The City By the Sea

Emmylou, exhausted from her days labors, fell into bed picked up her book and put on her tunes, The Beatles “White Album”. She loved this album, so many flavors and moods. She got to the part of the book, “Of Mice and Men” where George is telling Lennie about the way its gonna be for the last time before he shoots him with the luger. She felt an overwhelming sadness for George, who had done so much to protect this poor innocent man from his own power, a power that in the end destroys him because he doesn’t understand it. George understands it, but is not able to show Lennie the responsibilities involved. George is just smart enough to know the liabilities but not educated or powerful enough to protect Lennie from himself and the world. She cried. It was like being a parent. She had protected her children but now they were out there in the world having to learn things as they went, things she wasn’t smart enough to teach them or powerful enough to protect them from. Then she had this thought that there were people out there she didn’t even know who needed her protection and teaching. What the heck could she do with that thought. She could not finish the book, because who wants to face the death of a child if you don’t have to. Steinbeck sure expected a lot from his readers, she thought.

She turned out the light and rolled and flounced into a comfortable position as Eric Clapton‘s guitar solo wept over her gently she drifted of into a dream.

She was walking toward a city across the sand of a beach. Waves broke and foamy water washed around her feet. She came to the huge brass doors 50 feet high and 50 feet wide. The symbol of a flying bird across the two half arches. They were closed for the night. The light was fading from the sky over the ocean. She knew she must get into the city to meet someone. She started the long walk around the walls. There was a well formed narrow path around and as she went away from the beach the ground was more firm. She was walking next to a small river that spread out. That’s strange I don’t remember crossing the river by the ocean. I guess there’s different rules in dreams. These thoughts seem to go on outside the person who was walking and yet that person was her. After a long while she came to a small hole in the wall just big enough that a small person could get in. She started to attempt this when she heard weeping coming from the river by a precarious looking rope and plank bridge that stretched hundreds of feet to the opposite bank. She parted some weeds and found a small woman crying bitterly. Even in the gloom she could see her clearly as her skin glowed golden against he coming night.

“Why are you crying?” Emmylou asked her heart breaking at the sound.

“He could not get through and we weel never make eet een time to wake de dreamer.”

“Can I help?”

“You’ve already done what you can do.”

“Maybe we can go do this thing.”

“No, we need the seembols. We don’t have de tools.”

Emmylou sat down next to her to think the problem out.

“What if you wait here and I will go in and find him. See if he needs help?” Emmylou suggested.

“You would do dat for us?”

“Why not it’s only a dream, right? What else have I got to do?”

“Well, Alright maybe we weel be able to make eet een time with a leetle help.”

So Emmylou went to the hole and climbed through into the dark tunnel and crept down, feeling her way crawling on the sandy floor. Finally she came to a door made of rough wood. She pushed on it and fell into a room. In the middle of the room was turtle sitting in the middle of a square pond that was covered in lily pads. Light was eminating from the turtle’s shell golden like the woman by the river.

“Ah. Here you are at last. You must wake him up so he can find his way.”

She looked around and saw a man sleeping on a pile of pillows in the corner. She walked over and shook him. He immediate sprang up and looked around frantically. It was Random only older than she had seen him last.

“I’ve got to get to her!” He shouted but not at Emmylou. He didn’t seem to see her.

He ran out through the door to a long hallway.

Emmylou woke up. It was dark. She rolled over and went back to sleep.