-Fugue-
I've had this dream many times before.  The starlit clouds are beautiful from up here. I'm not sure how I got up here, or why I seem to be hanging unsuspended, but such doubts quickly flee my mind. I slowly descend through the cloud cover to see the skyline of New York City and land on a fire escape. It creaks when I set foot on it, releasing a rusty groan. I step through an open window and find myself in a small apartment. In the apartment stands a...girl? Woman?  to this day, I'm not sure.  She's wearing a sleeveless black dress. She steps
toward me and I instinctively take her in my arms. Her long, dark brown hair rests against my chest. Given my height, this makes her about five-three or so. She clutches me tightly, as if it were anathema to let me leave, but slowly relaxes her hold a little bit.  I stroke her soft hair and we dance, swaying slowly from side to side. I look down to see that she is smiling.     Tears slowly form in the corners of her eyes, but she wears no mascara to be ruined. Piano music has been playing since I entered, but most frequently I only hear it now. The tune is a simple one, but endlessly varies,
never repeating the same notes, always shifting, always
unpredictable. Light creeps in through the window, and I turn to greet the dawn, releasing my embrace. She stops and holds my hand. I turn to her and clutch her one last time before I walk back to the balcony and slowly rise above the clouds. I've never gotten through the clouds. Something always wakes me up first. Maybe someday I'll
finish the dream. Maybe.