Do You Believe in Dreams?

Ana Esther

‘The tree!’

‘What did you say, darling?’ Grandma Mary halted on the pavement, she seemed to be peering at Aunt Emily’s house in the distance.

‘The tree, Grandma, the tree in my dream!’ Elsie was quite breathless with surprise. ‘The dream I just told you about during breakfast.’ Seeing that tree was like acting out her own dream.

‘Oh, I see, love.’

‘Grandma, Grandma, if that’s the tree then the box must be buried under it just like in my dream!’ Elsie’s heart beat faster as her excitement grew. She recalled every single detail of this early-morning dream.

‘Are you sure, Elsie dear, this is the tree?’

‘Course, Grandma. I can almost see the handsome man telling me about this so very important box!’ Elsie started scratching her ear anxiously. ‘Let’s go, Grandma, tell these people about my dream. What if they dig under the tree and find out a… a… a treasure box?!’

‘I don’t quite know, honey, I… er, I…’ Grandma Mary hesitated for a while. Elsie knew Grandma Mary never admitted openly her respect for her granddaughter’s strange dreams ever since she was a little child. ‘Ok, Elsie darling. But let’s be brief. Your Aunt Emily is only waiting for us to fire up barbie!’

They crossed the front yard and rang the doorbell. The sparks in Grandma Mary’s eyes revealed her ill-disguised curiosity. Elsie could hardly wait to see another of her “dreams” come true.

‘Yes?’ An old woman dressed up in purple from head to toe opened the door. Her tall and slim figure stared at them with dry eyes.

Grandma Mary introduced herself and Elsie. While she was explaining the reason they dared to knock on the lady’s door Elsie scanned the small bit of living-room which could be seen behind the woman. Her eyes froze at the sight of a portrait on the wall: a man clad in old-fashioned robes.

‘Hu… hu…’ Elsie gasped. His eyes seemed to be fixed on hers, reaching far deep into her mind. Something like an X-ray. She sensed she had seen him before. No, she had actually dreamed with him! ‘There, that’s the man I saw in my dream!’ Elsie pointed the portrait. The three of them faced the portrait, their eyes wide open. All three of them open-mouthed. ‘In my dream this very man insisted that what was inside the box was something extremely important’ her words burst out as she panted with the effort to speak.

‘How dare you young lady, you…’

‘You must dig under that tree!’ Impatient, Elsie interrupted the old woman. She scratched her ear again

‘Ah, ah, ah! Nonsense.’ The lady in dark purple laughed with disdain. Her hands were shaking though. Then, with her burning eyes fixed on Grandma Mary’s blinking eyes, she said to Elsie with an icy voice ‘Thanks for your interest, child. But you won’t possibly think I’ll take up to digging, will you?’ And she banged the door on them. Grandma Mary and Elsie heard her loud laughter from inside.

Utterly disappointed, Elsie followed her speechless grandmother to Aunt Emily’s. The barbecue was sensational but Elsie just could not help wondering if there really was a box buried under that tree. During dessert & coffee time, with her mouth full of a huge Pavlova bite, Grandma recounted to Aunt Emily all that had happened.

‘Oh, those people from Gloomy Corner! They never mix. Always dressed up in dark shades, the freaks.’ Aunt Emily said and changed subjects, ‘Wow, doesn’t my Pavlova recipe taste just h-e-a-v-e-n-l-y?’

In the evening, on their way back to the train station, they passed by Gloomy Corner again. It seemed so, well, so gloomy in the dusk. Suddenly, Elsie shouted to her grandmother:

‘Look! Grandma, look!’ Elsie pressed her ear. ‘Earth is all dug up under the tree!’

‘Oh, darling, you’re right.’ Grandma held Elsie’s hand tighter and they got closer to the fence. ‘And, have a look, dear, there on the right side, what a huge hole…’

‘Touch-me-not Lady-in-Purple did take up to digging after all!’ Elsie breathed deep, proud that her words were actually heeded. ‘But Grandma, how on earth will we know what they’ve found?’

‘Oh, dear…’

A couple of days later, Elsie woke up from another of “her dreams” in great agitation, she was sweating in her temples. She heard the familiar noise of Grandma Mary getting breakfast ready in the kitchen and yelled:

‘Graaaaaannnndddddddmmmmmmaaaaaaa!’

‘Elsie, love, have you had a nightmare?’ Grandma Mary hurried into Elsie’s room wiping her hands in the apron.

‘Grandma, now I know what’s in the box.’ Elsie touched her ear with shaking fingers. ‘Not a treasure!’

‘No? Honey dear, what a pity.’ Grandma Mary’s tone of voice showed she had realized this was another of Elsie’s foretelling dreams.

‘The handsome man came out of his portrait. There was blood all over his chest. He… he… told me what was hidden in the box.’ Elsie’s voice faltered.

‘Calm down, darling, don’t you worry…’

‘Grandma! Inside the box was the dagger that killed the handsome man exactly 50 years ago…’

*I first wrote this story as an Assignment due to my tutor Jill McDougall for the course I took on Professional Children's Writing (2006-2007) at Thomas Education Direct (Australia).