Reality is often little more than the kiss of a midnight fantasy
In Dreams
I was at my kitchen sink with a woman. We were drying dishes, both of us smiling. I felt comfortable feeling she was someone I'd known for a long time. Our arms touched the warm sensation, pleasurable and soothing.
"Eric, I’m going to help you clean up your life," she said.
Unexpected recognition when I stared into her eyes woke me and caused me to remember her words. I'll call her Cicely. I had known her since first grade. We'd graduated from high school together.
While I had long known Cicely, we'd never been close and certainly not lovers. We'd never had any personal relationship, at least in this lifetime. Still, in my dream, she was a trusted confidante. I felt empty knowing she'd died of cancer that summer.
This brings me back to pondering the dream’s meaning. Perhaps we live parallel lives with many lovers and confidantes as the wheels of a giant machine spins one slow story after the next.
Shakespeare said, "All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts." Maybe he was right.
How many parts have I played, and who were my fellow actors? Did all my stories end in song and dance on a festive summer night or in the sudden shock of unexpected pain?
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Born near Black Bayou in the little Louisiana town of Vivian, Eric Wilder grew up listening to his grandmother’s tales of politics, corruption, and ghosts that haunt the night. He now lives in Oklahoma, where he continues to pen mysteries and short stories with a southern accent. He authored the French Quarter Mystery Series set in New Orleans, the Paranormal Cowboy Series, and the Oyster Bay Mystery Series. Please check it out on his Amazon author page. You might also like checking out his Facebook page.
