Greening

She had just slept with a green lion because she had been cold. The green lion had watched her all night and kept the room warm because he was a lion that no longer needed sleep. He paced the floor all night to lick first his paws and then the woman’s eyelids.

She dreamed of the sound of sand sliding within a hollow reed. She dreamed of a man holding the same reed and alternately blowing into and then playing a song. Certain notes stuck in the reed and the man had to stop and shake it out. The sand fell. The woman slept and the green lion paced the room, stopping to lick his paws and then to lick the woman’s eyelids. The moist licking, like little flames, warmed and lit the room with an eerie light.

Finally the night bird flew into the sun. The woman opened her eyes and looked around the room. She searched all the familiar objects, the bed, the chair, the table, the mirror, the flower pot, hoping to find the sand filled reed. So intent in her searching, she almost didn’t notice the change that had taken place during the night. But then, one red petal fell from the flower in the pot, and onto the table.

A sound of green roaring encircled the house.