Dream Weaver

Long blonde hair brushed against her red sweater. Making her seem smaller then she was and younger. The woods around her engulfed her. Where if she got lost she would never be found. She was eight though so she would never care about it. Hoping on stones of a river singing little rhymes to herself. Never realizing how dark they are.

“One hop takes me closer. Two hops take me closer. One slip and I’m down the river. Two slips I hope mama finds me.”

Then as she was on her last hop to the river bank. Colorful lights came from the tree in front of her. She with curious excitement ran to the tree and peered in the hole. The colors took up her whole face and she squinted as the lights became brighter. Webs had started to tangle in her hair but she had not even noticed. She then reached down into the hole. She felt around her pale hands seeking the source of the colorful lights. Until finally she caught the light. She reached her hand out of the hole. Her fists clenched around the light source. She opened her hand and was shocked to see a new eight-legged friend.  

A spider. Normally she would have been terrified and run to her mother, but she was mesmerized by it. Her eyes never leaving its abdomen. It glowed every color she could think of and looked like it was constantly moving and changing. She raised it up towards her face looking at it more closely. It seemed to be looking at her as well. Finally, it began to scurry up her arm which at first startled her but it nestled by her neck. Like a stray cat that chose a person to be its owner.

“What are you?” She said to herself and the spider thoughtfully.

She thought about what she should do. She ultimately decided to take it home. She knew her mother would kill her so she would have to hide it. She hopped back the river the spider still nestled in her neck and eventually went to her parent’s house. She ran to her room trying to find a box for the spider to hide in. This got strange looks from her father as usually she ran in and gave him hugs. There was no hiding the fact she was home in the tiny house. She eventually found a box and put it in just as her parents came in.

“Oliva? What have you got there?” asked her father in a light tone he knew how much she loved to bring things from the woods. So far spiders were not on that list.

. She thought about her favorite movie its not a lie just not telling the whole truth.

“I am not sure.” She said looking around the room telling herself not to look him in the eye. 

Her father crossed his arms and smiled

“Do we need to make another library run?”

She nodded her head quickly. Yes Yes, agree with what he says. He is satisfied and walks away to get his coat and keys while she scrambles to find something she thinks he has not shown him. She settles on a feather from an osprey. She looked under the bed one more time to make sure the spider is there and it is.

“I will figure out how to care for you soon.”

With that, she runs to the door. Her father throws her over his shoulder. She laughs and giggles and shows him the feather. Thankfully he does not recognize it. They drive off to the library. The town is so small that it is hardly even a five-minute drive. Just as the car stops in the parking lot she is out the door running up the steps and bursting through the doors. Her father walks after he not very concerned he knows too well there is no point in trying to stop her. 

The librarian looks up from her desk and just as her father knows all too well she can’t keep her quiet. She smiles sweetly as the little girl stands on her tiptoes to see over the counter. 

“Hello, how can I help you today?”

“Spiders,”  She says

The librarian gives her a strange look but does not question it. She tells her off the book and she is off to the shelves like she is really in a formula one race. She picks up the book she wants and sits in the aisle. Flipping through all the species trying to find out what is under her bed. Brown recluse? No too scary she thinks. Redback spider? No still too scary. Oh here’s one a peacock spider. Size .3 inches way too small. She continues to flip through the book upon book and finds nothing of the glowing spider under her bed. At least she learns to take care of it though she is not thrilled.

“Olivia its time to go your mother will be home shortly.” Her father sits beside her looking like against. As he sees what she is reading he is confused like the librarian but says nothing. He has always believed it is his place to teach not to judge.

Olivia goes without question. Bouncing down the steps and jumping up and down waiting for her father. Who coming down makes a comment about how many knots will be in her hair and how dirty her black skirt and shoes are jokingly. Olivia stares out the window in the way home fantasizing how she is an adult making the grand discovery of her spider. What should I call it she thinks? Dalia? Monica? Is it even female? The small town’s pastures roll by the sun setting on the sky making it into a beautiful orange hue. The car arrives home and Olivia jumps out and racing giving her mother a huge hug. Then running to her room to check on the spider.  

The spider shines at her and again she is mesmerized. It crawls onto her finger in an almost affectionate way and she smiles. She finally pulls her eyes from it and looks in the box. A shiny web has formed but what is strange is it has spelled out words.

Dream me a Dream that is sweet about blank Dream me a Dream Mr.Dream weaver

Olivia looks around her room.

“Can you understand me?” She says in a hushed whisper.

She spider runs from her fingers and makes another web. Quicker then it should like a sped-up video.

Yes. 

Olivia ponders. She is still too scared to show her parents they might kill it. She repeats the spider’s web to her changing a few of the words.

“Dream me a dream that is sweet about amusement parks Dream me a Dream Mr.Dream Weaver.”

The spider rushes to work making an intricate web as she stares in amazement, her eyes slowing getting heavy. She tries to stay awake to see what the spider is doing but manages to shove the box under the bed and passes out on the floor. 

Olivia's dream

“Olivia!” Her parents call from the line. Oliva spins around face full of glee

“Come now the line is short.”

The ride for the new fastest rollercoaster in the world is only a few feet away and she jumps up and down giggling. She smells the popcorn and cotton candy all around her. She races to the roller coaster and it is the most fun of her life. She hears people cheering and laughing and having a good time. The roller coaster, once she is on, fills her with so much thrill and fear. The adrenaline afterward makes her even more energetic and excited.

Her parents treat her afterward to a diner of nothing but chocolates and sweets. Tucking her into bed at a day at the amusement park

The next morning

Olivia wakes up with start on her bed. She remembered the dream vividly. She rubs her eyes and jumps up from the bed gently grabbing the box the spider sits there looking up at her on its web of an amusement park. She jumps up and down dancing around her room cheering out of joy.

“YOU CAN MAKE DREAMS!!!” she says loudly

Years later

Olivia sits on her bed with her three friends gossiping and talking about boys while she does her friend’s nails. The band posters and gushy romance novels all over her room telling everyone she is in the full teenage swing.

“Olivia. Justin totally likes you.” Olivia rolls her eyes.

“Yeah, and I am also the president.” She says shoving her friend

“Tell him to grow a pair.” Says Olivias other friend sitting on her phone.

“Jodie! That’s not nice.”

Jodie turns to her two friends with a big grin on her face.

“I have never once claimed in my life to be a nice person.”

“You two are insufferable.” Says Olivia.

The three laugh and the two girls leave. Olivia pulls out her spider which she ultimately decided to call Arrow.

“Hey, there you hungry?” she says rhetorical and gets a bunch dead bugs from another box and throws them in.

The spider then crawls on her arm then nestling in her neck and hair. She laughs and pets it with one finger. She begins to yawn and the spider goes into his box. Ready for their nightly ritual.

“Dream me a dream that is sweet about a boy named Justin Dream me a dream, Mr. Dream Weaver”

She crawls into bed and as she falls asleep a black-haired boy with blue eyes and a good smile plays across her mind.

More years later

Olivia sits at her desk examining the white spiny orb weaver before her as it makes its web. It’s active today she notices. She scribbles it down in her notepad.  She inserts a fly into the clear plastic box the spiny orb weaver is in. A man walks into the room as she examines how it kills its prey.

“Ms.Parker there is something you need to see.”

“Whatever could it be Axel.” She says tearing her eyes from the spider.

“The spider that the other facility could not identify is here.”

She bolts upright and the familiar growth of excitement starts in her chest. She smiles wide and the man she was cold with moments before and walks over to him. Her lab coat swaying as she moves.

“Take me to it.”

She practically pulls the poor Axel down the hall. Could this be what Arrows species? Her whole life so far was devoted to figuring out what the spider she found as a child is. She loved it too much to have it poked and prodded like all first specimens so she had decided to keep it hidden.

“Over here Ms.Parker.” He says 

She does not hesitate to shove past him to the brown box. She opens it up and takes out the jar with the unidentified spider. Her excitement went as fast it came. She has never seen this spider before but it does not light up or look affectionate. She hides her disappointment and gets to work writing down what she can. She records it is a large spider most probably a female and that it has brown and black coloration most likely from the woods.

“It’s a good find. I can't identify it either.”

Axel smiles wide really excited about helping to find a new species. He also scribbles down notes before making a phone call. Olivia taps the jar and the spider lunges at her finger. She writes down it is aggressive. She sighs really hoping that it was her little dream weaver.

“Olivia are you okay?” says the man put a hand on her shoulder.

“Bit of a headache.” she is a scientist, not an actress it’s not very convincing.

“Maybe you could tell me the real answer over coffee after work?” He says confidently

She spins in her chair forgetting the spider for a moment. Not believing her ears. Which in this instance in a happy way.  She smiles sheepishly.

“Sure should we bring the spider?” 

They both laugh a hardy laugh.

Later in the day

Olivia with her friend Axel come home to her apartment. They had a wonderful time after work and found they had a lot in common besides the profession. After coffee, they had walked around the town continuing their chat. Laughing not caring who could hear them or who they were annoying. Olivia hated for the night to end but it had to they had work in the morning.

“Thank you, Axel, I had a wonderful time.” She says smiling sweetly 

“Thank me? Thank you, you agreed to come.”

“But it was your idea.”

“Well yeah, you should be thanking me with that thinking.”

She opens the door to her apartment and turns back towards him. 

“I would love to do this again,” She says kissing him on the cheek and walking into her apartment closing the door.

“I’ll count that as you asking me out,” He says from the other side before walking away to his house.

Olivia walked to the counter and a little spider glowing comes out from the shadows and sits by her hand. She strokes it with her finger and it nuzzles against her other fingers.

“I thought for a moment we had found you a friend Arrow.” 

She picks up the spider in her hands and sits on her red sofa and turns on the TV she eventually grows tired and Arrow makes himself more known by sitting on the end of her nose. The spider had enjoyed making Olivia’s dreams and he hated when she passed out and he had no webs to build.

“Fine fine you little pest I’ll say it. Dream me a Dream that is sweet about a life I desire Dream me a dream Mr.Dream weaver.”

 The spider got to work immediately and she stumbled to bed. As she slept she saw hundreds of spiders like Arrow and a husband she adored and a few children in a cozy little house near the stream and woods. As she slept a smile streamed across her face that would not be removed till morning.

Even more years later

Olivia at this point has retired. She grew old together in a life she had desired. She had married Axel she had a son called James who she adored. The only problem with her life she could never find a spider quite like Arrow. She worked as hard as she could until she could not work anymore. Arrow enjoyed the company of Olivia’s family refusing to keep it a secret from her family she showed them Arrow but like her kept it a secret their entire lives. He made dreams for all three of them and enjoyed it. Though with old age comes loss and unfortunately that is where we pick up with Olivia’s story.

The hospital room was white and bland it made Olivia uncomfortable. She wished for the smell of nature but was met with the smell of bleach. She held her husbands’ frail hand. Devoted through his sickness. Some days she didn’t think he could see but that never stopped her from coming. She put a hand also in his grey hair that had once been red. Her son sat at the back of the room leaning against the wall holding back tears. He feared he would never find a love like his parents.

“Mom I think the visit has been long enough.” Said James carefully holding his mother’s shoulders.

He took his hand in hers.

“I am sleeping here tonight. I dont want him to be alone wh--” she chocked on her words and cried. 

Her full thought was she did not want him to be alone when he dies. The hospice doctors said it would be any day now.

“I am not leaving you here so I guess we are both staying.” Normally Olivia would argue but the determination on his face made her see it would fall on deaf ears.

Then from the bed, Axel chocked to life-giving his wife and child a shock. James ran to the door yelling for a doctor. Axel took Olivia’s hand and made her look him in the eyes. He looked like he wanted to speak and tears began to stream down Olivia’s cheeks. His lips moved but no words came out and then a release. His face relaxed and so did his hands. Olivia screamed and James came and held her while a doctor came and checked on him. Olivia turned into her son’s chest not wanting to see, not wanting to think anything she was seeing was real. The doctor made eye contact with the son and shook his head. Axel had passed.

Later

Olivia sat in her bed crying. James held her close, if he left her alone he may lose another parent. Arrow sat on her knee.

“Love is a double-edged sword one edge is complete happiness and the other complete despair.”

“Do not talk like that mom” She looked at her son with puffy eyes.

“I think I should sleep.,” she said after an uncomfortable silence

“I’ll be here in the morning.” He got up and left her to go sleep on the couch standing outside the door to make sure she said the magic words.

“Oh, Arrow. Dream me a dream that is sweet about what I desire to dream me a dream Mr.Dream weaver.”

Arrow hoped off her knee and began weaving but not her dream.

Are you sure? It read

Olivia nodded her head. She laid back in bed while Arrow began weaving James satisfied slept on the couch. Not realizing what his mother dreamed of. By morning James would find the web of his mother and father together in heaven.