Visited by the Dreams

Chapter 11 - Things Susan Knows

Susan opened an eye as she heard Greg stirring, aware at some level that he was only now lying down. The first gray light of dawn was illuminating the sky, but apparently Greg had been up all night in the back of their cave. She wasn't entirely certain why, but she knew he sot solitude when he needed to meditate or pray. She could respect that. She needed it too, and after their conversations yesterday, that was something she fully intended to do today.

Waiting until she was certain Greg was really asleep, Susan rose early to tend to her own needs. She was able to put the ladder down herself these days, and she began with a solitary walk down the beach, followed by a bath in the pool beside their cave. She dressed carefully afterwards in her cleanest clothes, then went out onto the point to pray.

Susan settled herself in the place that had the best view, laying before her the broad expanse of the sea interrupted only by the many islands scattered along the horizon. The rain was light and intermittent that morning, so though the sky was gray, there was no wind and the view of the islands in the distance was actually very good. It was a perfect setting for introspection and prayer, and Susan turned her thoughts inward, meditating on her conversation with Greg from the previous day.

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The inside of the cave was merely gray instead of black when Greg awoke, which was the only reason he knew it was now mid-day. He wasn't surprised Susan was gone, especially when the brightness outside the cave suggested it now was somewhere around noon.

Greg was grateful for the solitude as he sat up, his mind foggy with the disoriented sensation he generally associated with having been up all night. He could do such things in his youth with few repercussions the next day. That rarely happened anymore and he knew it would take a while to leave him. Still, he felt the gain he'd made was worth the discomfort. For the first time since the crash, Greg felt he was at peace within himself about the puzzle of his dreams. He still didn't understand them, but he knew what they were and was ready to be shown, to accept what the Lord had in mind, ready to be a willing participant in His plans ... whatever those plans might be. That made such a difference! It was a good feeling, and he rose feeling happy, wondering what Susan was doing.

The ladder was down when he looked outside the cave, and Greg followed it to the beach expecting to find Susan there. There were footsteps in the sand, but they weren't fresh and slowly a steady light rain was washing them away. He followed them anyways and the walk did him good, clearing his head further, though he didn't find Susan and he wondered where she'd gone as he walked past the point towards the south end of the beach.

As he walked, Greg realized he hadn't seen Susan since the night before when she'd gone out of her way to leave him alone. It was right after supper when deciding he needed extra time to meditate and to pray, without saying anything to her about it, he'd simply taken his blanket to the back of the cave, disappearing into the darkness that was so complete there. Somehow instinctively Susan understood. She hadn't followed him or interrupted him or in any way intruded into what he needed to do.

Greg faltered in taking his next step, coming to a stop. Susan knew. Without telling her, she knew what he needed to do. Ruth had never known that. In all the years they were married, never once did she sense when he needed to pray. Nor did she understand that he preferred to do so alone. Madeline did, but that was only because he'd told her. He and Susan had certainly never talked about this. They'd been together barely two weeks. How had she known?

Greg was astounded. He felt like a man who, while trying to find his way in a fog and repeatedly hitting his head against a wall he hadn't seen, was suddenly turned around. Susan knew! He was looking the wrong way for his answers before. They weren't inside ... they were outside, all around him. In fact if what he suspected was true, it was the reason being with her felt so ordinary ... so balanced ... so right, while in the midst of an experience that was anything but. If it was true ... if they had known each other in a previous life, not just acquainted, but known each other well enough for Susan to instinctively know this, that would go a long way towards explaining how it was they worked together so well. They barely knew anything about one another, but they interacted as if through habit, sensed one another's moods as easily as breathing, reacted to one another without speaking many times  ... and that just didn't come in the first days of knowing someone. It was also at the heart of the puzzle he'd been pondering since the day Susan first awoke.