Dreamland

Falcon, Bat, Gargoyle

I’m with my wife and son; we’re walking next to a highway underpass. It’s cold out and I’m wearing a knit hat. There is a man on the hill above. He’s dressed like a medieval falconer, and has a small hawk perched on the leather sleeve he is wearing on his right arm. The bird takes off and I lose sight of it as it flies off into the distance. The bird doubles back, comes up behind me and lands on my head. I don’t know what to do.

Viv reaches over and pulls the bird off, disentangling its talons from my knit hat. She talks to the bird the whole time, calming it. She raises her hand and the bird takes off, flying back to his master on the hill. The man waves at us as we continue on our way.

Back at the house, it is getting dark and the bats are coming out. I’m looking at them through our open living room door; one of them flies in. I don’t want to touch it, I’m afraid it might be rabid. Viv starts talking to the bat, puts out her hand. The bat lands on her finger. She walks out the door with it.

The bat hops off her finger and lands on the cement steps. Its wings shrink and its arms and legs grow. Its body is getting larger too; it’s starting to look like a gargoyle. The creature turns to look at us for a second, then hobbles off the porch, getting accustomed to its new limbs. Two dogs come charging out from the side of the house, barking at the gargoyle and chasing it. The gargoyle runs from the dogs. As they get nearer it flaps its wings and flies away into the night.