A narrative by Jeremiah Josey, 2 December 20213

The dream started with me walking down a street. Or rather I entered consciousness of the dream at this point. I felt as though I had been dreaming for a while before this point.

It seemed like a street in semi suburban, semi industrial Australia. There are many places like this street in Australia. Not rough, or broken down. Just untidy and unkempt. Functional. Industrial. The road was a rough tarmac, using the thick stony gravel that is used in areas like this. (I have fallen on it many times in my bike riding times. I know exactly what it feels like. It has a smell).

The grass on the side of the road was tall guinea grass. Green grey. A few months from being last cut. It is taller than me. It moves slightly with the light random puffs of wind that I can feel around me.

The road comes to a left turn and there is a 6 foot chain wire fence and a corrugated wall of some building, a shed running along side the road, about 2 meters from the gutter. Both fence and shed wall are half covered by the grass. There is a big gum tree that commands the corner. It towers up into the sky and it’s lower branches spread over the shed, the fence, the grass and part of the road. And me as I approach it.

But all of this is not important.

The focus is on the walking. And talking to someone. A woman. Petit and beautiful. Long hair. I can not see her face. But it feels like a good conversation. We know each other very well. We are interested in what each other says, and feels and does. We are close. We walk slowly. Comfortably. Close but not touching. She wears dark jeans and a black flowing shirt or loose fitting jacket. Or is she wearing a long black flowing dress. I cannot tell.

Then is is dark, and we enter the corner. The tree, the fence, the grass. There is only a slight noise as the grass moves. It seems to get quieter with the fall of darkness.

I have a torch and I look up into the tree with it.

There are many red eyes looking back from the branches of this tree. They look back at us both. I am not scared. Neither is she. There is no fear. We are just curious. Just wonderment. Like “wow! look at that”.

We go closer and some of them fly away. Or they just move away. Or they close, going off like lights. They are birds of different types. Small ones. The details are not clear.

Then I see an owl. I show her. It as red eyes too. It is very clear. It is a barking owl or a boobook owl or a powerful owl. I looked in Google and found several Australian owl that look similar to what I saw.

And another one. Maybe a third. Maybe more. They are just waking up. Sitting on the branches.

They are not doing anything. No noise. Just looking at us in the torch light I am shining on them. Slowly blinking.

The there is this noise coming towards us, coming around us. Very loud. From everywhere, all at once.

I look up and it is light in the sky. Like it is twilight. I see clouds, I see blue. But grey. I see many many gum leaves. Their silhouettes. They are falling, but falling sideways, randomly, blown by a wind that has not reached the ground. Way overhead, high up.

Are they making the noise? I wonder?

No. I realise rain! And it comes down, heavy! Sudden. Right then, there is our car, and the rain. Instantly we are soaked.

And at the same time, I see that a baby owl, though almost full adult size, has fallen from the branches above and is trying to fly back up.

It hops up and flaps it’s wings and then falls to the ground again. In the shorter grass on the side of the road. I should help it. But the rain!. I tell my friend to get into the car. And I go around to the drivers side and get in. The steering wheel is on the right hand side, like in Australia. It is a Suzuki Vitara 4WD. Those versatile go anyway types. Silver.

Then, in the car, we both sit for a few seconds. We are both dripping wet. I still can’t see her face, but I like being with her. Comfortable.

The owl.

I remember the owl, and I reverse the car because I want to use the headlights to see it. I will work out what to do when I see it. I think will I run over it because it was close to the road. I must be careful, but I don’t think I will be near it. It will be ok. I move the car. The rain is too heavy to see outside.

As I begin to move the car I wake up.

Shocked awake. Brought back to earth. I feel motivated. I write. I do many things.

2 December 2013

http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?location=Australia

A narrative, by Jeremiah Josey