First


You only live twice.
Once when you're born,
And again whern you look death in the face.
   -- Ian Fleming, You Only Live Twice

I'm drifting... drifting. A pillow under my head, a puppy on my butt, and Conan in my ear. The blankets are snug around me, cocooning me in lavender warmth.
Heavy eyes, a shifting light, then a vision of bright snow. Bare birch trees reach up as fluffy flakes drift down towards me. I'm lying on the ground, and cold. So cold that I can't even shiver, I barely feel the snow as a few tufts find purchase on my face. When I look down on my cheeks I can see them, blurry and not melting. I try to move, I need to brush them away... and I'm falling. I'm falling off a cliff.
The fall jerks me awake, although now I don't think I was exactly asleep. I'm rolling over, the blanket off, exposing my shoulder, and my arm braces me against the mattress, saving me from the tumble and certain death.
Disoriented for a moment, I can't understand why my little dog hasn't awoken as well. But, what was a trauma for me, didn't even register to her. She is still snuggled in, now tucked safely under my rear.

Pulling the blankets up, I wiggle back down trying to find warmth and security, listening to late-night advertisements, knowing it will be a while before I drift off again.