The Splendor of Starry Nights

With a feeling of impending doom, he walked down the path to the garden, towards the source of the light that had entered his room. He fancifully imagined a spaceship, a UFO, come to transport him from the doubters and tormentors. Was there movement around a disc of light? A welcoming party, perhaps?

Suddenly the earth disappeared under Lester’s feet. He gasped in shock as he hit the icy water. His body was enveloped, his mind overtaken with fright. He was sinking into what seemed like an endless black hole.

Although he had attended many swimming lessons, he could not swim. Comforted with the knowledge that more swimmers drown than non-swimmers, now he usually avoided water. But he would have to do something soon. Black water surged past as he began to descend the depths. He flailed his arms and legs as his heart pounded in his chest. Rigid with fear, he felt the muddy bottom, the rotting water plants climbing up his legs. He was dying. He was sorry for those things that he had done that he should not have done. And he was very sorry for not doing things he should have done. Not learning how to swim had been stupid and now he was paying with his life. He would regret that forever. But then he would not be alive to regret anything. He would lie back and resign himself to his fate.

“Lester, are you all right?”

It was his mother, arms crossed and standing over him again. He could not possibly be in heaven. In fact he was back in his old bed. Something traumatic had happened. And then he remembered his visit to the depths of the ornamental lake. There must have been a heroic rescue. Emily was an unlikely candidate. She hated going out in the rain, and would probably not consider jumping into a lake, even to save her son’s life.

The hero must have been his father. Cecil certainly looked the part, covered in mud and smelling of decaying vegetation.

“What the hell happened, Lester?” Cecil glared, reminding Lester of the time his father had become angry when his son had fallen from a tree and broken his collarbone.

“I must have fallen into the lake. I guess I was sleepwalking. It’s a common problem nowadays, you know.”

His parents glanced at each other with looks of bewilderment. He felt steadfastly sullen. So what if he wasn’t perfect?

“I know you fell into the lake, Lester,” said Cecil. “I was the one who had to go in and rescue you. Look at the mess I’m in!” He picked a piece of rotting plant life from his shoulders and threw it on the floor. “You would have drowned if I hadn’t heard you screaming out there like a little girl.”

He pointed his finger menacingly at Lester. “And I don’t care whether sleepwalking is a common problem or not. I don’t believe you are stupid enough to sleepwalk yourself into that lake. If you did, you’d be crazier than I thought you were.”

“Sleepwalking has nothing to do with intelligence. It’s just a condition. Sometimes I just get up in the middle of the night and sleepwalk. I’ve no control over this behavior. I’m sorry to cause you this inconvenience, that’s all.”

“That’s all! What the hell do you mean, that’s all?” Cecil exploded into one of his emotional tirades that were always so embarrassing. “If you ask me, there’s something seriously wrong with you, and you’d better admit it. I’d say anyone who walks into a lake in the middle of the night is asking to be drowned, especially if they can’t swim. And if someone is asking to be drowned, that’s suicidal.”

“Suicide!” Emily shouted. “Lester may be a lot of things, but he’s not suicidal. How could you be so stupid as to say that?”

“It’s not me who’s stupid. I’m the only person here with any common sense at all. It’s a pity that nobody realizes that. If walking into a lake in the middle of the night isn’t suicidal, what is? Perhaps Lester has found a new way to expand his awareness? Maybe he thinks he can walk on water, he’s so smart.”