July 19
*I’m in the process of moving… I see glimpses of apartments or parts of houses being remodeled. I’ve taken myself to the hospital for something, I can’t remember why. Something about having a hard time breathing. I can’t get in the front door of the place… I have to go up a staircase and there is no door at the top… I can see the triage desk on the other side of the railing of the stairway, but the railing is thick and there is some kind of window (like a sneeze guard) over it, leaving a very narrow opening. I tell them to get back from their desks, I’m just going to roll myself through this opening. I’m trying to calculate how to do it without getting hurt further, I’ve put my hand inside something to get a grip (looks like a place where a handle should be, but it’s empty so I just hold on to the outside – which is lined with white rubber) The people behind the desk have another way for me to get in.
I’m in the lobby of the hospital now, I have to fill out some kind of forms, write my symptoms down. I walk over to the table with the forms. I find pouches of supplies – pencils, something in a maroon colored bag that looks like it was used for part of someone’s wedding (the bag is made of tulle, but it is long rectangular shaped with a zipper down the length of it… inside were other items. I tell the other girls at the table how this can be used for a wedding, and then afterwards you keep it and use it for something else) I can’t find the forms I need to fill out and this is taking way too much of my time so I decide to leave.
*I need to drop O off at an art class… I’m pushing an overloaded stroller to get there. O is walking beside me, but the stroller is loaded with a box of something, a file with papers balanced on top, several things shoved into several pockets. We are walking in town near my mom’s house, I recognize the gas station on the corner, the street, the trees, the brown building down the street to the right is where we are headed. I see a couple of small Indian girls walking, they have brightly colored backpacks… they look to be in grade school. They are walking the opposite direction. I realize we must be running late, because when I drive by this intersection as they get out of school, I normally see them further down the road. I also realize how far they have to walk. As we walk I hit a bump in the sidewalk, my folder and papers go flying, spread across the sidewalk in front of me. O bends down to help me pick them all up. It’s a sunny day, cars are driving by quickly and there are a few people walking by us.
We arrive at the classroom… the class is supposed to run from 10 to 1 or 10 to 2:30… as I drop her off I realize not only are we about 10 minutes late (other students have already started class) but I forgot to pack a lunch. I think about what kind of food we have at home… I’m close to the school so I should have enough time to get home, make a lunch, and bring it back… or I can pick some up, but I don’t want to get fast food. As I’m thinking I walk out into a lobby area, I’m dropping things out of my purse and trying to shove them back in, and I see my parents walk up. At first I try to ignore them, I’ve dropped something and I have to look down to get it, and as I pass by I say “shit shit shit!” under my breath (about dropping things, and about being late) They stop me and I say hello, I’m surprised to see them here. They say they are on their way someplace else, and thought they’d stop by and say hello. They are unannounced, and are not going to feel welcome because I have an full afternoon of things to get done and I can’t put it all off and sit to chat with them.
I go into another room… seems to be a dining room but I don’t recognize it. A friend is here (don’t recognize his face, but he has blond-ish hair, sort of long and shaggy) He needs a ride somewhere. I tell him fine, but I have to bring O lunch so he’s gotta get moving. I’m thinking of a sandwich shop where I could get O a kid’s meal that wouldn’t be too unhealthy. My friend is not wearing a shirt, he stands up and drops his shorts as well. I roll my eyes, and tell him he has to get dressed NOW if he hopes to get a ride anywhere. I feel like I’m a complete mess, dropping things and totally unorganized.
*I’m walking into what looks like a factory area. There are creatures here… human-like forms but their heads are more cone shaped and somewhat metallic looking – but also look like plant life. The creatures that walked us into the room are wrapped up. The ones we speak to have grins that are far too wide for their faces, large square teeth, but are friendly enough. We are trying to sneak in to some other place… they tell us if we wrap ourselves up in the white gauze we will blend in with the maggots of their species and be able to be taken anywhere within the castle. As we speak, one of the creature’s heads begins to swell. He walks slowly away, escorted by two others… the other creatures in the room hang their heads in sadness. They say that means it is pollenating… he will no longer be with us very soon.
We are brought up to a dining room now. On our way I stop and look in a mirror… my skin has broken out into hives at the base of my neck and around the back a little. I try to conceal it, it doesn’t bother me so much but it appears to be one of the reasons I’m here. I also look in the mirror and notice my hair (which is mostly a bright yellow color, streaked with fire-engine red lines) is messy. I pull it back into a pony tail and smooth it down as best I can while walking down the hall. We are seated at a large wooden table (I’m at the head of the middle table, there are three in the room. The table to my right has several people seated around it, regulars… they have their names written on pieces of cardboard in front of them) and we try to blend in with the people around us.
The queen enters the room and is pacing around. I look down and see that my dress (which is made of some kind of velvet?) has a bit of a coffee stain just above the right knee. I sigh, this will give me away, and I try to cover it by folding the dress over and sitting at an angle. I keep my head down as the queen passes by, but she notices me anyway. One of the servants begs forgiveness, explaining I have medical needs and pointing to my neck. I have ice packs in my hand that I’ve been using to keep the redness from bothering me too much. The queen is angry, calling a small dragon out of one of the towers to attack me. She is unaware I have a ring on my right hand… it is thick gold and spells a name that runs the width of my hand, effectively this ring is a set of brass knuckles. I feel the metal of the ring slide over my middle finger. I flex my hand twice, feeling the cool metal across my fingers. As the dragon approaches, I brace myself, tensing every muscle. It comes at me, swooping over the table, and I spring up from the chair… using my legs to add strength to the punch, I heave my arm upwards from the hip… I connect with some soft tissue about neck-level… I expect the scales to be tough but they are rather soft, like snake skin. The dragon continues forward over me, but falters in his flight… twisting around to come at me from behind I throw my hand in the air once more… hitting his side this time he crashes on the table in front of me. He is about the size of a german shepard. I have my ice packs with me, so I shove one in it’s mouth to keep it from breathing fire. The queen is entirely pissed… screaming at me to not hurt her pet. I look at the struggling dragon and pull the ice back, and let it go. It flies to a far spire of the castle, unhurt but sulking… it clings to the spire watching us.
