Missouri Trails Wiki
Advertisement

At the lake, grandpa, dad, and I found an antiquated, gray wooden building just off the road. There were boards falling off the sides. Inside was an elderly lady, and she complained to us that her husband hasn't been taking his medication. We sat and talked with her for a while, and as the sun set it sparkled the motes of dust floating in the air. I asked her, "Where is your husband now?" and she replied, "In the dust."


That morning, I realized the building used to be a church. The old lady was nowhere to be seen, but it was Sunday morning so I figured she went to church. My family decided to watch the Mass on TV so I went and explored.

The paint was peeling in big sheets, but I still saw where a giant mirror used to be placed above the altar. Upon that spot was pasted a sheet of printer paper that read, "Chanem boy mirror". I looked at that for a few minutes and then went inside an alcove.

The alcove had an upholstered bench and an open window, and I suspect it was the old lady's favorite place since it reminded me of Grandma Sharon's little coloring book corner. Though the area was quite cramped, there was still a rather pleasant breeze from the window. I deigned to sit on the floor out of the breeze anyway. I then found a small wire basket with a magazine and began to read. Grandpa walked in to check on me, decided I was doing fine, and left. Inside the magazine was the story of the Chanem boy.


I was the  the Chanem boy, up above the altar removing the adhesive with a pair of playing cards. It took only five minutes. Afterwards, I went outside to observe my surroundings. As I sat down in a chair, a blue jay fluttered down and sat beside me. I carefully picked up my phone to take pictures of it, and got a couple good ones. The bird became a blue dog, which was then joined by a blue beagle. They played together, and then I was left alone with the blue jay again. The blue jay took my hand, and we flew into the clouds and watched the suburbs pass by below us. I was still taking pictures.


I woke up and disappointedly realized that I was dreaming and all my good photos were gone.


Then I awoke again.

Advertisement