I don’t dream much anymore (gotta love growing older), but I did keep a dream diary when I was younger, and this was my longest reoccurring dream. If it seems a little long for a dream, that’s because this contains the patched-together parts I remembered of several consecutive dreams. Without further ado, please enjoy;
A Dream
I open my eyes, closing them again rapidly against the bright light of day. Squinting, it is immediately obvious I am lying on a beach of fine yellow sand. Pulling myself up, I survey my surroundings.
In front of me lies a vivid green forest, abounding with life and beauty. There is a sort of sultry, luscious warmth to it I can feel from here, and I find I have to force myself to pull my eyes away to continue my survey. Beyond The Forest, a mountain juts up in the distance, cutting through the odd fog that seems to surround the island in a vague bubble. Just looking at The Mountain, I can feel myself drawn to it, as feelings of adventure and discovery blossom within.
Tearing my eyes away from the sight, to my left lies a lonely spit of sand, stretching out towards the sapphire-blue sea. It meanders slightly, before ending about a dozen yards out, near the border of the curious encirclement of fog.
To my right, the beach and The Forest collide, forming something of an oasis, with thick, knee-length grass and solitary palm trees dotting the edges of a fresh-water pool only a stone’s throw from the ocean. A trickling brook cackles as it slowly feeds the waiting ocean from the oasis, which is in turn fed by a small tributary emerging from the jungle.
However, behind me lies the greatest mystery. To try to lock it under the confines of a description would do it injustice, but it could only be described as a staircase. This staircase stretches far beyond my line of sight, upwards into the hazy mist that both enshrouds the entire island and gives it such a mysterious aura. The mist obscures some of the finer points of the odd vision, preventing me from determining exactly how tall it is, how far back it stretches, or if it ever ends.
Walking up to the staircase, I marvel at the sheer grandeur of the thing. Even laying the size of it aside, the craftmanship that must have produced such a work is incredible. Although the frame appears to be made of wood, every grain in every polished board is straight, showing not a single knothole.
As I stare at the mysterious staircase, a sense of foreboding creeps over me.
Is it just my imagination or...is something moving in the fog near the top of it?
Filled with apprehension, I immediately decide to head back. However as I do, my eyes stray to the sky, or rather to the cloudbank that has replaced it.
It is then that I noticed the lights.
Straining my eyes to see further, I noticed that the sky is dotted with numerous hanging chandeliers, all of different makes and brightness, and all throwing different colours of light. Together, their combined light results in the white luminescence which bathes this small island.
Puzzling over what could be the reason for such and odd sight, my eye catches one of the chandeliers slowly rising into the cloudbank. It is only then that I notice a little rhombus of light above each chandelier, into which their chain vanishes.
Before my eyes, the rising chandelier slips into the glowing rhombus and out of sight. Then, the radiant shape wavers and vanishes, leaving the world a little darker.
Puzzled by this curious sight, I wander back towards the center of the beach, mulling over what I just witnessed.
While the landscape remains unchanged, it now seems just a little less bright, like a sunny day when a cloud partially obscures the sun.
Before I realize it, I are not alone. Exiting the “staircase” and striding along the beach are numerous human-like silhouettes.
I can’t tell what race they are, though they appear human. Curiously, every time I try to focus on one in particular, its features blur, almost as if I were seeing it in my peripheral. It’s an uncanny effect that unsettles me slightly.
However, the Silhouettes ignore me completely, and begin to explore the island at their own varying paces. Instead of taking a page from their book and following them, I decide to examine the staircase once more.
Its steps appear to be made of some tan-ish substance, not unlike wood, but also not unlike like leather. The whole thing is seemingly bound with gold plates, yet it doesn’t appear gauche. On a whim, I tentatively place a foot on the first stair, noticing that it gives ever so slightly, then rises up again, almost as if breathing.
Lining the stairs are polished barristers that look as though they were made of milky white marble. Lights with a bizarre fan-like appearance dot their edges, lighting the way up. However, they aren’t affixed to anything at all. Rather, they seem to hover just aside of the barrister, as if the fog was a wall, and they were mounted to it.
The staircase, as I notice now, doesn’t ascend in a straight clear line, but it curves and narrows, then widens and splits to varying degrees all the way up, to the point that it becomes hard to follow.
The Organ. That is the staircase’s name, though why I knew that, I couldn’t say.
Eventually turning my attention from The Organ, I once more gaze upon the Silhouettes, as they go about their business.
They seem completely unaware of me, and wander aimlessly along the stretch of beach between The Organ and The Forest, occasionally stopping to stare facelessly into each other, as if holding voiceless conversations.
As I look on, I notice their wanderings are not confined to the beach.
One by one, the odd brave Silhouette outdistances the others, and starts heading for The Forest, its blurred-out eyes fixed on the mountain beyond. Shortly behind it, another seems to be inspired by it, and follows closely on its heels, and then another follows after that.
In general, it seems that while very few Silhouettes directly enter The Forest, the majority of them stray closer to it than to The Organ or the rest of the beach, or at least so it seems to me.
As I take in the odd scene, I notice that some of the Silhouettes have started to fall asleep, lying down on the ground or against each other as they drift into an odd, soundless slumber.
As I look on, other Silhouettes begin to pick up their sleeping companions and carry them over near me, laying them at the base of The Organ.
Watching a particularly energetic Silhouette carry two sleeping figures at once over towards me, it is only then that I notice that one by one, the sleeping Silhouettes have started to vanish from their resting spots.
Curious, I decide to carefully watch them in an attempt to discover where they vanished to.
Staring intently at the dormant Silhouettes, I could hardly be more surprised when a glowing Silhouette, unlike every other I’ve seen so far, appears out of thin air.
Unlike the Silhouettes that appear as though there is something more beyond their blurriness, something I am not allowed to witness just yet, this Silhouette is visible to me clear as day, and yet…
What did it look like?
For the life of me, I cannot remember. I can only recall its radiance, which seemed to me all at once one single colour, and conversely, all others.
Without a single sign of noticing me, it lifts up a pair of sleeping Silhouettes, and in the same way it appeared, it likewise vanishes.
Unsure quite of what I witnessed, I decide to watch and wait a little longer, and sure enough, the glowing Silhouette (or it could be a different one, hard to say) appears and likewise vanishes with another pair of Silhouettes.
Altogether a truly curious event, I decide.
Meanwhile, the sky is starting to darken, so I elect to take a stroll. Even as I start out, I notice that more and more Silhouettes are making their way down The Organ, though where they’re coming from, I can’t say.
As I stride further into the island, I pass numerous Silhouettes, all engaged in their own bizarre pantomiming. The sheer quiet of the whole affair is lightly unsettling, as if I were alone in a room of mannequins.
As I outdistance some of the slower Silhouettes, I find myself at the edge of The Forest. Inside, I catch glimpses of solitary Silhouettes, appearing to be in some form of ecstasy, dancing and cavorting while gorging themselves on the bountiful fruits of the island. Curious, I stride a little closer.
Now in the comfortable darkness of The Forest, I find myself in the middle of some form of party. Even though there isn’t a hint of noise, a festive air permeates the surroundings, bringing a hint of a smile to my face.
Noticing me for the first time, a smaller Silhouette strides towards me on shaky feet, and holds out its hand to offer me a gorgeous-looking fruit.
However, something about the faceless Silhouettes cavorting in mindless ecstasy disturbs me, and so I quickly reject the offered gift, turning and leaving The Forest behind.
Meanwhile, darkness has already started to settle over the island. In the gloom, the Silhouettes appear even more ominous that usual, and it doesn’t take me long to notice that there are far fewer of them than before. Indeed, it seems that the majority of them are either asleep, cavorting in the forest, or heading towards The Organ aimlessly.
And then, I hear something.
Something…something like a forgotten melody playing, growing gradually louder and louder, until it is exploding around me in cacophony of deafening organ music.
Clapping my hands to my ears to block out the awful din, I notice that all but the sleeping Silhouettes have started to run, sprinting madly towards The Organ, while their slumbering friends are left behind.
I waver, but the sheer panic emanating from the beings is enough to convince me, and I take off after them, dashing across the soft sand of the beach.
It takes me only a second to notice The Organ.
Shaking like a thing alive, the solo organ piece is emanating from the curious fixture, which is now swelling in and out as if it were breathing with great gusto.
I spot even more of the Silhouettes in various degrees of rushing, both on the ground and on the staircase itself, all scrambling to make it to the top of the mysterious construct.
Around me, the Silhouettes began to flag and slow their pace, allowing me to quickly outdistance them.
Just a few more paces, I’m nearly there!
With a final burst of speed, my foot strikes the soft, flesh-like leather of the Organ. I made it!
…But now what?
The Silhouettes around me are still running, climbing up the stairs two at a time. Jostled out of the way, I turn back to look at the island.
And then suddenly, it happens.
With a particularly voluminous blast of sound, the staircase lifts off the ground and begins to crumple in on itself like origami paper, folding itself skyward and dislodging the majority of its occupants in the process, myself included.
I count myself fortunate I was at the base when The Organ decided to furl up. Looking back, I see it continuing to recede, like a curtain being drawn up, yet revealing nothing. As it retracts, hundreds of Silhouettes fall to their doom, hitting the sand with soundless impact and lying still.
Then, the ground begins to shake.
Unable to keep my footing, I drop to the soft sand, turning back to look across the darkened island. Before my eyes, The Forest shrivels up, its fruits falling to rot on the ground, leaving no seeds behind. Its trees gnarl and twist so hideously it almost appears as if they are in pain, yet I cannot avert my eyes.
But then, the source of the earthquake becomes clear, and The Forest is forgotten.
There, at the end of the island, surrounded by the few adventurous Silhouettes to reach its base, The Mountain is rising.
Higher and higher it rises into the night, the ground beneath it rising as well, like a great submerged island rising to claim its due.
And then, below that great horn of a mountain, two eyes open.
And I know it is too late for me.
ns 15.158.61.48da2
