the whales

We were all running from a battle with a rival gang. down through the alleyways, trying to lose our pursuers. we were downtown and came up head on with a chinese new year parade. we ducked down another side street and kept running. emerald and i got away from the others. it was dark, we were running down a path of paved grass along the river. the moonlight was bright. i figured nobody had followed us that ar and decided to sit and look at the river. upstream i could see little ripply shapes, coming closer. as they came nearer i could see that they were dolphins- lots of them. then i heard some people coming toward us down the path. it was the group of drunks i saw out the window before i fell asleep. afraid they might be coming for us, i watched them go by. just drunk, i decided- not a threat. when they had passed i turned back to the river. the dolphins had passed, as well. i was angry to have missed them but then i saw something else in the water. bigger shapes, moving slower. whales. they came up to the bank, and i put my hands down and pet their backs. their skin was covered in scars and graffiti like a carved up tree trunk, signed with peoples names. someone next to me reached down with a big orange marker. i yelled and knocked it into the water. then the whales started coming onto the shore, out of the water, where they slowly turned into tan and white spotted cows. they were surrounded by a soft glow. the cows gathered down n a clearing at the end of the path. next to the herd was a group of people in robes dancing and chanting in a circle. it was light now and we were in a finely manicured park carpeted with plush grass and encircled by large topiaries and shining silver gates. there were beautifully dressed people everywhere. i realized they were having a wedding.