Dreaming in Digital

20250621 i was in school and running late to catch the bus home. I hopped in from the back, escape door, passing and waving to Shortbread and her sister on the way to an empty seat near the driver. Then the bus was off.

After several drop offs, the bus halted in a traffic jam. The engine was also dead from being the heatwave. I realized the street we were on was unfamiliar and not on the usual route, as well as Shortbread was never on my bus home. I was on the wrong bus.

My backpack wasn't with me either - i'd left it in my classroom, along with my cellphone.

"Sir," i called to the driver. He was elderly with white whisps of hair, glasses, and a red sweater vest on a white button-up shirt. "I'm on the wrong bus. I forgot my backpack and i don't have any money to get home."

He left his seat and pulled out a notebook and flipped to a page with music notes he'd written. Pointing at them he said, "do you know what these mean? I forgot them, but now i remember. They stand for 'peace...'" He waited for us to fill in the blanks: 'love', 'unity', 'respect', and 'trust'.

I checked the time overhead; it was 17:44 - at 18:00 i had to wake my baby and breastfeed her. I was not going to make it on time.

I called out to Shortbread behind me. "Can i borrow your phone a sec?" I asked.

"Of course."

I made my way to the back of the bus. The other students, tired and faint from the heatwave, lazed in their seats. Shortbread's sister leaned against the window as i approached and Shortbread pulled me into the vacant seat beside her. 

She cheerfully handed me her phone.

"It finally pays to memorize a [phone] number," i said as i took it. 

"Who are you going to call?" She asked as i tried to press the tiny buttons on the touch screen. Her phone was small with a tiny screen. It literally was also a piece of well-toasted toast, sliced in half. My fingers kept dialing the wrong numbers as i tried to press the '4'.

"Dean [Winchester]," (Cookie) i responded.

20250617 Cookie, Sprirz and i met at Biscotti's home. Others were there as it was his going away party before he flew to his home country.

Near the end of the party, Spritz said, " they didn't tell you?" Everyone stopped to listen. "The dogs are dying." He was referring to Cookie's sister's pups. Everyone's heads bowed in respect.

A while after the party, it was just me and Spritz, alone. "What's wrong?" He asked, noticing I was wistful and sad.

I gave him my response, beginning to cry. He pulled me to his shoulder, his arms held me in a hug. "You can always tell me what's wrong. I'm here for you."

After I let go and wiped my tears, calming down, we talked about his website and what shows were entertaining.

---

I was on a mass-transit vehicle, looking out the huge window.

20250609 i was a pudgy dwarf with jet black hair cut like Edna from the Pixar film, The Incredibles. I lived by the sea, in a lighthouse. On the bottom floor was a personal dock and my little speed boat.

My best friend was tall and slim, with a pointy nose and delicate features. Her hair was dirty blond and always kept in a low ponytail. She was the type to keep to herself. For a long time, she ran and hid from her husband. He wanted to kill her.

On this rainy night, he found her. We ran away from him together, running to the closest, safe haven we had - my home. We ran inside and bolted the door behind us.

"What are you going to do?" I asked her, breathless.

"I want to go home."

I knew where she lived. She lived at the edge of a lake, somewhere far from here. But I thought that was a bad idea. He could catch her on the way and--

Before i could act, she was gone. She took a skidoo at the dock. I raced to my speed boat in fear for my own life.

For months I hopped islands in case this man was on my tail.  I needed to make sure he never found her. On every island, I partied with tall, tanned and buff men, and drank cocktails wearing leis, taking the longest route to my friend's home.