Dreams of Summer

by Lauri Gobel Leslie

Even when we are asleep, our minds are active. Scientists surmise that our brains process and sort the events of the day at this time. Spiritual people believe God sometimes uses these moments to communicate with us through dreams, delivering messages to guide and prepare us for the future. I think they are both right. But I sleep too soundly to remember most of my dreams.

* * *

A clicking noise awakens me from a deep sleep. With my eyes still closed, I pull my mind from the dense fog, remember where I am and why. I am lying on a hard sofa in a hospital room. The sound is Daniel, my twenty-four-year-old son, clicking his tongue to get my attention.
He can’t move his head, so I lean over the bed. Now Daniel can see me, and I can see to read his lips. His brow is furrowed, and his eyes are wide open, searching for mine.
“Dream,” he mouths silently, not moving on to the next word until he is sure I understand. His mouth moves again. “Scared.”
When I ask him what happened in his dream, he strings together a whole thought. “Dreamed people treated me differently.”
What am I supposed to say?
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