She came to me in the middle of the night. It had been years since I had seen her. We had worked together at a job I had years ago. I had wanted her from the first time I saw her. We had become friends but there was no way that I would let myself get physically involved. I was married and she was single and we moved in different worlds other than work. We got along well and she knew that I wanted her. We would flirt and have a good time but we both knew it would never go anywhere and that flirting was all there was to be between us.
I have dreamed about her over the years. Even sat back and developed and enjoyed a fantasy on occasion. Back when we worked together we had even shared some of these as flirting. As the years went by I was certain that I would never see her again much less have her.
Traveling for work causes me to spend many hours alone after work away from home. In order to stay out of trouble I have developed a habit of enjoying my time alone. Not being afraid to eat or go to movies alone. Staying away from bars and strip joints that some of my co-workers enjoyed, etc. This night I planned on dinner and a movie. I was eating a light dinner when I noticed just a glimpse of a girl that looked familiar. My mind jumped back to her. I jumped up and went to look in the parking lot where I thought I saw her but there was no one there.
I finished dinner and then went to the movie theater. I bought a ticket and went in side and stopped to get a drink and some popcorn. As I turned from the counter, I thought I saw her again. Headed into the bathroom. I waited about 10 minutes to see if she came out but no one I recognized did. I asked a girl to tell me if someone was in the bathroom and she told me it was empty. At this point I am figuring that I am just road weary and tired.
I went to the movie. It was pretty good and I had just about forgotten my brain playing tricks on me. As I was driving out of the parking lot I saw her again. I quickly turned the car around and drove to where I saw her. No one. I was then convinced that I was very, very tired and I headed to the hotel to go to bed and be ready for travel the next day.
I managed to make it to the hotel and into my room without seeing her again, or thinking I saw her. I got ready for bed and lay down and cut the light out. I stretched out on my back and reminisced about her and enjoyed some old memories from the time I knew her. Slowly I drifted off to sleep.
I am walking through a park. There are trees, a pond with a fountain, pasture and walking trails. It is late afternoon in the fall. The air is crisp but not cold. The leaves are turning and there is a nice breeze blowing the already fallen leaves across the path that I am on. As I am looking around and walking I see someone coming toward me on the path. It is her. She is smiling and walking to me. We come together in a friendly embrace of old friends and share a light kiss on the cheek. We walk and talk to catch up with each other. Where have we been, what have we been doing, etc.
Our conversation slowly becomes more intimate as time goes by. The setting sun seems to just hang in the sky not moving. We have been talking for hours but the scene has not changed. It is then that I become aware that this is a dream and that I am asleep in my hotel room. I don't want to wake up but I can't help it. It happens to all of us. We wake just a little and come out of the fog of a dream. Often we want it back but rarely does it work. I become aware of the bed, the room, the AC running and the light from the bathroom that it is my habit when I travel to leave on.
I am almost heart broken from waking and losing the dream. As I lay there I can still feel the path under my feet, feel the breeze and smell the air from the park. I can even hear her voice as she talks to me. I roll over and determine that I am going back to sleep to continue this dream. It is rare that I can do this but this dream was worth searching for. I slowly drifted back off to sleep.
I am in the park walking with her again. Our conversation continues to get more intimate. We move closer as we talk so others will not hear. As we talk we both reach out and hold hands as we walk. Soon we are arm in arm and we both recognize that we are going to love each other this day. She looks up to me and we stop on the path and turn toward each other. I reach for her face and take it gently between my hands and hold it. She reaches up around my neck and pulls me down toward her.