More random bits from a few dreams: I came home to find a piece of a cat’s tail on the floor. Horrified, I opened a drawer and found another piece in it. Feeling denial, I looked at the cat, who indeed was missing part of his tail. The end was healed and covered by fur, and there was no blood anywhere. It was as if this, whatever it was, had happened a long time ago. I wondered about bits of flesh ending up in a landfill, which struck me as surreal.

When I picked up a dog, perhaps from boarding, I was surprised to find he could speak, and I could understand him. He was equally surprised by my ability to communicate. We thought it best to keep each other’s ability to ourselves.

I was at a bar or a house with a friend from high school and left to look for the bathroom I’d found earlier. I went down the same stairs, but they ended in a step up into another room. I found more stairs, but they led down to stairs that went up. Some stairs ended in a step down so huge that it was more like a wall. I could make no sense of any of this, although at least I have seen the step up in some split-level houses. But there was no reason for these oddities. I felt like I was in The House That Jack Built.

Finally, I encountered some people I knew from school, always walking away. I recognized them from the backs of their heads, even though I knew they wouldn’t look like I expected now, all these years later. I tried calling to some, but couldn’t make any sounds.

I was grabbed by two robots or androids, one of which pinched my face and breast to pin me down. They were looking for someone named “Marvin,” who I had to protect. A phrase came into my head that I repeated like a mantra even as I woke up. I’ve forgotten it now. I tried to free my face and breast without sustaining injury or damage. I wondered if it were possible.