also waiting. An unseen notice happens and he rises with a smirk on his puppy dog face then walks in to the door.

A moment goes by, the three people I hitched a ride start walking into the door and one of the women turns her head and gives me a glare.

Are you afraid ? - No words are said but its etched on her face.

I hesitate. The three enter in the door. I walk apprehensively to the door

To the side of that door there is a list of names on a glass embossed list printed in red. The three names are illegible.

My name is on the list.

My dream self hesitates - its something in the door that implies sexual an experience but that remains ambiguous.
I take a few steps back turn around a break open my cell phone, dialing up dream Laura. What I want to ask her is what do I do - the name on the side implies that I have not say in the matter - I must open the door and walk in.
It rings, and rings and rings.....I ask the phone for a response...... no one picks up...

The alarm bell rings and I awake - a bit perturbed.