A/N: I wrote this story because I had a dream. December 7th, 2010, the day before the 30th anniversary of John Lennon's passing, I had one of the most intense dreams I have ever had. (This is all true, too, except the ending was embellished just a little for dramatic effect. ;)) It was both the most beautiful and terrifying dream I've ever had. I- I can't even explain in words just how amazing it was and how horrifying it was. I normally don't have such vivid dreams but this was just so incredible, I had to write it down. This story is just as close as I can put in words. In a way, I guess, this is sort of a tribute to John and George. So enjoy! (:
The sun shined brightly as I found myself in the middle of a field. It was a beautiful day. The sky was a perfect, crystal blue, it was warm, the sun was out and there were bluebirds singing. I didn't know how I got there, but I didn't seem to mind. It was just me and nature, completely tranquil and in peace.
I sat down on the spring green grass and ran my fingers through every piece of it. The grass was cool and smooth against my hands and I could feel myself sinking further into it. I laid there and let my face soak in every bit of the warmth from the sun. My eyelids shut as a soothing melody began to trickle through my ears. The intro came in, very dreamlike and relaxing, then the beginning lyrics.
"Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to
Strawberry Fields, nothing is real..."
My eyes snapped open as I heard the words seep through. I knew that song anywhere; it happened to be my favourite Beatles song. I propped myself up with my elbows and looked around. Little strawberry plants had started to bud from the soft soil. I held one strawberry delicately in my hand and observed it. Within seconds, it grew to full size.
'What is going on here?' I panicked to myself.
"And nothing to get hung about
Strawberry Fields forever"
The lyrics continued and seemed to calm me down a little. I poked my head around to find the source of the music. As I peered around the field, some trees had also begun to grow up out the dirt. Beneath one of the fully grown trees sat two men holding acoustic guitars and laughing.
"No-one I think is in my tree
I mean it must be high or low..."
The words echoed on as I stumbled up from where I sat. My legs pulled my over to the mystery men. I had no intentions of doing so, but apparently my legs did.
"That is you can't you know tune in but it's alright
That is I think it's not too bad"
As I approached the tree, one of them noticed me. He wore round glasses with a thin rim and had longish hair and a mustache. John Lennon.
"Welcome!" he smiled brightly
"Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to
Strawberry fields
Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about
Strawberry fields forever..."
The other man noticed he had lost his friends attention and turned around. He had the same hair and mustache only he also sported a short goatee that lay neatly over his chin. George Harrison.
"Oh, hello." he smiled, sheepishly.
"Y- you guys are... are..."
"We know who we are." John interrupted. "Do you like it here? We like to come here a lot." he looked over at George and they both grinned like they were sharing an inside joke. "Very nice, isn't it?"
My mouth started to open to reply and tell him how confused I was, but I was stopped by more music.
"Living is easy with eyes closed
Misunderstanding all you see
It's getting hard to be someone but it all works out
It doesn't matter much to me..."
The music seemed to correlate with everything I thought. A lump started to form in my throat.
"It really is beautiful here." I squeaked out.
John and George both grabbed my shoulder at once. I shook from the chill that went down my spine.
"Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to
Strawberry Fields
Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about
Strawberry Fields forever."
They both slightly leaned down to my height and started whispering in my ear.
"Do you see how beautiful the strawberries and grass are? And how nicely the grass sways in the breeze?" John asked pointing out into the field. I nodded my head silently in response.
"And what about the horizon? How the orange mingles with the blues and pinks so perfectly?" George added. My vision became blurry with tears as I nearly inaudibly replied, "Yes, it's perfect." It was so amazing to know how peaceful they were in this place. How happy they were. It was almost an emotional over-load.
"Almost seems too perfect, doesn't it?" The tone in John's voice became a little ominous.
"What?" my head shot back at them.
Something terrible had happened. I looked at them both in horror. John's face had drained of its blood and he clutched his chest where 4 bullet holes appeared while he slumped against the tree. George sat on the ground in a ball and coughed violently. He became very pale and scrawny in almost no time at all. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted one of the throw pillows from my bed.
In a slow movement, I started to back away from them and nearly tripped over a root sticking out of the ground. John grabbed my hand before I could fall over completely and spoke the next lines of the song.
"Always know sometimes think it's me
But you know I know when it's a dream
I think I know of thee, ah yes, but it's all wrong
That is I think I disagree..."
The tears rolled down my cheeks as the environment and the boys began to deteriorate. The sun disappeared behind thick, black clouds, the bluebirds turned to crows, and all of the strawberries and plants died off just as quickly as they grew.
The wind blew violently while the two friends' health got worse by the second. George's coughing got worse, even to the point that I thought I heard a rib crack. He doubled over in pain, while John slid further down the tree trunk as the energy left his body.
"What's happening?" I shouted over the loud wind. John looked up at me and raised his eyebrows slightly.
"It's back to reality now." he replied in a raspy voice.
My breathing had picked up to try and keep myself from a complete breakdown. I watched the men lay there until it seemed that the life left their bodies. I flinched at the sight of their limp bodies. The thought that they had been perfectly content just a few minutes ago and now back into the cold grip of death made me queasy. The melody and lyrics kept on and sounded like it was being played directly into my ears.
"Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to
Strawberry Fields
Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about..."
With the last words, the wind hit me with a huge gust and knocked me on my side. And just like that, the wind died out. It was just me and the silence. I pulled my head off of the ground and looked around. The tree, John and George, the birds, the strawberries and the grass were all gone. I lay there alone in the desolate, barren field. I couldn't take the bottled-up feeling anymore and started to just weep into my hands. I pulled my knees up to my chest and let the misery and hopelessness sink in.
It wasn't the cold air stinging my skin that sacred me, nor was it the lack of sunlight, but the impenetrable silence; the loneliness and the realization that they were gone and I couldn't do a thing. I was all on my own and had nowhere to go. It felt as though I'd lost all hope when the music started up again.
"Strawberry Fields forever
Strawberry Fields forever
Strawberry Fields forever..."
I faintly heard the outro start to play. My wet face peered up from my hands and I saw a warm light coming from a hole in one of the black clouds. An intense warmness covered my whole body, like a blanket, and settled me down. A sudden feeling of safety and assurance overcame me and I closed my eyes again.
"Living is easy with eyes closed..." I quietly sang to myself. A light breeze started up and rocked my lightly as I hummed the rest of the song.
My eyes popped open once more when a loud buzzing hit my ears. I looked over to see my alarm clock buzzing and flashing '7:00 am'. I shot out of my bed and rubbed my eyes.
"What the hell was that?" I questioned myself.
In my peripheral vision, I spotted a tiny, red dot on my carpet. I bent down and scooped it up gently; it was a tiny strawberry. Something then and there told me they were happy. The corners of my mouth tugged up into a smile and I got up to get ready for school.