Challenge of the Dreams

Chapter 6 - Lessons of the Dreams

It was Sunday evening before Greg brought the topic of their dreams up again. He felt guilty about not telling Susan about the men he’d observed following him on Friday after his visit to the synagogue. A voice deep inside him warned he should tell her of the danger, but rather than talking about it, he insisted on escorting her to Sunday services on that morning. He didn’t attend with her, but waited at a nearby coffee house with a view of the building, making sure to be there to accompany her home afterwards. At first Susan thought he was just being nice, keeping her company in an attentive fashion, but by the time they arrived home she began to suspect there was something else going on. She’d noticed he wasn’t behaving like himself and watched him closely for the remainder of the afternoon. By supper time Greg knew his silence was only compounding his error. Susan couldn’t protect herself from dangers she didn’t know were there. Besides, wasn’t that the lesson of Harald when he visited in his dreams?

“So, what’s going on?” Susan asked when Greg remained unusually silent as they ate.

“I apologize. I realize I’ve been uncommonly quiet these past few days.”

“You have been a bit reflective,” Susan said in an encouraging tone. “I wondered if something was bothering you.”

“Actually there is. I feel my actions are responsible for your dream two nights ago.”

Susan dismissed his concern with a wave of her hand. “Greg, you are allowed to attend services. There is absolutely no reason for you not to.”

“Except, as it turns out, there is. I told you the synagogue is in a different part of town?”

“Yes.”

“I was noticed as I traversed an unfamiliar street in an adjoining neighborhood, one with a number of public establishments and bars. I thought at first it was only because I stood out as the only non-Polynesian in an area frequented primarily by locals.”

“A reasonable assumption,” Susan agreed. “So what happened?”

“I believed I was followed on my way home,” Greg said cautiously.

“Are you sure?” Susan asked in a tone that sounded surprised but not necessarily alarmed.

“I am quite certain. Four to six men followed me for two blocks in the commercial area.”

“Couldn’t they simply have been walking in the same direction as you?” she asked.

“That’s what I thought at first too,” Greg continued. “However two of them continued to follow me across the boulevard that separates our neighborhood from the adjoining areas and through the streets of the residential neighborhood several streets over from ours.”

“That’s primarily a European district, isn’t it?” Susan asked.

“Exactly. I did my best to mislead them at that point by taking them there, and I believe I lost them before returning home, but I thought you should know. They may know we are here and approximately where to find us.”

Susan frowned. “Greg, we’ve already told the authorities everything we know. They’ve seen all our evidence, have copies of everything, and have been to the places we’ve told them about themselves. Both Mr. Dharwin and Mr. Lapid have seen what we’ve seen and more. What would there be to gain at this point by the terrorists coming after us?”

“They may not be sure what exactly we’ve told the authorities, but even if they do know, you can be certain they know we are the source. We’ve made trouble for them Susan. Especially if they know the authorities have been informed, their purpose may no longer be to silence us but for revenge.”