Dream (to T, my brother)

I was doing an army crawl over gravel and dirt. I was crawling to meet you. The moon was full, shining through some thick clouds. I was wearing a cloak and hood. It was at Uncle Montey’s house, only there was more open space around the house and mounds of dirt and rock—as if it were still under construction. I saw a shadowy figure in the distance. He fired at me with a silenced gun. I ducked behind a mound, and heard several thuds on the opposite side.

A few minutes later, you appeared, having circled around to meet me. I looked at you twice, a little surprised: it was your 6-year-old self—pajamas and all. I looked at my hands and body to see if I was also younger, but I wasn’t. I gave you a questioning glance. You held up that old wooden sword and a cap gun—both of which have been lost since we were little. “These are why.” That’s all you said. I got the impression that finding and using those weapons had made you young again.

And then I knew that my mission was to also find my old weapons so that I could become young too.

Then I woke up. I wrote it down so that I wouldn’t forget. I also thought that it might fit into the Reign of Fire storyline somehow.