I am being shown around a large house made completely from marble. It’s only one level, but wide & open & breezy. The ceiling is high & there are no walls anywhere, not even on the exterior—pillars hold the roof. The house is built on the shore of a small lake, & the marble floor juts flat out over the water like a broad stone pier. We walk out onto the smooth surface & watch small waves lap the edge of the structure. I think to myself that the lake looks man made, & that it looks good for swimming.

I notice then that there is a small island in the middle of the lake, like a park or a garden, but formed entirely from water. A section of the lake is raised up & out of itself to make a rippling patch of ‘ground,’ & upon that the shapes of ornate benches & an elaborate fountain all represented by the water itself, wobbly & shimmering.

There are other houses built around the lake. The sun is going down & I can see their lights reflected on the water. There is a community of some sor t here. I see the lights of a small city far below & realize that we are situated high in the hills, the lake set into a long flat clearing cut into a mountainside. Stars begin to appear in the clear cold air & the view is entirely beautiful.

I say, “If you ever want to sell this place, I’ll live here.”

I am saying this to my sister, who has become the one showing me the house. I realize then that the house belongs to her, & therefore belongs to me as well. She has acquired the house for us both.

My mother appears for a second & encourages my sister to be straightforward; to say to me the thing that she has brought me to hear. Then my mother is gone. My sister sits me down on a smooth, dark grey bench that rises out of the stone causeway bordering the lake.

She explains that I “Didn’t say goodbye properly last time,” & just did what I “always do.” While explaining this she points out a big ‘W’ represented in the stars, tracing it out for me with her finger, & somehow this is intended to clarify her feelings. She got the house because she knew I would love it. The house is for me. & I do love it. I love the wide, open spaces & the open water & the open sky... & I wish I could stay.