Sweet Dreams Read Online Free PDF Page A

movie.”
    â€œAnd?”
    â€œWent to see the light like we always do.”
    Jerry stared at him. “You went to see the what?”
    Van stared back at him. When he spoke, there was impatience in his voice. “The light, man. The light out by the railroad tracks. All the kids go out there to see it.”
    Jerry wasn’t from this section of the state. He had been born and reared in the northern part and had no knowledge of any light – other than the one developed by Mr. Edison.
    â€œI ... I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Van. What about this light? Tell me about it.”
    Van suddenly shook his head and then stuck his thumb in his mouth. Despite himself, Jerry thought the boy looked more like an idiot than a child. “I gotta go do number one,” Van blurted.
    Doctor Jerry Baldwin suddenly experienced unexpected and very cold fear. The sensation was crawling around the base of his spine, its slimy, snakelike tentacles slithering around and touching the pit of his stomach.
    What I am sensing is ... Evil, Jerry thought. But why am I experiencing any of these emotions? Why, damn it, why?
    When he trusted his voice not to betray his inner feelings, Jerry pointed to a closed door. “The bathroom is in there, Van.”
    Van wriggled in his chair. “I gotta poo, too,” he announced. His voice was very childlike.
    â€œThat’s all right, Van.”
    When the bathroom door closed, Jerry jerked up the telephone and punched out Doctor Maryruth Benning’s home number. She answered on the second ring.
    â€œMaryruth? Jerry Baldwin. Listen. Get over to my office just as fast as you can. I’ve got a real problem here and I need a professional witness. If you get any speeding tickets, I’ll pay them. Hurry, Maryruth- hurry !”
    He hung up the phone, thinking: Thank God for small towns. She should be here in three or four minutes.
    Maryruth was walking through Jerry’s front door just as Van was pulling up his trousers and flushing the toilet. Van’s mother was in the restroom just off the waiting room and did not hear Maryruth enter the building. Maryruth walked into Jerry’s office just as Van stepped out of the restroom. She noticed the young man’s vacant eyes and his childlike expression and movements. She froze when the teenager began speaking.
    â€œI made a good poo,” Van said. “But you’re gonna be mad with Van ’cause he used a whole roll of paper.”
    â€œThat’s all right, Van,” Jerry said. “I’m not mad. You know Doctor Benning, don’t you?”
    Van’s eyes shifted to the woman standing in the doorway. He stuck a thumb into his mouth and hung his head. The scene would have been funny were it not for the deadly seriousness of the situation. The great hulking teenager looked pitiful.
    â€œSure, we know each other,” Maryruth said, stepping into the room and leaving the door slightly ajar. “How are you, Van?”
    Van shuffled his feet on the carpet and mumbled his greetings.
    â€œHow do you feel, Van?” she asked.
    Huge rivers of tears rolled from the boy’s eyes, to splash on his bare chest. “I want my mommie!” he said.
    â€œShe’s right outside, Van,” Jerry said. “First tell me about this light you went to see. How often do you see this light?”
    â€œCan’t, can’t!” the boy cried.
    His voice had changed into that of a small child.
    â€œEasy, Van,” Jerry cautioned. “It’s all right. No one is going to hurt you.”
    â€œMommie!” he screamed. “I want my mommie.”
    Mrs. Bishop ran down the hall and threw open the door, hitting Maryruth in the back, and propelling her across the room. She collided with Van. He glared at the woman and then spoke in a language neither doctor had ever heard. The voice coming from the young man’s throat did not sound as though it belonged to him. It