Песах Амнуэль - Zion's Fiction - A Treasury of Israeli Speculative Literature

Rina drove through a red light and turned into Galia’s street. She parked the car near her house.

“Yesterday he tried to take that pill that stops the dreams again. But he got a terrible asthma attack and I had to call a doctor. The doctor said that another pill might kill him.”

Galia went out of the car and hurried up the stairs.

When Rina got back home she found Yair in front of the television watching the Fashion Channel.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Trying to stop dreaming about Galia.”

“Galia at least lives here. What would we do if you brought some American model here? Not everybody is as patient as Galia.”

Yair pressed the remote. “You’re right” he said.

“So is Galia. It’s not wise for you not to sleep at night. When you fall asleep during the day you’re destroying her job, too.”

Yair let out a moan and stretched on the sofa.

“No,” Rina said. “Don’t you dare. You will not fall asleep today and ruin the girl’s career. No! Get dressed. We’re going on a trip.”

Yair got up from the couch with a moan. He looked at Rina and saw that her face was pale.

“What’s wrong?”

“Galia said something about filing a complaint. She said she didn’t want to do it, but soon she won’t have a choice.”

“What good will that do her? The psychiatrist knows about it, the police know about it, nobody cares.”

“There are rumors about a new special unit that’s supposed to deal with Dreamers. It scares me.”

“Nonsense. I haven’t committed any crime. I’m not doing this on purpose.”

“If this doesn’t stop, someone might do something. Let’s go on a trip so you don’t fall asleep on me.”

They got into the car and drove up north. The sunlight was bright but not unpleasant, and a light breeze was blowing. They went up to Mount Carmel and took a walk in the reserve. The weather was excellent, and everything around was green. Yair held Rina’s hand like he used to do when they were young and had only started dating. He looked at her and noticed for the first time that her black hair was not dyed like that of most women her age. And her face was gentle and almost without wrinkles. She also put on a beautiful red lipstick that made her lips look thicker. Rina smiled and said that maybe instead of continuing the futile search for a job they should open their own business. Yair thought it was a good idea. He had good hands. He could work doing carpentry or take a course in electricity.

In the afternoon they went further north to Acre and found a hummus place in the old city. They used to do it often during the first few years after their marriage. Yair watched Rina sipping her coffee. There was a light on her face, and for a moment she looked as beautiful as she did when they got married.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” he told her.

He went out the back door of the restaurant, hurried to a flower shop down the market, and bought the most beautiful bouquet they had. When he came back, he crept up behind her, raised the bouquet and said, “Flowers for my flower.”

She smiled, and her smile was like a rainbow after the rain.

“What’s the occasion?”

“The occasion is that I love you.”

On the way back he started singing along with the music from the radio. Rina joined him. They kept singing even when they got stuck in traffic. Only the sound of Rina’s phone stopped the singing.

“Hello.”

Rina listened, her face went pale.

“What’s wrong, honey?”

“Who is it?” Yair asked. But Rina hushed him with her hand and turned off the radio.

The cars in front started moving again and Yair focused on the driving.

“I understand…. Yes, do you want me to talk to them?”

She listened again for a long time.

“Don’t cry sweetie… there’s no problem getting you a permit.”

She stared at the glove compartment and didn’t move her eyes from there.

“They have to. There are laws in this country….”

“Is it Galia?” Yair asked.

Rina nodded.

“Do you want us to come there right now? Do you want me to come alone?”

She listened without moving so much as a muscle in her face.

“Look, we won’t make it today. We’re near Hadera now, and the traffic is jammed. But tomorrow we will straighten this out first thing in the morning. I promise…. It’s going to be alright, sweetie. We’ll see you tomorrow.” She hung up.

“What happened?” Yair asked. “Did they fire her?”

“No. She got arrested.”

“What? Why?” He lost his concentration and the car drifted to the right. He turned his eyes back on the road and went back to the lane.

“After the meeting this morning she discovered that her ID was gone, probably along with her clothes and her documents. She went to the Ministry of Interior at noon to get a new one. But because it was the fourth time in the past two months, they arrested her on suspicion that she’s selling them to criminals.”

“Are they nuts? It was a dreaming accident.”

He glanced quickly at Rina. She was still sitting frozen in the same position, the phone resting in her lap.

“We won’t be able to bail her out until tomorrow. So first thing in the morning we’ll head to the psychiatrist and issue a new permit for your dreaming disorder, and then we’ll go and get her out of there as soon as possible.”

“But why can’t we get her out today?”

“They want to make sure that she’s not a Dreamer herself. That’s the procedure.”

“But I’m a known Dreamer. They should arrest me, why her?”

“Because it isn’t your ID that keeps disappearing.”

Yair punched the steering wheel. “Why? Why is this happening to me? When will they find a normal cure for this thing? All my life I’ve never smoked, never drunk…. Why me?”

They hardly exchanged a glance during dinner. Yair had planned a romantic evening, something to bring back the lost flame, but neither of them were in the mood. They went to bed early.

Rina woke up feeling cramped. The first rays of sun were already coming through the window, and she found herself pressed to the edge of the bed, next to a feminine body. Galia was fast asleep between her and Yair, who was also sleeping.

“Yair!” She screamed.

Yair woke up in second, and so did Galia. She sat up and looked at them in surprise with her mouth slightly ajar, just as she had looked the first time Yair dreamt about her in his bed.

“I don’t believe this,” she said. “You pulled me out of the detention center. Now they’ll be sure I’m a Dreamer. That’s it. I’ll be fired. No one will believe I’m not guilty now, no matter how many permits you two give!”

Galia burst into tears. She fell on the pillow and started to sob. Rina got out of the bed and took out a robe. Yair also got up and went into the bathroom.

“Come on, get dressed,” said Rina. “We’ll get the permit and go to the police together. We’ll bang on some tables. They’ll understand.”

Galia went on crying.

“Now my whole life will be ruined. I’m sick and tired of this!”

“Come on, get dressed. I’ll make you a cup of tea.”

“At least that moron could dream a normal dream; if he’d dream about me in a big house or something, at least then I’d have some compensation….”

“Galia, we will fix this.”

“You can’t fix this. Why do you think Yair can’t get a job? You’ve seen what they do to Dreamers. Nobody wants to hire them. Everyone is afraid of them. Now I’ll be branded too….”

There was a loud thud from the bathroom.

“Yair?” asked Rina.

Silence.

“Yair?”

She threw the robe at Galia and ran into the bathroom. Yair was lying on the floor letting out gurgling sounds. Next to him she saw the medicine bottle.