open and Jen
shuffled into the focus room. She hadn’t changed her clothes from
last night.
“ Rough night?” I asked.
I laughed, because she
didn’t.
“ You could say that.”
“ Oh, I was just kidding, because you
were late and all… everything okay?”
“ No, I had nightmares.”
“ Ah, sorry. Happens to me sometimes,
too.”
“ I have never had a dream before in
my life. Not that I can remember, at least.”
“ Wow,
that’s
super interesting
,” I said, “what
was this one about?”
“ I don’t know, it’s hard to talk
about. I’ve never had to discuss a dream before.”
She fell quiet. Thinking before she
spoke.
“ I was watching television, only
nothing was on…”
‘ That’s the dullest dream I’ve ever
heard,’ I thought about saying, but apparently she wasn’t done.
Just putting together the words.
“ It was static. Little white flecks
dancing and zipping all over the screen. But there was a parallax
effect. The little black flecks weren’t moving at all. Just the
white ones. See, the black flecks weren’t flecks at all; they were
the only visible parts of a background, or a bigger object. The
white ones started getting farther and farther apart from each
other, and I realized they were all moving away from something.
They were making a space around a black spot in the center. Like
they were afraid of it. It just kept getting bigger and bigger, and
I couldn’t stop looking at it.”
“ Huh. Well, that doesn’t sound too
bad, as far as nightmares go. This one time I dreamed I had
sausages instead of fingers and I got really hungry so I started
eating my own sausages and then my dad-“
“ It was just pure terror, the
feeling I had when I looked into that black spot. I felt like
everything I was, was being sucked into that space, never to
return. And the worst part is, just before I woke up, I thought I
saw something in there.”
I blew on my coffee. I waited a few
seconds, but I guess she needed some prompting.
“ What was in there?”
“ I don’t know. I don’t remember.
There was a face, and I knew it was young, but I don’t think it was
human. And it was all black, anyway – how could I see a face in
there? I woke up feeling so strange. The whole time I was walking
down here, I was just so angry. But at nothing. I saw nobody. Just
leaves and trees. Yet they made me angry. And then, when I walked
in here, my first thought when I saw you was ‘I could kill this man
and nobody would ever know it.’ Isn’t that strange? I’ve never had
a thought like that before.”
“ Ha ha,” I laughed the most
unconvincing laugh in history, “well being killed by you might not
be so bad…”
I regretted it the instant I said
it. What does that even mean?
Well, nothing to do now except stare
at our terminals in terrible, awkward silence. We stayed that way
until three in the afternoon, when the police arrived.
“ Afternoon,” the first officer said,
poking his head through the door. He didn’t knock. “I’m looking for
the workplace of a Mr. Peter Hoover. This the right
place?”
I thought Jen would answer – she was
closer – but she didn’t even look up.
“ Yeah I uh…hey, what’s this about?”
I said. I stepped around Jen and stopped a few feet away from the
officer. I was about to shake his hand. Is that normal? Is that a
normal thing to do with a cop? Or is that like considered a
threatening action or…
“ This is it,” he yelled to somebody
on the other side of the door, then stepped in and stood off to the
side.
A fat man in a dark blue windbreaker
trudged in, looking like he was expecting bad news from a doctor.
He puffed out his cheeks and stared in every corner of the room
before looking at either me or Jen. He put his hands in his pockets
and sighed.
“ Uh is everything…?” I just trailed
off.
“ Turble,” the fat man said. I
thought he might’ve just burped.
“ What?”
“ Sherriff Turble. That’s me.
shuffled into the focus room. She hadn’t changed her clothes from
last night.
“ Rough night?” I asked.
I laughed, because she
didn’t.
“ You could say that.”
“ Oh, I was just kidding, because you
were late and all… everything okay?”
“ No, I had nightmares.”
“ Ah, sorry. Happens to me sometimes,
too.”
“ I have never had a dream before in
my life. Not that I can remember, at least.”
“ Wow,
that’s
super interesting
,” I said, “what
was this one about?”
“ I don’t know, it’s hard to talk
about. I’ve never had to discuss a dream before.”
She fell quiet. Thinking before she
spoke.
“ I was watching television, only
nothing was on…”
‘ That’s the dullest dream I’ve ever
heard,’ I thought about saying, but apparently she wasn’t done.
Just putting together the words.
“ It was static. Little white flecks
dancing and zipping all over the screen. But there was a parallax
effect. The little black flecks weren’t moving at all. Just the
white ones. See, the black flecks weren’t flecks at all; they were
the only visible parts of a background, or a bigger object. The
white ones started getting farther and farther apart from each
other, and I realized they were all moving away from something.
They were making a space around a black spot in the center. Like
they were afraid of it. It just kept getting bigger and bigger, and
I couldn’t stop looking at it.”
“ Huh. Well, that doesn’t sound too
bad, as far as nightmares go. This one time I dreamed I had
sausages instead of fingers and I got really hungry so I started
eating my own sausages and then my dad-“
“ It was just pure terror, the
feeling I had when I looked into that black spot. I felt like
everything I was, was being sucked into that space, never to
return. And the worst part is, just before I woke up, I thought I
saw something in there.”
I blew on my coffee. I waited a few
seconds, but I guess she needed some prompting.
“ What was in there?”
“ I don’t know. I don’t remember.
There was a face, and I knew it was young, but I don’t think it was
human. And it was all black, anyway – how could I see a face in
there? I woke up feeling so strange. The whole time I was walking
down here, I was just so angry. But at nothing. I saw nobody. Just
leaves and trees. Yet they made me angry. And then, when I walked
in here, my first thought when I saw you was ‘I could kill this man
and nobody would ever know it.’ Isn’t that strange? I’ve never had
a thought like that before.”
“ Ha ha,” I laughed the most
unconvincing laugh in history, “well being killed by you might not
be so bad…”
I regretted it the instant I said
it. What does that even mean?
Well, nothing to do now except stare
at our terminals in terrible, awkward silence. We stayed that way
until three in the afternoon, when the police arrived.
“ Afternoon,” the first officer said,
poking his head through the door. He didn’t knock. “I’m looking for
the workplace of a Mr. Peter Hoover. This the right
place?”
I thought Jen would answer – she was
closer – but she didn’t even look up.
“ Yeah I uh…hey, what’s this about?”
I said. I stepped around Jen and stopped a few feet away from the
officer. I was about to shake his hand. Is that normal? Is that a
normal thing to do with a cop? Or is that like considered a
threatening action or…
“ This is it,” he yelled to somebody
on the other side of the door, then stepped in and stood off to the
side.
A fat man in a dark blue windbreaker
trudged in, looking like he was expecting bad news from a doctor.
He puffed out his cheeks and stared in every corner of the room
before looking at either me or Jen. He put his hands in his pockets
and sighed.
“ Uh is everything…?” I just trailed
off.
“ Turble,” the fat man said. I
thought he might’ve just burped.
“ What?”
“ Sherriff Turble. That’s me.
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