Three Books

1. Lettuce with Goat Cheese

Market, half inside, such as Borough Market in London, but one long stretch. I am part of the crew, yet not of any stall in particular, and am on the customer side. I see a transaction between a woman seller and a young man coming to buy something. The woman recommends her wares, in this case fresh lettuce with goat's cheese on top, and I think it looks really good and fresh, and am already thinking I should have this myself when I wake up. He is not easily persuaded, but she serves nothing else to him, so he accepts eventually, smiling all the way. They are both very kind to each other and the transaction is amiable, I like that. He makes some comment as to the truth of her words when she packs the lettuce with goat cheese on it here and there.
There were also all kinds of carrots, and the woman intended to prepare them for a salad, I am now at her side and am of a mind to help her. My own thoughts go to adding radishes, but she does not have them, though thinking about them creates them. She has a purple kind of carrot in particular which she wants to add, and I am curious because I know it is delicious, and at the same time I don't know the root, and want to see her prepare it, but I never see it. Other ingredients were there, all on the wooden tables where her wares are.

2. Skunk Anansi

In the shop, Tama is working and I join her, at the till, there is a long queue, and we are the only two present in the shop, so it comes down to us. At first I was not at the till but in the back, now I walk to the counter, and pass through all the folk crowded, and the shop is long and small, and people are packed. And I think one or two people came to get me out and walk me to the till, so I go with them, but when I see on my right halfway through the shop Skunk Anansi playing I stop a little and wave. I knew she would be playing, but still the sight of her surprised be, and I thought it good that she entertained people, this is a success, to have someone like that in the shop. But for now I have to go to the till and help out Tama.
There are only three titles and soon enough all the copies are gone, though they were here in great quantities, but the books are popular and everyone wants one.
At some point I am having trouble with the change in the till, because we ran out of notes of five and maybe other things, and after a while I announce to Tama that I should go and fetch some change from the float. I know she will find it difficult, and I have to leave her alone for a while, since there is no one else, but I have to do this, so I go, and in the back, which looks like the Oxfam shop where I worked once, from the safe I take some change, and I even say the word 'float' when someone asks from behind the purple curtain that separates this dark chamber from the shop, but this is someone I can trust, I know her.

3. The Giant

Other fragment. Again a long space, dark now. I am on the left. We all sit. I am not all the way on the left, and other people are with me, but my brother D is on the right, which is another group. And I have work to do with DVD's, and the people with me join me. And there is one dvd, which is called The Giant, with a black cover, that I know is a bit special, but after I've handled it I put it aside, which is all the way to the left, as if abandoned, and this I do without leaving my chair somehow.
But D knows about this dvd, and warns me, and at that point already I had seen the black stuff coming from the corner where I put the dvd. The stuff reminded me of the Shrike, a character from an sf novel, so the stuff is some technology and something alive as well, it is like an arm, maybe a sort of metal, I can't describe it well, maybe if you make a long stick from lego bricks that would come near it. But there are many such arms, tendrils, but not flexible, but strong, like robotic, and composite all of them, and black, and one of these is longer than the others and comes toward me and I fear it, but it never reaches me exactly, but D warns me and says I should be careful, and I know I should go away, but I don't want to, but the thing never touches me. There must have been some intelligence or will in it.

4. Celery and Ruby

Open space inside, selling going on, haggling also. This is like a fair, and again I am part of the crew, but not an active one, not selling myself, but helping out and I know about the goods. The first thing sold I can't remember, but there was another family waiting at the same time, who had already chosen what they wanted to buy, and I see it lying on the floor. They want celery, but it is as large and big as branches from a big tree, longer than a man, really gigantic. They can't carry it because it is so big, which is why it is on the floor.
Finally the seller has time to attend to them, and he goes into detail, and they are happy, especially the wife. And he goes so far as to say he can tell the future or fortune by these celery sticks. And he counts the years by tens that she will have to live, but I see that the count will not work out when I follow his tallying, and it is so, because at the end he starts to say seventy, eighty, ninety, and the last part of this celery is more like leek in fact, but I see how he counts it, no secret for me. And I also realize that when he would have counted right, he would end by an age of seventy. But now he himself is confused. He does not care and continues and says he can see how many children they will have, namely four, because of the knots where the celery forks, and I nod when I see it. But if I remember well, they had two kids already, yet they are happy with the prospect.
Then or maybe before, the seller asks my help again with other customers, again a family, the wife comes to collect something she ordered, has questions, out of curiosity, and the seller helps her well, and orders me around for this or that, but I know what it is about so it is okay.
I am wearing my ruby on a string here, and this family is the family Robijns, which means ruby, and the woman comes for a ruby, she has one herself, which had to be repaired or something, but the seller shows him other goods, and she is choosing. The seller says about the ruby she is wearing that she should have it cut. I see all those stones, there are others beside ruby. She bends over it to have a good look. We are behind the table, and behind me is another table, with my stuff on it. But this too is in the middle of this great hall, which is like a fair.
Bale might be somewhere in this dream.

5. Present from a Girl

Last dream and after having been awake first, so maybe hypnagogic.
Brva and Digr are very busy with books and preparing for a great sale. This is in a great hall with long tables set like in an auditorium for students, and I am sure the sale is for student books. I help them out, at one table in particular. I sit in the middle of it, and books are stacked on top of it. Again tree titles. And they are sure they will sell all of it. I'm sure it is counted.
It is afternoon, but no customers come, and we wait. When my work is done, I am waiting too, and a long time I don't do anything. Brva and Digr are always busy, but now they too realize they will have to wait. They even have news for me, because they tell me that students will only come from 4pm onwards.
Can't remember what happens next, but by the end of the dream I am at another table, the first one when you enter, and many young people sit at it, and more and more, and at last someone says that they, which is we of the shop, have counted well, since there are exactly so many chairs, and I am thinking I don't belong here, and I don't know how to go away without anyone noticing, but I should go back to my own table, which is my station, where I was asked to be, but before everyone entered it did not matter. Now everyone is here and still arriving, I should go back to my post.
Later, possibly the same dream, I am in another house, in the back, standing, with a few others, at a table, they sit, me standing at a high table. We discuss something. At some point someone who delivers packages comes in and gives me a package, he says it is from a certain person named Falter something, and I know this girl, and by the comment the delivery boy gives, the others also know it is a girl, and that she might have some interest in me, though I believe she is just being attentive, but they all smile and giggle. I let it go, happy enough to get post from someone. I feel good about it. Three books I think, at least books. But the attentive thing is that she knew I asked about these in particular, and I think it might have something to do with the work I was doing earlier, that is why I don't see too much in it.