This is the third of three dreams I had this morning.  The first one was “The Oriental Chicken” and the second one was “A Drowned Friend.”

* * * * *

“The Back Porch”

I had just moved into a new house, and I was excited for my girlfriend to see it.  I invited her in and walked her through the entire place, showing her the various rooms.  It was a small house, but clean and cozy, and I was proud of it.  I showed her the back yard, with its sunny wooden porch next to the house, and a huge leafy tree for shade in the afternoon.   She kissed me as we stood on the steps, then we turned and walked back inside to stand in the dining room, arms around each others’ waists.

“Oh wait,” I said.  “There’s something else I want to show you.”

She smiled mischievously.  “What’s that?”

I gave her a smile and whispered dramatically, “The back porch!”

She laughed and hugged me.  “We saw that already.  But I certainly wouldn’t want to try and diminish your happiness.”  She hugged me even tighter.  We stood hugging that way for a long time, and that’s when I woke up, with my arms in the same position over my chest as they’d been on her back just moments before.

As I woke up, it felt as if she and her embrace had both turned to sand, and the hugging sensation got gradually fainter and fainter.  That has to be one of the lonelinest ways to wake up that I’ve ever experienced.