The Dream

The Dream

by Bobby Bone

Thomas looked up from his computer and gazed into the dimly lit room. As the sun went down the twilight created the dreary mood in which Thomas found himself. He had been engulfed in his informal internet research for so long that he was unsure of the time of day. The darkness that surrounded him indicated that he had lost track of time, but the intensity of his dream the night earlier led him to this compelling activity. Sliding his chair across the tiled floor caused a loud screeching sound that echoed throughout his bachelor apartment.  He finally removed himself from the chair that imprisoned him for several hours. A pain ran through his knees and lower back as he stood up tall and tried to step away from the chair. Thomas thought ‘the old grey stallion aint what he used to be’ as he stretched and moved toward the light switch. The main light brightly lit the apartment and his eyes focussed and adjusted to the new aura of the room. 

           Thomas had many dreams over his life but none like this past one.  This dream was more realistic and vivid than any other. Upon awakening Thomas had an elevated heartbeat and was sweating profusely and breathing hard. Never had a dream impinged him with such physiological effects upon awakening. Thomas realized that this was more than a dream. It was a message, and he had a gut feeling that he needed to pursue its meaning. Hence this day of researching dreams, their effects, and meanings. 

           The dream involved an old college friend, Anna, who Thomas dated and spent a lot of special time with. In those days Anna was a graduate student studying Business Administration with Thomas. They were not only study partners but intimate friends as well. Their relationship was a happy, fun filled, and almost exultant one that ended when they graduated.  Thomas felt he never really said goodbye to Anna as they each went their own way after graduation. Thomas remembers helping Anna load up her car with her personal belongings, her kissing him goodbye and driving off into the sunset. Both just assumed they were starting a new phase of their lives, and this was their final adieu.  Anna and Thomas never saw each other again after that.  They would only be memories to each other from that day forward. It bothered Thomas for a few years after graduation, often thinking of Anna and wondering what could have been had they stayed together. But she soon faded from his thoughts as he moved on with his life. Until this dream Thomas had completely forgotten about Anna, but now she was very vivid in his consciousness. He needed to know why, forty years later, Anna was suddenly on his mind.  

           The dream continued to run through his thoughts as he kept going over and over what he remembered. It was short, but very vivid and clear. The dream started with a silhouette of a woman surrounded by fog. The silhouette moved closer and closer and more detailed features developed. As the women drew near the fog lifted and a stunning image of Anna, from 40 years ago, appeared. The figure of Anna moved even closer and began reaching out. As she moved toward him her face began to age, getting older and older looking. Suddenly a look of fear came over Anna’s face and tears flowed down her cheeks. The image continued to move closer and suddenly disappeared in a startling puff of smoke. It was at this point in the dream that Thomas woke up, breathing hard and gasping for air. No dream had ever been this vivid and had such a cogent effect on him. This was why he needed to pursue the reasons for this dream.  After his day of researching, he felt he was starting to become a dream expert. Thomas felt it was all in vain though since he still didn’t have any definitive answers as to why he had this dream or why the arduous effects on him.  It was at this point he decided he needed to find Anna and speak to her directly. Thomas realized this would be a difficult task and didn’t know where to begin. Only knowing her hometown and her maiden name, he decided he would start looking her up in the morning. 

           Having a terrible night’s sleep Thomas arose for the new day and immediately started going over his plan to track down Anna. He decided to start with the local Chamber of Commerce in Anna’s hometown and looked up her family’s information. A family by the same name still lived at her original address and Thomas was able to procure a phone number for the home. He hoped his reaching out to Anna in this manner would not be a nugatory attempt in contacting her since he didn’t have the resources for much more. As he dialled the number his hands quivered emphatically, forcing Thomas to start the dialling process over several times.  As the first tones of ringing pierced his ears Thomas hesitated, hung up the phone, stepped aside and took a deep breath. He thought ‘What the heck am I doing? Even if it was her house, she probably wouldn’t remember me anyway. I don’t think I can do this.’ Thomas sat on the couch, closed his eyes, and thought about it.  Realizing he needed to do this or be haunted with this dream, he decided to try again.  The phone rang once, twice, three times. 

           “Hello.” came a voice on the other end of the phone. It was an elderly voice.       

           “Hello.” replied Thomas. “I am sorry to bother you but I am looking for Anna, who may have lived here many years ago.”

           Quickly replying, the voice queried “Who is this and why do you want Anna?”

           “I am an old friend of Anna’s, from College, and I am looking to get in touch with her again.” Thomas answered

After some small talk with each other the elderly person offered to take Thomas’ number and have Anna contact him. Thomas eagerly shared his contact information and as he hung up the phone he sat back on his couch, closed his eyes and relaxed. It was a waiting game and Thomas hoped Anna would return the call as he sat in angst continually pondering the dream.

           The ringing phone broke the eerie silence in the room and startled Thomas from his afternoon slumber. Disoriented at first Thomas realized the phone was ringing. “Could it be Anna?’ was his immediate thought.  Thomas made a volant jaunt across the room and immediately answered the phone.

           “Hello, Thomas speaking.”

           A moment of silence ensued followed by a soft amiable reply “Hello, Thomas. It’s Anna.”

           “Yes, hello Anna. So good to hear from you after all these years. How are you doing?” Thomas excitedly asked.

            “I am doing very well.” Anna replied. “It’s nice to hear your voice.”

Thomas was ecstatic throughout the conversation. Wonderful memories of Anna filled his head as they spoke to each other. The conversation, although full of small talk and sharing what they had been doing over the past 40 years, went on for thirty minutes. Anna was single and living on her own, travelling quite frequently for business reasons. All these years she was living within driving distance of Thomas. Forgetting about the dream and the reason for the phone call, Thomas had a new quest; to meet up with Anna and possibly enkindle the forty year old relationship. 

           “Would you like to get together for lunch?” Thomas bluntly asked

           “That would be great, but I am flying to London England on business tomorrow afternoon and won’t be back for three weeks.” Anna responded.

Not wanting to miss out on seeing her, Thomas quickly scrambled for an idea and suggested, “Let’s get together for coffee in the morning before your flight. We can meet at the Airport Diner.”

“That sounds great.” Anna jubilantly replied. “I will meet you 10:00am.”

With arrangements made the conversation ended quickly. Thomas thought ‘maybe this was why I dreamt of Anna. A gut feeling to call her, reminisce and make arrangements to meet.’

Although Thomas was quite happy and excited to see Anna, he couldn’t help but feel there was more to the dream’s message. Talking to Anna was great but he felt there was something more to the surreal images he experienced.  

           Thomas arrived at the Diner twenty minutes early only to find Anna already waiting. She was even more beautiful than he remembered. When Anna looked up and saw Thomas, they expeditiously moved towards each other and hugged. They embraced for a while, and it was clear that they had really missed each other over the years.  Finally sitting down, they spent hours talking, reminiscing, and sharing each other’s lives. The meeting was so full of ardent feelings neither wanted it to end. 

           “I am so happy you called Thomas. This is what I needed. My life has been so routine and busy that I forgot about the personal things I need. You called at a perfect time in my life.” Anna explained. “Unfortunately, if I don’t leave for my flight now, I will miss it,” Anna continued.

           “Miss it then. Catch the next one.” Thomas suggested. “I will pay for it.”

Surprising to Thomas Anna replied, “That sounds like a great idea. There is another plane leaving this evening. I will re-book on that one.”

           Thomas and Anna spent the rest of the day together. It was like they never spent any time apart.  They both felt rejuvenated and a little disappointed when they finally had to part ways.

           “See you in three weeks?” Anna questioned as she left to board the plane.

With a huge smile on his face Thomas quickly replied, “Definitely. I can’t wait.”

After a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek, Anna was on her way.

           When Thomas arrived home that evening he turned the television on and relaxed with a beer to watch the evening news.  Thomas, focussing on something else heard the newscaster say, “The top story tonight is the plane crash at London’s Heathrow Airport.”

Thomas had a nauseous feeling in his stomach when he heard the news. He immediately focussed his attention on the newscast. ‘Give the flight number, give the flight number’ Thomas repeated to himself hoping the commentator would give more details. 

           “Flight 602 from Toronto crashed on decent earlier today. The plane ignited into a ball of fire and firefighters worked hard to extinguish the burning wreck.  The cause of the crash is still unknow and no survivors are expected to emerge.”

Thomas scrambled to look up Anna’s flight number.  Relief came over him when he realized she was on flight 972 from Toronto.  Flight 602 was Anna’s first flight that she missed when she decided to spend the afternoon with him. Thomas fell to the floor and wept at that moment. He then realized why he had the dream and the gut feeling to act on it. It wasn’t to meet up with Anna and start a relationship again. It was to save her life.