A. L. Kaplan

Tag: dream

  • FEED THE BABIES

    Crack, crack. Five eggs for her little boy sizzled as soon as they hit the butter-filled pan. Their clear gelatinous goo solidified and she pulled them off the heat. Jason liked the yolks liquid.

    “Morning,” said Jason. He shuffled into the kitchen rubbing sleep from his eyes. His nose wrinkled when he saw the eggs.  “Are the yolks gushy?”

    After twenty-eight years you’d think he’d say thank you, but she ignored his winey tone. He was all she had.

    Jason prodded the egg. Satisfied they were prepared properly, he stabbed his fork into the yolk. Oozing yellow liquid, the egg wriggled and flopped on the plate like a skewered fish. A horrific squeal rent the air. He dropped the fork and screamed. Gaping maws of jagged teeth opened on the yokes. Growling, they leaped from the plate.

    She sucked in a sharp breath and opened her eyes. It was only a dream. Suddenly, Jason yelled and she raced to his room. Five tiny dragons fought over an old pastrami sandwich on the floor. Jason gaped from his bed, still wearing yesterday’s clothes.

    As one, the dragonets looked at her. “Thanks for the tasty meal, Grandma. May we please have more?”

    The compliment shocked her more than seeing dragons. Grandchildren. Finally. Who was she to question how?

    “You’re welcome,” she said, patting their heads. “Jason, dear, you have children to support now.”

    “But…”

    “But nothing. Go to work.”

    Ignoring Jason, she sat and read a story to her new charges.

  • For the Love of Canines: Wolves

    Wolf on RockGrowing up I read all sorts of animal books including those of Jack London, and Albert Payson Terhune, a local author who wrote about collies, and of course, Julie of the Wolves. So I guess it shouldn’t have come as a surprise when I had a dream about wolves. It wasn’t an ordinary dream. It was one of those half-awake dreams where you can remember every little detail. I immediately wrote it down, and then began researching wolves. Until that moment, wolves were minor characters in stories, but I really didn’t know much about them. The more I learned, the more I liked. I now have a shelf full of fiction and non-fiction wolf books and wolf art decorates the house.

    Wolf

    This past summer I had the pleasure of visiting the International Wolf Center in Ely, Minnesota. I’ve been a member since they were established. It was a wonderful experience to finally meet their ambassador wolves, Aiden and Denali. (Only a foot away through the glass wall.) I even got to meet their three retired ambassadors, Malik, Shadow, and Grizzer, on a behind the scenes tour. The biggest thrill, however, was listening to the wild wolves howl back to us on the Wolf Communication field trip. I guess Buck isn’t the only one who’s heard the call of the wild.

    International Wolf Center

    (Call of the Wild published in 1903, was written by Jack London. Julie of the Wolves published in 1972, was written by Jean Craighead George. A few Albert Payson Terhune books are still in print or as eBooks. My favorite was Gray Dawn, but Lad: A Dog published in 1919, is the most well-known.)

  • Run of Luck

    “You in or out?” asked the dealer.

    Jeff slammed his cards on the table. Every eye in the room turned. The last of the billions he had inherited disappear into the dealer’s box. This riverboat gig had been his last hope. All his dreams were blown to hell. Now he had no family, no home, and no way to buy his next meal.

    Real gamblers don’t like it when you owe them money, especially these. A sharp wind practically tore Jeff’s shirt off as he landed on the river bank miles from the next town. The landscape lay eerily silent under a blanket of snow as the boat floated away. His only chance now was to walk and pray he find shelter before freezing to death.

    It was a glowing light that caught Jeff’s eye an hour later, drawing him into the woods with the promise of a warm campfire. Hours passed before he realized his footprints had vanished. Tired, numb, scared, and ready to give up, Jeff stopped. Instantly, a blinding white light surrounded him. Warmth permeated his body.

    “It’s about time you got here,” said a woman. “I’ve been waiting all night.”

    Jeff only stared, too stunned to think.

    “You’ve had everything thing you wanted, Jeff, now it’s time to have what you need, a purpose. It’s time to give back some of the luck you’ve enjoyed all these years. I’m here to teach you to be a Dream Guardian.”

    ***

    Sunlight flickered across Jeff’s eyes and he jumped up, blinking at the brightness. Nearly a foot of snow surrounded the ten foot patch of clear dry grass where he had slept. Had it all been a dream? The gold band with the small emerald on his finger seemed to disprove that. He fingered the ring, remembering the woman’s words from last night.

    “The ring cannot be sold or traded,” she had said. “It’s ethereal. Only another adept can see it.”

    That was one way to keep him from blowing it again. But could he really be a Dream Guardian. Jeff still didn’t understand what that meant, or how he wasn’t frozen solid. The air certainly felt frigid enough. In the distance he heard the roaring of an engine and took off at a run. He was still lost in the wilderness.

    Or so he thought. Only a couple dozen yards away he stumbled into a road. For the second time in less than a day Jeff was too stunned to speak. Not just at the nearness of the road, but at the woman behind the wheel of the SUV sitting on the shoulder.

    “Want some coffee and a ride, or are you going to keep me waiting again?”

  • A Chance Meeting – Or Not

    Retirement was supposed to be relaxing, fun, but since his final night as a fireman Mike had been anything but. He breathed in the fresh salty air and continued his walk down the beach, trying to forget that last fire. Mike and his beautiful wife of thirty years, Sheila, moved to Boca eight months ago, but the image of his friend’s granddaughter, Jackie, leading him out of the firetrap still haunted him.

    Mike gazed down the rock strewn beach and froze. His chest tightened in shock. Jackie sat on a small bolder in a thin white cotton dress, windblown hair trailing. Mike rubbed his eyes, but Jackie remained. He walked to her on shaky legs.

    “Am I hallucinating again?”

    Jackie smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “No.”

    “Did I see you in the fire?” Mike’s voice sounded strained.

    She turned away and stared at the crashing waves, twirling a strand of her brown hair.  “You’re not crazy, but if you keep talking about it people will think you are or worse, it’ll attract the attention of some very bad people.”

    “Like?”

    “Like the ones who wanted to kill the boy you rescued. They set the fire. We saved him and will keep him safe, but that’s all I’m permitted to say. Please, enjoy the retirement you’ve earned, but let it go.”

    A smile crept across Mike’s face for the first time in months as she walked away. He’d stay quiet, but letting it go just wasn’t his style.

  • Last Call

    Mike stared at the image of Jackie, his friend’s granddaughter, standing down the hall of the burning building. Only the glass on his mask kept him from rubbing his eyes. The figure, unaffected by the thick smoke, waved him deeper into the inferno. Mike tapped the regulator on his tank. Was it defective, a bad mix? Thirty years with the department and he had never hallucinated. Mike ignored the commander’s order to evacuate. He couldn’t leave Jackie. Besides, his escape route was already blocked. Four great strides and a leap took him past the collapsed floor — into a cool untouched pocket. Mike’s jaw dropped. The wall of flames stopped three feet from the door. Jackie was gone.

    Fire roared at his back, snapping him into action. Mike kicked in the locked door. Experience sent him under the bed where he found a terrified eight-year-old boy wrapped in a wet towel. Now all they had to do was get out of the building. Mike’s heart pounded as flames crept closer. No windows, no way out. Jackie reappeared next to the bed pointing at a sliver of hope. He raced down the hidden stairs clutching the boy. The old servant’s access led them out as the building crumbled. Events churned through Mike’s head as he tried to catch his breath. There was no way he or the boy would have made it out of that building without Jackie’s help. It was time he gave his old friend a call.

  • Nowhere

    Jackie squinted at the distant red cliffs through dry sun-strained eyes trying not to think about the blisters that already covered her skin. There was no place to hide from the blazing heat and no signs of life. The animals knew better. Jackie wished she could find a rock to burrow under, but that wasn’t her mission.

    If only she could remember what that mission was. She’d been trudging for hours and could barely think with her pounding head. Every beat echoed in her ears like a drum. Clouds of dust swirled around her and Jackie sank to her knees, choking on dust. Unbearable heat, no shade, no water, and now a sandstorm?

    “Stop it!” she said, barely getting a sound past her parched lips.

    Abruptly the wind and stinging cloud of sand stopped. Jackie blinked in surprise.

    “I’m looking for water!” she said, finally remembering her task.

    A trickle of water bubbled up from the ground at her feet and Jackie eagerly reached for a handful…and got hit by a torrent that knocked her down in a rapidly growing pool.

    “Crap. None of this is real,” she said, and opened her eyes. Jackie scowled at the man sitting next to her.

    “Even a dream can be deadly,” he said. “Check out the news.”

    Jackie looked at the newscaster who stood next to a small lake.

    “We bring you a special report from southern Nevada. A previously unknown natural spring just surfaced, flooding out a section of route 50…”

  • The Last Season

    “You sure about this, Grandpa Jessie? This place has been in the family for nearly one hundred years.”

    “You’re more important than wood, stone, and animal trophies,” said Jessie. “Great-Grand Papi and Great-Gram Ruby would understand. Sometimes you just have to say goodbye, and now is a good time. I have enough memories of this place to last a lifetime.  Besides, the money from the sale will support both of us for years.”

    “Grandpa…”

    “You’re more like your grandma than you realize, Jackie.”

    Jessie smiled and squeezed her hand, the one with the new guardian ring. He had almost stopped hoping one of his offspring would be chosen. Last month Jackie showed up unexpectedly and he knew.  In fact, he knew more about what to expect than Jackie did. Jessie never told his family about his wife’s secret life as a Dream Guardian. They never understood how she could lie down for a nap and wake hours later more fatigued than before. The truth was she traveled in a mystical dream world, projecting herself all over the planet.

    Now Jackie was part of that world and her safety and welfare was more important than the family lodge. She was more than his last living relative, she was hope where there was none, kindness in an unkind world, and courage where most would run in terror. Jackie was a Dream Guardian, protector of the weak and unsuspecting.

    And she didn’t even realize it yet.

  • The Dream

    Wispy apparitions darted behind the columns lining the hallway as Jackie walked, making her shiver. How many times had she walked this path, only to run screaming in terror to the end, blocked by an impenetrable door? How many times had she awakened, drenched in sweat?

    “It’s only a dream,” she whispered, breathing out slowly, determined to stay calm. “They can’t hurt me.”

    Each step sent her deeper into the swirling shadows and she felt her legs tremble as the mists danced around her. Only feet from the door an angry shriek rent the air and Jackie knew if she turned she’d see the ghostly face that made it.

    Jackie squeezed her eyes tight, willing her heart to stop racing. “It’s not real.”

    When she opened them again the door stood open. Pure light streamed around her, dispelling any sign of shadows. Jackie gazed at the splendor that soothed her soul.

    “You’ve made it at last,” said a woman in flowing white robes. “I’ve been expecting you.”

    “Who are you?”

    “Names are unimportant,” she said, handing Jackie a ring with a bright green stone. “Take this to help you recognize the others.”

    “What others? I don’t understand.”

    “You will.”

     

    Jackie blinked at the computer screen, momentarily disoriented. Code was flying across it, code she didn’t remember accessing. Had she fallen asleep at her desk? A cold shiver ran down her spine as she glanced at the keyboard. On her finger rested a slender gold ring with a green gem.