That familiar feeling of disorientation came over her.  It was everywhere.  Her fog.  It kept her from reaching the boundaries of her senses and locked her in the expanse of her imagination.  She was merely a thought, a single thought swimming in a sea of sentience.  She just floated, following the force of its current.  Then another thought came to her.  She wasn’t aware that it was approaching.  It just arrived.  “Open your eyes.”  That was all.  This one solitary thought triggered the wave of her human existence, her physical presence.  She began to feel her skin and the surface upon which it was resting.  She felt her hair on the nape of her neck.  She knew that her hands and feet were there, but never ceased to entertain the tiniest doubt that they might vanish into thin air.  She tried to find a surface, something to touch, something somewhere between the clouds of half-awake and half-asleep.  She could hear the waves, the crashing of the ocean.  There was a soft low rumble to this tide, she thought.  Perhaps it was caused by the cold wind that blew fiercely over the water.  Another wave came rushing in.  Twitch.  Twitch.  Her toes were moving.  She was wiggling them in the sand as she walked on the beach.  Her feet moved along the edge, where the sand glistened as the white salty water receded back into the ocean.  She could feel the cool moisture between her toes. 

The sound of a horn echoed in the distance.  For some strange reason, it annoyed her.  She began searching for the sign of a boat or dock, but couldn’t find one.  Then it came again, except this time it was different.  The pitch was higher and it seemed to be coming from above.  Then she saw the shadow pass over her.  She looked up and saw the silhouette of a bird hovering over her.  It was watching her, tracking her like a field mouse.  Nervously she started to run.  It let out another cry as if to signal it’s intent.  As she ran, she could see it’s shadow on the sand following her.  She ran faster, but the shadow kept pace.  It grew bigger and bigger and the bird descended.  She ran faster and faster, but the shadow continued to grow until she could no longer see the sand.  Within seconds the warm calm beach was transformed into darkness.  The sand beneath her feet was getting softer, as if the floor was being pulled out from under it.  The bird’s cry was deafening.  Then she felt it’s sharp claws bear into her shoulders. 

“Ma’am,” came a voice out of the darkness.

Florence opened her eyes.  A woman’s face was above her.  She place her hand on Florence’s shoulder.  

“So sorry to disturb you.  Would you prefer tea or coffee?"

  She wasn’t lying down in her bed.  She was sitting in a seat.