Chapter Seven

I was in that strange place again. I knew I was dreaming, but it felt so real. This time, I was sitting in a kneeling position, back upright, hands folded onto my lap. My hands... they weren't my normal hands. They looked like strange, not quite hands and not quite paws, and lightly covered in white fur. I glanced up, and noticed I was sat at a low set square table.. Three other beings sat around it, all with the same strange hands, all wearing human clothes, and startling, all them with the heads of foxes. Behind them plumed multiple tails which shimmered in out out, reminding me of heat rising off of pavement on a hot summer's day and the way it makes the air around it shimmer and distort.

The fox to my left had a sad expression, as if lost to some unknown tragedy. This one seemed full grown, towering over my smaller self even in the kneeling position we found ourselves in. His clothes were Western, with a hooded sweatshirt proclaiming “Shiny It Up” over the image of a smiling sun. It was incongourous given his expression and normally the Engrish would have had me sniggering, but the deep sadness emanating off of him made it somehow tragic rather than funny. To my right was a smaller fox, only a bit bigger than myself. It wore a flower tucked behind one ear and what I recognized as a kimono. Not only her tail was shimmering. She herself seemed to fade around the edges, coming in and out of focus only there in a quite disconcerting manner. Both foxes were watching the third, who sat opposite me.

She too wore a kimono. This one was made of fabric that even my untrained eye could see was of the finest of weaves. She had a teapot before her, and a mortar and pestle. Her carefully guided movements were elegant and purposeful. I realized I was watching a tea ceremony, and thought to myself that it was on odd thing for a boy for California to dream about. Then I mentally chastised myself as recently, everything around me was decidedly odd.

We sipped the tea served to us in the handleless cups. It was a watery green and slightly bitter. Small, elaborate looking confections were shared out. They were delicious and fruity. The tastes of the tea and the sweets burst across my taste buds as things that were familiar, yet I could not recall ever having had them before this moment. I closed my eyes, savouring, only to discover that I was alone when I opened my eyes once more. The teapot, cups, and plates of sweets were gone. The table was now off to one side, standing on edge, leaned against the wall. A light layer of dust seemed to coat everything.

I stood, noting I still seemed to be in an animal-like form, and wandered throughout the rooms, looking for where the others must have went. I found no one, and as I stood in the doorway to the outside, I was struck by the odd silence. Not a single sound indicated another living being was anywhere to be found. No birds sang, no insects, nothing. A great wave of loneliness washed over me, until I noticed it.

A large tree stood to one side, wearing a strange tasselled belt. The ends of the rope tassels swayed gently in the wind. Feeling suddenly playful, I ventured towards it. I swiped at the ends, playing in an almost kitten like manner. Wait, was that a hole? Yes! The tree appeared to have a deep hollow within it. I peered inside, amazed to see a seemingly distant light dancing, as if at the end of a very long tunnel.

I awoke with a jolt, my heart racing. This ad not felt like a mere dream, but yet here I was, snug in my own bed. I rolled over, nestling my face deeper into my pillow and re-closed my eyes. Sleep did not come.

Chapter Six

Chapter Eight

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