Head butting against my hand, Quinn challenged my sleep with soft coos. Gray light had emerged past the screened windows. The windows and blinds were open to release yesterday’s built up heat and permit the cool night air to saturate the house, preparation to coping with another day of heat. Sure, we could turn on the air con but isn’t it more challenging, more fun, and even nostalgic, to live the day without running the a/c, windows closed and blinds down, sweat beading up as the house’s interior temps climb into the mid 80s? Some would disagree, sure. Turn on the air conditioning, you madman, they order.

Dreams were fading, a snow storm moving on. I glimpsed facets of at least three dreams. One drew me in and held me longer, like a relative saying good-bye with an extended hug. I traipsed through remembered segments, amused and pleased by this dream. Then the realization bolted in, wait, hold onto this dream, this is important.

Shifting focus and effort, I tracked through the dream scenes I saw, heard, remembered, tracing back through sequence and organization, picking up details. The dream’s sequences were about moving into new places, acquiring new things – a new office building and office, a new car – with new computers and computer systems, new passwords, a new location, part of a new morning, and a new day. Excited and joyful I went through these new things, the first to arrive and explore my new digs, the leader of a smallish group, about the size of a high school class. And there, in the dream, shock of discovery took me as I grasped, I’m getting a new body. 

Oh, it’s my same body, but everything is brand new. Not brand new, I’d been thinking upon waking, but regenerated, which had triggered thoughts of the Doctor Who television series, which was where my thoughts were when I started moving from sleep into consciousness. I’m getting a new body, I’d been thinking, like Doctor Who. And I saw myself then being regenerated as the character had been, shifting from one form into another with a brilliant white glow. That was me. But this body looks exactly the same, yet it’s new. And that’s what had me chuckling myself into wakefulness.

Nor was I alone. The others were also new body recipients, but I was one of the first to receive my body and arrive, and was able to tell them, from my knowledge and experience, my expertise, what was going on and what was to be expected. The others began joining me, and then customers were arriving…what? And it was now business as usual.

Then, wondering about the time and accepting that only feeding Quinn would mollify him, I let myself fully awaken. Making to move and get up, I realized…I was curled up into the fetal position.

Ah, sweet dream.