I awoke on a warm June day with a thin layer of perspiration sticking to my body. The fog in my head had yet to clear and the images from my dream were still sharp and the colors vivid. As I lay in bed, I felt an uneasiness that accompanied these recollections that gave me pause and added to my reluctance to move from my pillow. To be clear, I am not usually prone to vivid dreams, and rarely do I experience recurring dreams, or dreams with similar settings, but last night's dream was different in both respects. It was the third in the space of two weeks that involved the same people in the same place going about a similar scenario of events. Reluctantly, I willed my body to move and stretched my limbs before heading to the shower, having breakfast, and enjoying my first coffee of the morning. Let the day begin.
As I went through the motions of a busy day, my mind wandered back to last night's dream. I searched my recollections for clues to the meaning and the possible reasons behind the repetition. Certain parts remained hidden behind lapses in the narrative, breaks in continuity, or activities off-stage in a theater where sounds are meant to tell the story to the audience. The setting at the outset was always the same; a large living room with a large crystal chandelier suspended in the center of the ceiling, large French doors separating it from an adjacent smaller space complete with another sparkling chandelier, and another set of French doors leading to a wide corridor lighted by two glistening chandeliers. The look was reminiscent of a Parisian-looking apartment from the late 19
th
or early 20
th
century, softly lit and elegantly furnished but not cluttered, with nice paintings with vibrant colors on the walls, and a view over the rooftops that revealed glimmering light coming from nearby windows. Occasionally, the sound of horse hooves on the pavement below, mingled with the sounds of the city pierced the night and came through the windows.
The cast was comprised of about ten people, a mix of men and women, nicely dressed, some smoking, and each of them holding a champagne glass while chatting and laughing, completely at ease with each other. Before long the room grows quiet while a young lady emerges from the shadows of the smaller room and as the group parts, walks directly toward the center of the large room. She is stunning in her beauty and exotic in her movements, like a jungle cat on the prowl, with firm muscles covered by taut bronze skin. She is wearing a sheer gown that trails behind her as she walks, and the soft light exposes her firm breasts and smooth skin under the fabric. Her sparkling eyes and radiant smile show that she is completely at ease with her nakedness on full display. The men greet her with adoring eyes and the women smile sweetly while trying to disguise the longing that they feel for her as well. A servant approaches with a tray holding a single champagne glass, stopping at her side. The lady reaches out, gently takes the delicate glass in her hand, and the servant disappears into the small crowd. The assembled group begins to murmur as the woman looks about, turns, and walks back into the shadows.
The dream has ended at this point three times, always leaving me to wonder about the central character, what she was looking for, and why she disappeared into the darkness while the remaining characters seemed to continue their conversations unaffected by her departure.
The next encounter with the lady from the shadows came about four nights later. The hectic work week was followed by a somewhat boring weekend, mostly chores that I have put off and an impromptu dinner and drinks with friends on Saturday, and a quiet Sunday. My thoughts drifted to the Parisian-style rooms and the lady with her gathering as I got ready for bed. Aside from the curiosity about the dream itself, I also wondered about the setting and its significance. Knowing that no answers to these questions would be forthcoming, eventually, I set my alarm for the morning and shut off the light.
The usual people chatted amicably while the sound of a carriage could be heard from outside. A new figure, a young woman, entered the room from the corridor accompanied by a dark, hard-looking man with a military bearing. He was nicely dressed and well groomed, she wore a light dress and had a black choker around her throat, long neatly combed hair, and simple makeup. They walked into the main room but did not linger with the others, moving into the smaller room from which the lady from the shadows usually entered. Once inside the room, the pair stopped next to a chaise lounge and the eyes of the other people stared at them intently. Without hesitation, the man slowly unbuttoned the dress from the back and helped it fall from her shoulders revealing a lovely pale body without undergarments. The woman turned around to face the gentleman and it was at this point that it became obvious that the woman was really a young man with a smooth, hairless body and very gentle features. She kissed the gentleman on the lips and let him guide her to recline on the chaise while a servant entered with two champagne glasses on a tray. The man took both and offered one to the woman who accepted with a smile, and after touching glasses with a slight clink, each drank the contents slowly with eyes locked on each other.
Several of the assembled group walked into the room to observe the activity but only one woman chose to interact with the woman on the chaise. She bent down to kiss the reclining woman on the lips and then knelt next to the chaise to kiss her nipples. The young woman moved erotically as the sensations of the kisses tingled through her body. The men in the group were becoming aroused by the spectacle and several rubbed the bulges in the front of their pants. The kneeling woman now shifted her position so that she could take the reclining woman's penis into her mouth to gently caress it with her lips and tongue.
