The Lady by the River

When I was 19 years old I had a dream. It was the most vivid dream of my life. It was in color, the sounds were in dolby surround-sound, the smells were as real as anything I have ever experienced.

There was a lady by a river. Her hair was auburn and her eyes were hazel. She talked to me about all the things she was and all the things she ever will be. The dream seemed to last forever. I fell deeply in love with her and then I woke up.

The dream was so real to me that it hurt when I woke up and she wasn't there. It was a physical and emotional ache and it hung on for days. Weeks and months went by and I had the dream again, we talked about different things, she held my hand and when i awoke, she was more real to me than my life.

I did what I always did in those days, I talked to Burt. I looked at Burt and said: "Have you ever had a dream that was more real than what you have in your life?'

Mood smiled at me and said: "Nah, Dude, but you did."

I nodded to him and told him about the lady by the river. I told him about the recurring dream and how different it was. Burt's people were, as we said in those days, witchy. The would talk to a burn on your arm and the swelling would go down. They could talk to horses and snakes. They believed in a kind of kismet and hedge-magic that was beyond my understanding. I asked Mood what I should do. He smiled at me and said: "Reckon you need to go find that lady by the river."

And I have looked for her every day of my life, the Lady by the River. The dreams continue to this day, they are the same and crystal clear. She has been the Heroine of every story I have written, the source of every dream I have recorded. She is the image of perfection writ large upon my life.

Some men say they are looking for the woman of their dreams, in my case, it is literally true.

Burn with me