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| - The water rushed up out of the spout and cascaded into the stained tub. A little girl stood shivering on the tile waiting for it to fill. A man knocked on the door. “Are you alright, Claudy?” he asked. “Yes, Daddy,” she replied. Her father was always nervous ever since Mimi died. “Do you need Mommy to come and sit with you?” he pressed. “No,” Claudette said. She turned off the water and stepped in the warm water. Her father walked away. Claudette splashed the water for awhile. When she finished bathing she laid back and closed her eyes. When Claudette opened her eyes again she saw a man in front of her. “Hello,” she said, her voice sounded strange. “who are you?” The man just smiled and beckoned to her. Claudette felt her body follow him. He led her towards a blue box. Just as she was about to step into the strange box she was jolted out of her dream. “Reveillez-vous! Etes-vous d’accord? Reveillez-vous!” Her mother screamed, shaking her daughter. Claudette coughed the water from her lungs. “Je vais bien,” she muttered. Her father burst into the bathroom. “What happened? Ce qui s’est passe?” He yelled. “I fell asleep; I’m fine,” Claudette said. “I need a towel; serviette, mama.” Her mother wrapped her in the towel. Her father stood, panic still in his eyes. “Are you sure you’re alright?” He asked. “Oui, a man was there,” she said, “he kept me safe.” “Claud, se lever, wake up or you'll be late,” a sweet voice said. Claudette groaned. “Why don't you join me, my sweet Mae,” Claudette said, pulling Mae onto her. Mae giggled. “Arretez, nous ne pouvons pas,” Mae said, “I have work and so do you.” She pulled Claud up out of bed. “Have you taken your estrogen?” Claudette asked. “Oui. Now what should I wear?” Mae held up a mini skirt and dress. “Nothing,” Claud mumbled as she disappeared into the bathroom. She reappeared with a toothbrush in her mouth. “I like the dress, meme que tu.” Mae smiled and stepped into the dress. They both went to the bathroom. Claud rinsed her toothbrush. “Did you have the dream again?” Mae asked while looking closely at her chin in the mirror. “Oui,” Claud answered. “Same as always.” “Should I shave?” Mae asked. Claud traced her chin with her finger. “Smoothest chin I have ever seen, mon amour,” She kissed Mae. “Now I have to go to work.” Claud pulled on sweatpants and walked through their small cottage to her ‘study’ which was really a desk in the corner of the living room. She took her notebook from a drawer and started writing. Claud became so consumed in her stories that she did not notice when Mae set a cup of coffee on her desk and kissed her forehead before she led. Claud wrote for hours; hardly taking breaks. Around four pm she started to drift off. She nodded off still writing. Like so many times before she saw the man beckoning to her. Again her body was pulled towards the man. He led her to the boat. Once again she awoke before making it onto the boat. Claud sat for a minute before returning her eyes to her notebook. She stared bewildered at the words now on the paper: Find Me. Claud threw the notebook across the room. “Who are you!?” She screamed at the empty cottage. Nothing came in reply. Claud got up and left the house; running down the dirt path towards the nearby village. She ran into the ville but did not stop until she was too tired to go on. She was in front of the Poets’ Cafe; she entered. “Elderberry wine and oysters,” Claud told the man behind the bar. He placed the full bottle, glass and oysters in front of her. She pushed the glass aside and drank straight from the bottle. “You're either an alcoholic or it’s been a bad day,” a welsh accent said. Claud turned and saw a pretty woman. “Bad day,” Claud replied, a little embarrassed. “Do you need someone to talk to?” the woman asked. Claud smiled, finally someone who wanted to listen. “I want to find a man, a certain man, but I don’t know his name or where he is from,” she told the stranger. “Do you know anything about him?” the woman asked. “He has a blue box that says Police Call Box on it,” Claud said. The woman was taken back. “Did you say ‘blue box’?” The woman stammered in disbelief. “Yeah, but for all I know he could be dead.” Claud said. The woman became very serious. “Alright, I need you to listen very closely. If you want to find this man you will have to follow my instructions.” The woman commanded. “You are going to pack a bag and go to Wales, yes in the UK. You will go to Cardiff and walk around the bay until someone comes up to you. They will ask you a question, the question does not matter as much as the answer does. When they ask you the question you will say ‘Only when he is needed.’ Got it?” Claud sat for a second, stunned; when she snapped back to reality she nodded. The woman got up to leave. “Fantastic, my name is Gwen Cooper,” she said, “If all goes well I will see you again.” With that she left. Claud was still shocked. What the hell was that? Why Cardiff? Did the man really exist? What would Mae say? Claud paid and went home. Claud sat in the dark of the living room, waiting and thinking; a bag by her feet. When Mae came home she was in a great mood, and went into the kitchen to fix a drink. “The funniest thing happened at work today, babe,” Mae said; she went into a long story involving a monkey and a mango. “Isn’t that hilarious?” “Oui,” Claud had not been listening. Mae walked into the living room holding a martini. “Why are you sitting in the dark, cheri?” Mae’s foot hit Claud’s notebook. She picked up; reading the last page. “What’s wrong?” Mae crossed to Claud and knelt next to her. “What would you do if I left?” Claud asked; staring at a wall. “Why would you leave?” Mae asked. She took Claud’s hand. “What’s going on?” “I need to find the man,” Claud finally looked at Mae, “ the man from my dreams.” Mae stood up. “He’s not real, Claud,” Mae said, “you can’t find something that doesn’t exist.” Claud looked at her surprised. “He has to be real,” Claud said, “I’ve been dreaming of him all my life; il est la seule chose qui est réel.” “What about me? What about your family?” Mae asked. “I know you will be fine without me,” Claud said. She kissed Mae’s forehead and picked up her bag. She walked to the door but stopped. “Will you love someone new?” She didn’t turn towards Mae. “I don’t want to,” Mae’s eyes teared up, but she shook with fury. “Will you love yourself?” Claud asked, tears streamed down her face. “I don’t know if I can,” Mae said. Claud looked at her. “I know you can,” with that Claud walked out to find the Dream Man.
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