Dream d3630-s: Tapped Twice, Then Sure

I had a dream where...

I had a dream where the reed beds opened onto a low crossing, and the light came flat and thin across the water between the stems. A figure crouched at the near edge of the path where a new length of board had been let into the old planking, its grain still light-colored against the weathered timber around it.

The figure ran one hand along the join, following the grain, pressing with two fingers at the seam. I watched from the bank. The morning was still; the reeds made their dry clicking sound in a small wind that did not reach the surface of the water.

The figure straightened and stood on the board with its full weight, rocking heel to toe once, then again. A sound came back from the wood - not hollow, not the give of rot, but the clean resistance of fit timber. Still the figure paused. It took a small tool from its belt and tapped once at the far edge of the patch, where the new wood met the frame beneath. The pitch changed slightly there - not much, but enough to make the figure crouch again and look at the angle of the join.

A peg was found in a pocket and set with three careful strikes. The figure stood once more, rocked heel to toe, and the board gave nothing back but its own steadiness.

There was no ceremony in this. The tool went to the belt. The figure walked the full length of the crossing, heel to toe along its center, arms loose, not looking down after the first step. I stayed on the bank and watched it reach the far side, turn, and stand a moment facing the way it had come.

The reeds ticked their dry sound. Thin bright lines of water showed between the boards where the light found the gaps. The crossing held. The figure who had made it sure walked on without turning back, and I remained on the bank a little while, watching the water between the planks reflect a sky that had gone from grey to a pale, still ochre at its edge.

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