*************
David's smile broadened and his eyes brightened, almost as if he had endearingly hoped or anticipated a pique in her interest. Folding his hands and gently laying them atop Teddy's belly, who lay strewn across his lap, he just stared at Monica with a softly ambient mysterium that demanded her full attention. He watched as her breath calmed, her muscles loosened, and she gradually leaned back against the seat. Then, in a quiet whisper, he began to disclose his dream, word for word and action for action, as if he had committed each and every nanosecond of it to memory and now recited it, like a handwritten novel. The ever so quiet grumbling of Teddy's gears could barely be heard by either of them.
"My dream.... was, .... white."
He paused, his body remaining completely still for a few short seconds as he tried to think of what to say. Then, with a thoughtful look, he returned his gaze to Monica, who by this point was open to listening.
"It was... white, all over the place. All above me, all below me.."
David indicated with gestures of increasing intensity the deeper he got into his narration.
"Then I was looking around, and looking all around the place, seeing nothing.. I couldn't see anything, Mommy! Then all of a sudden, I realized..."
His voice bottomed out into a nearly inaudible tone as his eyes slowly drifted downwards. His little hands followed the arch of his sight right down into Teddy's belly.
"..I realized that there was no floor."
He paused again, and Monica secretly questioned herself as to whether David had in fact done so for the effect it wrought upon his dramatic presentation, or if her spite was wreaking its havoc. She blinked, and each and every word he spoke began to turn sour in her mind as she wrestled with her impending selfishness. 'Silly robot! Go away, your words make little sense to me! You aren't real, and you can't dream!' But she struggled as best she could, and remained attentive to him. David continued.
"I realized I was flying, Mommy! I was flying high up in the sky... I think. I felt like I was in a cloud, like a part of it. I couldn't see anything but white, perfect white like your bedsheets, Mommy."
Monica cringed at his adoringly eloquent simile.
"Then all of a sudden, I saw my hands.. My hands were out in front of me.. And then I saw my arms, then the rest of my body.. and I was floating. Then I looked up, and there I saw a bright... something. It was so colourful, and it grew bigger and bigger and closer and closer, until it turned into a bird.. and it looked at me."
The thoughts rampaging through Monica's head fell silent. Her face twisted in perplexion, and her eyes darted towards David's.
"A bird, you say?"
"Yes, a bird with bright silvery feathers, and it kinda moved around in the air...."
David's own face scrunched as tried to find a way to explain his vision. Monica noted rather incidentially that it troubled him so. He stared hard into his lap for a long while, then looked up once again.
"..Like paint. Or like a candle."
His voice fell short and the words faded, smothered beneath a blanket of doubt. His fists unconsciously clenched, and his eyes narrowed. Falling back against the seat, David had fixed his stare on the vehicle's cieling, remaining silent. Monica, confused, then graducally worried, sat up rigidly, and reached a hesitant hand out towards him.
"D...David? Are you.. "
Slowly, reluctantly, Monica outstretched her fingers, and gingerly prodded at David's shoulder. Her mind fluttered hopelessly, having absolutely no idea of what to expect next. But much to her relief, as her touch registered with David, he sat back up, his trademark smile returning to his face. Teddy, who had also been as tense as a supertoy in concern for it's owner could be, began to click his mechanisms with dismay.
"David... Are you ok?"
David nodded, and looked out the window.
"Yes, I'm fine. Why are we stopped, Mommy? Are we here?"
Monica just stared at David, half in fear and half in disbelief. David continued no further with his narration, and in fact seemed to have forgotten about it altogether. It wasn't long before his face brightened in notion, and he opened the vehicle's sidedoor, leaping out onto the soft forest bed and bolting off into the woods. With Teddy tucked beneath one arm and the green plaid blanket tossed over the other, he disappeared amongst the thick brush just as Monica had realized what he was up to, and leapt out after him.
"D... David!"
Monica raced around the ditchbound vehicle as best she could after David, who seemed so much faster than she! It wasn't but a few mere moments before she lost visual contact and his voice was her only guide towards him.
"DAVID! David, WAIT!!"
David's smile broadened and his eyes brightened, almost as if he had endearingly hoped or anticipated a pique in her interest. Folding his hands and gently laying them atop Teddy's belly, who lay strewn across his lap, he just stared at Monica with a softly ambient mysterium that demanded her full attention. He watched as her breath calmed, her muscles loosened, and she gradually leaned back against the seat. Then, in a quiet whisper, he began to disclose his dream, word for word and action for action, as if he had committed each and every nanosecond of it to memory and now recited it, like a handwritten novel. The ever so quiet grumbling of Teddy's gears could barely be heard by either of them.
"My dream.... was, .... white."
He paused, his body remaining completely still for a few short seconds as he tried to think of what to say. Then, with a thoughtful look, he returned his gaze to Monica, who by this point was open to listening.
"It was... white, all over the place. All above me, all below me.."
David indicated with gestures of increasing intensity the deeper he got into his narration.
"Then I was looking around, and looking all around the place, seeing nothing.. I couldn't see anything, Mommy! Then all of a sudden, I realized..."
His voice bottomed out into a nearly inaudible tone as his eyes slowly drifted downwards. His little hands followed the arch of his sight right down into Teddy's belly.
"..I realized that there was no floor."
He paused again, and Monica secretly questioned herself as to whether David had in fact done so for the effect it wrought upon his dramatic presentation, or if her spite was wreaking its havoc. She blinked, and each and every word he spoke began to turn sour in her mind as she wrestled with her impending selfishness. 'Silly robot! Go away, your words make little sense to me! You aren't real, and you can't dream!' But she struggled as best she could, and remained attentive to him. David continued.
"I realized I was flying, Mommy! I was flying high up in the sky... I think. I felt like I was in a cloud, like a part of it. I couldn't see anything but white, perfect white like your bedsheets, Mommy."
Monica cringed at his adoringly eloquent simile.
"Then all of a sudden, I saw my hands.. My hands were out in front of me.. And then I saw my arms, then the rest of my body.. and I was floating. Then I looked up, and there I saw a bright... something. It was so colourful, and it grew bigger and bigger and closer and closer, until it turned into a bird.. and it looked at me."
The thoughts rampaging through Monica's head fell silent. Her face twisted in perplexion, and her eyes darted towards David's.
"A bird, you say?"
"Yes, a bird with bright silvery feathers, and it kinda moved around in the air...."
David's own face scrunched as tried to find a way to explain his vision. Monica noted rather incidentially that it troubled him so. He stared hard into his lap for a long while, then looked up once again.
"..Like paint. Or like a candle."
His voice fell short and the words faded, smothered beneath a blanket of doubt. His fists unconsciously clenched, and his eyes narrowed. Falling back against the seat, David had fixed his stare on the vehicle's cieling, remaining silent. Monica, confused, then graducally worried, sat up rigidly, and reached a hesitant hand out towards him.
"D...David? Are you.. "
Slowly, reluctantly, Monica outstretched her fingers, and gingerly prodded at David's shoulder. Her mind fluttered hopelessly, having absolutely no idea of what to expect next. But much to her relief, as her touch registered with David, he sat back up, his trademark smile returning to his face. Teddy, who had also been as tense as a supertoy in concern for it's owner could be, began to click his mechanisms with dismay.
"David... Are you ok?"
David nodded, and looked out the window.
"Yes, I'm fine. Why are we stopped, Mommy? Are we here?"
Monica just stared at David, half in fear and half in disbelief. David continued no further with his narration, and in fact seemed to have forgotten about it altogether. It wasn't long before his face brightened in notion, and he opened the vehicle's sidedoor, leaping out onto the soft forest bed and bolting off into the woods. With Teddy tucked beneath one arm and the green plaid blanket tossed over the other, he disappeared amongst the thick brush just as Monica had realized what he was up to, and leapt out after him.
"D... David!"
Monica raced around the ditchbound vehicle as best she could after David, who seemed so much faster than she! It wasn't but a few mere moments before she lost visual contact and his voice was her only guide towards him.
"DAVID! David, WAIT!!"