Dreams

He opened his eyes and looked around. He wasn't sure how he had gotten here, but he knew something wasn't right. He couldn't remember entering the graveyard, he couldn't fathom why he was there."This has to be a dream," he thought. But then, if he knew it was a dream, wouldn't he be able to wake from it upon the realization that it was a dream? He pinched himself. It hurt. But he didn't wake up. So, was it a dream?

He looked around himself. Everything seemed to be faded. Nothing was clear until he stared at it intently. It was just blurred edges and shapes. Nothing seemed solid. He felt like he could walk up to the mausolem and push it down. Maybe it was a dream, if he could push one down, wouldn't that prove that he was dreaming?

He walked to the nearest mausolem. As he approached, the mausolem came into sharp focus. No more blurring of the lines, it was starkly there. Everything else seemed to be the same, just this one mausolem had changed. He reached out and touched it. He could feel the concrete rough under his hand. It felt firm and solid. He pushed with all his might. Nothing happened. He pushed again. Nothing. He thought about punching it, but knew that might hurt his hand, so he tried to kick it instead. He could feel the solidness through his shoe as he came into contact. Dream or no dream, this thing was not going anywhere.


Looking around, he wondered where the exit was. Maybe if he went outside of the fence, he would be able to wake, or at least figure out where he was. Scanning the area, he could see no openings in the fence. "There has to be an opening somewhere," he thought. Walking to the fence, he started around the perimeter, determined to find his way out. He walked, and walked, and finally reached a corner. Turning, he started following it. He walked for a long time without reaching the next corner. "This is strange," he pondered. The cemetery hadn't seemed this large at first, but he had been walking for a while. Normally he would have covered a mile by this time. But he hadn't even gotten to the far corner of the cemetery from where he started.


Maybe it was a dream after-all. This shouldn't be happening in real life. This couldn't happen in real life. Could it? He sat down at a bench that was nearby. The breeze played gently across his face, the sun shone hot upon his skin. If this was a dream, it was very realistic. And if it was a dream, what was he here to accomplish? What was the point? What was his purpose?

He gave a wry chuckle. He seemed to be asking those questions in real life as well. Dream or no dream, some things just didn't change. Shaking his head, he peered out into the small graveyard again. To be as small as it was, he had walked forever it seemed. Contemplating getting up again and trying to find an opening, he noticed a tombstone in front of him. Not directly in front of him, but off to the side just a little. This tombstone seemed crystal clear where everything looked like a blurred painting. Standing, he approached the tombstone. 

As he got near, the name seemed to jump to his eyes. It was his grandfathers. But that didn't make any sense, his grandfather was buried miles away back home. How could he possibly be here? Looking at the tombstone, he read the caption. "Follow your heart, it will always lead you true." Tears coming into his eyes, he shook his head again. This couldn't be real. Blinking the tears from his eyes, he peered again at the tombstone. It was no longer in focus, and didn't read the same. The man buried here had the same first name as his grandfather, but nothing else. In fact, even the caption was gone. Bewildered, he started looking around. Maybe he had been looking at another tombstone. 

Looking around, he noticed that the graveyard had changed. It was no longer blurred, and seemed to be in great disrepair. This was not the same graveyard that he had been in. This was something completely different. Had he traveled? How was this possible?


Starting to get scared, he nervously looked around for an opening that he could leave through. Spying one across the graveyard finally, he hurried toward it. But there was no straight path for him to follow, so he kept having to weave in and out of the graves. Passing tomb after tomb, he slowly approached the far side. 


Eagerly approaching the exit, so ready to escape this horror he found himself in, he peered down, and stopped short. Everything until this point had seemed muted and blurred. Even when the graveyard had changed, becoming unkempt, it had no color. Now before him, he saw a bright read flower and a stuffed animal. Memorial to a child who had gone on to the other world. Not really sure of the meaning of this appiration, he simply stared. What was the meaning? Why was this one child so special?

He looked at the tombstone. It was so old and faded that he simply couldn't make out of the words. This child had been dead for a long time, but someone had recently brought these items to the grave in memory of the child. Nothing made sense anymore. He just couldn't figure it out. 

Raising his gaze once more to the exit, he saw a weeping willow tree outside of the fence. Someone was standing underneath it, hidden in the shadows, but he could make out their form. Hoping that this person could shed some light on the whole situation. If it was a dream, what did it mean? If it wasn't, then what the hell was going on? 

Walking rapidly towards the gate, the figure turned and started to walk away. Fearful that this person would leave before he had a chance to ask questions, he broke into a run. Keeping his eyes on the figure, he didn't see where he was going. The non-existant path that he was following tripped his feet and he felt himself flying. Tumbling through the air, he knew that this wasn't good. There was no way he would land safely. 

As he hit the ground with a sickening crunch, the last thought that went through his head before everything went black was that he would never see her again. And then the world went black.