last ditch effort

i dreamed your family was on the street where i grew up. they had been camping in someone's yard the night before. it was morning and i was looking out the windows of a bus, watching each person take photographs to capture the absurdity. i hadn't seen you yet, but i realized quickly that you must be there. i saw her first, hair wrapped up in messy braids. she was taking your picture. as soon as i saw it i fled.

then i was in chicago, trying to get to the beach. we had inner tubes to stay afloat but there was an undertow. we finally got a bus driver to take us the rest of the way. i gave my inner tube to an exhausted girl with burnt red cheeks. the boy who sat across from me had 3 names, and i quickly realized he'd been on the cruise with me a few weeks before. we arrived at our destination, but it was dark at 3:30 in the afternoon. we marvelled at the northern lights. the boy wouldn't leave the bus, and somehow i had his wallet in my hands.

i screamed and yelled at him to leave. he was determined to stay on the bus. i was getting frightened that we all would never make it home in time. finally, in a last ditch effort, i put my hand over my heart. this gesture made him jump off the bus and give me a hug for saving him.

i woke to thunder and lightning. i woke to sheets of rain falling down. i woke to these vivid dreams, inescapable fragments ringing in my ears.