Dream d3665-s: Recognized, Not Urgent

I had a dream where...

I had a dream where the road into Rowanbrook was still marked by the same loose stones I had stepped around before - three of them in a rough triangle near the turning, and someone had recently pressed the largest one deeper into the mud. The bag on my shoulder was heavier than the last time I had carried it this way.

The receiving place was lit from inside. Through the window I could see two workers moving along the tables, neither in a hurry, one carrying a broad flat tray with something stacked on it I couldn't make out from the road. The glow on the window glass was ordinary - no fixture at the center, just the general light of a room being used. That was different from before, though I stopped myself from adding up the differences.

I left the bag at the entrance rather than carrying it in. The strap had worn a crease into my shoulder and I worked my fingers along the ridge of it while I stood at the threshold.

A small white dog - Lano - had followed me down the road without my noticing until she pressed against my calf at the step. I looked down at her. She was watching the room, not me, ears lifted, nose taking in something from inside.

One of the workers glanced over. He carried a cloth folded over his forearm, and the tray he had set down was full of ceramic cups, all mouth-down, drying in a row. He gave me a nod that meant: recognized, not urgent.

The floor had been re-laid since my last visit, or at least the section near the south wall. The boards were lighter there, still unweathered, and the seam between old and new was clean but visible if you were looking at the floor rather than at the people moving across it.

I moved inside and let the threshold close behind me. Lano stayed at the step for a moment - I heard the small click of her nails on the stone - and then she followed.

The cups were still drying. The worker with the cloth stood at the next table and began sorting something I couldn't name into two groups. The light came from the windows rather than from above. Work had continued here, and now I was part of it again, and that was all the account I needed to keep.

---