The Weird Dreams Are Starting To Freak Me Out.

This time, my younger brother was about eight and I was how old I am now, which is old.

I know this is old because I went horseback riding for two hours on Saturday and couldn't get off the horse without a step stool (it was a big horse) and then I think I had a heat stroke in the parking lot because I couldn't see because of all the spots in my eyes and I was dizzy, which was only cured by extra-high, tundra-level AC and a cherry slushie. I told you I'm old.

Anyway, eight-year-old Brother was being abusively punished by my dad, which is totally not the case in reality. My dad's a peach. He can't even spell abuse, much less dish it out. My dad was making him sleep on a roll-away bed in the driveway of the house we grew up in on a humid, damp night. This is the pre-remodeled house. I remember the back door, which was in a totally different place after we added on.

So grown-up me went out there in the middle of the night to do something about it. Except crazy Linda was out there already with this annoying little dog, which I thought had gotten out of the backyard because the gate was open. She was consoling Brother and telling him to be brave and that he could get through the night all by himself. His head was facing down the driveway and I thought he would be safer facing the other way, so he could see the street and run if anyone came up from there.

I, of course, was pissed.

I demanded she do something. Like bring the kid inside. Or if she was afraid to do that, take him and leave. Only she wouldn't do either. She said she was still invested in her relationship with dream-bully Dad and didn't want to do anything to jeopardize it. So I gave Brother either my phone number or a key to my apartment or something and told him to come over anytime he felt unsafe. I don't know why I didn't just get him out of his pneumonia-inducing, damp, hotel-style roll-away and take him with me, but it wasn't an option in the dream.

And even though she wasn't actually smoking, I'm positive Crazy Linda was a smoker in the dream. She was also a blonde and crack-head skinny.

WTF?

I remember the driveway at night like I was there right now. Funny how the most familiar things turn sinister as soon as the sun goes down.