Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Ocean

I was alone in a strange coastal city and I was looking for a place to spend the night. At some point it occurred to me that I should head for the beach, as maybe I could camp there. When I would catch glimpses of the ocean, though, it was through chain fences, so I kept walking.

When I encountered an elementary school, I entered to see if there was anything promising there (and maybe the beach on the other side?). As I crossed a glassed-in skyway of sorts that bridged a channel, I noticed that it was raining and that the waves were right up against the bottom of the skyway, making it actually sway or at least feel like it was swaying. I got to the end of the school and turned around, only to discover that now the bridge that crossed the channel was composed of wooden slats and was partially submerged. Kids were walking across it, but it looked like they were walking on water. I was very nervous about crossing, because I felt like I would lose my balance, the way it was pitching and swaying. Finally I decided to try, even though I was wearing leather shoes and didn't really want them in the saltwater. Some other faculty were going to cross, so I decided to go with them. Almost immediately as we started to cross, I dropped to my knees and held the sides of the bridge because I couldn't balance. And then, whether because there were too many heavy adults or because the moorings just broke, we started to sink and had to swim the rest of the way.

And that part was actually okay. The water was warm and felt fine, and I realized that the clouds had gone away and that it was beautifully sunny. I climbed up on the other side and realized that my clothes were folded neatly on the side I had just come from--although I was still, apparently, wearing my black fleece with my digital camera in the right pocket. (Also, I didn't have any sensation of being naked, so I was wearing something else, although I'm not sure what.)

By this time someone had a little kayak/canoe and was using that to ferry across the gap. A nice young man helped me get my clothes back from the other side, and that was that.

2 comments:

m said...

oooh that sounds like a very vivid dream. i like how it was freaky at first but then turned pleasant. that seems somehow significant...

strovska said...

ditto. that was pretty much exactly what i was going to say.