Last
night I had a peculiarly vivid dream.
What
a way to begin a story, huh?
I
found myself in a long, dim corridor. Well, I suppose dim isn't quite
the right word. The lighting was cozy. There were plain, but elegant
lamps at regular intervals down the hallway. Between these fixtures
were dark, oak doors—pretty heavy ones by the looks of it.
I
stuck my hands in the pockets of my grungy levis and meandered down
the length of the corridor looking at the doors as I passed. The
floor was made up of old looking wooden planks, well worn, but not a
creak sounded as I placed my weight on them. I thought this was odd,
but it didn't worry me too much. I felt uncharacteristically relaxed
walking down the musty hall.
On
each of the doors was a cheap looking gold plaque, at about eye
level—like you would see in an old office building. I looked at the
first door I passed and read the sign.
INVESTMENT
RETURN
I
looked at the ornate brass handle below the sign (strangely it was at
the center of the door) and thought about turning it. But the rising
tension in my shoulders made me feel differently—decisions always
seem to make me tense up. So I continued my walk.
I
read the sign of each door I passed
TALENT,
INHERITANCE PROPERTY, OPTIMAL FITNESS, CAPITAL GAINS, ENLIGHTENMENT,
BEAUTY, REVOLUTION
Those
are a few that I can remember. I recall reaching the end of the
corridor where the last, heavy door stood. This one merely displayed
a large question mark. Of all the doors I had seen, this was the most
tempting. But I didn't feel bored, so I turned away. Before
proceeding back down the hallway, I paused and looked at the door to
the left.
CLEAN
SOCKS & UNDERWEAR
Without
hesitation I entered.
Inside,
the room was much like the hall I had just left. Except it was large
and square. Two lamps upon each of the four walls lit the room rather
well and in the center was a well worn wooden table. Upon this was a
neatly folded set of Hanes tag-less boxer briefs and a pair of socks.
I was disproportionately delighted.
I
immediately striped off my garments and replaced my stretched and
worn underwear with the fresh cotton boxers on the table. A perfect
fit. I quickly did the same with my socks—which were riddled with
holes and sweat and dirt.
That's
when I woke up.
The
first thing I noticed was a neatly folded set of socks and underwear
sitting on my bedside dresser. At first I was astonished. Who
could have put these here? I wondered. Had a breach between the
dream world and reality been created? Was this one of those times
where you think you've woken up, but you are actually still dreaming?
Then
I remembered that I had put them there the previous evening—like I
always do. I laughed it off and pulled on the clean, though somewhat
worn, undergarments.
Looking
out the window facing the foot of my bed, I saw the morning light
playing through the branches of a tree standing just outside. For a
moment I was startled, the shadows on the pane looked exactly like a
gigantic question mark. I closed my eyes and shook my head like an
old cartoon character. When I lifted my lids, the illusion was gone.
Just
my imagination.
