scorer, then returned to Ella for further acclaim. "You
summoned me!"
"I
did?" said Ella.
"You
called me; it was your doing! I heard you. You did it!"
"I
did? Really?" Ella allowed herself to be
persuaded.
"Think hard," said Burns, "what was it, Honora, that you saw that made you lose the
picture?"
Honora held her hands to her mouth, palms pressed together like someone
in prayer. "I was on my way to the meeting place. I saw the path and the
tennis courts; and then, by the cherry trees, I saw someone waiting. I remember
thinking it might have been Lee, but I wasn't sure. Then I lost my way. That's
all I can say. I lost my way."
"So when I thought I had mistaken Ella for Honora,
it could actually have been Honora on her way to the rendezvous?" said
Lee.
"It's possible; but it's not what I'm getting at. There is some
block for Honora that made her 'lose her way' as she put it; otherwise she was
clearly on the path to meeting up with you and Ella."
"We could try guided
re-entry," suggested Brad.
"No," said Burns. "I don't want to surface any more of
this material just yet. We may run the risk of disturbing a delicate process of
development in dream control. My instincts tell me to let it incubate. Ella,
tell us again how it felt for you." He leaned forward, eagerly.
"I had the know , in the way
we've talked about before, the dreamside way of knowing. That sense which is
more than a belief, it is a confident knowing that such-and-such is so, and in
that way I knew that Lee would be waiting. There was no question about it. I
didn't pause to think of Honora or Brad. The feeling of excitement was
overwhelming. It was elation and anxiety mixed: that's what it was, that's what
caused the kind of paralysis we both felt." Lee was nodding vigorously.
"It was sexual too; we've discussed it and we both felt almost like the
moment before orgasm. The tiniest mundane things were incredibly stimulating,
and exciting things were unbearably so. That's why we hardly did anything, we were paralyzed by this feeling. When I touched
Lee's face it was the most I could do; I mean the most. That's why, when he
started quoting Shakespeare I thought it the most clever, profound and
appropriate thing that could possibly have been said at that moment—less so now
but at the time it was overwhelming!"
"But like I said, I didn't seem to have anything to do with
it," said Lee, "and I wasn't trying to be clever. I went to say
something like 'hello Ella' and the other stuff is what came out."
"But what was remarkable," Burns observed, "is that not
only did you meet, as previously agreed, but you also passed on a gift, a
token, a message which you then brought into the objective reality of waking
life. Do you realize what you've done? You've punctured a tiny hole in the
membrane that separates the dream world from the waking one. Now we have to
keep that hole open, and get Honora and Brad
involved.
"Now; why that choice of place? Did it have resonance for Lee and Ella, but not for
Brad and Honora? What we have to do now is find a tree where all four of you
can, as it were, scratch your initials. I'll give the matter some thought.
Meanwhile, see if the experience can be repeated. It should be possible to do
something to overcome the paralysis you describe. The potential to think and
move and act on dreamside, just as you would here, must ultimately be available
to you. Brad and Honora—you must familiarize yourself with this particular spot
in the park. At the moment that's all I can suggest. We may be moving towards a
point where I can no longer give you advice. After all, you four are the
practitioners, and my few theories are quickly being left behind. All I can do
now is offer you an objective critique of the experiences you describe,
evaluation at a distance. "Now I'm feeling tired. Shall we call it a very big day?"
With the
four of them gone, Burns sits hunched over his study desk, his window open to
the thickening dark and the smells of
summoned me!"
"I
did?" said Ella.
"You
called me; it was your doing! I heard you. You did it!"
"I
did? Really?" Ella allowed herself to be
persuaded.
"Think hard," said Burns, "what was it, Honora, that you saw that made you lose the
picture?"
Honora held her hands to her mouth, palms pressed together like someone
in prayer. "I was on my way to the meeting place. I saw the path and the
tennis courts; and then, by the cherry trees, I saw someone waiting. I remember
thinking it might have been Lee, but I wasn't sure. Then I lost my way. That's
all I can say. I lost my way."
"So when I thought I had mistaken Ella for Honora,
it could actually have been Honora on her way to the rendezvous?" said
Lee.
"It's possible; but it's not what I'm getting at. There is some
block for Honora that made her 'lose her way' as she put it; otherwise she was
clearly on the path to meeting up with you and Ella."
"We could try guided
re-entry," suggested Brad.
"No," said Burns. "I don't want to surface any more of
this material just yet. We may run the risk of disturbing a delicate process of
development in dream control. My instincts tell me to let it incubate. Ella,
tell us again how it felt for you." He leaned forward, eagerly.
"I had the know , in the way
we've talked about before, the dreamside way of knowing. That sense which is
more than a belief, it is a confident knowing that such-and-such is so, and in
that way I knew that Lee would be waiting. There was no question about it. I
didn't pause to think of Honora or Brad. The feeling of excitement was
overwhelming. It was elation and anxiety mixed: that's what it was, that's what
caused the kind of paralysis we both felt." Lee was nodding vigorously.
"It was sexual too; we've discussed it and we both felt almost like the
moment before orgasm. The tiniest mundane things were incredibly stimulating,
and exciting things were unbearably so. That's why we hardly did anything, we were paralyzed by this feeling. When I touched
Lee's face it was the most I could do; I mean the most. That's why, when he
started quoting Shakespeare I thought it the most clever, profound and
appropriate thing that could possibly have been said at that moment—less so now
but at the time it was overwhelming!"
"But like I said, I didn't seem to have anything to do with
it," said Lee, "and I wasn't trying to be clever. I went to say
something like 'hello Ella' and the other stuff is what came out."
"But what was remarkable," Burns observed, "is that not
only did you meet, as previously agreed, but you also passed on a gift, a
token, a message which you then brought into the objective reality of waking
life. Do you realize what you've done? You've punctured a tiny hole in the
membrane that separates the dream world from the waking one. Now we have to
keep that hole open, and get Honora and Brad
involved.
"Now; why that choice of place? Did it have resonance for Lee and Ella, but not for
Brad and Honora? What we have to do now is find a tree where all four of you
can, as it were, scratch your initials. I'll give the matter some thought.
Meanwhile, see if the experience can be repeated. It should be possible to do
something to overcome the paralysis you describe. The potential to think and
move and act on dreamside, just as you would here, must ultimately be available
to you. Brad and Honora—you must familiarize yourself with this particular spot
in the park. At the moment that's all I can suggest. We may be moving towards a
point where I can no longer give you advice. After all, you four are the
practitioners, and my few theories are quickly being left behind. All I can do
now is offer you an objective critique of the experiences you describe,
evaluation at a distance. "Now I'm feeling tired. Shall we call it a very big day?"
With the
four of them gone, Burns sits hunched over his study desk, his window open to
the thickening dark and the smells of
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