I was at what may have been a costume party and noticed a man. He seemed mysterious or supernatural in some way — his looks, his manner, his costume (which kept changing?). He seemed interested in me, although I am not sure he talked to me much. Then I heard him say that he was leaving and that he was going south to Garfield. Even though it was slightly out of my way, I jumped at this, and he agreed, although there continued to be something odd in his manner. But he also seemed to want my company.

I had to go to the bathroom really badly, but the place was like a school or other institution, and the bathrooms were terrible. I found myself sitting on a bench in pain, trickling onto the floor. So I found a bathroom where the paint was peeling everywhere (including on the seats), where many of the bowls were dry, and where it wasn’t clear who the people wandering about were or what gender they were. I found relief and went toward the front door, where I sat on a bench to wait.

A high school acquaintance saw me there. I thought, “She is going to find me surprising and the person I’m with even moreso.” She was very bubbly over me, to my surprise, and couldn’t get over how much better looking I was than I used to be. She asked with some surprise, “Are you pregnant?” In her eyes, that would account for it. I wondered if I was, if that was part of the mysterious power of the stranger. I thought how amazed she would be when she saw him. He appeared, in the guise of a pirate/swashbuckler, across the room, and stared at me (and my newfound good looks). It was an electric moment.

And then I woke up.