Rocket collecting

The dream started with the both of us at a grocery store in the middle of nowhere. At first I didn't know why we were there, as many dreams begin. Soon, however, we picked up a few drinks and ventured out into the parking lot to observe one of those once-in-a-lifetime events, the purpose of my dream.

Not half a mile into the distance, dancing with the clouds high in the air, over an open green flatland, was a rocket. A space probe, strapped with boosters, designed by the most brilliant scientific minds alive. We had gone there to lean against your car and watch the construction of the next project to explore space on a picturesque summer day.

Talk about a hot date. ;)

Things were peaceful. Warm gusts of air pushed my thin blonde hairs over my cheeks, tickling each time. The sun, though bright, only slowly warmed our shoulders and your dark t-shirt from high in the sky. The gentle hum of the grocery's air conditioner unit hardly tuned out the chirps of common birds, or the sound of the emergency siren that began echoing from the construction base.

Quietly at first, a few distant sirens went off. Then, like dominoes, they all lit up and our straining ears were flooded with whaling alarms. A trained eye could have spotted one of the booster rockets attached to the main rocket topple over, but everything happened so fast.

Before our ears could adjust, the scenic view turned in to a fireball. A gut-wrenching fireball, disproportionate to its distance away from us. The fireball turned in to a wall of fire, and that wall grew and grew... And headed straight for our modest lot...

Instantly, your gently tanned hand snapped to mine and tugged me off your car. The safest exit was behind the grocery store, and we were a decent jog from safety.

Like a scene out of an apocalyptic movie, you grasped my hand tightly and led me around the building as a wall of fire and smoke began to black out the sun. In what seemed like hours, we made it to the door that was encrusted with paint chips and the welcome mat of a rainwater puddle.

Your hand let go of mine, just barely, and I stumbled. Shock locked my muscles, fear held open my eyelids and wonder overtook me as I watched liquid flame pour over the building and engulf me.

It looked like what heaven looks like, provided the place exists. In less than a second, I saw God, understood Satan, and knew the answers to those pointed questions people ask in life and religion.

Suddenly, a well-tanned hand reached through the flame and grabbed the reddening skin on mine, pulling me, once again, toward my original destination. I blacked out.