The Dreaming - Chapter 2

The Dreaming
Chapter 2



“The two worlds of the dream and the reality cannot connect. If a portal was opened in reality for a dream to enter, time would have to reset itself.”

Laws of the Dream, Official Handbook



Tanya smiled as her mother ran her soft fingers through her hair. She cherished the short moments they had together. She was lying on the couch with her head resting on her mothers lap. The warm fire burned beside them with the soft clicking of its flames as they disintegrated into smoke. She was about to drift off when the phone rung. Her mother sprung up immediately, letting Tanya’s head land on the couch. As her mother swung out of Tanya’s view and headed into the kitchen Tanya focused on her ears in an attempt to listen to who it was on the phone.
When you had lived with someone long enough you can easily tell who it is on the phone by only hearing one end of the conversation. You recognise the tones your family member uses with certain people. But to Tanya, the tone her mother had was quite unusual. She could not immediately recognise who it may be. Her mother spoke so cheerfully. She would never speak in that way to her husband, that was for sure.
Once her mother had hung the phone up she returned to the room, but this time taking the other couch.
“Who was it?” Tanya asked, staring into the fire.
“It was your father,” Melinda said.
Tanya was quite surprised and she turned to face her mother with wide eyes.
“He got the tickets to the theatre,” Melinda cried cheerfully.
Tanya quickly moved into an upright sitting position, “Really?”
“Yes,” Melinda said. “All that hard work finally paid off.”
“That’s great,” Tanya said lying back onto the couch and closing her eyes.
“Are you awake?” her mother said.



“Are you awake?” Harold said, louder this time.
Tanya opened her eyes and saw her father looking at her with bright eyes.
“You must have been dreaming again,” he said.
“I was,” Tanya managed through a series of yuans.
“Come on get up,” Harold said. “School for you today.”
Tanya signed and lifted her feet onto the cold floor.
Satisfied, her father turned and left.
“I’m going to visit Mum’s grave today,” he yelled outside her room. “You going to come or not?”
Although this was a perfect opportunity to get a day off school because they had buried her mother in the old farm far west from their house and it was at least a two hour drive Tanya would rather be at school. Last time she went with her father she cried the whole way home and insisted that he brought Mum back and she wouldn’t go on without her. Despite her desire to spend the day at school rather than the day in pain and misery she knew how much it would hurt Dad if he did not have company while he visited Mum.
“I’ll come, Dad,” Tanya said.
Her Dad smiled and continued with his duties.


The long drive was spent mostly in silence, with Tanya looking out the foggy car windows, staring at the rain falling from the sky. They arrived at 2:00pm.
When they pulled up at the burial site and hopped out of the car Tanya had to pull her hood over her head. It was freezing and the rain was wetting her hair. Harold walked towards the small stone wedged into the ground beside the road in a dream like manner. The roses lying beside the stone were dead. As he went to the car to fetch some water and new flowers Tanya let out a quiet gasp.
There he was. The man she had seen last night. Standing on her mother’s grave. His eyes, redder than ever, his smile, haunting.
He stared at her, with an almost fixed glare, paralysing her ability to move.


“Stop him,” said the man in a voice that resounded off the landscape and echoed in every angle. “You must listen to me.”
“Dad!” Tanya screamed.
Her Dad spun round with a puzzled look on his face. He saw Tanya pointing into the air.
“Tanya, what is going on with you?” he said, walking towards the grave with a bundle of flowers and a bottle of water in his hand.
He was heading straight for the ghostly man.
“Dad, stop!” Tanya screamed, without the courage to pace forward and confront the scene.
Her Dad continued to walk closer towards the man, not being able to recognise his existence. He ignored her and planned to address the matter later, as he knew she was not mentally stable at the moment.
One last time Tanya cried, “Dad!”
Her Dad walked straight into the man and with a loud echoing boom Tanya’s world went black.


When Tanya awoke she was back home, sitting at the old wooden table, facing her father. She looked outside. It was still raining heavily.
“And your opinion is?” Harold inquired.
“What?” Tanya said, confused.
“Do I have to explain it again?”
Tanya shot out of her seat and spun around as if to be looking for something.
She looked at the clock, 5:00pm.
She spun and faced her father.
“What did we do today?” she asked.
Her father laughed, “You went to school dear.”
“What about Mum’s grave?” she asked, frantically.
“We visited her yesterday,” her father said. “What game are you playing now?”
“I’m in a game,” Tanya cried. “But I don’t know the rules, and I don’t want to be in it.”
She was possessed by her fear of the man. She had to confront him. She had to find out what was going on.
Who was the man?
Why doesn't her father see him?
Why did she black out and wake up on another day?
Why did she dream of her Mother every night?
She had to act quickly, for soon she would awake again.
Tanya ran out into the rain, and her father did not see her for many nights to come.

To be continued......