Having set out walking a rustic path, I wandered into a building, inside of which were sitting some interesting wooden artifacts. Most prominent was a large obsolete farming implement constructed entirely of well-polished brown wood. The quaint device appeared to be something on which two people would sit while being pulled through a field for some purpose, such as planting or disking.
Several other interesting wooden objects were sitting around the room. As I began to circulate among them, I noticed a second room separated by a glass partition from the room where I was. Through the glass I could see an even more elaborate display of interesting wooden objects which appeared to be mostly antiques. Intrigued, I walked around the glass partition and entered the second room.
Almost immediately I heard the sound of a barking dog and I feared I might be trespassing. As the sound of the barking came nearer, I realized I had no protection if the dog attacked me. Suddenly a rust-colored dog almost as large as me bounded in front of me. I crouched and froze, deciding my best ploy wasn't to antagonize the animal. I covered my face with my arms and extended one hand in front of me in a gesture of friendliness. To my surprise, I felt the dog's head under my hand as it allowed me to pet it.
As I tried to placate the dog, a man and woman, apparently the proprietors of this establishment, appeared. They were elderly, although it was difficult to tell their ages. Slight of girth, they both seemed in good physical shape. They called the dog away and assured me there was nothing to worry about. I apologized for my intrusion, but explained to them I had been told one could enter the shops found along the path. The couple assured me I was correct, and invited me to look around as much as I wanted.
I began by stepping back into the room where I had originally seen the large farming device. When the couple followed me, I asked them about the device. I told them it looked more like something with which to disk than to plow, and they seemed to concur.
We walked to another room where they pointed out other wooden pieces. When I told them I was most interested in a desk, they showed me some. One interesting desk was made of light-colored wood and had a small clock inlaid on its surface, covered with a piece of durable plastic. There was also a second desk of the same design. As I looked at the second desk, I ran my hand over the plastic and pointed out the inconvenient bulge where the clock was.
The man showed me another desk which was not yet completed. It also would have a clock in it, but of a different nature. The clock would be much larger, and would be inlaid in the desk so only the hands of the clock would be above the surface of the desk. But I likewise found that design inconvenient.
The couple pointed out yet another desk with many intricately inlaid pieces of wood cut in sundry patterns. I loved the desk and wondered how much it would cost. Although the man professed he himself had constructed the desk, I had the impression that to some extent the desk had been assembled in India and imported.
The couple next showed me an old crank type record player which played 78 rpm records. A second similar record player was sitting next to it. And across from the record players was an antique radio. The couple turned the record player on and music began floating out. I thought to myself that I had an extensive 78 rpm record collection and that I needed a record player like this. I even lay down for a moment to listen to the music, and was surprised to hear the second song was in French. As I listened closely to the words and tried to understand what they meant, I realized the man and woman were scrutinizing me to see if I understood.
When the music finally stopped, I stood up and we continued looking around. By now I realized the couple was in the business of making wooden furniture, as well as restoring antiques. I would probably buy something. As our conversation wandered, I began to realize we were in Gallia county, and I mentioned I had been born here. But I added, rather self-importantly, that I now lived in Dallas. I thought about telling them I was a lawyer, but I refrained.
Glancing into an adjoining room, I saw that that room was completely white, and seemed made of porcelain. I concluded that the room had once been a milk parlor and that this building was actually a converted barn. When I asked the couple about it, they confirmed my suspicions.
The man pulled out a partially completed quilt or rug on which he had been working. It was quite colorful with much red in it. Clearly the man had many talents; but I wondered if he ever completed anything.
When I noticed the woman looking intently inside the drawer of a piece of furniture, I was shocked to see the head of a large snake inside the drawer. The woman proceeded to pull out a huge python adorned with gray designs, then set the snake loose on the floor. When I saw a mass of other snakes coiled up in the drawer, I realized the snakes were her pets. Since I had never put my fingers on a snake, I asked her if I could touch one; but she didn't think that would be advisable.
Finally they led me to another room and, since it was late, showed me a bed where they suggested I could sleep for a while. When they walked out of the room, I sat down on the bed. However I didn't feel comfortable here. Besides that, I realized I had no cover. I rose and walked to the next room to search for a cover.
Just as I found a stack of several covers, I realized the man and the woman, along with several of their children, were in the room. The children however weren't ordinary – they were quite deformed. One child was lying on its back and appeared charcoaled as if it had been burned in a fire. When another child rose and walked around, I saw its upper body was misshapen; it drug a long lizard-like tail behind it. I was astounded by what I saw. Right in front of me the parents argued about whose fault it had been that the children had been born deformed.
***
I was in a car with the man, a woman, and other people. The car resembled a station wagon and we were sitting in the back part. As the car began moving, it felt as if we were taking off in an airplane. Something extraordinary was happening. I asked the others if I were dead. I didn't receive a clear answer, but I strongly suspected I was.
As I stretched out my leg, I almost touched the man's private parts with it. I apologized, but he said it didn't matter here.
Someone began discussing different types of drugs and pulled out some round blue pills. I quickly inferred that they were talking about different hallucinogenic drugs and that the ones they had were the most powerful ones ever made. After we had stopped the car in an isolated country area, they gave me two of the pills. The others were going to take some of the pills, but I doubted I should. Someone said if I took two, I could actually talk with God.
I debated whether I should. Carolina came to mind; would the drug help me know if I actually loved her, and if I should tell her I loved her.
Someone mentioned the subject of "caving," which apparently had something to do with the drugs. They said everyone had tried caving and failed. But I thought I could succeed at it.
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