Day 48: The Local Toolshed

2026-03-26

Hello!

Woah. I just realized that if you look back at yesterday's article, and really stare at the image, you start seeing dots. Put the image on fullscreen (or zoom in) and let me know if you also see grid illusions.

Anyway, I'd like to write up a short story today. I call it a story, not a dream journal. There are dreams that one doesn't remember at all — actually, that's most dreams — and then there are dreams that one remembers for years. This is one of the latter, but the memory has been obscured and distorted over time. I don't know which parts are original and which are invented after the fact, so consider it all fictional. All a result of my crazy imagination.

I assume this toolshed has sports equipment, dog toys, or maintenance tools for landscapers. Normal things. It could also be empty and boring, with some mold and spiders taking up the space. But to my memory, I have never seen the inside of this shed that I pass by every week.

My mind, young and curious, decided to dream up a world. I hadn't seen any version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (book, film, or play), but I knew of a magical world behind locked doors. So I dreamt of a Narnia, completely different to the book version, and only identical in name.

I hadn't seen any version of Mary Poppins, but I knew of the magical handbag. So I dreamt of a weird mix between a bank-vault's worth of treasures and a storage unit of trash. Both were of equal interest to me.

And loads and loads of dodgeballs! Or utility balls / playground balls. Whatever you call them.

So many possibilities in that locked toolshed. I once visited the shed past sunset. A powered lightbulb hung near it, as the only source of light around. It was eerie. The light didn't even hang from the shed, nor was it mounted on a street lamp. I'm not even sure if there was a lightbulb. There was just light surrounding the entrance to this shed.

I woke up, and went to watch Mary Poppins Returns. It remains a favorite of mine.

Finally, a total solar eclipse. I have never witnessed totality before (although I've gotten close), but it sounds like total chaos, according to Michael Gruen, who drove to Vermont to see the eclipse. The photos are big and beautiful.

Cheers,
David