Fragments from a Dream
1. I'm back at college and someone's holding a party at a dark old house with a wooden pavilion in back. Passing between the two I encounter a young woman who somewhat recalls J., tall and athletic, but is quite different in many ways. She's casually naked, and no one seems to consider this terribly significant. I lay down beside her in the pavilion and hold a conversation about cheese.
2. Later, the J-esque girl expresses concern that photographs taken of her while she was naked might be circulated more widely than she'd like. She's comfortable with her body, but certain people should not see these. A pair of twins who are at least two sets of twins from my past express an interest in taking her place, transferring their image to the shots.
3. A black kitten, eyes big and wide, strikes up a conversation. His English is somewhat flawed, as he is still learning. Some time passes before it occurs to me how strange this is.
4. In some version of a park from my childhood I encounter two other kittens. They are of the more typical sort, that make high-pitched mews. Summer is in full bloom while piles of snow melt with the early spring. An unidentifiable and chaotic game is either in progress or about to commence. The players use tennis rackets, beach balls, and tapioca. One player is known as the "embezzler." Another must prepare steak between innings. I see members of a girls' marching band around the park. They wear white military band uniforms. Their boyfriends and girlfriends work at Caffe Nero, or so the talking kitten assures me.
5. Dee draws a picture of a streetcorner. Many pop-culture characters inhabit the sketch. The traffic lights are not the correct colours, purple where they should be green. A street sign connects to a stylish, antique lamppost.