Snap Decisions and Dressing for the Weather

I’m walking with my partner up a grassy tractor trail on the property I grew up on. There are several other people walking in both directions. Everyone is chatting and the atmosphere is light.

We crest a small rise and see a somewhat dilapidated out building. It’s cheerfully decorated with strings of lights, banners and signs. As we get closer we see a bustling farmer’s market in progress.

Inside the building is lit with more strings of lights and we slowly work our way though the building looking at the produce, crafts and curiosities. In the far corner of the building there is large room with a counter on the back wall and a large old wood burning stove near the center of the room.  There appears to be a cooking class or product demonstration underway.

The woman leading the activity looks vaguely familiar, like maybe I have seen her profile on Linkedin or somewhere. She is working at the stove, slicing something and talking. A closer look reveals she is using a neat little gadget that attaches a cutting board to a surface, in this case the edge of the stove top, and lets you swivel it out to increase your work space. I’m impressed and approach to ask her more questions. I ask a question about the device, she responds with a description of a small island off Croatia. From her description I know the island, I have been there, and my partner and I decide on the spot that we will move there.

We are back outside, many people are now lining up to get inside. The liveliness of the crowd becomes hushed, and our attention is drawn to a couple who have joined the line. The first thing I notice is their feet. They are so pale, the girl has her very white feet clad in a little mule slippers with white soles and fluffy white faux fur trim. The man has his pearly white feet clad also in mule slippers with white soles, but instead of white faux fur, he has gold trim. His legs are pasty white as well, with a halo of of golden hair sticking out from each leg. It occurs to me that his leg hair is sticking out because he’s freezing, the couple is standing in snow, as is everyone else. Everyone else is wearing long pants, boots, and long sleeved shirts. The couple is dressed all in white, with bare legs and arms. They look incredibly out of place. I’m so curious about where they came from, and why they have chosen this place to be.

I wake up.

Jacked Up Truck and Miniature Elf Babies

It’s winter in a rural area. I’m driving a pickup truck, it’s jacked up, I’m high up off the ground. I drive into the yard of a property. There are adjacent parking lots, separated by a fences and a snowbank that comes to the top rail of the fence. Beyond that I can see a few guys working, they glance up as my truck pulls into the lot. Although there are no other vehicles in either parking area, I’m dissatisfied with my first parking choice. I back the truck up to reposition it. As I put it in gear to move forward, I give it a bit too much gas, hit an icy spot, or some combination of both, and find myself smoothly soaring over the fence into the second parking area. As I fly clear the fence in slow motion, I see a child crouched down playing in the second lot. I am airborne and cannot control the direction of the vehicle. I land gently, but the truck is so high I have no idea whether I have hit the child or not. As I jump out, I feel the glare of the men who are working just beyond the lot. I take a few steps to the front of the truck and relief floods through me as I find the child undisturbed, still engrossed in his play.

Something catches my eye under the truck, and I crouch down to take a better look. I see at least 3 tiny children/babies, the largest no more than 6″ long. They are laying in a pile under the truck. They are all dressed the same, in light blue one piece sleepers, with long light blue sleep caps that have been starched to a sharp point, they look like tiny blue elves. The caps are pulled down over their eyes, and for a moment I think they might be little dolls. I reach under the truck and pull one out. It is the smallest one, no more than 5″ long, it lays in the palm of my hand. I gently pull the sleep cap up to reveal it’s eyes, and am startled when it’s eyes pop open and it laughs. I keep it in my hand and reach for a second one. It is slightly bigger. It crosses my mind that I should not be moving them until they have been cleared for a spinal injury, but they are so small I decide to just keep them as still as possible until I know more about what they are.

I gently lay the second one alongside the first in the palm of my hand. I pull the sleep cap up on the second one and my stomach sinks as it’s eyes do not pop open, and rather as I pull the cap up to expose more of it’s tiny forehead, there is a bruise above it’s right eye.

I reach for the third, and am woken by my alarm.