Phoenix Dream: Love is in the air

*stompstompstompstompstomp*

I stomp exitedly as soon as I arrive in her house. Then I hear her say "Hey, what's all this then!?" From just behind me. I jump just a bit and then turn to see The Phoenix, all smiles. "You finally made it back then, huh?" "Right on schedule, so it seems! You sent a pigeon!?" "Haha, I send a lot of pigeons, what else besides a bird? Besides, you always seem to notice them and get my message, even if it's not consciously right away." I recall the sepia pigeon and realize how true this statement is, and how difficult to trace this communication method would be, even from a skilled observer's perspective. "That's cool, I like that."

"So, are you ready to see the hallway in a new way?" I nod. "Then off we go!" I notice she doesn't offer her hand this time, but instead opens the door and gestures me to step out first. I step out and see the wall posts with red runes all up and down my field of view, extending in a line stretching out of view where the doors in the hallway had been before. If I squint though I can see the rainbow of colors stretching out as it had before, that must be her perspective in here, granted to me each time she took my hand before, and this is perhaps more my native view. I see her flicker into Phoenix Form for a moment and then back, and then she exitedly starts knocking on nearby doors in the hall. From another perspective she is also placing her hand on some on the runes instead of knocking, and with each placement a groggy dreamer appears in the hallway, having also opened their door. I follow behind "wanna go to a party?" They each brighten up at that, eyes opening wide, and they each agree in their own way and follow us down the hall. We gather the 20 people or so I had on the bus and The Phoenix leads us out to where it is waiting at the gas station, right where I remember that part of the dream starting.

As people are climbing into the bus/long RV type thing I whisper to her "this is super cool." "I know!" She and I jump on the bus as well and I find myself sitting side by side with her against one of the walls this time. We talk about nothing and everything as the trip proceeds otherwise the same as before. She does say one thing that catches my attention more than the rest "you know time doesn't flow out there the same way for each of us, right?" "Yeah, I figured as much." "But have you also considered how differently we experience that flow as well?" Hmm, I guess I hadn't really let that sink in before, and I consider it in the back of my mind as we travel down the road. 

We make it to my new place and everyone heads inside as before. I step off the bus and realize she is gone. I am concerned I can't find her but only for a second before realizing this is almost certainly part of the dream narrative being set up. I head to my neighbor's porch as I had last time, soaking in the cool shade of the marbled porch and comfortable chairs.

I zone out for a bit this time, just watching the leaves on the tree in the front yard rustle in the breeze. It is that perfect temperature, just a bit warm to counterpoint the coldness of the inside of my house which I somehow feel as if by instinct, with an intermittent cooling breeze. It's the kind of day that feels alive, and like it's setting you at ease intentionally, with no other motivation besides your comfort. Then I hear the door open and the first dog runs out barking and then biting my hand. I feel the pressure more clearly this time and examine the dog closely. It looks really intent on doing its job, but it is too small to really hurt me. It scampers off as before after doing its darndest. The second dog then comes out, with a spry saunter all fluffy. I want to pet it, it seems really nice, but I know this isn't the right scenario for that so I sit motionless just as before and it dutifully walks up and sets its teeth on my hand. This one I can tell is holding back, and after a second of laying its teeth on me it continues its gleeful saunter off into the front yard. I watch it for a second, curious as to where they went, when I hear the door creak open, again drawing my attention, and I somehow realize as soon as I turn away that the dog is "out of sight." The woman comes out again, but with my slightly altered perception I can tell it is The Phoenix, older and perhaps in a slightly different form, but her nonetheless. I resist the urge to say "I knew it was you!" but I can tell it still comes across in my face. She gives me a knowing wink and proceeds to ask me about my presence there in the same way as before. I follow the script, or closely anyway, adding "it's a really nice porch you've got here." She blushes a little and invites me inside. As I'm walking in I see The Phoenix I arrived with walking back up from the street through the front yard. I am a bit taken aback, wondering about the rules in such an interaction but she stops me before I even ask "don't worry about the rules, this version of the dream, like the last, has been very carefully crafted already, we can't mess it up." I can't help but put on my Riker style devilish grin and she smacks my shoulder "No shenanigans though!" I nod but keep the grin until I reach the threshold, and then resume acting naturally.

We make our introductions again, but The Phoenix already knows everyone there which is to be expected. I notice that right after I meet the cute brunette she eyes me like a huntress and looks like she might start following me when the Phoenix introduces her immediately to Fabian, while that look is still in her eyes. I watch from the corner of my eye as I see The Phoenix smoothly redirect the girl's hunger right to him. It's hard to tell if its a trick or slight of hand on the surface, but deep down I know even if it was, this is not Cupid's Arrow we are wielding tonight, firing shots willy nilly, these arrows and targets have been specifically paired, carefully picked from the field of dreamers. I realize what's happening- there's a set of women that, under the right circumstances, become enamored with me on sight in these dreams, and it happens when they are generally in a state where they cannot miss. That being said, if they somehow do miss they remain in this state, falling for the next applicable guy they see. This effect can cause problems when it's just me, as a single night of love hardly seems worth it for so much pain, and their state may linger to the morning in this way. But, with The Phoenix partnering up here, both the effect and the stage have been focused, such that the next applicable target the woman sees is their soulmate. They go from great to perfect in a split second, everyone pairing up in my wake, and no one successfully turning this into a "tricked into love" dream for me, so it continues perpetually. I continue to observe, seemingly granted a kind of split perception by the paired Phoenixes, and I watch as the effect continues again and again in my wake.

I feel a slight surge of jealousy of the children here; how amazing it must be to meet your soulmate so young. Then again I feel like the experience may not have the same depth of flavor as my own, pining and tempering for so long. I find myself failing to judge accurately the differences in our experience, but my mind is still assessing it as the remainder of the matches are made. That clever distraction both deepens the experience and allows me to miss the arrows that the remaining young women start firing more and more quickly as we go. It seems not everyone was paired up tonight in the dream, but the excess of gorgeous women at this party have fired their shots and seem awakened by the singular experience of missing. Rather than infighting though, they start talking amongst themselves in my wake, apparently coming to the same realization that I have: they are the luckiest ones tonight, because in the morning they will know their soulmate is out there. Still armed with this knowledge by the light of day, it seems they too have become immune to the inverse of this "tricked into love" scenario, and can now laser focus on locating their own soulmates. 

"It's actually better than that." I jump with an "ahh!" As I realize the introductions are all done at this point and I've just been standing lost in thought in a corner for a minute. I see The Phoenix standing there smiling. "Wait, you can hear my thoughts too!?" "Yep, but only because I'm here twice, one of the first tricks we learned was how to agree not to hear each other so directly aaall the time." "Oh, that is cool." She nods as I collect my thoughts again. "So essentially many people here are experiencing their own soulmate dream, I'm guessing for the first time, whenever that is for them?" She nods. "But those ladies who have loosed love's arrow have an experience different than my own tonight, they will actually wake up knowing their soulmate exists, but suddenly find themselves in need of finding them?" She nods and continues for me "Not only that, but they will remember this dream vividly, including those they had it with. In the morning all those ladies will know that their best chance of finding their soulmates is to find each other and strategize. I set up this party intentionally so that they could. It just became a team game." My mouth drops into an excited :o "So wait, considering the 100 green eyed dragons, that means a definitive timer has been set!?" "Yep. For the first time, might I add. Now I couldn't let it all happen at once when you first dreamt it, that would have been too soon; you hadn't grasped all of this yet, but..." I move from :o to :O to :D as I realize her meaning. "We're just about done here!" We nod in unison and stomp a bit.

"Let's not forget the rest of the party!" I look about, now thinking only of my soulmate, finding it hard to focus on anything else, and I start to hear those in the room inside my head, softly chanting her name as I had heard in another dream. I remember my sister was a catalyst in that one, and she's here again tonight. I walk over to the piano again and see her sitting there just like last time. "This reminds me of tutoring." I say, jumping the gun this time in our conversation. She immediately snaps to "wait, this isn't a dream this time is it!?" I shake my head "Phoenix dream, I'm writing this on purpose, in a sense." I can see her triangulate my position in time in her head and she smiles, jumping up and giving me a hug "I knew you could do it!" She pantomimes knocking an arrow and aiming it toward me before quickly aiming upward and going "*pachoom* oh noooo..." I laugh and she gives me one more hug before rushing out the door. I hear the room start chanting my soulmate's name even louder in my mind now as she leaves. I suddenly wonder if people realize that they're doing it and I look up right into a group of girls all looking at me. As soon as I meet their eyes they giggle but not maliciously and look away. My face burns and I look back down at the piano. 

The Phoenix walks back over and places her hand on my shoulder. "I know your first reaction here is to be embarrassed, despite there being absolutely no reason to be. That's why I picked you for this task, your humility is greatest when your deeds are greatest, which is what we needed. We couldn't have some Don Juan using this power for his own frivolous ends, it wouldn't have led to soulmates, just another long string of broken hearts. Don't worry, the rest have only pursued you until you set your fences and then they had to stay back behind them. Time and again you increased that bubble, passing tests you never even knew you were taking, with flying colors. The ladies have been on your side on this one for longer than you realize, because not once did you feign love to seduce one of them, and we all talk. Like I said, don't worry about the rules in regards to us, we know them and you've passed even the hardest tests. Your transgressions here have been forgiven, now it is time to celebrate." I look back up and realize that everyone has gone back to their conversations, of love and the pursuit of love and, despite the chanting not flagging, I can now focus again without it diminishing, building like a deep roar within me and everyone else, but not overwhelming me. 

"This feels familiar." "It should, this is actually a summary of your path through life, in a sense, and a stitching up of it as well." I can tell that she can tell my mood is shifting and she interrupts the transition. "Hey, remember the piano, and the tutoring?" I suddenly remember, returning my focus to those I've tutored over the years. "So, it's not just love you do this with, it is anything you are passionate about. It is true that you have helped people understand whatever subject is on the table without being able to fully explain it to them, or to explain why it works but, in a sense, it is your passion rubbing off on them. In a more technical sense your energy, your subconscious if you'd like, permeates your environment. People who are open to this find themselves almost compelled to align with it, and the words you speak- honest, genuine words- carry with them this aligned intention of yours from surface to core. Your subconscious teaches people, because you listen to it and speak from it; you speak from the heart. This is as far from a trick as you can get, and once others assess that they cannot help but improve along the lines you want them to improve upon. Somewhere within, it is like you are playing a piano, masterfully might I add, and this is what others hear from deep within themselves as well. The tune gets stuck in their head, and so the topic is learned. It doesn't even require you to be that familiar with the subject matter, just that you focus on wanting to help. I think you summed it up well, 'I want to be cool' and so you are, in the coolest way possible. Like an eternal flame you carry the spark of understanding, a spark that burns others who try to carry it because they focus too much on lighting their world on fire. You, instead, focus on giving any piece of it you can away, which is the only reason you can now carry it with you forever. If you must know, much of the delay has been tempering your soulmate against its effects, and positioning her to take them in stride. She will set your environments on fire skillfully whenever needed, but can soak you in as closely as desired, forever. She understands you, and wants you, and really misses you." 

I smile once more, tired but deeply excited for her arrival. The chant for my soulmate intensifies but is now both very loud but very well insulated, both near and far. "Oh, and one more thing." She leans in to whisper "Remember when I went into Phoenix Form in the hall for a moment? This isn't the only party of its kind happening right now. We're doing this all over." I smile despite my exhaustion, fully excited as I remember suspecting that was the case, but forgot along the way. "Soulmating everyone, all in one night, well, from our point of view, well, from your point of view, well, it will take a little time because of the daytime conspirators, but you get the idea. Green eyed dragons. Tick tock tick tock." She backs up a little, playfully wagging her finger back and forth like a metronome, with a smile.

"Oh, and regarding that last scene, we don't need to relive it, it's all surface level save the colors. 'Purple and green and everything in between.' It was New Year's Eve, and this my friend, is New Year's Day." I now realize the chant is coming from everywhere in this place.