Dream

Just awoken from a dream in which I was enveloped in a carnival of magic and wonder set probably in the 18th century, judging by the costumes. I wandered from one huge set piece to another. I witnessed an orchestra of hundreds and was able to wander among the players – one of the whom was a friend I’ve lost touch with. I wanted so much to talk to her, but although she recognised me, static flickered between us and I was eventually unable to see her. Later I sat along with a mass of others in cinema-like rows of seats in a large room with a low ceiling. At somebody’s spoken command we twisted round to look through the small windows behind us and saw that our room had taken flight and was sailing towards a large mass of buildings below us. Simultaneously I was outside the room and saw that it disappeared into a cavern. A man seated to my right held my hand and I was unsure whether he did so for unwanted sexual reasons or because he sensed the loneliness I felt throughout this dream. There were many other experiences like this, but they have faded as I write this.

A few minutes later as I clean my teeth, another detail returns: the friend I was unable to talk to was sitting with her colleagues on a large balcony and, before seeing her, I noticed a miniature saxophone. The instrument was no more than an inch in height and placed by its owner on a red velvet cushion ready to play.