Shemay Lee

Long-Form Manga LF002

I Think I Had A Weird Dream

Sometimes the brain does not want symbolism. Sometimes it wants volleyball, warships, helicopters, and a high-school crush.

Tony referees a packed university volleyball match and realizes he cannot find his whistle.
Tony tests a weak whistle while a volleyball player asks whether that was it.
Tony cycles through increasingly ridiculous whistles, including one that quacks.
Players, coaches, and the crowd wait while Tony empties his referee bag looking for a louder whistle.
Tony finds a large whistle just as an enormous shadow passes over the volleyball gym skylights.
A massive formation of original futuristic spacecraft streaks above the volleyball gym while Tony holds his whistle.
Tony tries to blow the whistle, but the roar of spacecraft makes it useless.
An official casually explains that the volleyball match is also a football championship.
A swarm of generic helicopters floods the sky beneath the futuristic spacecraft.
Tony keeps searching for a louder whistle while aircraft noise overwhelms the volleyball gym.
A friend casually says the movie is starting, and Tony suddenly appears at a theatre with popcorn.
Tony walks through a movie theatre hallway and pockets the referee whistle before entering the auditorium.
Tony spots an adult woman he recognizes from high school sitting in the theatre.
Tony sits beside his former high-school crush and admits that the situation feels weird.
The movie begins, and Tony notices when the woman rests against his shoulder.
The woman whispers that Tony was quieter in high school and says she remembers him.
The woman leans closer while Tony sits rigidly and wonders what is happening.
Tony awkwardly pulls the referee whistle from his pocket during the movie theatre scene.
The dream merges the movie theatre, futuristic aircraft, helicopters, a volleyball, and Tony's whistle into one surreal scene.
Tony wakes up in bed after the strange dream and asks what just happened.