First chill of the season. Confederate roses light up my landscape with vigorous hues of red and pink, while roadsides are purple and yellow. Small creatures dart quickly into the brush, instinctively preparing for Winter’s harsh breath. One year, during Fall, I had a dream about a small dirt road that led away into unknown places. It was an emotional dream, filled with curious circumstances. And like most of my dreams, was in vivid, blazing color.
The road wound around old stands of bamboo and groves of pignut hickory. In the first dream, I was alone, going somewhere on that road. It was late evening, a time I love. Squirrels were vocally protesting my presence, but the birds seemed to watch quietly, intensely. The sun came in on a slant, infusing everything with a brilliant golden glow. That’s when I saw them. Two enormous dogs!
They were light brown and shaggy haired. Their eyes penetrated mine and I took a step backward. As they approached, a calm feeling came over me and I reached out to pet them. They were friendly enough, but watched me as if anticipating trouble. I continued walking and they followed. Sometimes they’d hang back or chase something off into the woods, but they remained there, behind me. End of first dream.
A few years later, during the first cool spell of Autumn, another dream occurred. It was as if we had always been there, the dogs and I. This time, we found ourselves surrounded by aged oaks. The heavy branches drooped down over the road as if to protect it. One dog trotted along beside me while the other sniffed and squatted. A flock of chattering birds flew over, startling us momentarily. And then I saw the house!
It leaned precariously to one side and white paint was peeling off of the boards. A front porch sagged forlornly.
Both dogs went to investigate as I reluctantly followed them. We approached the door leading into the house as a blue dragonfly circled us. It’s round, bulging eyes seemed intelligent. Muted crimson leaves fell around us as a cool wind began to blow. I suddenly felt very afraid.
The house’s dark interior seemed threatening and shadows moved about in the corners. We all hesitated upon the threshold. As I began to back away, several eyes lit up in the dim beams of light pouring through the open door. Both dogs growled quietly - a low sound almost like distant thunder. I realized in that instant that the blue dragonfly was perched on my shoulder. We gazed at each other, insect and human. End of this dream.
It was two years later when the third dream came. Half moon in the sky, cold and clear. As I began to walk down the road, I noticed it was a little wider now and appeared to have been graded recently. The oaks and the delapidated house were behind me and I was approaching an old pine forest. At some point, the dogs appeared beside me. I named them Dusty and Fancy, according to their personalities. The smell of pine was very strong and lingering. We walked in silence.
A hawk flew along over our heads, circling back several times to stay up with our slow pace. To our left, stood an old brick chimney. The remains of it’s house were obscured by vines and pine seedlings. We walked over and I was able to examine the chimney while guessing at it’s origins. The bricks were tinged with orange and the mortar was quite grainy. How did it stand for so long? Dusty and Fancy did the obligatory sniff around the perimeter and promptly marked it for future reference. End of dream.
The last dream of this kind came around a year later exactly to the day. A small pond glimmered in the evening sunlight. The road went around it for awhile, then vanished into more pine forest. The dogs were happily examining the shoreline and splashing in the water. I gazed at the sparkling pond for a long time, hypnotized by the play of ripples in sunlight. A hawk was sitting on a nearby branch, watching. We stared at each other for a moment, then it flew down by the pond.
A big red truck came down the road, loaded with hay. A man waved at me and smiled from the driver’s window. I waved back and the dogs barked a warning, tails wagging the whole time. The remains of a wooden boat lay on it’s side in the muddy reeds surrounding the pond. What was left of a paddle stuck out of the back. On the end of the paddle sat a blue dragonfly. End again.
The whole point of this story came to a conclusion the next Autumn. My dreams were forgotten, like dreams are.
I was visiting relatives up close to the Georgia/Florida line and got lost. Farmlands stretched out as far as the eye could see. Between the farms were large wooded areas.
I was on a blacktop road close to my destination, real close, I hoped. And there was the ancient bamboo stand and the hickory grove! When I saw the ruins of an old homestead I stopped and went to look around. It was hard to tell if this was the one in my dream, but it certainly was in the right place.
As I drove along, a new neighborhood appeared where the pine forest should have been. Along the edges, a few pines remained. Suspicion faded as I kept on. That’s when I saw the pond. The road went around it, as before, but this time, it was lined with several houses and home gardens. Then, I spotted a tiny gas station/store that advertised fishing worms and Coca-Cola. Went inside to buy gas and call my relatives for directions. I was met by a sweet elderly woman. She took my gas money and let me use the house phone. As I was leaving, two dogs ran out of the house next door - Dusty and Fancy! They ran up to me licking my hands and wagging their tails.
The old woman stood back and watched. “They never take to strangers!” She exclaimed, “But they act like they know you!” She went on. “Some things,” I smiled, “you just can’t explain!”
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