The Hippo Room

Imagine hearing your lover's voice

as you walk through a dark corridor

to a closed door,

light pouring from the frame.

You squint as you open the door,

the light is so bright

it hurts your eyes.

Then you see it!

Everything is green!

Green light!

Green leaves!

Green water!

Green!

And in the center of the room is your terrified lover,

laying on a raft

surrounded by dark stones;

no, not stones.

Hippos!

They play in the water,

and they cool their skin in the water.

The close ones yawn.

With dread, you realize,

the only way to reach your lover

is to jump on these hippos

like stepping stones.

So you jump.

Not bad.

They're not as scary as you thought.

You jump

and you jump

and it's easier

than you thought!

You're halfway there when suddenly,

you slip!

You splash in the green waters,

swimming to the surface.

The hippos don't notice.

Maybe you can swim the rest of the way!

So you swim,

and you swim,

and you swim

and you swim!

You rest and look ahead.

You're almost there!

Then something slides across your leg,

and you flail,

making the hippos notice

for the first time.

You scream as they come

and forget to hold your breath

as they pull you under.

You try to scream as you go down,

but you can't breathe.

You know it's time to die.

Then you hear a soft voice say,

"Hey, wake up! Wake up!"

You open your eyes and

are back in your room,

your lover with his arms

around you.

Later that day, you look up

hippos in green.

Groups of hipppos mean

relax.

Green means

positive change and hope

and many other things.

Was it a nightmare,

or a prophecy of

good things to come?