g and sinking into the
sea. He felt the earth upon his feet and the touch of grass. Breezes,
heavy with green from the land eddied all around him and filled his body
and washed him. He heard his name--saw people coming toward him saying,
"Welcome." He felt their arms, embracing him. He saw an open city
growing among the hills. Its buildings rolled away with the hills of the
Earth and became a part of the Earth. The people took him by the hand
and led him toward it speaking to him of no one hurting the other, and
no one locked in a cell and all the walls of this world outside, tumbled
down....

He was happy and repeated the name they spoke to him.

"Paul."

* * * * *

Back in the city, in the room, the wife cried out.

The Superfather, too, seeing the strange look on the face of the man
inside the chrysalis of the dream-maker, quickly touched the button that
raised the lid. He bent down and took the wrist of the cold man lying
there.

"Dead."

"Are you sure?"

The Superfather bent still further down and listened to the chest, and
the wife came close, and they both stood there, half-bent. The mouth of
the dead man was open and the Superfather listened for any faint whisper
of breath. The wife listened. They both looked at each other for a long
time.

Because, from the open mouth of the cold man lying there, faintly, far
away, and fading slowly into silence, they heard quiet laughter, and the
sound of many birds and voices, and trees rustling in the late
afternoon. Then it was gone and no matter how the two people bending
there waited and listened, it was like putting their ear to a white
stone.

End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Perchance to Dream, by Richard Stockham

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