This unbeta-ed vignette started haunting me, so I thought I'd do some ghost-busting by typing it up and sharing it with you all.

I understand that it is debatable whether people in a coma actually do dream. If they don't, then perhaps Lois was finally starting to come out of the coma at the time of the story.

As always, all feedback welcomed.

Joy,
Lynn

Hi Lynn!
I'm with you so far...

Wait, is the little guy actually Serena Judd's baby?
Lois! And what now?

Michael

Oooh, that was EEEEEEvil. All just a dream, indeed.

That was sweet. Whether or not she ever wakes up, she's been having a nice dream and she has people that still care about her and visit her in the hospital.

Oh-wow! That was evil...and thought-provoking!

Interesting idea!
Laura

Hello all,

Thank you for the feedback. I was quite surprised by some of it. I fully expected the term "evil" to show up, but I never would have dreamt that anyone would have used words like "beautiful" or "sweet." it fascinates me to see how differently everyone's reacting to the story.

Michael, I hadn't thought of Judd, but she certainly could be described by that phrase. Now that I think about it, I haven't read any Norcross and Judd fanfic. Seems like a fanfic challenge is hiding in that.

re: Tempus making this more evil and Lois's dream actually being an alternate reality: Why does a bit of a Poe poem spring to mind? Specifically, "Is all we see or seem but a dream within a dream?"

Virginia, I purposely left Clark's status open for the readers to interpret as they will. My own thoughts are that Clark exists in this reality. He and Lois met as in the pilot, but in this world, he is human. Just as Dorothy spun farmhands into a tin man, lion and scarecrow in her dream, Lois spun an ordinary farmboy into a superhero in hers. I could easily see the two of them becoming better acquainted upon her awakening (assuming, of course, that she does come out of the coma). After four years in a coma, she would discover how precious life is and realize that she did have time "for this," after all.

Queen of the Capes, Why thankee. Evil was what I was aiming for in this one.

Lady Loisette, so does this make the story sweetly evil or evilly sweet?

Mouserocks, thank you for taking a quick break from your studies to read and comment on this story. (It was a quick break, yes? You know what you asked us to remind you... )

Laura, I'm glad that the story inspired thought. One of my writing role models is Fredric Brown, one of the lesser-known pioneers of science fiction. Many of his stories could fit on one side of one page with plenty of room left over. But although those stories could be read in under a minute or two, they left one thinking about them for far longer than it took to read them. If I accomplished something similar with this story, I am pleased.

Joy,
Lynn

Maybe my evil gauge is broken or needs to be recalibrated, but I would probably remove the word evil entirely. I see the sweetness in the story. She isn't alone in her dreams or in her reality. In her dreams she has her life with Clark and in her reality she has visitors (Likely more than just Perry) who come to see her and spend time with her.

I like your view. I had figured that most people would label the wiping out of the "reality" of almost the entire series with a few keystrokes to be evil.

Joy,
Lynn

Lynn S.M. posted:
Be pleased, Lynn . You certainly got us thinking! And also, such a great point above--it doesn't really matter the length of the story, it's what you take from the story a lot of the time, that is what makes it special. A good idea, a good story, might be long--or depending, it might be short. If it's good, then simply, it is good ...

Laura

Ack! SO sad and beautiful at the same time. My heart breaks for everyone involved.

Sweet? Are you kidding? Lois dreamed the Argh! Definitely evil.

Excellent vignette.

B

In just a few lines an unimaginable story is brought to mind. Chilling, yet very thought provoking!

This Lois should be happy her boss still visits on a regular basis.

DOROTHY WAS DREAMING!?!? Noooooooo! Don't anyone even mention Hobbes!

Seriously, I like quickies like this. I think it's often harder to seize people's preconceptions and point them in another direction than to write something from scratch. Well done.

Now, why do I keep thinking of Patrick Duffy?

Yay. More feedback. Thank you.

Deadly Chakram, that's two votes now for "sad and beautiful." I'm delighted that it struck such a chord with you.

BJ wrote

I almost didn't post this story because of that, but then I remembered Perry's saying about old stories and new angles, and decided to go ahead with it anyway.

Joy,
Lynn