One Page Synopsis

The story opens in a dark bedroom where Cassandra Morgan, an attractive young woman in her late 20’s, is falling asleep.  She dreams of climbing a tall stairway in great darkness, which ends at a large door.  Inside the entrance is a small foyer at the start of an endless corridor with many doors on either side.  A guide greets her and leads her to the Door of Belief.  There, Cass is welcomed by Sadiki, a handsome, middle-aged black woman, and Kaleb, a young white boy.  Sadiki shows Cass how her thoughts create her experiences, and gives her an idea of what impact “beliefs” have on her life.  But soon the dream fades and Cass awakens to a bright morning and a buzzing alarm clock – remembering little of her dream.

Her working day begins at the gas pumps of the West L.A. Cab Company where she encounters Nash, her friend and fellow cab driver.  He asks her about her dream experiments but the two are interrupted and agree to meet that night.  Cass then goes to the dispatch office to talk to the hard-boiled dispatcher, Gordon.  Though she’s been driving a few months, she has much to learn and Gordon tells her some of the warning signs that precede being robbed.

Later in the morning, Cass picks up a fare at a grocery store, encountering a rude, old woman.  Cass objects to the rudeness and the woman breaks into tears, telling Cass of a problem she’s having.  Cass gets her home and helps her.  (In future episodes, Cass checks on her frequently.)

In the early evening, Cass picks up a passenger who exhibits “the robbery warning signs”.  Handling the problem imaginatively, she’s not robbed – and even collects the fare.

That night, Cass and Nash meet on the roof of her apartment building.  They talk about her dream experiments, and the “coincidence” of Gordon’s warning and the almost-robbery, and about Nash’s attraction to a male friend of his.

At bedtime, Cass closes her eyes hoping that in the morning she will be able to remember more of her dreams.  She has a vivid dream of the man who almost robbed her earlier that day, and comes out of the nightmare with a scream in the middle of the night.  When she returns to sleep she finally returns to the corridor.  There she learns answers to some of the day’s questions, and is taught a mental exercise for creating the life she wants.  When she wakes in the morning, Cass remembers parts of the dream.  Then, at her table, she sees the apparition of Kaleb from the Room of Belief.  He tells her “we come here knowing everything – and spend the rest of our lives trying to remember.” Cass finds some sorrow in that idea until Kaleb adds, “but some of us – while we’re still here – do remember.”

Future episodes deal with metaphysical issues including alternate/probable realities, magnetism, and man’s kinship with nature.  Cass’s cab adventures, which dovetail with her adventures in consciousness, include a wide variety of characters and situations innate to taxi driving.  Her friendship develops with Nash, who struggles with his love for another man.  And Cass is drawn into a romantic relationship with the cynical Gordon.

© 2005, Darlene Bridge Lofgren