everyone thinks their dreams are interesting 
                     
                    1. 
                    i can tell that i am in an open space, but i can’t see
                    my surroundings because of how bright it is. i’m
                    squinting but i still can’t see. i can hear the ocean
                    in the distance. a voice on a loudspeaker says,
                    “begin.” i don’t know what to do so i just
                    stand there and try to block the glare from my eyes. the
                    voice says again, “begin,” this time higher. it
                    keeps repeating it, each time slightly higher. i decide to
                    move around and search for the loudspeaker – but when
                    i walk i make a clicking sound like a horse. i find a
                    hammer, piles of wood, nails. again, the voice says:
                    “begin,” even higher. i feel different suddenly
                    – possessed. an invisible per- son, inside of me,
                    lifts my hand. i begin constructing the frame of a shelter
                    to enclose me. the loudspeaker plays a recording of a cat
                    purring. 
                     
                    2. 
                    they tell me that the structure i built isn’t working
                    out. i look closely at it and realize that it is made from
                    the bones of a large man. it has crawled over to the ocean
                    and is drinking water, soaking everyone resting inside. i
                    try to pull the structure away from the water, but it is too
                    large. it turns its face to me and says, “sticks and
                    stones will break my bones.” we assemble all we can
                    find on the beach and destroy the structure. i feel panicked
                    when someone points out that the dust from his body is
                    exactly like the sand on the beach. 
                     
                    3. 
                    we are all waiting inside the structure. we leave and pass
                    through a security checkpoint – our backpacks are
                    searched. once through the body scanner, a security guard
                    hands us each a hardhat as well as a strange, colorful rock.
                    we line up facing the water and, one at a time, throw the
                    rocks into the ocean. they are light enough to go far. when
                    they hit the water, a series of buildings emerges out of
                    each stone. each worker disappears from the beach and
                    reemerges in their building, which looks like an oilrig.
                    they begin glowing as they work. it is my turn to throw.
                    when i do a thick transparent screen appears in front of me
                    and causes my rock to rebound. i keep trying to throw my
                    stone into the water. 
                     
                    4. 
                    there’s the skeleton of a large elephant on the beach.
                    we are sitting around it in a circle, weaving a shawl to
                    cover the bones. nehru and edwina are nearby, making love in
                    the sand. i worry that we will run out of supplies to weave
                    with. edwina stops and says that i don’t need to worry
                    – she points at the ocean. the ocean is made of the
                    same material as the shawl. 
                     
                    5. 
                    we are having a celebration on the beach at sunset. i am
                    sitting at a large, round table, cutting mangoes for dadu.
                    each time my knife hits the cutting board i notice that the
                    scenery changes – the people look different too—
                    they are wearing different clothes, their positions change.
                    i think that i have been here, working, for a long time,
                    that these are all different celebrations, experienced over
                    a lifetime. a woman walks by me. i hear her say that the
                    ocean is actually fresh water and won’t sting my eyes. 
                     
                    6. 
                    there is a large ship approaching the beach, wrapped
                    entirely in some kind of flag (so we can’t actually
                    see the form of the ship). we are told we must stop it from
                    reaching our shores. we pass through a security checkpoint.
                    once through the body scanner, a security guard hands us
                    each a hardhat with electrical wiring inside. we are told
                    that the wiring will stimulate our mental capacity. a voice
                    on a loudspeaker says that by focusing our minds on the
                    water, we can split the ocean and land into two discrete
                    elements, creating a void that the ship will not be able to
                    cross. i focus on the task with my eyes closed. i begin to
                    see faces i do not recognize appearing and disappearing
                    rapidly. the sound of the ocean becomes the sound of a
                    ringing bell. then gradually, it returns to its natural
                    sound. the voice on the loudspeaker tells us that the task
                    is complete. i open my eyes and see the water forming a kind
                    of wall, separate from the land and high in the air. in
                    between the ocean and the land is a total darkness - the
                    wall slowly descends, returning the ocean to its natural
                    form, and closing the void. the ship is nowhere to be seen. 
                     
                     
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