As far back as he could remember Ham had had the same dream. While this was just one more thing that set him apart, he nonetheless would share the dream with other Huddlers from time to time.
“One day, a man comes to Dusk. Since no one ever comes to Dusk, everyone comes out into the center of the village to see. This man strides into Dusk. Since we all kind of shuffle along from thing to thing, striding causes a stir, and everyone starts to whisper and mumble.
“And then we notice that this man is tall. Not just a little bit taller, not just enough so that your eyes are looking at his nose, but tall. His chin is just about at the spot between my eyes, and since I’m just a bit taller than everyone else, that makes him tall.
“As he stands there and we’re all staring at him, the sun blasts through the clouds, so bright we can almost hear it. As if this wasn’t enough to make everyone stand still and silent, the light slaps the man on the head and we see red. Not brown – not mousy brown or dirt brown or tree-bark-brown or muddy brown – but red. Shocking red, shouting red, stunning red.
“And then the man smiles. Oh, how white his teeth are. How wide his smile. How joyful and bright and uplifting that smile is. As I look at him, I know that he is here to bring us something new, something that will change our lives in ways we can’t even imagine.
“The man looks at each of us. I mean he really looks at each of us, one by one. As he looks, we each see that his eyes are golden, shining, and it feels as if there’s a private connection from his eyes to each of ours. I watch as he looks around at the Huddlers of Dusk, one by one, and I see each of you start to smile. Each of you stands up just a little taller and your hair seems to glow just a little bit, and your shoulders go back just a little bit.
“He opens his mouth to speak, and we all hold our breath and lean forward just a bit and…”
This is the point where Ham’s dream ends. He’s had the dream more than once, and each time, it ends at this point.
Ham is both frustrated and excited. He knows that there’s something important in this dream. He knows that if he can just hear what the man is going to say that the lives of all the Huddlers in Dusk will be changed forever.
Sometimes, when Ham thinks of the dream, he cries in frustration.
The other Huddlers of Dusk, each time they hear Ham tell of his dream, shake their heads, mumble into their hands, and shuffle away.
