There are dreams and then there are dreams. Some dreams are vague, even while
you live them, mists slipping away into inacessible memory. Then there are the
dreams that stay with you, that make an impact, even when you wake. The dreams
that teach you about yourself, what you need to learn, to listen to. To fear.

To sleep, perchance to dream?

Aye, there's the rub.

               			~~~~~~

		  Nifty Name Productions Presents
              In association with Working Title Fiction
                                
                             Dream Tides
                                
                 Verse Three: A Day Full Of Revelations
              by: Phoebe (keh36@student.canterbury.ac.nz)
                             
                'Dream Tides' was started by Todd Harper

				~~~~~~

Jamie panted as he struggled to push the huge box through the door, quickly
giving up on that approach. He studied the problem for a moment, then squared
his shoulder and leaned into it, trying to force the box through that way. His
head turned away, he didn't see the figure silently approaching from the other
side to give a welcome tug. Consequently, the sudden gliding of the box over the
floor led to him tumbling to the institutional brown carpet.

"I'm sorry!" Asa gasped, his hands twisting self-consciously as he watched the
other boy get to his feet.

Jamie gave him a grin. "No problem," he said easily, dusting off his knees.
"Thanks for the help."

Asa nodded uncertainly. "You're welcome," he replied, nervously fiddling with
his silver crucifix bracelet. "Um... what's in the box?"

"Books," Jamie said, opening the flaps with a flourish. "I got them sent from
home instead of trying to fit them on the bus." He glanced at the neat stacks of
volumes inside, then at the tiny space provided by the bookshelf. And half of
that wasn't even his. "This might be challenging," he admitted, settling for
shoving the box over by his bed. "I can always store the ones I'm not reading
right away, I guess. Or..." he said, pulling the wardrobe open "I could just put
them in here. I don't have that many clothes anyway."

Asa nodded again, and silently began to unpack his own clothes. Jamie listened
to the busy chattering from the guys across the hall and sighed inwardly.
Rooming with such an shy, withdrawn guy was probably going to ensure a lot of
these awkward silences, he reflected. There had to be something they could have
a conversation about, surely.

"So, what's your major?" he asked, settling for Opening Gambit #1.

Asa straightened, startled. "Uh... ph-philosophy."

"That sounds interesting," Jamie said politely. He'd always been more eager for
solid, factual knowledge himself, but at least the guy was talking. "I read some
Plato once. Interesting stuff."

Asa's dark eyes lit up. "You... you read Plato? I didn't think... he's great,
isn't he?"

"Um, yeah, I guess so," Jamie replied.

"Isn't it amazing that s-someone who lived more than 2000 years ago could have
such a massive influence on today's thinking?" Asa asked, warming to his
subject. "And the cave metaphor, with its differing levels of meaning, that's
still intriguing philosophers today."

Jamie dragged his memory back, anxious to keep the boy talking. "Um... that's
the one where there are people sitting in a cave and they can only see shadows,
right?"

Asa nodded. "That's right. They're chained up and the only thing they can see is
shadows on the wall. And they believe that the shadows are reality. Then they
get released and go out of the cave and into the sunshine and see real things
for the first time."

Jamie nodded, fascinated more by the boy's sudden effusiveness than the content
of his speech. There wasn't a hint of hesitation or stutter as he continued,
unconsciously straightening out of his usual hunched-over stance.

"The whole thing is a metaphor for the world of flux -- that's our normal
everyday world -- and the world of forms, which is the world of true realities,"
Asa explained, his voice more and more confident. "At the most basic level,
Plato is saying that all we can see in our world is shadows of greater truths.
Once we start practising philosophy, we can touch the world of forms, and
discover what's really real."

"What's really real," Jamie repeated, his voice thoughtful. Maybe solid, factual
knowledge wasn't the only form of knowledge worth considering.

"That's only a brief explanation, of course," Asa admitted. "It goes a lot
deeper than that, and is used as a proof of the existence of the soul and
rebirth..." he trailed off, suddenly uncertain and shy again. "I'm sorry... I
get carried away. I didn't mean to bore you..."

Jamie blinked. "I wasn't bored," he said honestly. "Go on."

But Asa only shook his head and twisted his hands together again. "No, no, it's
all right. Um... what are you studying?"

Well, at least the conversation itself wasn't dead. "My major's computer
science, and I'm minoring in physics and literature," he replied.

"You can do two minors?" Asa asked. 

"Well, technically, no," Jamie winked. "Physics is my *official* minor. But I'm
planning to do the literature work anyway, and hope they grant me the minor
after the fact, as it were."

"Wow... that sounds like a lot of work."

"It is," Jamie admitted. "Especially here at McThorlane. They sure know how to
load on the study hours, don't they?"

Asa nodded. "Oh," he remembered. "This came for you." He handed Jamie a few
sheets of typed paper.

Jamie glanced down at them and blinked. "What are..." he trailed off as he read
more closely. After a few moments he looked up and groaned. "Discussion group
and lab preparation sheets... they expect me to go over all this stuff even
before the first class?"

"It's not so bad," Asa said awkwardly, looking at his own preparation sheets.
"They tell you who else is in your groups so you can get together with them and
study beforehand... And you don't have all of your labs tomorrow, do you?"

Jamie checked his timetable. "No. Phew. Just Literary Criticism. And getting
together with someone beforehand is a good idea." He shuffled quickly through
the sheets. "Nerissa Lawrence... isn't that the girl we met at the coffee shop?"

"It could be... I don't think she gave a last name..."

"Has to be," Jamie decided, already reaching for the phone. "How many Nerissas
can there be?"

~~~~~~
~~~~~~

Nerissa put the potted plant on the bookcase and surveyed it critically. "Does
that look all right?" she asked

The other occupant of the room put a book down in order to signal her approval,
her hands flickering in intricate patterns.

"Yes, it is a violet," Nerissa nodded, watching the girl's hand intently. "I've
always liked them. It's one of my favourite colours, you know."

The blonde girl sent an amused glance at her British companion, sending her eyes
down Nerissa's outfit of the day, but forebore to comment. 

Nerissa blinked. "What? You think it's too much?" She ran her hands anxiously
down the lavender and violet striped dress that covered her from neck to ankle.

Danica shook her head, swallowed her smile and traced a few compliments in the
air.

"Thank you," Nerissa smiled. "Oh, and thank you for helping me unpack."

The mute girl dismissed the thanks with a wave of her hand, and picked up
another book.

"It's nice that we live so close," Nerissa continued, placing thick sweaters in
a drawer. "Mum and Dad were worried I wouldn't make any friends, I think." She
laughed. "But they thought it was best I have a single room, all the same.
Parents are rather funny, wouldn't you agree? What do your parents do?"

Danica paused, and took her time placing the book in the shelf. Nerissa bit her
lip. 

"Um... you don't want to talk about it?" she ventured.

A shrug was her only reply and Nerissa chewed the inside of her cheek. Well,
that was obviously something she couldn't talk about. That was a shame... she'd
like to talk about her own family, but it would be rather thoughtless now. What
else was there? Majors?

"Danica," she began "What-" she began, but the phone rang, interrupting her
train of thought.

"Hullo?" she said hesitantly into the mouthpiece, glancing at Danica. 

"Nerissa Lawrence?" The male voice tugged at her memory and she frowned
slightly. Where had she heard it before?

"Um, this is she..." she replied.

"Hi! This is Jamie Nelson. Uh... do you remember me from the coffee shop?"

"Oh! Yes, I do. I was terribly clumsy, and you helped me." Nerissa felt a
painful wavering smile go across her face at the mere memory of the incident.
She'd made such a fool out of herself.

"Well, it seems we're in the same Lit. Crit. class, and our discussion group
meets tomorrow. I was wondering if you maybe wanted to meet up and go over the
material sometime today?" Jamie's voice was easy and confident, and Nerissa
adjusted her glasses nervously.

"Oh, well," she waffled. "Well, Danica's here..."

"Danica Hesse?" The boy sounded surprised. "Are you two rooming together too?" 

"Oh, no," Nerissa explained. ""We're both in singles, but our rooms are only two
doors apart."

"I suppose that would be just too much of a coincidence," Jamie laughed. "Why
don't you ask if she'd like to come too? She's probably got studying of her own
to do.

Nerissa blinked. "Ah, just a minute," she said, hastily covering the mouthpiece.

"It's Jamie, the boy from the coffee shop? He wants me to meet him and study,"
she whispered loudly. "Um... do you want to come too?"

Danica smiled, her eyes lightening to a startling sky blue. She nodded her
assent, then began forming signs in the air.

"Ah... she says that would be very nice," Nerissa translated. "She always
studies better in company. And um, it seems like... I think that's 'destiny',
but I'm not sure. Destiny?"

Danica frowned slightly, gesturing to clarify.

"Oh, it's a joke." Nerissa laughed nervously. "She says it's fate and that your
friend should be there too."

"Yeah, it can be a coffee shop reunion or something," Jamie agreed. "Just a
minute..." Nerissa heard muffled sounds in the background and strained,
listening curiously, but could pick nothing up until Jamie returned. "Asa says
he's happy for us to study over here in our room. We're in Mandley dorm; where
are you?"

"Um, it's called Wolstone. So, we'll see you in about..." She glanced at
Danica's cane, sitting in the corner, trying to estimate how long it would take
the delicate girl. "Fifteen minutes?" Danica waved her hands urgently and
Nerissa jerked. "Oh, of course! Which room number?"

"211. It's easy to find. See you soon?"

"All right. Goodbye." The British girl replaced the phone handle in the cradle.
"Well, that was interesting," she observed, bending to pick up books and school
supplies, balancing them awkwardly in her arms. "Oh dear, I still don't have a
backpack," she fretted. "I'll have to buy one tomorrow, I suppose."

~~~~~
~~~~~

It was a beautiful afternoon, and Nerissa was soaking it up with delight.
"There's so much green... Isn't it pretty here?" she exclaimed, turning to face
her companion. Instead of nodding patiently, as she had for the last ten
minutes, Danica's delicate mouth opened into a O of surprise, and she pointed
frantically behind Nerissa.

Nerissa frowned, intent on her friend's hands. "Wha-oof!" She tumbled to the
ground as she impacted with the person Danica had been trying to warn her of,
books and papers flying everywhere. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she gasped, frantically
rising. "I didn't see you!"

The tall man shrugged, still on his feet. "That's oka-" he began automatically,
then stopped, his eyes lighting on Danica. "Oh. You're a friend of Hesse?" A
sneer abruptly appeared on his face. "Looks like carelessness is catching, eh?
Next time, you'd better be more careful." He stepped on a pen, grinning widely
at the snapping sound. "Oops!" he snickered.

Nerissa gaped at him as Danica stepped forward, hands clenching around her cane.
The man chuckled.

"What's the matter, Hesse?" he mocked. "You can take it for yourself, but not
for your friends, is that it?" He laughed sardonically. "What are you gonna do,
hit me with your crutch?"

Nerissa froze in shock as Danica's face hardened, her eyes glinting. Then she
stepped back, knelt, and began helping Nerissa collect her belongings, her face
absolutely blank.

"I thought so," the man smirked, turning on his heel and walking away.

Nerissa bent her head, her cheeks fiery red. "That wasn't nice," she muttered
aimlessly.

Danica nodded, her eyes resigned, and gestured.

Nerissa read her hands, startled. "You're sorry it happened because of you? That
others shouldn't suffer for you? Oh... I'm sure it's okay. He's just not very
nice at all. Was that the one who spilt coffee on you?"

Danica nodded again, her lips thinning ominously.

"I thought so," Nerissa sighed, unconsciously echoing the man. "Well, it's over,
anyway." She picked up the pile and got to her feet. "I'm just glad you didn't
hit him."

Danica smiled briefly and explained.

The lavender-clad girl frowned. "I'm afraid I don't understand. What do you
mean, there are other ways to fight enemies stronger than you?"

The other girl shrugged and got back to her feet with the help of her cane.
Nerissa laughed nervously.

"I mean, he's not really an enemy," she said uncertainly. "And I did bump into
him. It was my fault, really." She looked at her watch and jumped. "Oh dear,
we're late!"

She missed the single malevolent glance Danica shot at the back of the
now-distant man, her eyes as hard and grey as steel.

~~~~~
~~~~~

Asa listened as Nerissa and Jamie discussed 'Memoirs of a Geisha', their set
text for the class tomorrow. He sighed inwardly and tried to focus on his own
text, 'An Examination of Leviathan'. He hadn't even thought about calling one of
the people in his own discussion groups to study with, but now he could see the
benefits. 

He glanced at the pair again, tuning out the words and watching as from a great
distance. Nerissa was diligently flicking through pages, reading out passages
and asking questions, then scribbling busily in her notebook. Jamie was sitting
on his bed, leaning against the wall. His pose was relaxed as he talked, hands
waving in unconscious movement. As Asa watched, Jamie suddenly leaned forward,
his finger raised.

"It's a metaphor for the vagina!" he exclaimed, his voice breaking through the
silence Asa had constructed around himself. 

"Oh, of course!" Nerissa agreed, making another note. 

Asa blushed to the roots of his dark hair and buried his head in his book again,
frantically scanning the pages. Nothing made any sense, sentences wavering on
the page, words jumping into lines that didn't belong to them and laughing
maliciously at him. He was acutely, miserably aware of the discussion behind
him. If this happened again, perhaps he should go to the library.

The next time he looked up, Danica was watching him. Her face was grave and her
eyes were serious, but the moment they met his she smiled at him and he found
himself offering her a tremulous smile back. She nodded encouragingly, gesturing
at his text.

"Oh, this?" he asked, lifting it for her inspection. "It's a philosophy t-text.
My major. Um, what are you majoring in?" He asked, then gasped, appalled at his
gaffe. "Oh, I'm sorry," he blurted. "I forgot, I'm so sorry..."

The mute girl grinned and dismissed his rambling apologies with a wave, reaching
into her bag. Her hand came out with a flat white card, which she presented to
him with a gently mocking ceremonial bow.

Asa scanned it. "'My name is Danica Hesse and my major is classical studies. I
live in Wolstone Hall at McThorlane University,'" he read hesitantly. "Oh...
Classical studies? Is that interesting?"

Danica scribbled on a piece of scrap paper, handing it to him. 

Asa studied the neat, graceful cursive. 'Fascinating,' it read. 'It's important
to know about the great deeds/art/literature of the past.'

"I agree," the pale boy said seriously. He tapped his book. "Although I
concentrate more on the great thoughts of the past, I guess... Have you read any
Plato?"

Danica shook her head. 'Soon,' she wrote. 'I read some of Aristotle's works, but
didn't like them much. He's pretty dry.'

"Aristotle's not much fun to start philosophy with, I imagine," Asa agreed. "But
he has some intriguing thoughts on logic and..." he trailed away, flushing
furiously. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, looking down at his twisting fingers. "I
shouldn't disturb you, you'll want to study. I'm sorry."

A delicate hand landed quite deliberately on his wrist and he jumped, jerking
his head up to stare into velvety blue eyes. He froze, trapped in his chair.
Danica studied him curiously for a moment, then shook her head wistfully,
letting her hand drop away.

Asa stared at her for a second longer, only then aware that the discussion had
stopped and that both Nerissa and Jamie were staring at the odd tableau. Danica
straightened as if nothing had happened, tapping her watch and looking at
Nerissa questioningly.

The other girl jumped. "Oh! Yes, it is getting late. We'd better be going." 

"We should do it again some time," Jamie remarked, helping her gather her things
together. "I don't know about you, but this really helped me out."

"Oh, me too!" Nerissa said brightly, balancing the books on her arms. She gave
Jamie a shy smile. "Thank you very much for inviting us."

Jamie laughed. "I guess the British are the politest people in the world," he
smiled. "Thank *you* for coming. And I was serious. Would you two like to come
over again?"

Nerissa flushed. "I suppose," she mumbled, fidgeting nervously then looked up as
Danica began to 'speak'.

"Ah... she asks if tomorrow's okay?" she translated.

Jamie shook his head. "I'm visiting my cousin in hospital tomorrow," he
explained. "The next day?"

Nerissa cocked her head at Danica, who smiled her agreement, then glanced at
Asa. He waved his hands as if to say anything was all right with him. She
smiled. "Well, that'll be nice, then," she said. "We really should go though..."
Nerissa glanced at Asa. "It was nice to see you again," she added. Danica nodded.

She actually sounded sincere, Asa thought vaguely as he mumbled a "Nice to see
you, too." 

He watched the girls walk out, Nerissa slowing her pace to match Danica's
shuffle. Perhaps he wouldn't go to the library after all.

~~~~~~
~~~~~~

"'I've met some very nice people and we've formed a study group of sorts,'"
Nerissa read out loud, biting the end of her new pen in thought. "'Please write
back soon,'" she added. "'Your loving daughter, Nerissa.' There, that should do
it." She yawned, folding the letter into an envelope and addressing it in her
sprawling cursive.

"I'll post it tomorrow," she told herself, placing it on the desk and hanging
her dressing gown over the desk chair. She pulled the covers back and climbed
into bed, reaching up sleepily to turn off the light. She yawned again,
snuggling into her pillows. It was the first day of classes tomorrow, and she'd
need plenty of rest.

~~~~~~
~~~~~~

Danica toweled the last of the moisture from her hair, her features set in a
slight frown. Silent and graceful, she hung the towel on a rail to dry and
picked up her brush, stroking it through her hair. Soothed by the gentle motion,
her eyes closed, then snapped open. She bit her lip, set the brush down and slid
open a desk drawer. The sole object within the drawer was a sealed envelope. The
girl picked it up, slitting it open with a nail.

She reached in, half-curious, half-wary, then stared at the contents in scornful
disbelief. The envelope contained no note or card, merely this impersonal slip
of printed paper with the signature at the bottom. Her hand clenched.

Five minutes later, Danica was in bed, her slim form covered and obscured by the
thick blanket. Eyes closed and breathing deep and even, any observer would have
been certain that she slept.

The cheque lay crumpled in the rubbish basket.

~~~~~~
~~~~~~

Asa lay still, his eyes wide open in the darkness. He was uncomfortably aware of
Jamie's soft breathing from the other side of the room, the rustle of his
blankets as he moved in his sleep. Asa squeezed his eyes shut. Plato, he
thought. Plato and Aristotle and Hobbes and Hume and Kant and Freud and...

Blissfully unaware of his roommate's inner turmoil, Jamie slept on.

~~~~~~
~~~~~~

Nerissa glanced briefly up at the lecturer, then down at her blank notebook,
course outline and other handouts piled untidily beside it. There was no need to
make notes at this stage, since the material covered today was information she'd
discovered for herself long before. Judging from the busy scratching of pens on
paper, this wasn't true for her classmates. She unsucessfully tried to shut off
a yawn, at least managing to supress any sound. If only she'd been allowed to go
straight into second year Biology... apparently they didn't like that in the
States.

She sighed. Well, her mother had warned her things were different here.
Listening to Mum's tales of life here while she was a girl had given her a small
taste of what to expect, but she was still feeling the culture shock. She was
also feeling bored and sleepy. The classroom was so stuffy, and the lecturer's
voice so dull... and her notebook was so blandly inviting... a bit like a
pillow, really... 

Almost of its own accord, Nerissa's head fell gently to the tabletop and she
drifted away.

She found herself wandering through a moonlit field, the grass reaching to her
chin and higher. She was vaguely aware that it was a dream, but it was rather
pleasant, the grass brushing gently against her as she walked aimlessly along. A
sudden movement in her peripheral vision caught her eye and she turned, peering
curiously through the pale grey stems.

Someone was dancing through the grass, feet flickering as if they barely touched
the ground at all. The figure came closer, arms and legs moving in intricate,
wild harmony. It was a child. A small girl, dressed in ragged clothes and with
eyes that sparkled luminously, even from this distance.

Nerissa frowned and stepped forward. There was something unusual about those
eyes...

Alerted by the movement perhaps, the child halted her dance, poised and still.
She stared directly at Nerissa, cocking her head to one side, as if curious as
to who she was at what she was doing here. She took a step towards the mystified
student, one hand half-raised-- then paused, her head cocked again, listening to
some noise only she could hear. She gave Nerissa a friendly wave.

And vanished. Nerissa blinked. "Hullo?" she called uncertainly, suddenly very
aware that this was the only noise she'd heard in this place. There wasn't even
the sound of wind through the grass. She shivered. There hadn't been any noise
when she'd walked through the stems either.

"Hullo?" she called again, her voice even weaker. She felt as if she was being
swallowed by the silence, sucked into a vacuum created by absence of sound.
"This is silly," she mumbled nervously, absent-mindedly reaching out and running
a grass stem through her fingers.

She hadn't seen this variety before... she took a second, closer look, and
gasped as the stem unfolded its secrets to her disbelieving eyes. There were the
stomata, the cellulose, the tiny, intricate phenyl tubes pulsing as water passed
through them. It was her biology books brought to life, her microscope slides
more detailed and real than they had ever been. She focused harder, frowning
slightly in concentration.

These pale grey grass stems were interesting, but a little dull compared to some
specimens of flora, she mused. What about if she'd dreamed a cactus? Or an
orchid? Or even a household plant, like a violet. She knew how to do it, she
realised, concentrating harder, the DNA chains unfolding before her. All she'd
have to do was change this genome a little and...

She took her hands down and stepped away, suddenly breathing hard. She was
afraid, and didn't know why she was afraid and there was no logical reason for
it, but all the logical reasoning in the world wasn't going to stop her fear and
she wanted to run away and get out and wake up NOW-

-she jerked awake, startling the student next to her, who gave her a curious
look. Nerissa flushed and mechanically picked up a pen. She might know this
material already, but it was far safer than knowledge she was sure she shouldn't
have and fears with no real reason.

End.

Author's Notes:

Wai! I get to write for Dream Tides! My main aim in writing this was to get a
bit more of the characters out there and provide a not-too-contrived way for
them to meet, as well as establish their setting. What I had in my head while
writing this was actually the school from 'Dead Poet's Society'. ^_^;; Obviously
McThorlane is a university, but I was thinking exclusive, expensive school, long
traditions, groomed grounds, old stone buildings, *heavy* workload. Hope that
works ^_^;

Thanks to Todd, Cham and Ravi for planning help, and to Ravi (again!) for
prereading. Wai!

C&C very welcome at keh36@student.canterbury.ac.nz