The Things We See in Our Sleep

The sun was almost set along the shoreline, our shadows stretching along the soft sand beneath our feet.
“The sky is amazing.” I said, holding onto Emily’s hand while looking at the sky.
“Christofer! Watch out!” Emily pulled my arm back.
I looked down and saw an elderly man standing in front of us. He had to be no more than two feet tall, his beard almost touching the ground. It was pure white with streaks of light gray; he almost reminded me of a garden gnome. He had a walking stick just big enough for him, intricately carved in swirly designs that look like vines climbing a tree.
“I’m sorry, sir, can we help you?” I asked, kneeling down to his level.
He set his walking stick down and rested his hand on my shoulder. It seemed to be no bigger than a toddler’s hand. “Son, listen to these words that I have lived by my whole life.”
I sat down on the ground, Emily following, and we listened to the short old man.
“You’re only as tall as your heart will let you be, and you’re only as small as the world will make you seem. And when the going gets rough, and you feel like you may fall, just look on the bright side, you’re roughly six feet tall.” He tilted his hat at us and went on his way, leaving his walking stick.
I grabbed it and quickly got up. “Sir, you forgot–” I yelled, stopping myself when I saw he wasn’t there anymore.
Emily and I looked at each other in confusion. “Where did he go?” I asked, totally bewildered.
“I don’t know, he couldn’t have gotten very far that fast, though. Lets try and find him.” Emily grasped my hand again and we went on our way to try and find the small old man.
She was really starting to grow on me; I think I might be falling in love with her. No telling anything, though, this is just the first date, and a weird one it is.
I just smiled as we walked along the cement path through the trees, whose leaves were all different shades of red and orange. The brown, fallen leaves crunched beneath our feet as the wind blew them over the quiet city street.
I heard something move behind us. I turned and saw something big and tall, very tall, no less than 12 feet, standing in the middle of the pathway. It started kneeling and soon the face of a very burlesque man came into our view. He had a wild brown beard and moustache that made it look like he had no mouth. He looked rough, like he hasn’t properly groomed himself in a couple weeks. He was wearing a wicker hat with a red plaid cloth around it, matching his red plaid button up shirt and jean overalls. His eyes crinkled at the edges as he smiled.
This night just keeps getting weirder and weirder.
“Can we help you?” Emily asked.
“I need no help, you just need to listen to the words that I’ve dreaded my whole life.” He paused, setting his hat on Emily’s head. She drowned in it. We waited for what he had to say.
“You’re only as tall as your heart will let you be, and you’re only as small as the world will make you seem. And when the going gets rough, and you feel like you may fall, just look on the bright side, you’re roughing six feet tall.” The tall man stood up and turned around, going on his way.
“Wait! Maybe you can help us!” I shouted, but he didn’t seem to hear me. I sighed and looked at Emily, who looked puzzled.
“Isn’t that exactly what the old man said, too?” She asked.
“It is.” I shook my head. “This is so weird. Should we give up on the search and head home? Maybe he’ll come to us if he wants it back.”
“Sure.” She said, heading to her house.
The whole way there I couldn’t get those lines out of my head. Why were they saying that? And why to us?
Once we got to Emily’s, we hugged.
“I had a fun night.” She said, smiling.
“If fun is any way to describe what happened tonight.” I said, laughing a little.
She laughed as well, and once the laughter subsided, an awkward silence set in.
“Hey... would there be any chance that we could get together?” I asked shyly.
She put her hand on my upper arm. “I’m sorry, Christofer, but I don’t think it would work out. I really don’t feel anything special. Sorry.”
I was saddened slightly by this, but nodded in response. “Alright, night, then.” I walked off her porch and headed to my house.
What the two men said still rang in my brain. I tried adding my own verse:
“I am a man of six feet tall
Just looking for some answers
In a world that answers none of them at all
I’ll say hi
But not reply to the letters that you wrote because I’ve found some peace of mind
‘Cause I’m only as tall as my heart will let me be
And I’m only as small as the world will make me seem
And when the going gets rough, and I feel like I may fall
I’ll look on the bright side, I’m roughly six feet tall”
I flew up from my bed, wide awake. I grabbed my notebook from my bedside table and began writing down everything those two men said.
All of it seemed so real, but it had to have been a dream. There are no 12 foot or 2 foot tall men, it’s impossible.
I finished writing everything down and got out of bed, immediately tripping over something and falling on the floor.
I get up to look at what I tripped on and almost doubled over.
There, in front of me, where the walking stick and hat of the 2 and 12 foot men.