top of page
Sleep Cinema

Michelle: My Neighbor Totoro

I am new at a school that take place in the backyard of the house I grew up in. I am carrying an aerosol can with a flower printed on it that sprays a super sweet, floral scent, when a boy runs over to me, snatches the can out of my hand, and runs away laughing. He's tall and lanky with shaggy black hair (he kind of reminds me of Roderick from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies). Annoyed, I yell for him to give me back my can then chase him around the yard. It is hard for me to catch him since he keeps looping around the house. I get the idea to catch him by ducking down by one side of the house and trapping him when he runs back around. I hunker down by the side of the house where a rose bush used to grow (now there are hydrangeas there) and sure enough, the boy runs to my corner and looks behind his back to see if I'm still following him. I immediately jump out of hiding and ambush him, snatching the can back. He smiles and grabs the sides of my face and gently kisses my cheek. I'm confused but say "aww that was kind of sweet!" He smiles at me.

Time passes and I understand that I have been dating the boy. I'm sitting by the side of the house with a girl I understand to be my friend. I'm playing with one of those Barbie heads that lets you style their hair. As I'm brushing out the hair, my friend begins to tell me a story about how she lost her virginity in the woods. I'm uncomfortable with her telling me this now with so many people walking around. I continue to play with the Barbie head and try to make a bun, however when I pull the hair back I realize the doll's head is just painted with barely any strands of hair attached. When I pull the hair back to make a bun, the doll looks like it has a shaved head with a tiny puff of hair in the back. I laugh and show the girl. She looks annoyed that I haven't been listening to her story, then says "Wow, you're pretty good with that thing, huh?" I begin to tell her that I used to have Barbie heads like this as a kid until I looked up and noticed two big owls staring at us.

The owls are sort of levitating in the air and making a whirring sound. I think to myself, "Is that a Totoro?" The owls disappear. Suddenly, a giant Totoro flies down from the trees and lands in the grass. It looks like the "realistic" renditions artists make of cartoons, so it's a little creepy, but I am excited nonetheless! I want to jump on its belly SO badly! I try to snap a pic of it in on my phone to show Anne and Elizabeth, but every time I try to take a picture the Totoro disappears in the photo or my camera switches to front-facing mode. I see my friend snapping pictures and ask her to take one for me. She agrees then proceeds to take selfies of herself with the Totoro, making duck faces, sticking her tongue out, etc. I ask her to just take one of the Totoro but she continues to take her annoying selfies. I'm getting very fed up with her and am worried the Totoro is going to fly away before I can get a decent picture of it. Then I woke up!


5 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page