Dreamland

Hometown: Party and Parade

I'm young again, maybe in my early 20's. I'm standing on the deck of a large cargo ship with Charlie, a guy I used to work with. The ship makes a turn as it is travelling down the wide river, and several of the empty cargotainers stacked haphazardly on the deck tumble off into the water. I watch this and feel no concern, it's not my ship and the containers are stacked far enough from where we are standing that they pose no danger.

We are standing towards the rear of the ship, on the port side. The ship is passing a mossy wooden dock. Charlie says we have to jump off and swim for it, the ship is not stopping to let us off. We jump. The sun is high, the water is warm and the short swim to the dock is easy.

I'm standing on a hill on the West side of my old home town. The sidewalks are covered with ice. I slide down them as if on a skateboard, on my way to a party. I arrive at the house, someone gives me dry clothes to change into.

None of the rooms in the house have doors to close for privacy. I walk into an unoccupied room towards the back of the house and undress. An old girlfriend from High School comes walking in with a couple of her friends. She says "Hi". Embarrassed and naked, I hurry to finish dressing.

There is a sudden commotion in another room, and everyone runs to see what has happened. Apparently there has been a fight, and Charlie has killed someone. He asks me for help in getting rid of the body. I refuse, but a couple other guys help him. They stuff the body into a trunk and hide it in a room near the back of the house. The party continues, but feeling uncomfortable, I leave.

I walk up the hill to my parent's house, but they're not home. I head back down the hill towards town. The street is blocked with roadwork-type sawhorses, the kind with orange stripes and blinking yellow lights. People are standing in front of their houses, as if waiting for a parade. There are strings tied across the sidewalk about chest-high, with small plastic toys hanging from them. Little kids are encouraging me to run down the sidewalk and break the strings. Reluctantly I do this, while the people cheer and applaud.