houri house   -- 1 April 2026


i was sitting in the backseat of a car, similar to the lincoln 
towncar my grandfather used to drive when i was little. i was 
on the right side. on the left (behind the driver) was someone
else, but i had no sense of what they looked like or who they 
were, just their presence. 

the driver spoke to us, looking back at us in the rearview 
mirror. he looked like perhaps a Bedouin man, with a loose
headcover, nutmeg-brown skin, and a thick black mustache. i 
felt safe. 

'seatbelts, ladies,' he said to us.

in the front passenger seat was a beautiful woman from India,
with thick long black hair, slightly wavy, worn loose around 
her shoulders. [i realize as i type this that i may have seen 
her before, in an important dream many years ago.] she had
large dark eyes and an easy, broad bright smile. 

she and the driver were a band together. she was talking about
their music, and she described it as 'houri house.' 

i asked if they had a place to stay, and she said, 'no, we
don't know anybody in pittsburgh.' 

i said, 'if my roommates aren't home, we have an extra bedroom.'

in waking life (IWL), i  don't live in pittsburgh, and i don't
have roommates. 

it was daytime, and the quality of light was that of a clear day.