In my dream, all the smartphones in the world had stopped working and most people had left cities to go live elsewhere. After that happened, people and animals could communicate telepathically.

I’m walking around in this dystopian place — an overgrown courtyard surrounded by tall apartment buildings — holding my camera. I’m stalking a Goshawk, which keeps flying to another place, just as my lens focuses on its stunning red eyes.

Quit doing that, and just let me take your image, I think. It clarifies it has no reason to do so for me, and it’s enjoying this new sense of space now that the people are gone.

This is my place now and you can’t tell me what to do.

Fine! I wander a bit more, quietly, when I see movement in a room on the 3^rd floor in the building before me. The French doors are gone, and white curtains that drop to the balcony whisk in the breeze. A woman pulls her daughter close beside her. They face away from me. I aim my camera and zoom in -SNAP- to document. They stand in fear of a grand male lion, barely distinguishable in the dark far corner of the room. It roars mightily but doesn’t approach. I wonder what they are thinking toward each other.

I should go there and help, I think and make my way across the courtyard. About to enter the building, the lion appears in front of me with a threatening attitude. I can’t read its thoughts, but maybe it’s not thinking at the moment.

What’s the matter? I ask it, pretending very hard to not be afraid.

I just want to listen to some Mozart! it angrily answers.

I have some Mozart at home and you’d be welcome to come and listen to it. Why do you want to do that so badly?

The phones all quit, but they left a roar in the ether that only some animals can hear. Lions define their territory with low roars and it’s driving me insane! So I want to listen to Mozart’s high, up-beat symphonies to cancel out the terrible noise!

We walk to my house and listen to some Mozart together. The Lion and I.

THE END