Did you ever have a dream where words with pictures stuck in your mind, but you had no idea what they meant?

 

However, they seemed to be telling you something—giving you directions to follow. So you might be inclined to . . .

 

 

PULL UP ↑  THEN DOWN ↓

 

The alarm clock on the nightstand blared. I reached over and slammed the top button, quieting the ringing monster. I couldn’t remember setting it and, if I did, why I had. 

     Jessica moaned, “Why’d that thing go off, Mark? You have an appointment this morning? I was sound asleep.”

     “No, it’s Sunday morning. And I can’t even recall setting the alarm last night. Did you?”

     “Me? Why would I set your alarm clock?”

     “Well, if you didn’t do it and I didn’t do it, then who did?”

     “How should I know, darling?”

     “Perhaps a strange being from outer space penetrated the quiet of our sleep to indicate its presence,” I said with a snicker in my voice.

     “Then where is it, my brilliant husband, with the wild scientific mind?”

     “I don’t have a clue. Maybe it did its job by getting us up and has moved on?”

     “That’s a fascinating explanation, my dear,” Jessica chanted, with more than a little bit of sarcasm.

     “Could be it was trying to save us. Make sure we were ready for some impending disaster.”

     “Keep this craziness up and you won’t be able to avoid the disaster coming at you from my hand, slapping you across the face to knock some sense into that screwed up noggin of yours.”

     “Okay, I’ll stop. But Jess, I did have a dream last night. I can’t recall most of it. However, a picture has stuck in my mind.”

     “Well, I’m listening. What picture?”

     “It had words and symbols, like it was giving me directions to do something.”

     “So, Mark, what did it look like? Is it something I shouldn’t see? Will it frighten me?”

     “No, not at all. It’s a combination of four words and two symbols . . . ‘pull up’ followed by an arrow pointing upward, then a space, and ‘then down,’ followed by an arrow pointing downward.”

     “Sounds like you were being told how to shut off the alarm clock you set for no reason at all.”

     “Oh, well, maybe I did set it. That’s probably why I had the dream. Guess it’s nothing to be concerned about.”

     “It doesn’t bother me. I’m not going to dwell on it. Let’s get up,” she asserted.

     So I rolled out of bed, washed up, put on my Grayson University sweatshirt and a pair of jeans, slipped into my moccasins, and headed to the kitchen. As I opened the refrigerator door to get a glass of juice, I noticed the light on the panel above the refrigerator water faucet. It read, “Replace Filter.” I ambled over to the grocery closet and retrieved a filter, pulled up and then down to release the old filter and inserted the new one. At that moment, Jessica entered the kitchen.

     “What’re you doing?” she asked.

     “I just put in a new water filter in the refrigerator. And something eerie happened.”   

     “Eerie?”

     “Yeah. I had to pull it up and then down.”

     “So what’s weird about that?”

     “It’s that phrase from my dream.”

     “You’re just fixated on it. Let it go.”

     “Okay. You’re probably right, as always,” I muttered.

     Jessica threw together a quick breakfast of eggs and ham. We didn’t talk much, as I was preoccupied. I couldn’t get the picture, “PULL UP ↑  THEN DOWN ↓” out of my mind. It has to mean something, I thought to myself. But what?

     I sat staring out into nowhere, half asleep, when Jessica let out a scream, “Earth to Mark. Come back to terra firma. You’re drifting into a sea of nothingness.”

     Jerked back into reality, I gasped, “I saw something.”

     “Not the ups and downs again?” she moaned.

     “No, something very different. It was a room in a bank. But it was all blurry.”

     “All right, what bank?”

     “Holy cow! I know the answer—Central Savings and Loan.”

     “Oh, you’re just making that up.”

     “I wish I was. This scares me. I’m getting more messages.”

     “Well, I’ve got things to do. If you have another revelation, like the bank is about to make us millionaires, let me know. Remember, we’re going over to Gary and Sarah’s for dinner tonight. So be ready by five.”

     “If I wake up from my nap by then, I should be ready.”

     “But it’s only 9:30 a.m. You’ve been up less than two hours. You need to take a nap?”

     “I’ve got to see if I can receive any more messages.”

     “What? Are you going crazy? Should I get help for you?”

     “Hey, I know what I’m doing. And I’m not losing my mind. I’ll be in my big black leather recliner in the living room. Please, whatever you do, don’t wake me.”

     “Why would I want to wake you? I witnessed more insanity this morning than I needed. When and if you awaken, let me know.”

     I went into the living room and crawled into my recliner. I leaned back and closed my eyes. I began to drift. And then all hell broke loose. I found myself in a bank—Central Savings and Loan. Three women, each with flowing jet-black hair, dressed in black clothing, and wearing colombina black masks, surrounded me. Frozen in place in an executive’s desk chair, all I could do was listen, as they talked. They knew my name, but I had no clue who they were.

     The tallest of the three, pointed toward me and looked at one of the other women. “He’s the one who has the missing piece to the puzzle, Monique,” she said in a strong, low voice.

     “Antonia, will he give it to us,” Monique asked.

     “I’m sure he will, Monique,” Antonia replied. “If not, Chantel knows the way to make him.” 

       “Yes, I do,” Chantal stated with emphasis.

     I wanted to shake in fear of what might happen to me, but I couldn’t. Although my mind was active and alert, my body was frozen. Antonia looked at Chantal and nodded. Chantal approached.

     “My darling, Mark,” she whispered. “Would you like me in exchange for the information you possess?”

     I was tongue-tied. Nothing came out.

     She repeated, “Would you like me?”

     Oh, my God! I wanted to say yes so badly. But my ethical self rose to the occasion, and I drawled, “I’m, uh, a married man. I can’t.” 

     Monique then gave me a soft smile and turned toward Antonia and queried, “It is my turn now, isn’t it?”

     “Yes,” Antonia responded.

     She stared at me and commanded, “You will accept what I do to you without question.” 

     She then proceeded to run her smooth long fingers through my hair and down the sides of my face. Anticipating the greatest experience in my life, I murmured, “Jessica, I’m sorry, but I’m unable to stop this.”

     But then her hands surrounded my neck and her powerful fingers began to choke me. I had trouble breathing and became lightheaded. I had to get her to stop, but what could I do? And then I gasped, ‘I’ll give you anything you want.” With that, air flowed freely through my body.

     “Good,” Monique said.

     “What is it that you want?” I whimpered. 

     “You are in possession of the key that will unscramble the puzzle that will change our lives forever,” Antonia declared.

     “What key? I don’t have any key.” My voice was strong, but I still couldn’t move.

     “Oh, yes you do,” Antonia affirmed. “I know it is in your head, but I don’t know how to get to it. So you will have to help.”

     “I’m confused. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

     “Antonia, should I do it again?” Monique asked, laughing sadistically. 

     “Not just yet, my dear. Now Mark, think. Focus on the message you told your wife you received.”

     “Message? I had a dream.”

     “No, it wasn’t a dream. You were mistakenly sent information meant for me.”

     “What are you talking about? I did dream. And it's starting to come back to me now. But it’s unclear.”

     “No, not a dream. It was a mental transmission that you unknowingly intercepted. Concentrate and the image should return.”

     So I did. “Central Savings and Loan,” I blurted. “This is where I am. Isn’t it?”

     “Yes, but I need to know where in the bank I can find the combination to the vault.”

     “How should I know? I’ve never been here before.”

     “An image. You were sent an image. Focus.”

     “You mean the picture I couldn’t get out of my mind before I fell asleep in my recliner?”

     “Yes. That’s it. What did you see?”

     “I don’t remember. But I’ve got to go to the bathroom real bad.”

     My world became murky. Then I found myself in the bank’s restroom standing in front of a toilet staring at the toilet seat cover dispenser and the words—“ PULL UP ↑  THEN DOWN ↓.” And when I did, the numbers 17-5-37 appeared.

     I started to lose consciousness. Everything went dark. But then, startled by strange noises, my eyes blinked and I saw Jessica staring at me. She had a strange look on her face. And I was home—back in my recliner in the living room.

     “Oh, my God!” she shouted with joy. “You’re covered in money.” 

     What I saw made me quiver. “Jess, you’d better sit down,” I stammered. "You’re not going to believe what happened.”

     Before I could explain, I heard laughter coming from behind me. I turned my head and saw three women, each with flowing jet-black hair, dressed in black clothing, and wearing colombina black masks. I looked back at Jessica. She had a huge grin on her face.

     She chuckled and said, “Ladies, I knew we could make this happen.”

 

 

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