Charlie White had a miserable life. And, of course he hated it. He worked in a hot and crowded office filing papers in drawers in alphabetical order. That's about all we can say about him... The city he lived in was a big and jammed metropolis, the kind where you have to squish your way along the street and struggle to move or even breath among the people. Not to mention the nightmare it was for him to drive along the torment traffic every morning to his work listening to the annoying voice of the news radio while he waited for the lights to change.
Such was his everyday routine: at 6 AM his clock alarm would ring to snap him out his dreamland (though Charlie didn't sleep much anyway). At 7 he was dressed and drinking his ever-there cup of coffee ~did never really like coffee but this cuppa helped him keep awake at work. 7:15 he was in his car swearing and yelling at the other drivers. 8 o'clock he was at his desk browsing through the mountains of papers, ordering them according to number, letter and subject and then placing them in cardboard portfolios which he also ordered by number, letter and color. At noon he slipped into a small café near the office for a snack he called lunch and then back to filing more papers, keep ordering and placing them in the corresponding drawers. At 6:30 he put his gray coat back on and headed for his small apartment and by 7:45 after driving through the most horrible traffic he was finally home, turning on his telly just to watch a few shows he didn't like or even pay attention to.
He checked his answer machine to see "who didn't call today". Checked his mail box to make sure no letters had arrived. Then munched his microwave supper as he stared at the flickering images of a comedy show and the news channel. By 10 PM he was in bed ~there was no point in staying longer if he had nothing to do. This was his life, and all the days the same, an exact copy of the one before.
Friends? He had some but they hardly ever made their presence known. Family? Yeah, he had one, but he avoided them with all his might ~some of his relatives actually believed he was dead. Love? He could hardly spell the word. The most exciting thing about his life was sleeping. And lately even that began to fail.
Charlie broke his routine that day in passing by a drugstore to get some sleeping pills his doctor had prescribed. At least this time he could have faith that he'd be gone away from his fastidious life as soon as the lights were out and that was somewhat a comfort.
Short after he closed his eyes a hand began to softly shake him and an aged and rough voice said firmly, "Sir, you fell asleep."
Charlie opened his eyes very confused and found himself on a wooden bench in a very old-fashioned train station in the middle of nowhere. He looked around rubbing his eyes.
"Your train is coming", the old man sitting beside him pointed at the iron giant that approached them with a scratching noise.
"Thank you", Charlie said, yawning and stretching lazily as he stood up and grabbed his small suitcase. As he climbed up the narrow stairs the whistle blew and the engines started to work. The dark machine began to move and soon the growing speed made the trees run fast beside the window. Charlie walked along the restraining corridor until he reached his seat and drowsily rested his head against the window. It was a fine view from his position: trees and mountains as far as his eye could see. The soft shaking of the train soon made him sleepy and he checked his watch to make sure there was time for a little nap before he arrived to the next station. He finally stretched and closed his eyes...
It was annoying to have that kind of dreams, was the first thing he thought as the clock rang. It was bad enough to have a boring life and now he had a boring imagination too. At least the pills had worked, that was still something good to keep his mind working all day ~he always needed to find something good to think about while he worked or his nerves would just collapse. (As we can see his happy thoughts source was pretty pitiful.)
There isn't much to tell about his day ~an exact copy of all the others. He hoped the pills would work as good as yesterday because he was too upset to stay awake all night again. He just laid down in his bed trying to find a comfortable position to release the tension of being seated all day long. Somehow he just could not relax, it still felt like he was sitting on a very narrow chair. The continuous movement that had been rocking him came to a stop and he opened his eyes slowly, frowning as the bright afternoon sun fell right inside them.
Charlie took his suitcase and made his way along the corridor along with a dozen passengers that struggled to walk inside that tiny passage. He was impatient to reach the door and get out but everyone wanted to be the first to get down. As soon as he set foot on the dusty road the train parted again leaving him alone in the middle of a townless station, surrounded only a sand road. The air around him seemed to dance with twirling shapes as the merciless sun heated the path under the steaming green trees.
Charlie picked up his suitcase and his feet automatically followed the road. He could see a little group of red-roofed houses at the other end of the hill, very far away, dancing in the steaming air like an illusion. He took his hanky out his pocket and wiped the grease off his face as he speeded up his pace to reach the welcoming shade of the trees before the sun would burn his head.
The silence around was so complete he could even hear his footsteps on the floor. Even the wind had a voice as it blew softly into his ears. After living for so long in a noisy city he realized for the first time that the silence has its own sound. At times he thought he heard birds or the murmur or the distant voices coming from the town. Sometime a dog would bark somewhere in the distance... He kept on walking.
He walked as slowly as he never did before. For the first time there was no hurry and no crowd around to push him; complete freedom. He was at his ease to enjoy the view of the wild nature and breathe the fresh air that filled the grassland. Far away a horse or two appeared in his sight. The town seemed closer now and he speeded up again through the dust and silence as the implacable sun started to lick his skin with a fire tongue that was becoming painful. He wiped his face again, his breath turning heavy as the suitcase became more and more a burden in his hand.
As he approached the town he passed by a big garden where a young girl worked under the burning sun picking red strawberries from the ground and placing them in a big basket.
As Charlie came near the stick fence two dogs started to bark and the girl raised her brown eyes to him.
"Hello there!" Charlie yelled at the slender figure that stood between the green leaves. She waved at him.
"I thought you'd never get here!" she said cheerfully. "Bobby, Wolfy, hush!" she cried at the dogs as they kept barking. Charlie leaned over the fence and petted them. The girl picked up her basket and walked over to him with a friendly smile.
"I'm Mona."
"I'm Charlie." The dogs went from him to her and started to mess up her skirts as they ran around her legs following all her movements "Stop it, you", she reproached them with a laugh. "Had a nice trip?" turning to Charlie she climbed up the fence to join him and the dogs followed her quickly with an agile jump.
"I fell asleep in the train", he laughed. "Almost lost the station."
They began to slowly walk along the earth road climbing up the remaining of the hill.
"Will you stay long with us?" She asked him.
"I'm afraid not", he replied. "I must go back soon; I only dropped by for a holiday. I was eager to meet you."
"Pity... Mom loves houseguests. She'll be sad to hear you're leaving soon."
"Where is she?"
"Home with Granny. Supper must be ready shortly", she turned to look at the sun as there was no watch to tell the hour. "Granpa’s still fixing the car", she added.
They walked for a minute in silence, he looking cheerfully at the dogs, she brushing her long dark hair out of her face as the wind insisted to push it out of place.
"We're almost there", she pointed at the house at the bottom of the hill. "Are you thirsty?"
"Terribly!" Charlie said whipping new streams off his face.
"There's the well. We can stop for a drink. I want to wash up a little: I've picking strawberries all morning and my hands are full of dirt."
The cold fresh water seemed to be exactly what his dry throat and burning face were asking for. During that quick stop he just sat on a big rock and looked around him, for the first time in years feeling really relaxed. This place was amazing. Such peace and quiet as he never even dreamed of (he even forgot that he was dreaming right now).
"What's that smile for?" Mona said grinning at his dreamy face.
"I was just thinking... I wish I could stay here forever... It will be awful having to go back home after all this..."
"What's it like where you live?" They slowly resumed their walking.
"Bah, horrible. You wouldn't like it... all noisy and gray... nothing like this."
"So, how come you live there if you hate it so?"
"It wasn't my choice", he sighed. "I'd give anything to escape..."
She looked thoughtful as if she was going to add something to his remark, but kept silent. After a few more minutes they reached the front door of the tall wooden fence. A third dog dashed out the front yard to greet them giddily.
An old lady walked out of the house carrying a basket with steaming biscuits in her apron.
"Granny, this is Charlie", Mona said cheerfully as she took off her bonnet and set the strawberries on the table.
"You're just in time for lunch, young man. Come, Mona; let's serve the soup. The poor boy must be starving after that long trip."
Charlie was led to a small dining room where he sat at an old wooden table and his two hostesses ran into the kitchen. So much hospitality was rather confusing. While waiting he rolled his eyes around the house. The furniture was old-fashioned and deteriorated but pretty. A black cat came up to him twirling his tale and jumping on a chair beside him he observed the visitor with tilted head and fixed eyes.
"Hi there, pussy cat", he smiled reaching out his hand to pet him.
"Bad kitty! Get down from there!" Mona hissed suddenly as she entered the dining room with the tray in her hands. "Shoo!" She hissed again as the cat made an attempt to jump on the table. The little devil ran down as his mistress threatened to snap him on the head but he and the dogs stayed around and watched them closely while they enjoyed their meal waiting to get a little piece of something. Mona would forbid it but Charlie couldn't resist to throw something at them when she wasn't looking.
Afterwards they both sat in a big rocking chair in the garden and kept silent for a while listening to the birds in the trees. It was a very simple activity for her but quite a blessing for Charlie that so much longed for quietness.
"Want to take a walk?" Mona broke the silence.
"Where?" he inquired.
"I must pick cherries today."
"Perfect!" Each one picked a basket and they set off for the hill with the dogs following them. It was a pretty long walk: they had to cross a large prier and climb up a tall hill, go down the other side and pass a wood to reach the cherry field. But Charlie was delighted to enjoy the wild nature.
"What is the name of this place?" he asked her as they climbed up the hill.
"Dreamland", she replied.
"Why that name?"
"You ought to know..."
Now what was that supposed to mean? He thought...
The journey took a couple of hours. They walked slowly, hand in hand, talking about empty things, stopping from time to time to admire the landscape. By then Charlie was completely forgot of his former life. As they reached the top of the hill they sat down for a moment to rest under the tall oaks that protected them from the merciless sun. Charlie stretched on the humid grass and looked up at the blue sky feeling he could just reach out for a cloud and take it in his hand.
"Have you ever heard the silence?" She said in a low voice.
"Not before today", he closed his eyes and listened to the quietness around him for the first time realizing what a precious feeling freedom was. He was lucky to enjoy it with such a charming company...
The sharp voice of an alarm snapped him out of his happy mood and made him jump half-surprised, half-scared.
"Dammit..." he muttered in the bitterest tone his voice ever had, rubbing his eyes widely disappointed and upset as he felt his own pillow ~and not the flowers~ under his head. "Only a dream..." he said through his teeth snapping the alarm off when the screeching noise became too irritating.
He crawled out of bed still swearing and resigned to start his daily routine. He had his life back: same noise, tension and friendless faces everywhere. The same empty boring day he knew so well. He went through it mechanically, like a robot, like he had done all the days before ~like he was sure to do it all the days that would follow. He sat grumpy and upset as usual munching his supper that night eager to get to bed and get this over with; forget about the world. But it happened again that he was to tense to sleep and he was forced to recur to his pills once more. It was hard to get his mind a blank though and for a long while the slumber did not come. Through his closed eyelids he could see a soft light coming from somewhere and he focused on that distant color falling in a semi-hypnosis...
A sweet voice whispered his name close to his ear... the voice repeated. Confused sounds followed before he could hear clearly coherent words: "Charlie, we must get going." A hand shook him softly... where did he hear that voice before?...
When he opened his eyes the pink golden rays of a sunset hurt his view and he covered his face with his hand. Turning to one side he saw Mona sitting next to him.
"Excuse me", he yawned; "I think I fell asleep for a moment."
"You had a nightmare", she said.
"Yes... Someone was calling me... and I just had to go, even if I didn't want to..."
"Careful", she warned him as he helped her get up. "It isn't a good idea to fall asleep in Dreamland..."
"Why?"
"Because..." but she didn't finish the phrase. Cheerfully changed the subject: "Come on, we must reach the cherries before nightfall!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him along playfully. "Come, lazy lad, some speed required here!"
"Okay, okay; I'm right behind you!"
As they walked to the other side of the hill he could see a large field filled with short trees where bright red cherries sparkled under the pink light. of twilight..
"Race you there!" She laughed suddenly and jet through the tall grass like a deer with the dogs chasing after her.
"Wait!" Charlie yelled after her as he tried to keep up with her speed. They chased each other like kids in a playground giggling hysterically until Bobby jumped on Mona and pushed her rolling down the hill.
"Are you all right?" He yelled, out of breath, as he finally reached her.
"Yes", she laughed brushing weeds out of her hair. "You run as fast as a turtle, city man!"
"Don’t laugh at me", he panted. "I’m not used to running!"
"Naughty dog!" She said giving Bobby a friendly snap on the head.
"Beautiful place..." Charlie said looking around him. "Is this part of Dreamland too?"
She nodded. "All of this", pointing down the hill at the field below them and the distant towns "belongs to Dreamland... People come here often to rest for a little while... all we do here is entertain tourists... we love it! Some stay; some leave... most of them will just drop by and even forget they ever came here..."
"I’ll never forget this place as long as I live!"
Her face darkened as she turned to the cherry trees. "Do not make a promise you may have to break afterwards."
Mona jumped on a tree agile like a cat and started picking cherries sitting on a tall branch looking down at him with amused eyes as he marveled at the lightness of her movements. He had to settle for the low branches since he absolutely ignored how to climb trees. In a few minutes both baskets were full and they were on their way back.
"I’ve never been so happy as this before", he sentenced as they walked hand in hand through the wood. She didn’t smile back at him.
"You’ll be gone soon..." she whispered.
"I won’t. I want to stay here forever!"
They laid on the grass to gaze at the stars for a while as they appeared one by one on the sky. She kept a wistful gleam in her eyes.
"Don’t be so sad", he begged, guessing how the case stood.
"I’m going to miss you."
"Listen: I’m not going! I’ll stay here ~it was so amazingly simple but it meant a world to me ~every minute I spent here! I could never bare my life after all this!"
"Don’t say it if you don’t mean it ~just to make me feel better..."
"No, I’m serious! I’ll stay here ~with you!"
...Everything went dark in a second... what happened? Had he closed his eyes? Had the moon turned black? Where was everything?... The sharp ring in his ear answered him and he grabbed the wretched clock seized by the wildest fury ever felt. Next he was throwing it with all his might to the wall where it broke against the cement with a dry metallic noise. Incoherent words went out of his mouth as he yelled at the clock, the mirror, the room; all around him, swearing, throwing things around him. This was reality and he was bound to it. Dreamland had seduced him with its peace and quiet, with its simple life and friendly people ~but he was back now... back to the world he hated ~the one he couldn’t avoid. Despaired and furious he ran to the night table and searched for his pills; the only way he knew to come back. He shut the blinds to darken the room and closed his eyes forcing himself to sleep. The dose had been double this time and he soon slumbered.
The air turned very cold around him, the crickets and night bugs started buzzing in his ears. As he opened his eyes he found himself alone in the woods, resting against a tree. The stars were up and the moon shined high so he could see clearly all the field around him.
"Mona!" He yelled looking everywhere trying to spot her slender figure in the dark. "Mona!" He started to wander down the hill not knowing the way ~guessing his steps~ looking for her in the dark. He saw her white dress moving ahead of him through the trees and the tall grass. He ran towards her but she seemed to be so far away he never reached her. "Wait!" He yelled out of breath. She kept walking without even looking back. He finally gained her side and took her arm to stop her. "Where are you going?"
She violently shook her arm off his hand and turned around with glaring eyes. "You lied to me!" She hissed. "What?" He said confused, receding a few steps, taken aback by her fierce expression.
"You said you’d never leave me!" She turned her back on him and kept walking.
"I couldn’t help it!" He ran after her. "They called me... I had to go back...!"
"Fine! Go!"
"I do want to stay here... but I just can’t..."
"There is a way" She turned to him again her eyes fixed on his. "And you know it."
"You just won’t understand..."
"I came here too ~like everybody~ in the very same train that brought you... I decided to stay ~I was willing to make the sacrifice just to try to be happy... because I knew what I wanted... They said I was running away ~but I just wanted to live in peace. I thought you were like me ~that you would understand. I was wrong! You don’t love this place ~you don’t care to try. Just resign ~go back! Stay stuck with what you have and keep complaining instead of doing something about it! Go! I don’t need you!"
"But I need you!" He tried to pursue her but at that moment another ring brought him back shortly. He looked around confused, seeing the broken clock lying on the floor. "But, what...?" Another sharp ring hurt his ear and he realized it was the doorbell.
That was too much! It seemed like everybody was trying to take him away from his precious Dreamland and every time he got away he was risking to lose it for good... He flung the door open and threw everything he could find at his neighbor before she could even say a word to him. The old lady had come to see if he was all right ~hearing the noise a minute ago... She ran back to her apartment completely pale, threatening to call the police, claiming he had finally gone out of his mind.
Mona was right... It was his choice. And the time was little. The chances to find Dreamland again were few and he had to think fast. He knew what he wanted.
Without a minute of hesitation he popped a handful of pills in his mouth ~and another~ until the flask was empty.
The moon was still high and he wandered the woods in search of the road, the town or at least Mona. He heard Bobby barking and followed the sound. Mona was sitting on a rock, her face hidden in her hands, crying silently.
"Mona..." he whispered slightly touching her hair.
"Why did you do it?" She said without raising her eyes to him.
"You were right... I am like you; I want to live in peace...and I love this place."
"You gave up everything!"
"Everything I never wanted..."
She kept silent for a minute.
"Is it for good now? Will you really stay?" She asked.
"Listen..."
She listened carefully. "They’re calling you..."
"Yes... but I’m still here, you see. I’m staying." He sat down beside her and they watched the sun that slowly peeked behind the mountains as the hill around them turned soft pink again and the golden beams pushed the heavy night away.
"Come on", she said getting up, cheerfully as before. "We must go home."
"What will we do today?" He asked, with the happiest tone his voice ever had. Now Charlie White was tranquil and calm, just as any other inhabitant of the town; as if he had never been worried or tense before in his life.
"There’s a train arriving today", she said. "We must greet the visitors. That’s all we do here in Dreamland. You know mom loves houseguests!"
The train arrived that day as scheduled. Charlie stayed with Mona and helped her entertain the tourists that constantly arrived to the little quiet town. Some would stay; some would leave... but most of them would just pass by and even forget they’ve ever been to Dreamland...
(This story was finished on June 1999)
