008 Killing Roads

[brigid]

Mirrored from brigidkeely.com/wordpress.

If you sleep Downtown on a night with no moon, whether in a hotel room or condo, apartment or park bench, you may have a dream. In the dream, a man (or possibly woman, but something about him feels masculine) stands with his back to you. The two of you are on a dirt road, a dark and scraggly tree ahead and to the right; the moon is bloatedly full, a lurid orange color, low on the horizon. Once you’ve noticed him, he will begin to walk. You may follow him, in the dream, or not. The choice is yours; it is always yours.

If you chose to follow him, you will have recurring dreams featuring him in a changing landscape. The dirt road becomes cobbled, then paved. Shacks grow up, then houses, sky scrapers. You will travel through places you know in the waking world, and places you know only in dream. Finally, after months of these dreams (which leave you feeling drained and unrested on waking), you will come to a dwelling you know. Entering, you will find the person you love most. He or she will be asleep in their bed, and you have a knife in your hand.

It is your dream, and at this moment, you still have control. You may walk out of the room, out of the dwelling. You may walk down the road and wake and never dream of the man again.

Or you may raise your knife and murder the one you love, in bed.

It is only a dream: on waking, your loved one will be healthy and whole– or as healthy and whole as he or she was before lying down to sleep. From that moment on, however, your relationship will strain and weaken. They know, deep down, what you are capable of; what you are willing to sacrifice. And what do you gain from this loss of love, this betrayal?

From that night on, you will never be lost. You will always know exactly where you are, and how to get where you are going. Upon your death, this may prove somewhat stressful.

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