The lady

A JOURNEY

 

I don't know how she got in, where she came from but there she was standing near my bed. The lady was transparent, had diaphanous wings.
Seeing my bureau thru the tiny holes in her white chantilly lace dress scared me nearly to death. Her long blond hair was as soft as melting butter, her smile as bright as Venus. Was I awake? Dreaming? Dead? I shook my head in disbelief, blinked my eyes many times and she was still there. The ceiling light clicked to my touch but offered no illumination. No sound came from my throat. My lips were dry, my feet like lead.

 

I was helpless, could not control my body. It began to turn slowly by itself until I was face down, flat on my belly. Zing, something sharp pierced my left shoulder. Another zing hit my right one. The sharp pain evaporated quickly. Although I couldn't speak, I could still think. All sorts of nonsense swirled, mixed itself up as if my mind was a milk shake blender. Dreaming? Fantasizing? Dead? Which is it?

 

The zing on my back began to swell and swell until I was sure my skin would burst wide open and all of my insides would slop onto my white sheets. When I could turn my head a little, I could still see the winged lady. She hadn't moved an inch. How was I going to lie still on my belly, be unable to move?  I felt a churning inside of me, a lightening up of my leaden feet. My toes could move again. Was it morning? Was I waking up? No. Out of my window I saw the moon, a lovely blue moon. The man who lives there had a sharp nose. His legs swung over the moon's cusp. It was so beautiful, peaceful, didn't care if I had died and gone to heaven.

 

A zephyr wind rolled over my body. A soft, almost unfeelable hand took mine, helped me sit up, stand up. I asked out loud, 'What's on my back?'
The lady said nothing. I felt a tug, something like a parachute opening. My feet left the floor and I began to fly, fly right behind the diaphanous lady. She lead me thru the open window, over my garden. We stopped, rested on open tulips, sipped nectar from their pistils, flew again and fluttered around my neighbor's Dalmatian asleep on the porch. My lady blew into its ears and they stood to attention. His slight growl of annoyance sent us off towards the statue of Abe Lincoln in DC. Military guards in uniforms walked stiffly back and forth, their heels clicking as they turned. I began to sing God Bless America. Lady floated down and let her wings touch Lincoln's eyes. He winked at us.
What wonders now? Where will we go?

 

 Up, up, so high I could see only the blue moon and I fell, fell hard on my marble floor.  My shoulder hurt. I felt for my wings. They  were gone.