A Curiosity from the Workshop of the Unconscious
I am in a large house that seems to be my grandparent’s home from many years ago. I spent a lot of time there as a child. The house is airy and quite dark as if it exists on an astral plane. I have just completed major renovations. Construction crews have finished their work, leaving me alone in the bare space. The biggest renovation was extending the ceiling upward.
The ceiling is now so high in the sky that the house feels like an ornate train station like Grand Central or the Milano Centrale. In order to extend the ceiling skyward, the construction crews had to demolish nearly everything in the house. But all the work is done and I walk over to a corner in the main part of the house where there is an American diner-style table complete with bouncy booth seats.
As soon as I sit down, my maternal grandmother joins me out of the darkness with the help of a caregiver. Once she is seated, I proceed to tell her about the renovations. I seek her approval. She tells me that the place looks great but she doesn’t really know where she is. The combination of the renovations and her age means that she is quite confused about the surroundings. It makes her feel unsettled but not upset. With a soft smile, she says everything is great.
