Monday, June 20, 2011

Welcome to Dream Land

I turned out the light and was asleep before I even hit my pillow. My two-hour siesta on the extended bus ride from Mombasa left me feeling more ogre than beauty queen, and I planned to sleep the day away to try and remedy that. It was nine o’clock in the morning, but I figured that  Dar es Salaam could wait. I was exhausted. I needed sleep now.
No sooner had my head touched down, then a knock roused me back to the land of the living.
 “Ugh,” I grumbled to myself. “No.”
I scrunched my eyes more firmly shut and whimpered, “Why!”
I needed sleep! I debated ignoring the knock. I figured that it was the good Samaritan that had saved my sanity and decency on the bus. He had just dropped me back at the hostel, with a  promise to return later. I feared that perhaps he was smitten though and wanted to make later more like sooner. That attitude wasn’t much of a repayment for all the niceties that he had shown me though. He had even bought me breakfast. I felt like an ingrate, shrinking away from his presence.
With a sigh I gave in, and went to the door just as a second knock cheerily tapped on the frame. I pulled the door open and stopped. The frown on my face melted instantly. As I stood there numbly, I gazed up into the smiling face of a red-haired giant. At 6’3”, this stranger immediately dazzled me with his beautiful, green/hazel eyes. His smile lit up his face, as he explained that he had seen my name on the register when he signed in. His thick South African accent charmed me back to fully awake, and I found myself shyly smiling back at this beautiful man. He wondered if I would be interested in a wander around Dar with him, to discover all that it had to offer. I don’t know if I can say that I was instantly in love, but damn I was close! A sleep-deprived, silly grin accompanied my assurance that I would love to step out on the town with him.
“Neale,” he said, as he  introduced himself with extended hand.
Yeah, I was pretty darn near in love right then. I would wander to the ends of the earth with him, but a little piece of my brain reminded me that I was sorely lacking in sleep and perhaps not able to make the best decisions right now. While I did know that I very much wanted to spend more time with this handsome specimen, I also knew that I really needed to sleep. My sentences fumbled and I gave in to my sleep-addled brain. I wasn’t going to let this temptation get away from me though. I promised that with a few hours of sleep, I would gladly poke through the deepest darkest corners that Dar had to offer.  He acquiesced with a nod and promised to come back in a few hours to wake me.
“See you soon Neale,” I waved sleepily to him. Sleep beckoned, but dream-land was now filled with visions of promise that I looked forward to in earnest. 

13 comments:

  1. oh, now this was just a tease...the next chapter is ready to go right...you cant leave us hanging like this for too long...smiles.

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  2. @Brian: Oh Brian, I want to stay and linger here for a while! mmmm, delicious memories :D

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  3. I am enjoying these adventures. Keep it coming but linger on this happy good stuff as long as you can (as long as you keep us riding the dream with you.)

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  4. @She Writes: filtered through some abused memory banks, but yup.

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  5. @Stranger: Thanks Jennifer! I think that I might linger here a while, as it brings back some pretty sweet smiles. :)

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  6. Aaargh!! Not fair!!
    Yes well no fine ...(you musta heard THAT collection of words in SA!!) ...I will then just pull up a deck chair and sit and wait for the rest of this tale while you have your little lingering smile
    :))

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  7. I can't wait to hear more about Neale!

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  8. Geez. Now why don't things like this ever happen to me? Can't wait to see how this turns out. You will tell us how he knew you were there, right?

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  9. @Mama Zen: You just might get to hear a word or two more about him MZ! Just a smidge. :)

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  10. @Pattiken: Patti (whether you or myself believe it) he said that he was just being friendly to a fellow traveller when he knocked on my door. His words were that he saw my name on the register before his & thought he would say hello. I don't really know if he had seen me before, asked anything about me or what, but at that point my brain was so addled on lack of sleep, I didn't care. I was just thrilled by the kismet that brought this handsome specimen to my door.

    More next week...

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  11. "“See you soon Neale,” I waved sleepily to him. Sleep beckoned, but dream-land was now filled with visions of promise that I looked forward to in earnest."

    Soooooo? What happened next, I'm DYING to know?!?!?

    OMG...I can ONLY imagine - woot! woot!

    You've got to tell us next week, okay? This is like when I use to watch Knots Landing and was left with a cliffhanger each week!

    Great story, Katherine!

    X

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  12. @Ron: Thanks Ron! You ask, and I deliver. :) Romance continues with "All Dressed Up - In a Smile"! Enjoy! :D

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