Zion's Fiction: A Treasury of Israeli Speculative Literature

A Man’s Dream ^{Yael Furman}

“Rina! Rina!” Galia screamed at the top of her lungs, trying in vain to climb out of bed. The man at her side was fast asleep. She already knew there was no point in trying to wake him up. Only Rina ever managed to do that.

“Rina!”

She heard a toilet flush in the bathroom and then the familiar tapping of Rina’s shoes.

“Yair!” Rina screamed. “Wake up, right now! Wake up!”

The man on the bed stirred, and Galia felt that the invisible barrier that had enveloped her had dissolved. She quickly jumped out of bed.

“I was driving!” she said with tears in her eyes. I was driving on Namir Avenue, and there were pedestrians.”

“Oh, poor thing,” said Rina softly and hugged Galia. “Let’s get you into this robe and find out what happened to your car.”

A few minutes later Galia sat at the kitchen table, dressed in a robe and holding a hot cup of tea. Rina sat next to her, talking with the police over the phone. Yair fell asleep again; the two of them preferred to let him sleep as long as Galia was there.

“I understand,” said Rina into the receiver, “so except for the old man who was startled, no one was hurt.”

Galia wrote on a note: Ask him what happened to the stuff in the car.

“I understand. Yes… yes, let her insurance company fight it out with ours—It’s not her fault, poor thing. It’s my husband’s fault.”

She looked at the note while listening to the voice on the other end. “Thank you… yes. She wants to know what happened to all her belongings in the car…. Aha… thank you.”

She put down the receiver. “He said your bag is at the police station, and they don’t think anything was stolen. And he said you should take the police report to the insurance company, showing that it was a Dreaming accident. The insurance has to compensate you for the damages. Worst case, they can talk to our insurance company.”

“Even though you weren’t involved in the accident?” asked Galia.

“But Yair caused it,” said Rina.

“I don’t know what to do,” said Galia. She looked pale and confused. “I’m going crazy. Have you been to your psychiatrist?”

“Yes. And he gave us pills, but they gave Yair an asthma attack. The psychiatrist is consulting now with his colleagues about an alternative medicine.”

“And what about the traditional treatment? Talks? Find out why he keeps dreaming about me in the first place?”

Rina sighed and held her head in her hands. “I asked him,” she said. “He told me that many men dream about women they’ve seen for a moment. It’s natural and usually harmless. Most men who dream about a woman dream about her for one night and usually don’t even remember the dream the next morning. At most, they may create an alternative dream duplicate, and then it disappears when they wake up. Sometimes they don’t even remember it. But Yair? He’s so utterly uncreative. So when he first dreamt about you, instead of creating himself a dream duplicate of you he simply pulled you to him, which created a sort of self-perpetuating effect. Since you appear next to him and he knows you really exist, it makes him go on dreaming about you. It’s an endless cycle.”

“So maybe I should sleep with him once, let him get it out of his system.”

Rina answered in a feeble voice, “I even asked him about it, as long as it would make him calm down. He said ‘no way.’ Bringing you here naked is the top of Yair’s creativity. If you sleep with him it will only give him more stuff to dream about. And it will be even worse. If, when he dreams now, he can confine you to the bed, you don’t want to imagine what will happen if he would actually dream that….” She let her words trail off and sipped her coffee quietly.

Galia drank her tea.

Yair woke up and was relieved to find he was alone on the bed. He got up and went barefoot into the living room. Rina was sitting watching TV.

“Where’s Galia”? Yair asked.

“I took her home an hour ago,” Rina said. Her gaze was fixed on the screen. It was a program about nutrition. A man in a chef’s uniform was discussing sprouting legumes.

“I’m sorry,” said Yair. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I was just lying down for a rest. I didn’t sleep all night….”

“There’s coffee in the thermos,” Rina said without taking her eyes off the screen.

“Thanks, honey,” said Yair.

He went to wash his face in the bathroom. Staring back at him in the mirror was a balding man in his late forties. His face was already beginning to show wrinkles. Small bags hung under his hazel eyes. The mirror didn’t show it, but he knew that his belly also showed. He wasn’t the kind of man a good-looking woman like Galia would be attracted to. Even when he was younger and had abundant hair, they were not attracted to him. Rina was different. She saw in him something else, something that none of the Galias could see, but he wasn’t sure anymore how much was left in him, of whatever it was that brought him Rina. He washed his face, shaved, and went back to the kitchen to pour himself some coffee. Rina still sat in front of the TV. The cook was inspecting the fresh lentil sprouts.

“Did Galia suffer any damages?” Yair asked. He sipped his coffee and slightly burned his tongue. He put the coffee down on the table to cool a little.

“Her car was left without a driver, and it hit a lamp post,” said Rina.

“Did anyone get hurt?”

“No.”

He took the coffee and went to sit beside Rina. He wanted to put his arm around her, but she got up and went to the bathroom. Yair sipped his coffee carefully to avoid burning his tongue again. The cook in the television finally cooked the lentils and went on to beans. Rina came back from the bathroom and went to the kitchen. He heard her pulling out some kitchenware from one of the cupboards.

“Maybe I’ll try the pills again tonight,” Yair said.

“It almost killed you last time,” said Rina.

“Maybe it was something else. I have to try it again. I’m so afraid I’ll dream about her again that I can’t go to sleep.”

The sound of rattling from the kitchen stopped abruptly. Rina came and stood between him and the television.

“It nearly killed you.” She looked at him sternly.

“Maybe it was something else.”

Rina went back to the kitchen. Yair went back to watching the show. The cook was now on to soaking beans in water. It was fascinating.

By one o’clock in the morning, with an inhalation mask strapped onto his mouth, Yair regretted taking the pill. His lungs relaxed after a long and terrifying struggle, and his breathing settled. The doctor Rina had called determined it was an acute allergic reaction to the pills, which could potentially be fatal.

“Thirty percent of the population is allergic to this pill,” the doctor told Rina. “There have been quite a few reported deaths. Allergies can develop even after a certain amount of time. They give the pill only in cases in which the dreaming becomes a danger to the dreamer’s life.”

“And what if it puts someone else’s life in jeopardy?” Rina asked.

“Next time the attack will kill him,” the doctor said.

Yair removed the mask from his face and asked, “And what if I keep an inhaler or this inhalator, and use it right after I take the pill?”

He felt the pressure in his lungs again and quickly put the mask back to his nose.

The doctor looked at him as if he was mad. “It doesn’t work that way,” he said.

Yair managed to remain awake until six o’clock in the morning by reading a book. Rina slept next to him. He wondered what she was dreaming about. Was she dreaming about other men but not realizing them? He switched off the bedside lamp because the light coming in through the window was sufficient to prevent him from falling asleep, and he stared at his wife, trying to think only about her and not anyone else. For him there was nobody else. Just Rina. He looked at her dark, lifeless hair and at the slightly low angle of her eyes, her nose with the tiny protrusion and her thin, pursed lips.

“Yair, Wake up!” shouted Rina.

Yair woke up to find Galia sitting naked on the bed next to him, screaming. Judging by the light from outside, it was already late in the morning.

Rina was standing next to the bed.

“What are you doing sleeping in the morning, you moron?” Galia screamed. “I have a meeting with Ossem’s CEO in an hour. I was just sitting with my boss to go over the final details. I don’t know what I’ll do if they fire me because of you.”

She grabbed a pillow and started beating him with it in a rage. He flinched away from her and fell off the other side of the bed.

“Galia, I’ll take you home quickly,” said Rina, “and then to work. Come on, Hurry.”

Galia got off the bed and opened the closet to take out a robe. Her face was distorted, on the verge of crying.

“I was wearing my best suit. It cost me more than a thousand shekels. I spent half an hour this morning doing my makeup; I was at the hair dresser. And now because of your stupid husband I’ll look like some market girl at the meeting.”

She covered herself with the robe and turned to Yair.

“If you fall asleep again, I swear I’ll kill you! At least sleep at night, so that you don’t completely screw up my job.”

She left the room with Rina following her in silence. Yair got up from the floor, rubbing his aching back, and went to the bathroom.

Galia called her boss to explain what had happened. When she hung up she looked like she was going to put her fist through a windshield.

“He’s furious,” she said. “I was holding some very important document in my hands and they disappeared. Now they’re making more copies, and he’s trying to postpone the meeting, but it’s Ossem’s CEO. It’s not simple. I hope I’ll make it on time. You’ll have to take me to work and then to Ossem, too.”

“No problem, I’ll take you.”

“Oh my god, what am I going to wear? My other suit is at the cleaners. And the third one is for winter.”

“I’ll go upstairs with you and we’ll find you something nice to wear.”

“And then do me a favor and go home to keep an eye on him so he doesn’t fall back to sleep. Just because he is unemployed doesn’t mean he should sleep during the day. He should show some consideration.”

“He does. He’s afraid of sleeping at night because he doesn’t want to dream about you.”

Galia moaned. “It’s better he dreams about me at night than during the day when I’m trying to live a little. Try and get that retarded monkey husband of yours to get it into his head!”

“I’ll watch over him. Look, we’re doing everything we can. Honest.”

“I know you’re doing everything, but I don’t know how much more of this I can take. I really don’t want anything bad to happen to Yair. I know he’s not doing this on purpose and that you’re good people, but this is ruining my life. One day I will have no choice but to file a complaint against him.”

Rina drove through a red light and turned into Galia’s street. She parked the car near her house.

“Yesterday he tried to take that pill that stops the dreams again. But he got a terrible asthma attack and I had to call a doctor. The doctor said that another pill might kill him.”

Galia went out of the car and hurried up the stairs.

When Rina got back home she found Yair in front of the television watching the Fashion Channel.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Trying to stop dreaming about Galia.”

“Galia at least lives here. What would we do if you brought some American model here? Not everybody is as patient as Galia.”

Yair pressed the remote. “You’re right” he said.

“So is Galia. It’s not wise for you not to sleep at night. When you fall asleep during the day you’re destroying her job, too.”

Yair let out a moan and stretched on the sofa.

“No,” Rina said. “Don’t you dare. You will not fall asleep today and ruin the girl’s career. No! Get dressed. We’re going on a trip.”

Yair got up from the couch with a moan. He looked at Rina and saw that her face was pale.

“What’s wrong?”

“Galia said something about filing a complaint. She said she didn’t want to do it, but soon she won’t have a choice.”

“What good will that do her? The psychiatrist knows about it, the police know about it, nobody cares.”

“There are rumors about a new special unit that’s supposed to deal with Dreamers. It scares me.”

“Nonsense. I haven’t committed any crime. I’m not doing this on purpose.”

“If this doesn’t stop, someone might do something. Let’s go on a trip so you don’t fall asleep on me.”

They got into the car and drove up north. The sunlight was bright but not unpleasant, and a light breeze was blowing. They went up to Mount Carmel and took a walk in the reserve. The weather was excellent, and everything around was green. Yair held Rina’s hand like he used to do when they were young and had only started dating. He looked at her and noticed for the first time that her black hair was not dyed like that of most women her age. And her face was gentle and almost without wrinkles. She also put on a beautiful red lipstick that made her lips look thicker. Rina smiled and said that maybe instead of continuing the futile search for a job they should open their own business. Yair thought it was a good idea. He had good hands. He could work doing carpentry or take a course in electricity.

In the afternoon they went further north to Acre and found a hummus place in the old city. They used to do it often during the first few years after their marriage. Yair watched Rina sipping her coffee. There was a light on her face, and for a moment she looked as beautiful as she did when they got married.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” he told her.

He went out the back door of the restaurant, hurried to a flower shop down the market, and bought the most beautiful bouquet they had. When he came back, he crept up behind her, raised the bouquet and said, “Flowers for my flower.”

She smiled, and her smile was like a rainbow after the rain.

“What’s the occasion?”

“The occasion is that I love you.”

On the way back he started singing along with the music from the radio. Rina joined him. They kept singing even when they got stuck in traffic. Only the sound of Rina’s phone stopped the singing.

“Hello.”

Rina listened, her face went pale.

“What’s wrong, honey?”

“Who is it?” Yair asked. But Rina hushed him with her hand and turned off the radio.

The cars in front started moving again and Yair focused on the driving.

“I understand…. Yes, do you want me to talk to them?”

She listened again for a long time.

“Don’t cry sweetie… there’s no problem getting you a permit.”

She stared at the glove compartment and didn’t move her eyes from there.

“They have to. There are laws in this country….”

“Is it Galia?” Yair asked.

Rina nodded.

“Do you want us to come there right now? Do you want me to come alone?”

She listened without moving so much as a muscle in her face.

“Look, we won’t make it today. We’re near Hadera now, and the traffic is jammed. But tomorrow we will straighten this out first thing in the morning. I promise…. It’s going to be alright, sweetie. We’ll see you tomorrow.” She hung up.

“What happened?” Yair asked. “Did they fire her?”

“No. She got arrested.”

“What? Why?” He lost his concentration and the car drifted to the right. He turned his eyes back on the road and went back to the lane.

“After the meeting this morning she discovered that her ID was gone, probably along with her clothes and her documents. She went to the Ministry of Interior at noon to get a new one. But because it was the fourth time in the past two months, they arrested her on suspicion that she’s selling them to criminals.”

“Are they nuts? It was a dreaming accident.”

He glanced quickly at Rina. She was still sitting frozen in the same position, the phone resting in her lap.

“We won’t be able to bail her out until tomorrow. So first thing in the morning we’ll head to the psychiatrist and issue a new permit for your dreaming disorder, and then we’ll go and get her out of there as soon as possible.”

“But why can’t we get her out today?”

“They want to make sure that she’s not a Dreamer herself. That’s the procedure.”

“But I’m a known Dreamer. They should arrest me, why her?”

“Because it isn’t your ID that keeps disappearing.”

Yair punched the steering wheel. “Why? Why is this happening to me? When will they find a normal cure for this thing? All my life I’ve never smoked, never drunk…. Why me?”

They hardly exchanged a glance during dinner. Yair had planned a romantic evening, something to bring back the lost flame, but neither of them were in the mood. They went to bed early.

Rina woke up feeling cramped. The first rays of sun were already coming through the window, and she found herself pressed to the edge of the bed, next to a feminine body. Galia was fast asleep between her and Yair, who was also sleeping.

“Yair!” She screamed.

Yair woke up in second, and so did Galia. She sat up and looked at them in surprise with her mouth slightly ajar, just as she had looked the first time Yair dreamt about her in his bed.

“I don’t believe this,” she said. “You pulled me out of the detention center. Now they’ll be sure I’m a Dreamer. That’s it. I’ll be fired. No one will believe I’m not guilty now, no matter how many permits you two give!”

Galia burst into tears. She fell on the pillow and started to sob. Rina got out of the bed and took out a robe. Yair also got up and went into the bathroom.

“Come on, get dressed,” said Rina. “We’ll get the permit and go to the police together. We’ll bang on some tables. They’ll understand.”

Galia went on crying.

“Now my whole life will be ruined. I’m sick and tired of this!”

“Come on, get dressed. I’ll make you a cup of tea.”

“At least that moron could dream a normal dream; if he’d dream about me in a big house or something, at least then I’d have some compensation….”

“Galia, we will fix this.”

“You can’t fix this. Why do you think Yair can’t get a job? You’ve seen what they do to Dreamers. Nobody wants to hire them. Everyone is afraid of them. Now I’ll be branded too….”

There was a loud thud from the bathroom.

“Yair?” asked Rina.

Silence.

“Yair?”

She threw the robe at Galia and ran into the bathroom. Yair was lying on the floor letting out gurgling sounds. Next to him she saw the medicine bottle.

“Yair, what have you done?” she screamed.

“What happened?” Galia asked from the bedroom.

“Call an ambulance, quick!” Rina called. She opened the medicine cabinet and searched for the inhaler. It was supposed to be there, but she couldn’t find it.

“Hurry, he’s having an attack,” she screamed.

“I’m dialing.”

“Yair, what did you do with the inhaler?”

She started tossing out the entire contents of the medicine cabinet.

“Where is the inhaler?”

Galina walked into the bathroom dressed in the robe.

“The ambulance is on its way,” she said. “Rina, he’s not breathing!”

Rina looked down and saw that Yair’s chest was not moving.

“Yair, breathe!” She kneeled beside him and put her fingers on his main artery.

“He’s still got a pulse. Do you know CPR?” she asked.

Galia bit her lip.

“Please,” Rina pleaded.

Galia knelt down and started performing CPR. Rina continued to fumble through the cupboard. This time she found the inhaler. “Got it,” she said. She shook it and handed it to Galia, who pushed it into Yair’s mouth and pressed twice.

They went with the ambulance to the hospital. The paramedics already managed to steady his breathing, but he did not wake up. The doctor in the emergency room was not optimistic. His experience taught him that people who developed such an acute allergic reaction to the medicine either died or went into a coma from which they never woke up. Rina was sobbing on the bench outside the emergency room. Galia sat next to her and put her arm around her shoulders.

“This is all my fault,” she said.

Rina wanted to say that it was not true, that it wasn’t her fault, but she cried so hard she could not talk.

“I pushed him into it,” Galia went on in a shaking voice. “I knew he wasn’t doing this to me on purpose. I shouldn’t have talked like that.”

Rina kept crying. Galia stood up. She went to the nurses’ station and talked with them for a while. Then she brought a cup of water from the nearby water fountain.

“Drink,” she told Rina. “You have to drink.”

Rina took the cup from her hand and forced herself to sip a little. The water was cold and made her cough.

“It wasn’t your fault,” she said. “He was probably desperate because….” Her sobs took over again, and she could not complete the sentence. She rubbed her eyes, which started to burn from the tears. Galia hugged her shoulders.

“I asked the nurses to let the police know that I’m here, to explain what happened,” she said. “They’ll probably be here any minute now to take me away, but the minute they let me go, I’ll come right back to help you, okay?”

One of the nurses went up to them to let them know there was no news. Yair was unconscious and the doctors said that these were the familiar symptoms of the coma. They were getting ready to transfer him into a ward. She promised to let them know when the transfer would be done.

Two policewomen approached her.

“Galia Kena’an?” asked one of them.

“Yes, it’s me,” Galia sighed. “The doctors will issue a permit that states that this was a Dreaming accident and that I didn’t break out of custody. The man who’s responsible tried to commit suicide, and he’s hospitalized now.”

“We know,” said the officer. “But we still need to get you back into custody. They’ll let you out today.”

“Can’t we wait a little with this?” asked Galia. “This is his wife. I can’t leave her like this.”

One of the officers sat down next to them. The other went into the emergency room.

“Would you like some more water?” Galia asked Rina.

Rina nodded. Galia stood up and started to walk towards the water tank. Then she vanished.

The cop called out.

Rina fell silent. They heard the screams coming from the emergency room. They looked at each other and then stormed into the hall. On Yair’s bed, Galia was sitting naked again and calling out for help. She tried to climb off the bed, but the invisible barrier blocked her. The medical staff started to gather around her.

Rina ran forward and started to shake Yair.

“Yair, Wake up!”

His head tossed from side to side, but his eyes did not open. Galia threw herself at the invisible barrier. She screamed with all her might. The doctors, the nurses, the cops and the patients, all stood and watched the spectacle.

“Yair, wake up!” Rina begged. “Please, wake up! Wake up! Wake up!”