Bad Dream

Bad Dream

Edwin was not a man known to drink one more than once or twice a year. He was with some other men playing cards in the back room of the Golden Saloon. While the other men played cards and drank, Edwin sat playing cards with no glass in front of him.

One day the cards seemed to go Edwin’s way more than usual. He played every week winning some and losing more often, but his winnings that day deserved one drink. Edwin shouted to the barkeep to bring over a whisky. As he played the winnings continued to be more than his losses. One whisky lead to another, then a third. Edwin never drank three shots of whisky at one time. When the night was over the barkeep pushed the men out and threw fresh sawdust on the spit covered wood floor. Edwin started walking home when he took a wrong turn. When he got into an alley, he could not find his way out. He fell against a building an slid down to the dirt.

Edwin fell into an uneasy sleep he heard a noise and opened his eyes to a narrow slit. He was more asleep than awake. Through those eyes he saw a man fall near him. He could not keep his eyes open, but he heard more sounds, like something being drug out of the alley.

That next morning the sun brought light into the alley. The brightness shone through his eyelids waking Edwin. His head hurt inside, he saw he was in the alley next to the bank. He could not stay awake. The next thing he knew the marshal shaking him. Edwin sat against the wall. The marshal was asking questions. Those questions hurt his head so he tried shaking his head to clear the hurt to understand the questions that sounded so far away. As hard as Edwin tried, he could not make sense of what the marshal was asking.

The marshal went to ask someone else his questions leaving Edwin sitting against the sidewall of the bank. A short time later Edwin managed to stand and walk unsteadily to his house. He slowly remembered playing cards and winning. He remembered drinking one whisky. He had no idea why the one drink made him sleep in the alley next to the bank. All day Edwin’s head ached, he decided he would never take another drink.

Edwin fell into a deep sleep that night. He began to dream strange dreams. He dreamed he was watching a man killed, and the body drug off. He woke suddenly, that bad dream woke him several times that night. The dream seemed like it was real. But it had to be only a bad dream after his drinking.

The next day Edwin was bothered by something, try as he might he could not understand why. As Edwin walked past the marshal’s office he heard the marshal call out for him to step inside. He walked in and was told to sit. The marshal asked if he remembered the night two days ago. Edwin shook his head as if to think. You slept in the alley next to the bank, remember that? Edwin could not remember anything clearly. The marshal told him a cowhand was shot that night and again asked if he knew anything about it. Suddenly Edwin’s dream became real. He shook his head, the dream was still there.

Edwin told the marshal his dream. He told he could not see things clearly, but he heard a sound, then saw a man fall near him. Then Edwin said in his dream he saw the man being drug off. The marshal asked Edwin who shot the man. He said he did not know. The marshal asked him who drug the body away. Edwin closed his eyes hard and tried to recall his dream. The man, Edwin said before he opened his eyes and lost his dream, the man was one of the card players, his name was,,. Suddenly Edwin’s eyes opened. His mind lost his dream.

No matter how man times the marshal asked, Edwin could not remember the last he saw.

Drunk sees a killing but thinks it was a dream