Page 14 - December2023

aware of this, and the news of it felt
devastating. “That’s outrageous,” replied

Blaire, “I had a dream last night that my
father was alive, and I was delighted.”

I hadn’t known he was there, but I was
so delighted he was.” At the time,the
meaning the two of them mused about

dealt more with the notion of father
issues, but as this story winds to its

stunning conclusion, the two sides
of the same coin dream about fathers
were really two sides of the coin of the

powerful and final separation that death
engenders.

Remember the cabin in the woods? It
was actually a decades long tradition that

at least twice a year, Blaire and Amanda
would run away to the woods together

and enjoy retreats from urban life. One
particular trip started out like any other,
marked by the usual sense of freedom

and ease that comes with a slower pace
and lots of outdoor space. But this trip

felt decidedly different. Blaire would
wake up terrified each night in a panic
that she had not locked the door, while

not locking the door in waking life was
a powerful ritual that represented the

freedom that these trips offered.

These panic dreams propelled Blaire out

of bed and into the living room where
she would lock the front door, as well

as the sliding glass doors in the back.
On the fourth night, she even took to
sleeping on the couch, as she thought

that if indeed there was something
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