“Patience”, Part 10

Wherein a dreamer finds solace from the waking world….

For a long time, he didn’t know where he was.

He wasn’t asleep; he knew what it meant to have dreams, and he knew what it meant to walk in his sleep—to be awake, but not in his body. He went to That Place a lot, and sometimes there was a man there. A gold man with long, wispy white hair and eyes like amber and skin polished to such a gem-like sheen that it caught the angles of every ray of light that struck him. It was the only time he felt Right, and he couldn’t explain what was Right about it, only that it was.

He went there now.

The Gold Man sat cross-legged atop a pool of water; he didn’t sit in the water, but over it, as though he were oil and could not mix. ‘Rilo walked towards him, over the water, and stood when, if he had wanted to, he could have reached out and touched the man’s arm. He always felt guilty when he went There at night, because sometimes the Gold Man was sleeping, and he didn’t want to wake him up. He knew without asking that the Gold Man didn’t sleep often, and when he did, his rest was fitful. When he came Here, he slept an honest man’s sleep and did not have nightmares.

Instead of waking him, ‘Rilo seated himself in front of the Gold Man and folded his hands in his lap; he fidgeted. He knew if he wanted to, he could stay here as long as he wanted. He’d done it before, when his parents yelled at him. He’d spent an hour here, alone with a cinema of memories and thoughts around him, or with the Gold Man, talking and listening to his stories. And then when the Gold Man had to leave, ‘Rilo would go back—somehow—and no time had elapsed at all. It was like this was a place created only for him and the Gold Man, and if he wanted to, he never had to go back to life at all.

He must have stayed seated there for an hour, or so it felt like. Gradually, those amber eyes opened, and the Gold Man looked at him with curiosity and affection.

‘Rilo smiled. “Hi.”

“You shouldn’t come to me as often as you do,” the Gold Man reprimanded him, but he smiled also. He set his hands to his kneecaps and shook his head slowly. “If you let your life escape you and let your mind dwell here too often, you’ll lose part of yourself. I wouldn’t want you to do that—you’re too young.”

“You always say that,” ‘Rilo said with a slightly sulky manner about him, but he knew that the Gold Man was right. He also knew that something had happened—to him, not to the Gold Man. Something was wrong, and it tickled the back of his conscience like a feather, causing him to squirm and giggle. His humor was infectious.

“Why do you laugh so?” the Gold Man chuckled.

“’Cause!” ‘Rilo laughed. “It tickles.”

“What tickles?”

“My mind. Here.” He reached his hand up to tap his temple, smiling again. “Life, I guess. Something important is going on.”

“Can you recall what?” The Gold Man looked interested. He sat forward, let his elbows rest on his folded knees, and let his chin rest on his fingers.

“Nah,” ‘Rilo said with a dismissive wave of one hand. He flopped back onto the water. It made a wet ‘splat’ sound behind him, but he didn’t feel wet. He felt his skin press against something cool, something that flowed around him but couldn’t touch him, something that refreshed him and left him feeling… indestructible. “It probably wasn’t that important anyway. Dad’s probably fussing at me again.”

“Are you sure you are at home?”

Home.

He opened his eyes, suddenly, and the pleasant place he knew only as There was gone.

(to be continued)

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Click here to read Part 11.