Personal Aside: Mom and Dad

Since I have been posting (below) stories by a couple of writers who will visit my Writing Short-Short Fiction class, I almost feel a little strange adding a personal aside here, about a dream I had last night, right before I woke up at about 3:00.

My mother and father were walking, almost running down a sidewalk in some foreign capital or other; it was made up of several they (and we) visited years ago. They appeared to be in their thirties, both of them handsome, full of life, and very happy. Both smiling. I believe my father might have been wearing his uniform, but he looked free, at ease with himself. My mother looked beautiful as they held hands and nearly danced down the sidewalk.

Birds flew up like St. Mark's Square, but it was not St. Mark's Square. I watched them passing from the top of a wide set of white steps leading up to a building at my back. It was so great to see them I clapped happily. They had been freed from the cares and burdens of life, restored to their happiest moments, enjoying them to the fullest.

When I clapped, others all around began to clap as well, looking in the direction of my parents, who fairly ran past holding hands, but as they passed I noticed, on the other side of the street, a couple emerging from a church: they had just gotten married, a traditional European wedding, and everyone thought I had been applauding them. I applauded more heartily then and laughed as well, because the entire scene was worth the happiness bursting from it.

What a nice dream.