Dream catalogue: Taxi in the water

It was my birthday. I’m in a dark room with young people, who I assume are my friends. I ask a girl where we should go.

I know a place on 32nd, in K-town.

Is it good?

It’s dark, so it’s good to hook up and stuff.

Ok, let’s just go there.

My dad comes in.

“Tashi, tashi!”

Everyone stares. They don’t understand.

I laugh so hard I fall to the ground. He couldn’t say taxi correctly.

“Two tashi outside.”

There are two taxis waiting outside to take all of us.

Tony’s at the corner, his face fills the whole frame. He’s lit compared to the dark room, dressed in a light blue dress shirt, the one he wore to his career fair trips. He looked at me and said “I can stay until 11. I have work.”

I get in the taxi, I see Fran in the corner, he’s curled up on the side. He’s wearing his white polo with brown lines running down the shoulders. It reminded me of something Eric Foreman would wear on That 70’s Show. He has been helping my parents while I was in the room with my 30 or so guests.

My mom, who’s in the driver’s seat shouts “one more!”

There’s already three of us, but we open the door and some girl joins us. She’s larger, so we basically have 5 people in the back seat.

“My mom can’t drive. She hasn’t driven in so long. And in NYC,” I said.

“It okay! I drive!”

She merges onto the lane, almost hitting the parked car in front of us. I didn’t know why my mom was driving when we were in a taxi cab.

She almost hits a car, but is not panicking.

I’m scared.

Images overlap of bumpers, lights, wheels, white cars and yellow cars, and a few black ones.

She’s on a road that leads to the beach.

Mom stop the car!

The car keeps moving. My mom doesn’t respond. We’re in the water now, and I feel it seeping into my shoes.

I unbuckled my mom’s seatbelt. She’s laughing.

Mom, this isn’t a video game. It isn’t Mario Kart. We aren’t going to restart! Mom this is real life!

She laughs and waits for the screen to fade to black, for a screen to pop up telling you to press A to start a new game.

This is real life! There’s no restart! Get out!

My dream ends.