Dreamscape

Chapter 2

                A sonata of birdsong and a gurgle of water nudges me to wakefulness. Grumbling, I turn on my side, burying my face deeper into the soft, grass-scented mound of- grass? I jolt upwards. Trees with long, frilly leaves surround me – trees that I have never seen before in my life. The skinny, ridged trunks rise upwards and curve at the top, unable to sustain the weight of the huge, thin leaves that drift upwards and down towards the ground. Strange, purple fruit peek out from beneath the very top leaves. Scrambling upwards, I kick sand, dirt, and grass up in my mad dash to get to my feet. My foot gets stuck in the sand, sticks, and I face plant back into the mound of grass that I had been sleeping on. I cough up dirt and lift my head to get a better idea of where I am.

                Trees – and a lot of them. Green foliage speckles the ground around me, effectively hiding me. Bushes tiredly push up from the ground, drooping lazily in the glaring sunlight. Placing a hand over my eyes to shield them from the glare, I look upwards. The sun is beating down from directly above me. I swallow hard and push myself up into a sitting position.

                There must be a logical explanation for why I’m in the middle of a bunch of trees, bushes, and plants.

                The last thing I remember is the darkening view of a car pinning me to the entrance of Zenith Markets. A quick check downwards tells me that I’m even still in uniform – tan khakis, a dark blue collared shirt, and a white undershirt that peeks out from beneath the shirt. I even still have my name tag dangling around the lanyard on my neck: Lorelei, bringing you exemplary service since 2008. I wiggle my toes. They are still in the same worn out, holey sneakers as before; I can still move them too.

                I’m not paralyzed, dead, or even hurt, but I clearly remember coughing up blood.

                Slowly this time, I rise to my feet. Why is there sand everywhere? The ground is mostly covered in a plush carpet of grass, but patches of sand and dirt mar the verdant earth.

                I dust off the seat of my pants then pull back a few leaves of the bushes that surround me. A dirt path separates my circle of foliage from the trees on the other side. To the right: nothing. To the left: even more nothing. Just a long, dirt path. Chewing on my lip, I decide to see what’s on the other side of the path. I’m not quite ready to brave an unknown trail; nature seems much safer.

                I push through the bushes, cross the narrow dirt path, and squeeze between two skinny trees. I now know where the sound of water is coming from.

                A large lake is nestled between a patch of trees and bushes, and a small cliff hangs above the lake’s surface, pouring a steady flow of water down into it. With eyes wide, I walk forward. The water looks deep; a bottom is just barely visible in the murky water. Surrounding the edge of the lake are various flowers – ones I have never seen before. Reds, pinks, purples, and even blues pepper the green – a pleasant contrast to the dull sand. My gaze finally settles on another pair of eyes: a large, thigh high rodent. It resembles a gigantic squirrel: red, shaggy fur and a long, fluffy tail. It sits on its hide legs and stares back at me. I stay completely still and wonder: Should I try and back away? Run? Ignore it? It’s just a squirrel, regardless of how large.

                The rodent suddenly plants its two front paws to the ground, raises its tail and hind legs in the air, and parts its narrow jaws in a toothy snarl.

                If the teeth weren’t as long as my fingers, I might have laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation. The creature has flaps of skin dangling between its forearms and its back legs. If the wind blew, the flaps just might flutter.