To Dream

She was 74. Her mind was still pretty much together and her body was hanging in there, but she could tell when she’d had a full day -- right now she was tired, felt an ache in her left leg, and kept sighing. So she put her book away, turned off the front-porch light, brushed her teeth, changed into her flannel pajamas, and went to bed. She fell asleep right away.

She had always dreamed. Some of her dreams were fun, like the ones where she was flying. Some of her dreams were intriguing, like the ones where she was in a tall building and the elevators didn’t work right so she had to take the stairs but sometimes the stairs led nowhere, or turned back onto themselves. And there had been a period of time when her dreams were frightening, like the ones where she was running away or trying to hide from someone -- but the scary dreams hadn’t happened in a long time. These days she looked forward to her dreams and trying to figure out what they meant.

This night, after she fell asleep, she became aware she was lying in a time-capsule on a narrow, metal table. The capsule lid was transparent and suddenly came open. A man and a woman reached forward to help her sit up, then softly asked how she felt. “How I feel?” she said, still groggy. “I don’t know how I feel.”

“It won’t take long for you to recover your memory,” said the man. “The next class will start pretty soon and we’d like you to fill out the paperwork before you go to the class.”

“There’s a class?” said the little old lady. “A class? What kind of class? Why do I have to go to a class?”

“She’s going to need some time in a transition room before she resumes her classes,” the man said quietly to the woman. “Transport her and stay with her to help her regain clarity.”

“Certainly,” replied the woman as she gathered the little old lady close to her side. They slowly walked out of the strange room and down the hall, and in no time had arrived at a small, dusky blue, softly-lit room, which contained a twin bed and a chair. Above the bed, there was a window covered by narrow venetian blinds.

“Just lie down now,” said the woman gently, “and if you have any questions, I’ll be right here to talk with you.” So the little old lady lay down and relaxed, closed her eyes and let her mind wander. Sometime later, she looked over at the woman and said, “I remember. I’m ready for the next class.”

i'm feeling -- relaxed
-- Reflection -- The Wall With Paintings