NOON

Last night I dreamt a million dreams but can only remember one of them.

It concerned sitting in a tiny room at a tiny table by myself in the home of a man and a woman.

I did not know the couple but I saw the detail of their faces very clearly.

The room was minimalistic. No ornaments, no friendly touches, no paintings. No mirrors. The walls were painted a very, very pale sage green.

Nothing except the small table with two chairs sitting beside a window.

There were other people in the house but they were in other rooms.

The woman brought me a large white plate containing a meal she had prepared. A minimalistic meal.

There was a small filo pastry “purse” containing chicken on one side of the plate. On the other side of the plate was a scoop of mixed vegetables. I can’t remember exactly what was there, but I remember thinking “where are the potatoes?” Being polite, I didn’t ask.

The remarkable thing about the filo pastry was it was crossed with carmine coloured red lines. Like a trelis. It was very elegant.

I asked the woman how she managed to do that.

She told me, but I can’t remember what she said except that she had used cochineal.

I asked her if she used the red dye before she put the filo pastry in the oven.

She said yes.

I then ate the meal alone.

It was delicious.