journey

I'm in what seems to be a shopping centre, the interior is curved, domed, arched and covered in cream tiles, or it could be that it is built of glazed bricks. At the top the roof is mostly glass, filling the space with light that is softly reflected in the glossy surface of the walls, making the whole place appear to be glowing.

There are large flowing pools running into one another all through the centre of the space, fish keep putting their faces out of the water, doing little leaps; generally being cute.

Around the top of this large space is a walkway. It's cream plastic grid and looks dirty, brittle and slightly as though it's made of some children's construction toy; something akin to marble run, with rounded sections slotting into one another. At some points the walkway is just a foot or two from the ground, and other places it's way up near the ceiling and it has no rail or edge. Every now and then a shop assistant/security guard walks around it surveying the scene, when they get to the high sections I can see them cringe and struggle not to look down.At intervals around the walkway are smallish trees in pots, and when they pass one the guards have to walk right to the edge of the walkway and check that they are secure.

When we're done, I leave with Mum, in her car (which doesn't seem to be a totally ordinary ford escort any more...)
We're both lying back as we travel along between the edge of a large river and a high brick wall (not high- I can't climb over it, but high- six storeys ) and I'm watching the huge building pass beside us. Massive walls, narrow soaring buttresses, struts shaped like blades, turrets, walkways, gargoyles, bridges and rooms. Visible over the edge of the wall are also huge rounded sides of domes and arches, all exquisitely curved. Every part of the structure is made of perfectly tessellating dark red bricks. Every now and again we go through and arch, under a buttress or through a tunnel, all the time following the gentle contour of the building, like the curve of the earth.

All the while I'm just not concerned about who or what is driving or controlling the car, until I suddenly notice that we're approaching the end of the roadway and that all there is ahead is large open stretch of choppy water with another large brick building looming in the distance. Almost without warning the car shoots off the end of the track and plunges into the water. Bubbles boil all around, the noise of the churning water is everywhere, all around and everywhere inside me, I feel as though I can't breathe , even though inside the car is completely dry. Darkness swirls. Then with a sharp tug and a clanking sound the chains attached underneath the car take up the slack and begin to draw us along again...