Dream 10/4/21

I'm with a friend, exploring some dockside town, watching people load up ships and boats, the town is dark and eerie, a shell of itself-there was a time where it was a quaint seaside destination but now it's fallen to the wayside, kept alive by business over pleasure

we leave

i'm driving through country roads

i keep closing my eyes, thinking they are open

i fade in and out of consciousness, thinking i am awake

i feel like i am falling asleep, but realize i've been drugged

My friend is calm, she trusts me. I become more alert. I'm still exhausted.

We get to our destination. It's a maze. I walk in, my friend is gone. She hasn't abandoned me. Her leg of this journey is over. I walk into a room and see a different friend.

Her daughter and mine begin to play. There is a room of employees meeting in the background. I have flashes of driving on 501. The employees come out. They're taking a test. We leave to let them focus.

I walk out and am met with a brick interior. There are others. I'm told I've passed the test and am allowed to leave. I walk out into an empty field. There is gravel on the ground. Train tracks nearby. I hear a familiar song.

i follow the song

i realize i am chasing the train

this is not where i need to be

i turn around, continue on my way

I find a replica of the tin man and it becomes my friend. It is bulky, but light. The weight of tinfoil with the sturdiness of steel. I pick it up and carry it awkwardly until I reach a fenced in building. I walk through the fence and offer my tin man to the people I meet. They are hardened but amicable and appreciate the gift. A woman says "You're one of us, take this" and hands me a membership card. In a different time, she was a Marine. A man approaches. He's former Army. They encourage me to take a seat.

There are school desks littered throughout, and I notice the building looks like my Papa's workshop. I sit in the back right, and those around are warm and welcoming. After a time, those who are single and would like to be matched are asked to stand up. I stand up with them.

i remember my husband and daughter

i sit

i wonder about these weird worlds

how they got left behind

The dream ends naturally. No interruptions. No rude awakenings.

But it feels incomplete, a cliffhanger in a long, plot heavy book-