In the early morning hours just before sunrise, the house is dark and cold. I am warm, blanketed in cotton and silk, cycling in and out of sleep. Dreaming one moment, thinking about my dreams the next.
A shadow sits on a nearby dresser. It sits quietly, it sits very still. It sits and watches me.
I dream. I'm navigating a ship up a shallow creek. The ship's draft far exceeds the water's depth.
I awake. The shadow is on a chair on the other side of the room. In the pale light of dawn, I make out the shape of a bowling pin: narrow at the top, fat at the bottom.
I've taken the ship onto a road. The ship is 180 feet long, with a beam of 40 feet. It just barely squeezes by the telephone poles.
The shadow is on my shoulder. It's heavy. I see two triangles on a circle. Two round, dark holes are staring at me from beneath the triangles.
I stop the ship alongside a sidewalk. The crew puts a ladder over the side and I disembark. I gaze at the underside of the ship, wondering how I managed to get so far away from water.
Two other shadows appear. One is on the bed. I can see the flicker of a snake, weaving back and forth. Another shadow is silhouetted in the door leading to the kitchen. It has triangles above a circle above a bowling pin.
The crew is assembled on the sidewalk awaiting the arrival of the Admiral. I'll never make it in time. I'm not wearing my inspection uniform and I can't find my hat. I'm starting to panic. Everything moves in slow motion.
I hear Dukie's squeak come from the shadow at the door. The shadow on the bed clearly has four legs and a tail. I deduce that if Dukie is at the door, then this small creature must be Nora. Which leaves the shadow on my shoulder. It extends a furry paw and places it on my nose. Above the half-circle mouth and the broad nose, Thomas' two dark eyes looking down at me.
Duty calls. The cats are hungry.
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