Story #21

He looked up. There she was.

He’s dreaming. He knows.

She is facing him but her face is obscured by hair. He cannot see her properly. He doesn’t know whether it is her.

She turns and weaves through the crowd, he follows but can barely keep up as people jostle by him on either side. He can see her head above the crowd, but it thickens against him. He is struggling through it.

They are together on a boat. He is talking about plans to move abroad. She laughs and jumps over the side, disappearing beneath the surface. He expects her to rise again but she does not. He jumps in and looks for her beneath the waves. He cannot see her.

He is in a cave. He is crawling through a cave. The tunnel narrows until he has to squeeze through. He is wriggling through on his stomach, the cave ceiling rough against his back. The person in front of him stops. The person behind is impatient urging him forward. They need to get out. He is trapped. Panic rises, his chest contracts and he is in his room.

He gets up and makes tea.

The saddest thing is that he still makes two cups.