I wake on the couch where i had fallen asleep, the red-shaded lamp still glowing steadily.

It is dark out but the sun is just beginning to diffuse the slightest light throughout the sky. I am startled into an adrenaline rush by a man outside the window who keeps approaching the glass…his face wearing an eerie maniacal smile.

I swing around to the front door which he is coming through, to block his invasion. I can see him better now. He is dressed humbly, in clothing that has probably been on his back for days. He is a bit weathered too, likely not having seen the hot side of a shower for days. His hair might be shoulder length and straw like in colour and fray. His demeanor is calm and his behaviour suggests that he thinks he belongs here–that is, he doesn’t think he’s invading my space, but i feel very uncertain and defensive. And, still calm and smiling, he’s trying to push his way past me, affecting his presence into my space. I am holding him off with pushes of forearm and fist. A couple more guys show up, similar in presence.

I am obviously uncomfortable with these guys trying to get into my house, objecting with screwed up facial expressions and increasingly wider limbs, somehow managing to keep them at bay. Finally i gain ample control over my limbs, and subsequently theirs, and push them out the door. Once this happens, they seem “defeated” and no longer try to come in. Over my shoulder, however, i see a fourth man, standing on the other side of the room, almost statue-esque, and having a skin tone of dusty granite. He is very tall and dressed only in a cloth, appearing very ancient and tribal. He seems to be holding his ground, and certainly he has the physical advantage over me–I’m beginning to anticipate an evictive struggle with him–which may not succeed.

Marshall (old friend, new roommate!) swings around the corner and approaches the statue-man from behind, only revealing his stealthy presence when he had descended upon the intruder, placing himself at a vantage point. The man of granite, with a wizened look upon his face, observes the new odds, and seeing himself overpowered, allows us to lead him out of the house without contest.