I woke to the soft glow of sunlight on my tent walls. My girlfriend was shuffling around next to me, trying to shimmy into her jeans without leaving the warmth of her sleeping bag. I unzipped the tent, and wandered out into the morning, shoes still untied.
It was a crisp morning, but I knew the clear sunlight would soon warm it up. I remembered the strange happenings from the night before. Our friend, Katie had traveled back in time to confront her younger self. Now she could not return to the future, so she changed her name to Chloe and moved in with her parents to help raise herself as a baby. We spent the night camping on her family's land so we could be close if she needed our help again.
I rounded a large rocky hill, accompanied by my girlfriend. We passed an enormous granite boulder taller than a man, and saw the entire valley opened up below us. It was an incredible view. Grassy hills spotted with white granite boulders stretched out into a shallow valley. The far side of the valley ended in sheer rocky cliffs. I recognized them as the remains of an ancient, abandoned quarry. The remaining rock had been eroded by the weather, and grown over with grass and brush. The cliffs curved in a jagged arc, reminding me of an amphitheater or stage.
The history and beauty of the place was so strong, I became very emotional. I embraced my girlfriend and started kissing her passionately. We dropped to the grass, and started tearing at eachother's clothes under the shelter of the huge boulder. Before things got too far along, I heard a car door slam, and footsteps. I poked my head around the corner to see my friend, Katie/Chloe's father walking over to us. We threw our clothes back on, and I stood to greet him.
I told him how impressed I was with his land, and that we wanted to hold our wedding in the abandoned quarry. I wanted a traditional Shinto ceremony, with blessings from the spirits of the place. He explained there was no electricity down there, as we walked down the hill to check it out. I saw my girlfriend had fallen asleep in the grass, so I left her to go explore with my new friend. The views were so surreal, I knew I had to be dreaming. My guide pointed out that his land stopped at the edge of the quarry, so we would need to talk to his neighbor.
I just now noticed the small cottage on the other side of the fence beside us. A terrible smell was coming from his yard. Looking through the fence, I saw the rotting carcass of a stag. Katie's father was going on about how he had to call the police to investigate his neighbor, who hadn't been seen for weeks, and had not cleaned up the dead animal in his yard. The carcass looked half-eaten. Apparently his pet tiger had been living off of it for the past week or two. I saw the tiger lounging in the grass, eying us casually. The low, chicken wire fence did not seem like it would keep that tiger in if it really wanted to leave. I was glad he had some food left to keep him happy.
All this time, I knew I was dreaming, and was scribbling down notes in a small journal, trying to remember and interpret everything I saw. We walked further down the slope to see the lake. I suggested to my new friend that he should build a small cabin or gazebo on this side of the hill to take advantage of the view. He smiled, and opened a door that led directly into the hillside. Inside, was a natural cavern that had been hollowed out and decorated to look like a sitting room. It had windows cut through the side of the hill, overlooking the valley floor.
As soon as I walked in, the dream began to fade and I found myself back in bed. I lay still for a second, going over the details in my mind It was very vivid, and I imagined writing it down in my journal. As I did this, I thought about how badly I wanted to return and explore more. My imagination took over, and I found myself back at the giant boulder, still scribbling notes in my small journal.
I retraced my footsteps down the hillside, and was surprised to see the quarry was gone. In its place, was a clear mountain lake with a rocky shoreline. In my absence, the quarry had been flooded. It was even more beautiful than the previous scene, and I wanted to cry, knowing it was not real. My guide was sitting on a low boulder, dipping his feet in the water. I sat down to join him, fascinated by the short waves that splashed against my ankles. The water creeped higher with every wave, until it was splashing up to my waist. A laugh startled me. I looked to my left at a beautiful young blond woman sitting beside me. She giggled, teasing me about my wet clothes. Before I could explain to her that this was all a dream, I woke to my alarm clock.
