Illusions

Her Father

mp3 | Ruhig…G. Voltaggio - 2′00

It had rained that morning, the pattering water tapping against his window gently woke him from a restful sleep. He appreciated the cool calmness this mild summer storm imparted. Now in his office, he sat quietly and listened to Hilfrida recount her gripping dream.

I could hear him, my father, walking outside my window in the yard. The ground was wet from the melting snow and his knee-high boots made a maddening squishing sound. I tried to rise from my somnolent bed but my legs were heavy…yes…very heavy. I moaned and tried to speak but the more I tried to…

(He rose from his chair) “I’m going to fix us some more tea, would you like any?” He rarely offered his patients anything to drink but he wasn’t quite ready for her to continue. He asked her a few questions about her father and examined the possibilities as to why this dream had occured.

Next thing I knew it was Easter Sunday and the children were playing in the yard, loudly screaming and yelling, singing little tunes and songs, gleefully prancing around. My father and I were in the dining parlor, our small, fragile kitten nestled under my foot. My father sat quietly in his chair with a sullen look of depression on his face. All at once the clock chimed brusquely.

(Dropping his pen on the floor) “Did he speak?” A silence followed this question, Hilfrida was lost in thought. A look of torrid unease swept across her face and she took a deep, somber breath.

Now I recall the incident clearly. The mud from his boots had left stains on the expensive Indian carpet mother had been so careful about. So often she told us not to walk on that carpet, it was very expensive and stained very easily. Now there were big, unsightly blotches of mud on it and I tried to scream but…

He broke in “…but you couldn’t scream because it was all a dream.” He glanced out the window, his eyes fixing on a small blue-jay perched on a statue under the arch near the exit. There was a muted knock on his office door and a hushed voice muttered something unintelligible.