13th Parallel: Ch. 2

“Magnus? Are you daydreaming again? You’ve been spacing out a lot lately.” Katina seems a bit concerned, trying to get Magnus to focus.

Sitting at a coffee shop table, Magnus is lost in his memories, staring out the window. Something seems to be on his mind.

“Huh? Yeah…”, Magnus lets out a sigh, feeling a bit relieved to be snapped out of his memories. “I was thinking about an old dream I had; a lion and dragon were telling me about my ‘purpose’; I still don’t quite understand it, like what to do about it. The vivid dreams keep happening, though. What do you think of dreams, Katina?”

“Dreams? I haven’t really thought about it…that is, until I met you. You’ve definitely opened my eyes to them a bit, to pay attention to my dreams.”

She takes a second to reflect on some recent dreams she’s experienced, or at least what she remembers, then continues.

“Usually mine are a bunch of random stuff that don’t make any sense. There have been a few vivid dreams I remember, typically nightmares, but I just let the dreams be dreams normally and go about the day.” Katina pauses for a moment, wondering. “What are your dreams like? I know you’ve said before that you are aware when you’re in a dream…does that still happen?”

Magnus gazes out the window into the sky. He looks like he’s analyzing the clouds, but at the same time, his eyes look empty, like he’s not here.

“My dreams, they’re vivid, I can feel everything and remember a decent majority of the details, and I’m aware of the dreams…most of the time, other times it feels like I’m living a different life, with different sets of memories. The dreams are somewhat connected to previous dreams, which doesn’t make sense. People say that if a person knows they’re dreaming, then it’s a lucid dream. Remember talking about that?”

He takes his gaze from the clouds and looks toward Katina for a moment, his eyes filling with life again, showing interest in the topic, but he also gives off a subtle expression - is it exhaustion? As if he’s labored for hours nonstop. Magnus continues to share.

“I’m not sure if that’s what I’m doing when I dream, if it’s lucid dreaming or if it’s something else. I’ve experienced many confusing things in life, including dreams, since I was little, both while asleep and awake; it’s still hard to explain. I wish I could understand it better, or even knew where to go from here.”

“Magnus, your drinks are ready!” A barista slides two iced matcha teas on the bar, calling for them to pick up their order.

“It’ll come to you when it’s time, the answers you're waiting for; but not the drinks, you’ll have to get those yourself.” Katina teases him a bit as they get up from the table.

“Guess so.” Magnus grabs the drinks and hands one to Katina. They both look at the barista and thank her.

“You're welcome! Are you two up to anything fun today?” the barista asks them.

“Same stuff; different day. We’re pretty boring, Zoey, you know this.” Magnus makes a small chuckle and looks at Katina; they both shrug in agreement.

“If anything, we’ll most likely be back here later,” Katina adds half jokingly.

Over the past few years, Katina and Magnus have grown closer with Zoey and the others who work at the shop. It’s their mini getaway to see their barista friends. Although their bonds stay at the coffee shop, it’s their little safe haven.

“You two aren’t boring, but if you have stories to share, we’d love to hear them; I’ll probably be here later, too.” Zoey gestures playfully with her hand, rolling her eyes at her shift schedule.

“Hey, Zoey, before we go, what are your dreams like?” Magnus asks her curiously, and Katina seems curious now, too.

“My dreams?” She looks out into the distance, reflecting for a moment on what she can remember. “I don’t know…I guess…huh…” She shifts in place, trying to recall something, then her eyes look into the distance again as she processes.

“There have been some nightmares a while ago, but other than that, I’m not sure. Why do you ask? What are yours like?” She crosses her arms, thrown off by the question.

“Just curious, and they are an adventure…” he lets out reluctantly, his subtle exhaustion showing again; “it’s like living two lives. Consider keeping a record of your dreams by writing them down or using a similar method. You too, Katina.”

“Okay!” Katina acknowledges

“Yeah, maybe I will. Well, I’ll probably see you two later; bye, friends!” Zoey waves a finger at the two of them.

“See ya!” They say, waving back as they head towards the door to leave.

-(=^•.•^=)-(=^•.•^=)-(=^•.•^=)-

Driving home from the coffee shop adventure, sipping on their ice-cold matchas, Katina lets out a sigh of relief.

“Can you believe it? We’ve been together for so long! How many years does today make, eight?” Katina squeaks, getting a bit giddy about their special day. “Crap, I forgot to tell Zoey it’s our anniversary!” She adds. “I was still worried about you being spaced out; I’ll shoot her a text.”

Katina pulls out her phone and types to Zoey, Magnus is driving, keeping his attention mainly on the road, while gesturing in acknowledgment to Katina.

“That’s silly…” Magnus spurts, “How did we forget to tell her. Maybe I have been zoned out a lot lately, more than I realize.”

Slowing the car to a stop at a traffic light, Magnus is focused on something, and Katina can see it.

“What’s been weighing you down lately, Magnus? You’re always in this…zone.” Katina asks, putting her phone down and gazing at him.

He waits a few moments for the light to turn green, gets the car moving, and speaks. “You know the music I make, it’s not just about the music, but it’s something else. I’ve mentioned it a few times over the years, but left it at that.”

Katina sorts through her memories, but nothing is coming to mind; “I mean, yeah, I know you write to sort out some unknown emotions, but what about it?”

Magnus turns the car onto their home road; they don’t live too far from the coffee shop, fortunately. He continues, “It’s more of a mission, or research project, for lack of a better description.”

Stopping the car in their garage, he explains, “When I got this diagnosis, ten years ago, my dreams, for what they seemed, asked that I figure out something. This led to the art of writing poems and lyrics; few people know about this of myself.” He pauses to take a sip of his matcha.

“What I’m getting to is that it’s our anniversary, and I was feeling like asking if you would like to be more in-the-know with the story of this art, like, an official partner in this. What do you say?” Looking a bit unsure and embarrassed to ask, he gives Katina a second to respond.

“Be a part of your music! I’d love to, but I don’t know anything about music…” Rushing back and forth between excitement and doubt, Katina catches her breath. “Wait, so are you asking that I be a part of your music, or be involved with the research for your music?”

Magnus looks in her direction, in an indirect acknowledgment. “That’s kinda what I’m getting at, the music is the outlet, but things are going on that I see, hear, and feel, that doesn't make a whole bunch of sense. Visions and dreams that, sort of… affect my waking life. This is all complicated, so let’s take it slow.”

“Okay! When do I start? What do I do? I know how important this is to you, your art. I’m scared I’m going to get in your way.” She manages to somehow say without too much panic.

“You’ll be fine, a lot of it is about observing and being open, discussing. You like to take things personally, so that is going to be the first step, learning to take people, places, and things into consideration and adding the info into your toolbox.” He gestures in reassurance.

Katina’s phone buzzes; “Oh, it’s Zoey! She says, 'Happy Anniversary, Loves!'”.

“Yeah, happy anniversary, Katina. We will work on the details later. For now, let’s enjoy our time together.” Magnus turns off the car, and they both head inside.

“Sounds like a plan!” Katina replies excitedly.