room

I was inside a room with other people. The walls of the room were solid brick and the room was semi-underground; the southern side of the room was ground level so that you could walk straight out onto the grass, whilst the ground on the northern side of the room was level with the windows, so that you could look out and see feet walking past. I was half lying on a wide lounge, facing south, with people either side who were stroking my face — we were waiting for something. There was a noise outside the northern window and we looked behind us to the window, which was without a glass pane. There was a faint blue light coming through, like it was a sunny day outside. I could hear a man’s voice as he spoke to someone, and a warm gust of air blew through the window, carrying soft dog hair in to the room, blown on the wind and gleaming in the light. I knew that he must be patting a dog outside.

I stood up and walked to the southern doorway and out onto the grassy slope. We were perched atop a hill that looked over a valley thick with houses all richly coloured – dark greens, reds, browns and blues. I understood that we were in New Zealand or somewhere like it. As I looked to the left, the valley grasses met a deep blue lake which was breathtakingly beautiful. I walked towards it, the air growing cooler as I approached it. I could see lush green plants growing around the edges of the water and in the more shallow regions; they resembled monstera deliciosa or other such plants in structure with huge emerald glossy leaves on strong reaching stalks.
I waded into the water without actually undressing, but somehow I was unaware of clothing of any kind on my body. I plunged my body into the clear water, relishing in the coolness and in the motion of gentle waves. I lay on my back, floating on the waves, riding them up and down, aware of the old volcanic rocks that may be hidden under the water. At some point, other people joined me and went even further into the lake.

Later, I was in the room again, this time in a class room situation. A girl was giving the teacher flowers, passing each flower to her slowly, one at a time. The five or so flowers were varying shades of pink, each a different species, that together formed a simple but beautiful bouquet. We left the room to go upstairs where there was a theatre. A woman had organised the running of the theatre, a benefactress of sorts, and was showing artwork there. I ran back down the stairs, noticing imprints of her artwork in the very steps, back into the room where I had forgotten something. There was another group of people in the room now — learning. I checked behind the door, close to where I had been sitting, for the thing I had forgotten.