I was dreaming as I wrote this

by Mayumi-H | Oct 26, 2013 | Writing Projects

So, forgive me if this goes astray…

Last night, I dreamed a man. Athletic, Nordic: tall, blond, squared, chiseled features. Scruffy for his faint stubble. Not overly muscled, but built to last. Also, soused to the gills, blue eyes swimming behind alcohol contacts.

He pushes me.

I push back.

Grabbing the top of his popped beer, the frothy foam spilling between my fingers, I tell him, “You do that again, I will hit you. And it will hurt.”

The soporific cloud blurring his eyes turns clear.

He says nothing, just shifts away.

We meet again later, his gaze and expression fresh, now, no longer the sloppy drunk. I don’t remember what we say, only that he sort-of smiles. One sharp eyetooth stands crooked from the rest. Watching it poke a dent into his lower lip, I smile, too.

Night. Maybe that same day, maybe days later. I’m sorting socks, of all things: knee-highed stripes, brown footies, patterned thigh-highs. I’m thinking, Which ones would he like? when I’m called to hold the camera. Why no one else can figure out how to frame a shot for a stage performance, I don’t know.

I look into the monitor, set the shot, lock the camera. A man sits down, right in my line of view.

Blond. Scruffy. Built.

“Glad you could make it,” I say.

He tilts his head back and laughs, showing off that adorable crooked tooth. As though he knows that’s what will make me melt. He looks at me, blue eyes bright. And magnified a little, behind narrow-framed, horn rimmed glasses.

Be still, beating heart. But don’t let on:

“Now, get out of my shot.”

He laughs again, shifting out the way.

I’m not looking at the camera window any more.

Most of my dreams don’t translate well to story format, but this one did. Those of you who follow my Tumblr or that Friendface thing have seen this bit of free writing already, but, since it’s the only thing I’ve written recently that isn’t deeply mired in novel or fandom continuity, I thought it was worth a little space, here.

“Joseph dreams of wheat”
Owen Jones [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Do you write down your dreams? Do you ever find they make their way into your stories?