I WOKE UP FROM A DREAM

And found myself back in it

I woke up at one-thirty and got right out of bed. There must have been a reason, but it was now out of reach. I was excited, willing to wait. Half an hour later I went back to bed but as soon as I lay down, I got up. I remembered the dream. It was like being in it again..

Every night the little boy disappears. I’m not his mother, but I keep him safe. I find him in a dark forest, or too close to a wild river. Twice, he was standing on the edge of a roof. Hanging ten, as they say. I don’t know how I got him down. We never talk. Maybe he hasn’t learned yet. Or maybe there is no reason to. What he does, and what I do, is both clear and inevitable.

He is either consumed by curiosity, or hellbent on destroying himself, I am never sure which. If I close his bedroom door, he jumps out the window. If I latch the window, he breaks it open. I remember thinking the last resort would be handcuffs, but I’m reluctant to go that far. He’s just a little boy. I am starting to love him.

Now I need answers to serious questions.

Do dreams stop short when the dreamer awakes? Or does the story continue by itself? Would I risk his life by falling asleep? Or save it? Where is he now? I am worried. I turn on the light, and sit in my chair, waiting for answers. I have to know what to do.