R and I stepped off the plane into the heat and desolation of Iraq and climbed aboard an old school bus, throwing our backpacks onto the seat next to us. The bus stopped infront of a McDonald's and everyone stepped off the bus and into the little piece of America in the desert.

I asked the cashier if the chicken was really chicken. Yes. I then asked if the beef was really beef. "We're working on it." I ordered the chicken. R and I decided to sit in the middle of the restaurant believing it safer should it be bombed. I recall feeling so many emotions at once: curiousity, nervousness, fear, excitement.

We finished our meal and got back on the bus. The driver closed the door and drove off down bombed streets, swerving to avoid craters in the road. My eyes searched for signs of the American forces, but frighteningly found none. I only saw reminants of homes and buildings. Never any people except the few on the bus. No one made eye contact choosing instead to stare at the same scenes that filled my own eyes. I wondered if they were seeing something different than I.

When we noticed the driver returning us to the airport, we became a little concerned about his motives. Parking, he quickly exited. We followed suite. R took my hand and we ran to the side of a building. Taking refuge behind some kind of bush, we watched a group of men run past. My body was drenched in the sweat of fear. I just followed R's lead confident of his ability to get us out of there. There was no dramatic moment of him asking me to trust him, I just did.

I heard the sound of some large vehicle moving between the buildings. It was dusk and as we moved from our place of hiding, R assured me the lighting would make it more difficult to accurately see. We moved quickly and quietly along the wall. The rumbling of the large motor became louder, closer.

Just as it was bearing down on us, R slipped his arm around my waist and pulled me sideways and down into a hole in the wall. I rolled over a few times......and awakened. It was all a dream. A vivid lucent dream.