6/13/09 - A Day in the Future?

Enter Delasia: 12:09AM

It was not your typical way to enjoy the city nightscape, a brisk run in the middle of the night down a highway, with neon lighting and glamorous storefronts attempting to pull my attention away from the patter of my feet against the tar. Although it was clearly after curfew, I was not alone in this mid-night jog, but rather accompanied by Kyle Brown and another friendly individual---whose face seemed very familiar in the dream, but unknown to me in reality? We ran very quickly, but never became tired and we all wore white shirts, which reflected the neon lighting of the signs along the street.

We passed through the city, under a bridge and were immediately in the open country, with nothing but a dark road ahead and glowing lights behind. There was silence as we continued on the street with only the moon lighting the way. In the distance a streetlamp could be seen and we ran to it. Under the lamp was a respected old man, whose silver hair could be faintly seen through the midnight mist. Kyle approached him and determined that this was a man respected for his great wisdom; who would stay up all night by the lightpost to think. He called himself “Elder” and I asked what advice he had for me. He said “Go over the hill into the valley, there you will find the place”. Not knowing what this meant, but satisfied with any answer, we proceeded over the hill that could be seen in the far off distance. It was only moments before we arrived at a building.

Going in the back door, we found ourselves at large open hallway, illuminated by the lights of screens and television sets. I can only assume this was a “Grand Slam USA”, because there was also Laser Tag available for play. Music was playing and children passed by with large bags of green bottle-caps, which they redeemed for fabulous prizes. My counterparts went about their own business and I proceeded alone toward the front of the store. There I saw a picture of the lead manager, pictured in a Hawaiian costume with a 60’s hair-do, he was on duty. Noticing a large mess of popcorn on the floor, I quickly decided to clean it up with a nearby broom and dustpan. Immediately the manager appeared in front of me and offered me a job. I declined the position of floor sweeper and left shortly thereafter. (Of course I had to stop by the Community Bulletin board near the door first)

After stepping through what seemed to be the front door, I found myself at Panera Bread---which is my current place of employment in reality. It was 5AM and Diane was setting up the bakery for retail. The scent of fresh bread was still in the air from the baker’s area as I walked up to the counter to place my order. I got a bagel pack of 13 bagels---and ordered it “For Here”. Sitting down at a table I started eating the bagels, for the run had taken a lot of energy out of me!

As I finished the last bagel, I heard a small voice which told me: that I had stayed up all night and I began to feel very guilty. Did I really spend that much time in the arcade? It seemed to go so fast and I didn’t even play any games… Besides, what ever happened to Kyle and that other guy? As I pondered these questions, time in the dream stretched on until I found myself awake in my nest, 19 minutes before my alarm was to go off.

Termination: Gradual Awakening - 6:50 AM