Strange Places to Sleep

It's hard to enter Dreamland with Word Game purring in my ear, but she seems so happy curled up around my head that I don't want to kick her out of the bed. I roll over slightly, hoping to find a position that deadens the sounds of her purrs. As I do so, I hear my door creak open and see a thin shaft of light from the dimmed hallway. I recognize the silhouette as William's, but he does not say anything, just peeks through the door. He seems satisfied as he swings the door quietly shut.

I wonder for a moment how many people have keys to the door of my bedroom. Do all the doors have the same key, or do I just merit special attention as the newest to show superhuman abilities? I wonder even more why William chose to peek in on me. I give myself only moments to wonder about these things before I decide to find out what he is up to. Then I swing my legs off of the bed, dislodging Word Game from her perch about my ears. I rummage through my drawers to find a pair of black jeans and a black sweater that I throw on in what must be record time. I grab a black scarf with which to hide the honey gold of my hair, slip on my sneakers and then I am in pursuit.

I follow quietly down the hallway. It is probably more the assurance of security within these halls than my own stealth that keeps William from noticing that I am behind him. I say a silent thank you to whatever property keeps the door from closing swiftly as I slip through it behind him and follow down the stairs. Every now and then, I see the back of his head rounding a corner of the stairwell below me. He begins whistling softly as he reaches the bottom doors and pushes open the one that leads out into a dimly lit parking lot.

I follow cautiously, pausing to conceal myself from time to time behind one of the few cars that are still parked here at this hour. I am amazed that he still hasn't noticed me as he reaches an old beat up truck and slides his key into the lock on the driver's side. I peer around the bumper of the car I am crouched behind, hoping for an opportunity to slip into the bed of his truck which seems to be piled up with tarps and boxes that would be perfect hiding places.

As luck would have it, the truck refuses to start at first. The engine begins to turn over and then sputters and dies. William grumbles as he gets back out of the truck and lifts the hood. As soon as I am sure he is busy with whatever wires or belts he is adjusting, I rush quickly to the back of the truck, pulling myself up swiftly into the truck bed. I hold my breath, listening for sounds of his footsteps rounding the corner to peer into the bed, discover me, and send me back to my room, but he is still conversing with the engine.

"Now what is wrong with you?"

Bang bang.

"No, that can't be it."

Flutter flutter.

"I bet that's it. Let's see."

He slams the hood back into place and I hear him open the door. He pauses for a moment and I am sure he senses me. It is only a second before he hops into the cab, causing the truck to shift slightly. Then he slams the door and turns the key. The engine bursts into life, making as much noise if not more than a plane taking off. Under the protection of all that noise, I feel safe crawling past boxes, coolers, and an old tent to nestle into the folds of an old tarp. I find myself snuggled up with my back cushioned by some old rags and my legs coiled around a spare tire.

Then I am being jostled along as William puts the truck into gear. I tuck the tarp around me so that I can peek out of a crack at the night sky. The truck jerks and undulates along the road as if it will die at any moment, but it keeps running. The patterns of the stars zoom by and meld into one infinite pattern of pinpoints of light in a dark, dark sky. After a while, the gentle rolling of the truck becomes familiar like an age old lullaby. I feel myself slowly drifting off to sleep as I could not in my own bed. I just hope my dreams do not awake me screaming and I am not discovered and punished.

I do not know how much time has passed, but I am awakened by the relative silence of the truck coming to a halt. I can see patches of stars and the moon gleaming behind a ceiling of tree branches on which spring leaves have become the full canopy of summer. I hear William's door slam and his footsteps coming around the corner of the truck bed. For a moment, moonlight gleams on his dark hair in my view and then he is gone from my line of sight again.

He rustles through the supplies at the other end of the truck bed. I hear him grunt as he heaves something over the tailgate. Other strange noises follow from rustling to a hammer hitting metal with great force. Then there is silence for a time and his gentle snoring from somewhere off to the passenger side of the truck. I listen to this for a while and then find my own eyes fluttering closed again.