Page 34 - Where the Dream Ends ebook
P. 34
Marc Erdrich
“I suppose,” Harry said, unconvinced. He turned on his
side and fell asleep while his wife stayed awake reading. That
night, and every night during the rest of their stay at Hay
Bridge, Harry slept restlessly. His dreams were filled with de-
mons. One night he awoke out of a nightmare, only to realize
he had been stabbing someone he couldn’t identify.
Harry couldn’t connect the nights of fitful sleep and dreams
about death together with the wonderful peace and serenity of
Hay Bridge. It was as if perhaps somewhere in the past some-
thing terrible happened here and it was buried far beneath the
surface, or as if Tissie’s great age was a burden that could not
be avoided by anyone who came to visit.
On the night before their last day at Hay Bridge, Tissie and
her daughter took Harry and his wife to an old-time music
hall show at a theater in the Grizedale Forest. Before they left
for the theater, they all met at Tissie’s daughter’s house in Low
Hay Bridge. Tissie drove the short distance in The Yellow Peril.
Over drinks, Harry learned from Tissie’s daughter that on
a trip to the States the previous year, Tissie had behaved ter-
ribly, like a doddering old woman. She complained furiously,
wouldn’t go anywhere willingly, and made a terrible traveling
companion. Her daughter swore she would never travel with
her again. Tissie listened to the conversation, but didn’t com-
ment.
They left The Yellow Peril at Low Hay Bridge and drove to
the show in Tissie’s daughter’s car. They returned around mid-
night. Earlier, it had been raining, but now the sky was clear
and the stars were shining. Harry and his wife got into The
Yellow Peril for the ride up to High Hay Bridge. As she was
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