I'm sitting on a cobblestone street in an old town, apparently waiting for some sort of parade with Natasha. A friend of mine in a costume comes out, playing some sort of part with the bystanders. He apparently has several acts, which he plays for the different crowds as he passes along the street. He involves me in his act, coming near me and addressing me as though I didn't know him. I realize that I am supposed to count down from 4 to 1 to set off his act, but for some reason I can't get the words out in anything above a whisper.

I have a hotel room at the beach. My balcony is directly on the surface of the ocean, which doesn't have any waves. In the moonlight I can see what appear to be large numbers of fish just under the water's surface, but when I look more closely, they are large sand fleas. They are similar to the sand fleas found on the Oregon coast, but much larger, like a beetle. There are millions of them in the water, huddled together near the surface in an almost solid sheet. Near my balcony is a small spot of clear water, so I put my foot in it to see if they will smell me and attack. Very quickly I notice a dozen or so of them following my foot as I move it around in the water, so I pull it out. I pull one of the sand fleas out of the water and hold it up to the yellow light illuminating the deck.

Then I'm getting ready to go home. I stop at a store for pre-departure supplies, and I buy a sandwich. I sit down on a rock near the road and start eating it, and I notice a skinny orange cat nearby. I apparently knew it before, when it was healthier, but now it is very sickly and appears near to death from starvation or thirst. I give it some meat from my sandwich, and it sniffs it over, but appears too sick to eat it. I give it some bread also, thinking it easier to eat, and it explores it, but doesn't eat it either.

I am thinking that perhaps I should take it home with me and try to nurse it back to health. I don't want any more pets, but it's apparently a rough place and time for cats. I see a small black kitten already dead and rotting near the rock on which I am sitting.

I'm not sure what to do.