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Authors: Ralph L Wahlstrom
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say it was just a boyâs wild imagination, and theyâll pat me on the head in that insulting way grownups do.
On the other hand, what if it really happened? What if all of it is true? If they were really a cat and python they shouldnât have any trouble believing my story. I know one thing for sureâ¦if Iâm going to do it, Iâd better do it soon while theyâre still feeling guilty about me running off. I have to do before I chicken out. I have to have faith.
Â
He whispered the words to himself as he wrote.
Â
Thatâs it then. Iâve decided. Iâll tell them at supper.
Â
He felt a little better now, but not completely. He had to admit he still wasnât convinced that the whole thing was anything but a long, complicated dream. And, what if it was true? After all, how in the world could he and the others tear down the factories? He wasnât even sure what that meant. What exactly was he expected to do?
Chapter Six
Back to Normal--Well, More or Less
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My nocturnal adventures: I had a pretty good day. Mom and dad were so worried about me after last night they let me stay home from school. Good thing too. I was beat. Funny how the world looks completely different when you wake up. Mom called the school office and told Mrs. Barkley that I wasnât feeling well and wouldnât be in today. She didnât even ask me. I slept in, and when I finally got up, the sun was high on a clear blue morning, and I still had most of the day to do nothing but watch TV and play video games.
I saw Adventure Time, Flcl, and threw in Invader Zim for old timeâs sake. Itâs a weird little show, and Zim is a funny little guy who always made me laugh. He still does. They all got me thinking about the impossible last night. The more I think about it, the more I know the whole thing had to be a dream. People are always walking in their sleep and seeing ghosts and goblins and other strange things. I think thatâs what happened to me. For some reason my mind made me imagine I saw those animals and, of course, I panicked. I didnât imagine that part.
Then I fell asleep in that shack (Iâll tell you about that later). If that wouldnât give a guy nightmares, I donât know what would. Iâd be crazy to tell mom and dad everything about the rag man, and Iâm not going to mention that stuff about turning into a coyote and talking to a muskrat. Thereâs nothing to tell except that I had some really weird dreams.
Â
He closed the journal and yawned. He was still tired, but he felt better about the whole strange experience. He flipped the book open again and wrote quickly ,
Itâs good to be back to normal.
That evening, supper was quiet. Usually, he was the quiet one while his mom and dad made small talk across the table. Tonight they ate without talking, without reviewing the mundane dullness of the day, without watching their son to see if he had managed to have a day without insult, without humiliation, without feeling like the runt of the litter. Tonight the air was heavy with unspoken expectation. It was like they were waiting for him to fill them in on what had happened in the night, and he wasnât about to go there.
Kesh, unwilling to test the waters, as if he were afraid he might find out something he didnât want to know, ate mechanically and left the table. As sure of himself as he had been a couple hours before, now the doubts began to creep into the back of his mind. He tried to ignore them, and when he lay down for the night, he fell quickly into a deep, dreamless sleep and slept soundly until morning.
Keshâs mother had always told him that morning has the power to make everything right. On this second new day, he felt even more certain that things were back to normal. There were no animal spirits, no talking muskrats or spider women or coyotes. He was glad to be back in the real world where his frightening illusions
On the other hand, what if it really happened? What if all of it is true? If they were really a cat and python they shouldnât have any trouble believing my story. I know one thing for sureâ¦if Iâm going to do it, Iâd better do it soon while theyâre still feeling guilty about me running off. I have to do before I chicken out. I have to have faith.
Â
He whispered the words to himself as he wrote.
Â
Thatâs it then. Iâve decided. Iâll tell them at supper.
Â
He felt a little better now, but not completely. He had to admit he still wasnât convinced that the whole thing was anything but a long, complicated dream. And, what if it was true? After all, how in the world could he and the others tear down the factories? He wasnât even sure what that meant. What exactly was he expected to do?
Chapter Six
Back to Normal--Well, More or Less
Â
My nocturnal adventures: I had a pretty good day. Mom and dad were so worried about me after last night they let me stay home from school. Good thing too. I was beat. Funny how the world looks completely different when you wake up. Mom called the school office and told Mrs. Barkley that I wasnât feeling well and wouldnât be in today. She didnât even ask me. I slept in, and when I finally got up, the sun was high on a clear blue morning, and I still had most of the day to do nothing but watch TV and play video games.
I saw Adventure Time, Flcl, and threw in Invader Zim for old timeâs sake. Itâs a weird little show, and Zim is a funny little guy who always made me laugh. He still does. They all got me thinking about the impossible last night. The more I think about it, the more I know the whole thing had to be a dream. People are always walking in their sleep and seeing ghosts and goblins and other strange things. I think thatâs what happened to me. For some reason my mind made me imagine I saw those animals and, of course, I panicked. I didnât imagine that part.
Then I fell asleep in that shack (Iâll tell you about that later). If that wouldnât give a guy nightmares, I donât know what would. Iâd be crazy to tell mom and dad everything about the rag man, and Iâm not going to mention that stuff about turning into a coyote and talking to a muskrat. Thereâs nothing to tell except that I had some really weird dreams.
Â
He closed the journal and yawned. He was still tired, but he felt better about the whole strange experience. He flipped the book open again and wrote quickly ,
Itâs good to be back to normal.
That evening, supper was quiet. Usually, he was the quiet one while his mom and dad made small talk across the table. Tonight they ate without talking, without reviewing the mundane dullness of the day, without watching their son to see if he had managed to have a day without insult, without humiliation, without feeling like the runt of the litter. Tonight the air was heavy with unspoken expectation. It was like they were waiting for him to fill them in on what had happened in the night, and he wasnât about to go there.
Kesh, unwilling to test the waters, as if he were afraid he might find out something he didnât want to know, ate mechanically and left the table. As sure of himself as he had been a couple hours before, now the doubts began to creep into the back of his mind. He tried to ignore them, and when he lay down for the night, he fell quickly into a deep, dreamless sleep and slept soundly until morning.
Keshâs mother had always told him that morning has the power to make everything right. On this second new day, he felt even more certain that things were back to normal. There were no animal spirits, no talking muskrats or spider women or coyotes. He was glad to be back in the real world where his frightening illusions
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