Adventures in Dreamscapering

sharing

I felt strange about coming to Nathan's house. Even existing in the same space as where he took showers and ate breakfast felt uncomfortably intimate. Little did I know that what he had in store for me was far more of a close encounter than I realized I had bargained for.

Nathan's home was simultaneously indulgent and homely. His home was a suburban compact mansion, an awkward but elegant white monolith in the middle of his otherwise modest neighborhood. Weeds and dead leaves littered Nathan's otherwise green lawn, a thin layer of dust lined the spiral stairwell that was the centerpiece of the foyer, and the detritus of daily life was strewn about every sparkling and expensive counter top and marble tile floor.

Nathan seemed to be not phased in the slightest by the mess, guiding me through a pathway to avoid the clutter up the stairs to his room. Compared to the rest of his house, Nathan's bedroom was surprisingly neat.

"So, what are we doing today?" I asked, dropping my backpack gingerly on the carpet. Nathan began shifting things around on his desk and opening and shutting drawers. I went to go sit on the edge of his bed and felt immediately uncomfortable.

"I've got a thing. It's kind of weird, but I think relevant to our project..." Nathan said. He let out a triumphant sound and pulled out a mess of cables and boxes from a high shelf.

"I'm not even sure if it will work, to be honest. I've never used it. Worth a shot," Nathan murmured.

"What is it?"

"It's a ... thing. One of my online friends sent it to me. It's for dreamsharing, allegedly. But alas, I've never had anyone to share dreams with. Until now." Nathan looked up hopefully at me.

"Um."

Nathan continued untangling, then came to the bed as well. He laid out all the black consoles next to each other: a big one with silver buttons in the middle, four smaller ones outstretched from the sides of the largest one, long tentacled cord arms.

"It might not work. May I?" Nathan stood in front of me, a handful of cords in his grasp. I shrugged in agreement, Nathan began attaching them to me. He looked over me as he ran his fingers through my hair to place them. I made a weird face in response to Nathan looking into my eyes as he attached two cords to my temples and didn't realize until he apologized under his breath.

Nathan sat down suddenly on the bed next to me, causing the bed to rock and a few cords to rip from my scalp. I winced and replaced them; Nathan attached his cords more quickly than a first-timer should be able to. I didn't inquire further about his possible dreamsharing past.

"Uh. So I guess now we go to sleep." Nathan glanced at me nervously.

"Don't you need to turn it on first?" I replied.

Nathan rolled his shoulders and leaned over to fiddle with the consoles. A high pitch hum began to play. We remained there on the bed, awkwardly knowing what came next but not wanting to follow through.

Finally, Nathan leaned back to fall on the bed. He tensely closed his eyes. I stayed sitting up for a moment, watching his face settle into an awkward comfort.

"You have to do it too, Greene," he said without opening his eyes.

So I laid back too on his bed, crossing my arms over my stomach. His comforter smelled like him; I could feel a warmth spreading across my face.

It felt as though I had been laying there for hours feigning slumber, a lump in my throat as though I was holding something back. I let a breath bubble out through my lips and soon the machine began to whir as I slipped into the oblivion of dream.