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I was sitting at a long and narrow wooden table with many other people. The table was very low, only inches off the ground, so rather than sitting on chairs, we sat cross-legged either side of the table, facing our dinner partner. Each person had a similar table setting: a wooden placemat or tray holding a plate of food and a glass of red wine. Everyone else had accepted the glass of wine that was offered with the meal, but I had bought a glass of quality wine to enjoy with dinner. As we sat, the ground tipped beneath us until we were sitting on a steep slope. Everyone else stayed anchored to their place with their placemat fixed to the spot, but my placemat, along with my meal and wine, started slipping down the hill. I attempted to keep it in place, but my body began to slide down as well. Again, I tried to remain in place but I could not, so rather than upsetting the wine and losing my meal, I steadied them as I slid down to the bottom of the hill to flatter ground. I could see my dinner partner, still sitting in place. I looked up to see that I had come to rest directly below an unstable shelf holding stuffed toys and memorabilia. The shelf gave way and it fell down, raining me with all of the items that had been stored on it. Various people who had been seated at the table came to help me, picking up the wooden shelf and the bulk of the toys. My wine had been knocked over but had been soaked up by a newspaper, so I was not worried about the mess, only about wasting it. I looked back at the table and could see my dinner partner still seated there – my partner had not tried to help me. I lay down again, closing my eyes, trying to block out this reality and leave the space.

Next, I entered a room full of people that I knew in one capacity or another. I greeted some of the party with a kiss, but I could sense that not everyone was genuine in their greeting or friendship. I particularly noticed that one man turned his cheek a certain way as I leant forward to kiss him, indicating his insincerity. Another man, who I know only as an acquaintance, stood and greeted me with great warmth and I knew that he could be trusted as a friend. My partner arrived and we went to talk with a woman that we both know; for some reason, there was a link between the three of us that is not a part of our waking life. I had not seen the woman for a long time and I was surprised to see that she had put on vast amounts of weight. She was sitting, eating something, and her cheeks were puffed up, squashing her features. I could hardly recognise the attractive girl I once knew.

Next, I was driving around the streets of Newcastle, in the suburb where I lived as a child. I was doing my best to navigate the streets which were now very busy, unlike the quiet I remember, finding my way home. I was not certain of which way to go; the roads were now changed and multi-laned, with added routes and detours. Whilst I was driving, I was also considering my future. I turned right into a main road, and paused at the lights waiting until they changed green. I must have been slow to take off as another car overtook me by swerving around me on the outside.

I arrived back at my home which was not my family home, rather the house where I lived with my partner. It was night and there were hordes of people climbing the stairs into the house. The crowd was made up of quite groovy people, many of them 30 to 50 year olds, and some of them I recognised. I realised that the house was on the market and that the crowd was here to inspect the house. I walked into the well-lit rooms, doing my best to get around the people. Our familiar furniture was mostly gone and there was display furniture in its place. In one room, there were a number of high tables with stools around them, like those you would see in a café or a bar. As I weaved my way through the tables, they closed in around me, squeezing against my hips and waist. I retrieved a clean bedspread from the laundry and went upstairs to place it on the bed. When I went to the main bedroom, I could see that the bed did not need a bedspread, so I went into the second bedroom that we reserved for guests. In the second bedroom there was a double bed and a single bed and I was shocked to see that they had both been slept in. I covered the double bed with the white and blue bedspread. My friend came in and I asked if she had slept in the bed. She answered that she had been out drinking and could not remember if she had slept there or who had slept in the other bed. I was very concerned. I then noticed that there were unfamiliar pictures stuck on the walls, pictures of boys' toys and monsters. I went to take them down but my friend told me that the new owners had already started to install their furniture and belongings. Our house was being taken over before we had left it.

Next, we were moving into a new home: an old, run-down apartment. I was walking around the apartment trying to understand the layout, but no matter how I looked at it, the floor plan seemed to shift and change. I could not comprehend which room was meant to be which or how we could organise our belongings in a pleasant and homey way. There were faded white curtains with orange flowers serving as room dividers and covering the windows, and there was old, discoloured carpet on the floor. I was disappointed that this was to be our new home but I tried to present an optimistic face. I opened a side door to let a breeze blow through the house and dry leaves blew in and covered the floor. I could see that my friend was irritated but I said that I would vacuum the leaves up.