It was now well into spring and Jean and I were much older, in our early twenties. We were backpacking down a trail, when I spotted something in the contours of the land that fascinated me. I wanted to go; but Jean didn't, so we argued over stopping. The sticking point was a very muddy field before the area you would have to walk through, still I wanted to check it out and Jean was adamant about not going.

I told Jean, I am going to check it out and only need about ten minutes. The argument ended when I threw my backpack off, on to the ground and started walking, leaving Jean behind with her hands on her hips.

Boy was it a sloppy field and suddenly, Jean yelled, "Mike!" When I turned to look, Jean jumped and knocked me off of my feet. Now, she was pounding me into the ground as I flipped her off of me, a full on wrestling match ensued; with only brief breaks being taken so we could catch our breath because we were laughing too much. Needless to say, this fight was very short lived as we were both quickly muddied and tired.

We continued the walk to my point of interest, hand in hand. At the end of the field, just after pushing away a little brush, we found one of the most beautiful areas we had ever seen. There was a beautiful river with a nice gravel bank and one large, solitary rock. Lush green was surrounding the whole area, providing beauty and privacy.

Jean started laughing and was pointing at me, citing how horrible I looked; also making fun of me. I brought it to her attention that she looks more horrible than me, because of her long wavy hair trapping the mud and her head was so heavy with it, she could hardly hold it up. Side by side, we stripped down and washed our clothes and hung them in the brush.

The warmth of the sun was beautiful, so we went into the river, washed off and swam together for a bit. The water was so cold; Jean got out fairly quickly and climbed on to the rock to sun herself dry. I continued to play for a bit and admittedly showed off. I did a one handed handstand under water and spun around; then sought Jean's comment, which had us laughing.

It wasn't very long before I got out and saw Jean as never before resting on that rock. It was as if God was standing beside me with an arm around my shoulder, the other arm pointing to her, "Look at the woman that was provided for you!" Her beauty and the moment, made me tear up and gave me such a sense of awe.

I climbed on the rock and lifted her leg and kissed her calf; looking up, there was the expression, I termed, "Hell's fire in a woman's eye." You just knew things were right! I then caressed her leg, moving down her thigh and followed it in and made out as if she  was my last love. For me, it was the most beautiful expression of my love there ever could be. I knew I had hit my mark with her body's reaction and the fact her hand grabbed my hair and lifted me up to her.

If I wasn't awed before, I was looking at the most beautiful woman in the world. Her flowing hair, a smile beyond compare and absolutely sparkling eyes holding a pure love. This could only be outdone by looking at the most amazing facial expression I have ever seen. It held the quality of absolute contentment.

The images of the dream remained in my mind as did the awe, because they  were so vivid and detailed , every detail held in my mind even after my mother woke me up to go to school. It was time for a quick breakfast, which I picked at and mom asked me if I felt well. She didn't like my smile I flashed to her.

The walk to school was fantastic. Down Clarksworth and up Linwood, I couldn't help but to totally admire the dream and be amazed in the recall of details. It was as if it actually happened. On Harford road, I reveled in those details until around I reached, "Woodside Avenue," and awakened as my attention was brought back to the real world; by a car hitting the breaks and the horn. With the driver giving me a good cussing out.

The next block was contemplating were or not the various smells were accurate and then the tastes and the total scene that I experienced. By Acton Road, I was thinking about the final image of how Jean was, wondering, will she truly be as beautiful by the time we are of that age.

Willoughby, was the final road to cross before getting to the school and that final thought was, "I can't wait to tell Jean about this dream ... Ah ... Hey dummy, don't you think Jean is scared of you enough already. She'll be so terrified, she won't want anything to do with you after mentioning that baby!" Then and there, I made the decision never to tell Jean about the dream.

For the most part, though the dream was still on my mind, I had breaks from thinking about it too hard, as I had to concentrate to study. I considered the day to be the average and predictable one that elementary schools are famous for. The only exception was, we had finished our subject in class about five minutes before recess, so we were told we could talk quietly amongst ourselves.

I was chatting with Laurie, the girl sitting beside me, when I noticed Jean was staring at me. Her arms were slumped over her chair's back and what scared me the most was she had the exact same look on her face as she did when the dream ended... Her expression, dropped my jaw as I sat there and studied her. I noted instead of feeling like the best man in the world in the dream, the look she had on her face, now scared me.

I thought to myself, Oh, my God! Jean had that dream too.  I nodded my head, "Yes," to her. He mouth dropped to the floor, her eyes opened up like silver dollars and she turned beet red. She pulled herself up from her chair and turning around, buried her head in her arms, putting her hair over her face.

When the teacher announced recess, there was a water on her desk and I knew she had been crying. I walked home with her, but she looked at me much differently, as I realized, I was no longer looking at her the same either. I spoke up first further along our walk, "Jean, if you want to talk about the dream?"

She turned red as a beat and totally panicked, pointing her shaking hand in the air as if to wave me off and the other one to her head and yelled, "No Mike! No! We must NEVER talk about that dream! NEVER!"

A dream like that can be just as much a curse as a blessing and remain in your mind. From that time one, I always wondered if my mind somehow fabricated the whole scene. It would be like creating a movie using only a bin of film scraps from the floors of cutting rooms.

Even with all of my knowledge, I can't escape the feeling it was somehow a glimpse of time from the Great Beyond. The total emotional experience far exceeded the graphic impact. To me, it not only symbolized what love truly, but the covenant with one's mate. In real life it never occurred, yet it is the compass needle of my heart.