Odd to dream a dream like that dream
We're in a town that doesn't feel or look quite like Houston. I'm sure it's in America though, I've just left an anime convention to go grab some lunch with a friend.
Of all people I'm with Selphish. I'm driving her VW bug. It's sort of beige in color. She's busy tearing open a doll or figure or something and assembling it in the passenger seat. As soon as she's finished she politely demands I pull over- it was actually a polite demand too. So, we continue searching for food- we were in the mood for chinese food. I had a hunger for noodles. Still do now that I'm awake.
We see a place that looks like a raman shop, we are about to pull in Trudy pulls into an adjacent parking lot claiming to use the rest room. seemingly certain the restaurant wouldn't have one. She heads directly into an old looking convenience store obviously owned by Japanese people. Trudy surges inside with me following close behind. Inside there is a small sign that says 'Please Buy' over a large pile of japanese and chinese knick knacks. There is a smaller sign that reads "collectibles" over a wall covered in anime art books. She peruses the anime while I look over the knick knacks. Models of castles made in cork, little scale mock ups of ornate bridges, fake bonsai trees, books claiming to teach Japanese "the fun and easy way".
The rest of the store is sort of glum a mix of browns and grays including what appear to be to drab yakuza members. One is at the counter sneering at the one leaning against it who is visably distraught. Silver suit and Grey suit. Selphish returns quickly from the bath room and sneaks up behind me. She needles me in the side and shakes her head towards the to Japanese men at the counter and rolls her eyes- I couldn't tell if she understood or was making fun of them.
She grabs my arm and leads me out explaining that she's owns all of their art books anyways.
(This part of the dream is exceptionally odd)
We get into the car- she's driving this time. I start moving various purchases around so I can sit comfortably; she reminds me not to break anything. We get our raman and eat in the car. Afterwards she decides she'd rather do something besides the con- there's nothing coming up until a rave or something in the evening. I suggest we can always go do something by ourselves privately. She essentially jumps into my lap and tickles my chin telling me that I'm always thinking dirty- She remains leaning across my chair and hers looking up at me but waves a dismissive hand and starts rifling in her pocket.
She shows me a brochure she took from the weird store. It claims to be a haunted Japanese garden in the area. It says it really scars you 'over and over' and has been actually haunted by some group or another. It sounds like a tourist trap with real credentials. She's very excited and mentions that we haven't done this in a while. Meaning explore tourist traps and ghost sitings. I check to see if I have business cards - I do. She actually snuggles up to me a little and tells me sweetly that she's going but really wants me to go to; which she explains that I have to go. I agree, it does.
She drives us to the place. We get out to the boonies, sort of, there is a lot more trees and grass here than concrete and buildings. We pull up to a parking lot and take a moment to figure out what we need on a bridge leading up to the "haunted site" For some reason, Trudy insists on bringing her action figure because "some one might steal it" She says she'll also carry the camera. She wants me to bring a stick. A big heavy one, just in case. I suggest the camera. As we discuss this a tiny round piece of plastic flies out the window and into the water below. She, in my dream opinion overreacts, she insists I look for it- maybe It didn't disappear. I suggest she forget it, as it's a bit of plastic. She shows me that it's for a small toy car that the figure she has comes with- very rare. She gets mad for a second then becomes a somewhat clumsy petite seductress so I agree as it is adorable. She arches her back, flashes her eyes, runs her hand through her hair and kissed me on the cheek.
I climb down a very old hand made ladder about 5 feet. Below is a small sandy area to stand. The resemblance to a hidden ledge in an old Mega man game isn't lost to me. There is an old japanese man sitting. he is dressed in what anime informs me is old fisherman clothing. A bandana, gray simple pants and shirt and some sort of plates, possibly wood, around his waist. He shuffles up to me in old grass sandals. He's smiling and hands me the piece that fell. Above me Selphish is calling for me.
The old man bows then reaches to shake my hand awkwardly. He mumbles slightly. "Otono" I bow a little and shake his hand. "Domo arigato" Flexing two of maybe eight japanese words I know. Selphish stops calling for me.
"You Are Welcome, I Am Otono"
"OH!, I'm Carlo."
"CarRo"
"Do You Fish?"
"Once. It's rare."
"Try?"
"I'm in a hurry actually."
He's holding out the fishing rod but looks a little sad when I say no.
I look up and Trudy is talking with a young boy. she doesn't seem to be in a hurry.
"Wait- I'll try for a minute."
"Good."
I'm holding a very simple fishing rod, one that seems hand made. He is standing next to me miming a way of moving the rod. I follow his example and soon a small fish bites the hook. I pull it up and he smiles at me.
"Do You Like Fish?"
"Sometimes."
"It's Rare?"
"Yes, sir."
"Too Bad My Grandson Can Not Fish With Me. Thank You For Fishing With Me Today. "
"It was fun. Thank you for asking me to"
"Keep That. It Is A Gift." He points to the rod I'm holding.
"Goodbye."
He bows again and slowly walks off towards the ladder. He carried a small somewhat worn wicker fishing cage. It has a red rope handle and looks sturdy. He continues past the ladder and off towards the cliff, he then walks up at an angle his waist disappearing into the rock face.
"Goodbye..."
I head to the ladder but the small Asian boy Trudy was talking to is coming down. He comes down and waves hello then continues to the water. He is carrying a small made for kids fishing pole. It's plastic, blue and bright yellow. He tries to bait the 'hook' it's rounded so he doesn't stab himself. He does so expertly. He is also carrying a small wicker fishing cage, with a red rope handle. It looks pretty old maybe a fifty years old.
"Hey, kid?"
"Yeah?"
"You fish here a lot"
"No- is it good fishing?"
"Yeah, but you need a better rod." I hand him the old handmade rod.
"Thanks, mister."
"Are you Japanese?"
"Yeah. Half. My dad. "
"Do you know your grandpa?"
"No, he never came from Japan. My mom says he's still there."
Moms do that a lot- seemed pretty clear to me that she was sparing the kids sensibilities.
"I hear the fishing is pretty good here. Enjoy."
"'kay, bye. Thanks."
I head up the ladder where Trudy is quietly reading a magazine. Behind her are several other cars wishing to enter. I get in and am quiet.
"Why are you so quiet- Did you get it?"
I show her the piece without a word. Satisfied she drives to the other end of the bridge. There is a small metal safety door that has been locked down at the end of the drive and another leading toward the front office. She tells me to go and open the metal door if I can. It's not very heavy so I can lift it and let her car scoot through which she does. On the other side we park and find the "Haunted Path" and history.
It goes 3rd party perspective and I see Carlo reading. Trudy wanders ahead and screams after a moment. Carlo chases after and sees her sitting on the floor. He reaches her and she is red faced and angry.
"what?"
"you go! look!"
First person again.
I'm about to step forward when I notice several patches of grass on the sides of a narrow walking path. I wave my hand in front of me and hear faint wind whistling. I step forward and see that I've step next to a fake bit of grass. I look ahead of it and see a n dirt covered outline of a cartoonishly large spider- crab sized. I step on the grass forlornly causing a wooden cut out of a cartoon spider to bounce out of the ground. Trudy immediately runs up and kicks it in half.
I walk the rest of the way dodging all of the rocks that aren't rocks, grass that is really a button, ducking hidden motion sensors until I reach the top. I got a few despite myself. Trudy is really upset. At the top of the little mountain we find a very craggly cliff- man made from here we can see that. Down below are people on the first part of the tour. I lean against the fake cliff face and look at Trudy who is throwing rocks off the side.
I tell her what happened to me.
The sign post talked about A fisherman who would come around here and ask people if his son was okay- then if his grandson grandson was born- and a couple of years ago someone was asked if his grandson was a good fisherman. They say he really walks around the shore asking about things like that and talking about fishing in general. It's just an old Japanese ghost story that happens to take place in America.
Whoever bought this land turned it into a pseudo Japanese garden and haunted house. It had become a pretty popular date spot but the ghost was rarely seen anymore.
Trudy looks at me like I'm crazy.
"Are you telling the truth?"
"I wouldn't lie about it"
"Cool. A ghost..."
She siliently thinks to herself as I take a bit of chewing gum and a business card. I write "otono" on it and stick it to the cliff face.
"Come on. You coming?"
Selphish to me as she heads down toward the tour group. I look out over the hill side. It's almost sundown. I can see the little boy fishing down below by the bridge. He's caught something.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
And that's the dream. The weirdest part? Selphish and I flirting.... She'd probably pop me one for that.
Of all people I'm with Selphish. I'm driving her VW bug. It's sort of beige in color. She's busy tearing open a doll or figure or something and assembling it in the passenger seat. As soon as she's finished she politely demands I pull over- it was actually a polite demand too. So, we continue searching for food- we were in the mood for chinese food. I had a hunger for noodles. Still do now that I'm awake.
We see a place that looks like a raman shop, we are about to pull in Trudy pulls into an adjacent parking lot claiming to use the rest room. seemingly certain the restaurant wouldn't have one. She heads directly into an old looking convenience store obviously owned by Japanese people. Trudy surges inside with me following close behind. Inside there is a small sign that says 'Please Buy' over a large pile of japanese and chinese knick knacks. There is a smaller sign that reads "collectibles" over a wall covered in anime art books. She peruses the anime while I look over the knick knacks. Models of castles made in cork, little scale mock ups of ornate bridges, fake bonsai trees, books claiming to teach Japanese "the fun and easy way".
The rest of the store is sort of glum a mix of browns and grays including what appear to be to drab yakuza members. One is at the counter sneering at the one leaning against it who is visably distraught. Silver suit and Grey suit. Selphish returns quickly from the bath room and sneaks up behind me. She needles me in the side and shakes her head towards the to Japanese men at the counter and rolls her eyes- I couldn't tell if she understood or was making fun of them.
She grabs my arm and leads me out explaining that she's owns all of their art books anyways.
(This part of the dream is exceptionally odd)
We get into the car- she's driving this time. I start moving various purchases around so I can sit comfortably; she reminds me not to break anything. We get our raman and eat in the car. Afterwards she decides she'd rather do something besides the con- there's nothing coming up until a rave or something in the evening. I suggest we can always go do something by ourselves privately. She essentially jumps into my lap and tickles my chin telling me that I'm always thinking dirty- She remains leaning across my chair and hers looking up at me but waves a dismissive hand and starts rifling in her pocket.
She shows me a brochure she took from the weird store. It claims to be a haunted Japanese garden in the area. It says it really scars you 'over and over' and has been actually haunted by some group or another. It sounds like a tourist trap with real credentials. She's very excited and mentions that we haven't done this in a while. Meaning explore tourist traps and ghost sitings. I check to see if I have business cards - I do. She actually snuggles up to me a little and tells me sweetly that she's going but really wants me to go to; which she explains that I have to go. I agree, it does.
She drives us to the place. We get out to the boonies, sort of, there is a lot more trees and grass here than concrete and buildings. We pull up to a parking lot and take a moment to figure out what we need on a bridge leading up to the "haunted site" For some reason, Trudy insists on bringing her action figure because "some one might steal it" She says she'll also carry the camera. She wants me to bring a stick. A big heavy one, just in case. I suggest the camera. As we discuss this a tiny round piece of plastic flies out the window and into the water below. She, in my dream opinion overreacts, she insists I look for it- maybe It didn't disappear. I suggest she forget it, as it's a bit of plastic. She shows me that it's for a small toy car that the figure she has comes with- very rare. She gets mad for a second then becomes a somewhat clumsy petite seductress so I agree as it is adorable. She arches her back, flashes her eyes, runs her hand through her hair and kissed me on the cheek.
I climb down a very old hand made ladder about 5 feet. Below is a small sandy area to stand. The resemblance to a hidden ledge in an old Mega man game isn't lost to me. There is an old japanese man sitting. he is dressed in what anime informs me is old fisherman clothing. A bandana, gray simple pants and shirt and some sort of plates, possibly wood, around his waist. He shuffles up to me in old grass sandals. He's smiling and hands me the piece that fell. Above me Selphish is calling for me.
The old man bows then reaches to shake my hand awkwardly. He mumbles slightly. "Otono" I bow a little and shake his hand. "Domo arigato" Flexing two of maybe eight japanese words I know. Selphish stops calling for me.
"You Are Welcome, I Am Otono"
"OH!, I'm Carlo."
"CarRo"
"Do You Fish?"
"Once. It's rare."
"Try?"
"I'm in a hurry actually."
He's holding out the fishing rod but looks a little sad when I say no.
I look up and Trudy is talking with a young boy. she doesn't seem to be in a hurry.
"Wait- I'll try for a minute."
"Good."
I'm holding a very simple fishing rod, one that seems hand made. He is standing next to me miming a way of moving the rod. I follow his example and soon a small fish bites the hook. I pull it up and he smiles at me.
"Do You Like Fish?"
"Sometimes."
"It's Rare?"
"Yes, sir."
"Too Bad My Grandson Can Not Fish With Me. Thank You For Fishing With Me Today. "
"It was fun. Thank you for asking me to"
"Keep That. It Is A Gift." He points to the rod I'm holding.
"Goodbye."
He bows again and slowly walks off towards the ladder. He carried a small somewhat worn wicker fishing cage. It has a red rope handle and looks sturdy. He continues past the ladder and off towards the cliff, he then walks up at an angle his waist disappearing into the rock face.
"Goodbye..."
I head to the ladder but the small Asian boy Trudy was talking to is coming down. He comes down and waves hello then continues to the water. He is carrying a small made for kids fishing pole. It's plastic, blue and bright yellow. He tries to bait the 'hook' it's rounded so he doesn't stab himself. He does so expertly. He is also carrying a small wicker fishing cage, with a red rope handle. It looks pretty old maybe a fifty years old.
"Hey, kid?"
"Yeah?"
"You fish here a lot"
"No- is it good fishing?"
"Yeah, but you need a better rod." I hand him the old handmade rod.
"Thanks, mister."
"Are you Japanese?"
"Yeah. Half. My dad. "
"Do you know your grandpa?"
"No, he never came from Japan. My mom says he's still there."
Moms do that a lot- seemed pretty clear to me that she was sparing the kids sensibilities.
"I hear the fishing is pretty good here. Enjoy."
"'kay, bye. Thanks."
I head up the ladder where Trudy is quietly reading a magazine. Behind her are several other cars wishing to enter. I get in and am quiet.
"Why are you so quiet- Did you get it?"
I show her the piece without a word. Satisfied she drives to the other end of the bridge. There is a small metal safety door that has been locked down at the end of the drive and another leading toward the front office. She tells me to go and open the metal door if I can. It's not very heavy so I can lift it and let her car scoot through which she does. On the other side we park and find the "Haunted Path" and history.
It goes 3rd party perspective and I see Carlo reading. Trudy wanders ahead and screams after a moment. Carlo chases after and sees her sitting on the floor. He reaches her and she is red faced and angry.
"what?"
"you go! look!"
First person again.
I'm about to step forward when I notice several patches of grass on the sides of a narrow walking path. I wave my hand in front of me and hear faint wind whistling. I step forward and see that I've step next to a fake bit of grass. I look ahead of it and see a n dirt covered outline of a cartoonishly large spider- crab sized. I step on the grass forlornly causing a wooden cut out of a cartoon spider to bounce out of the ground. Trudy immediately runs up and kicks it in half.
I walk the rest of the way dodging all of the rocks that aren't rocks, grass that is really a button, ducking hidden motion sensors until I reach the top. I got a few despite myself. Trudy is really upset. At the top of the little mountain we find a very craggly cliff- man made from here we can see that. Down below are people on the first part of the tour. I lean against the fake cliff face and look at Trudy who is throwing rocks off the side.
I tell her what happened to me.
The sign post talked about A fisherman who would come around here and ask people if his son was okay- then if his grandson grandson was born- and a couple of years ago someone was asked if his grandson was a good fisherman. They say he really walks around the shore asking about things like that and talking about fishing in general. It's just an old Japanese ghost story that happens to take place in America.
Whoever bought this land turned it into a pseudo Japanese garden and haunted house. It had become a pretty popular date spot but the ghost was rarely seen anymore.
Trudy looks at me like I'm crazy.
"Are you telling the truth?"
"I wouldn't lie about it"
"Cool. A ghost..."
She siliently thinks to herself as I take a bit of chewing gum and a business card. I write "otono" on it and stick it to the cliff face.
"Come on. You coming?"
Selphish to me as she heads down toward the tour group. I look out over the hill side. It's almost sundown. I can see the little boy fishing down below by the bridge. He's caught something.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
And that's the dream. The weirdest part? Selphish and I flirting.... She'd probably pop me one for that.