お昼休みにトム（・クルーズ）と公園のテーブル一体型のベンチで
無駄話をしていたら、顔をうっすら知っているハリウッド女優が
やってきて向かいに座った。
せっかくトムとしゃべっていたのに、と面白くなかったが、
トムはその女より私の方が好きらしい様子を見せたため、
まあいいか、と安心して時計を見たら、とっくに昼休みが終わっていたので、
みんなで少々慌てて職場へ向かった。
その途中で、歯医者に行く必要性を感じたので、
他の二人（世界的大スターアンドハリウッド女優）に別れを告げて、
香港の街並みとおぼしき界隈へ向かい、目指す細い細い雑居ビルを見つけて
歯科医院に入り、受付で予約はないが診てほしい、と頼んでいるうちに、
顔だけ知っている、ハリウッドで悪徳ジジイの役ばっかりやっている
ジジイが顔を出し、すぐ診てやるから入れ、と英語で言った。
入るとそこは、診察台が１０台ほども並んだ広くて清潔で近代的な診察室で、
そのうちの１台に登って口を開けたら、ジジイが何も診ないうちに、
「こりゃヒドイな。今は何にもできないからコレなめとけ。」
と言って、裸のトローチを一つ２本の指で挟んで筆者の方に
突き出した。
それは昭和の頃の龍角散トローチの色をしており、
レモンの型に鋳抜かれてあった。
包装された状態でくれられないものか、と訝しんだが、
仕方ないのでもらって口に入れたら、
まあまあ美味しかった。
他に患者はいなかった。
目覚めてしばらくこの夢を反芻し、この日初めて私の口から出た
言葉は無論こうだ：
・・・は？
＜英語版＞
At lunch time, I was chatting with Tom (Cruise) on a bench in a park.
It was a wooden bench-table integrated installation.
A Hollywood actress whose face I vaguely recognized joined us.
She wasn't welcome as far as I was concerned.
I preferred being with Tom alone.
However, Tom seemed more attracted to me than to this actress,
which relieved me and turned my attention to a clock near us.
Lunch time was over long time ago. We headed back to work.
Then, somehow it occurred to me that I had to see a dentist.
I said bye to the other two (the world's most famous actor and a Hollywood actress),
and went into a crowded Hongkong downtown.
I found the narrow, narrow, multi-tenant building I was looking for, went up,
and told the receptionist that although I didn't have an appointment, I needed to see
a dentist right away.
While I was talking to the receptionist, an old guy, whose face I recognized,
and who plays only roles of evil old men in Hollywood movies,
came out of his office and told me to come in, in English.
The office was a large, clean, cutting-edge one with about 10 examination tables.
I climbed onto one of them, and opened my mouth for him.
He barely looked at my mouth or anything really before he
declared,
"Wow, this isn't good. There's nothing I can do now. Suck this."
He produced a pastille between two of his fingers, without any wrapping.
It was lemon-shaped, and had the same color as
Ryukakusan pastille I used to know when I was a child.
I really wished it was wrapped, but it wasn't like I had any choice.
I took it and put it in my mouth.
It was kinda tasty.
There were no other patients but me.
I woke up, thought about this dream of mine for a while bewildered,
and quite naturally, what came out of my mouth
for the first time today was,
"....WHAT?"