In my dream Catherine Deneuve and Jean Reno were sitting on a veranda
It is the middle of the day and they are enjoying lavender coffee
Their daughter who is played by Astrid Berges-Frisbey is deaf
She is haunting the shadows but is acutely aware of her parents conversation
Helene is looking out towards the desert and tells her husband that she can see a small town
It is hovering above the dunes
Jean tells her that it is a mirage as no such town exists
You are witnessing nothing
Nothing exists in that wilderness nothing survives
I can see people walking along its streets
Jean calls his daughter from the shadows and asks her if she can see a thriving town deep amongst the dunes
Agnes does not answer as she has failed to read her fathers lips
It is an expression of disinterest
Her father is used to her insolence and ignores his daughter
She fiddles with the collar of her cotton shirt and returns to her book
It is an American pulp novel
In the distance a tall Arab boy is walking towards their home
He is carrying a machete
The Arab has come to murder us and rape our beautiful daughter
Jean raises an imaginary rifle and shoots the Arab dead
He does this three times as ghosts are not easily destroyed
Agnes rushes down the wooden steps and holds the dying Arab in her arms
He is bleeding heavily from a head wound
His blood is slowly staining her cotton shirt
She stares stares at her parents who are drinking lavender coffee in the shade of their house
The Arab dies and Agnes kisses his wound
She tastes his fatal blood
Our daughter is walking into the desert
She will perish in the heat
Do not worry Helene as I have seen her taking this journey many times before
She is listening to the music of the desert
And always returns to her shuttered room