[Erfael]

There's very little chance this is what you're after, and I can't be very specific, but is there a chance that you're looking for a Charles de Lint short story from one of the Newford collections? I've read two of the collections and this seems vaguely familiar in a de Lint sort of way.....

Try Moonlight and Vines, Dreams Underfoot, or Memory and Dreams maybe...

[isabeats]

Erfael- Thank you, but those aren't it. I have all three of those de Lint collections (In fact, I'm rereading "Dreams Underfoot" right now). I would guess the story I'm talking about was an older story. I remember it had an old-fashioned, elegant feel to it.

I appreciate all the suggestions. Finding this story is starting to be an obsession, so I bet I do find it eventually.

[isabeats]

By the way, Erfael... have you seen this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHfWjcscNd4

[UL.]

Argh, I know how frustrating it is when you can't remember something like that! I tried googling around for a bit, but came up with nothing. Perhaps you'll stumble on it again in 20 years :) All I can suggest you do is ask the question in plenty of places. Try other forums and yahoo answers (for a large audience) etc. Also, text AQA, they claim to be able to answer anything... plus you get a free text online. Get a friend in England to do it for you (and give as much detail as possible). Although you're unlikely to get a correct answer, it's always fun to test them. Clicky (http://www.63336.com/free_question_and_answer.htm?internal)

Good luck!

[B5B7]

isabeats - from your description in post #10 I recognise the story but unfortunately can't give its name or author. As I recall it is by one of the classic authors - someone like Clifford Simak, and is probably from the 1950s (or possibly 1960s).
Sorry I was unable to be more helpful - bloody memory!:(

[isabeats]

B5B7- Thanks- now I know it wasn't a dream! I don't think it's Clifford Simak (whose earlier stuff I love), but that gives me an idea... perhaps it was a rare fantasy story by a non-fantasy author. And perhaps it was included in a non-fantasy anthology. I should look for it in more mainstream anthologies too.

[isabeats]

Today I was reading the last story in a collection I had read long ago and guess what? It was this story I've been trying to track down! I was very happy to have found it again. But also a little surprised by my faulty memory, as the story does not fully fit the storyline I gave here. I think I mixed two stories into one. Anyway, the story is "The Green Road to Quephanda", by Ruth Rendell. One of her very few, yet beautiful, fantasy stories. It's in "The New Girl Friend and Other Stories".
Thanks for all the earlier help, everyone. I'll try to get more involved here, though I spend most of my online time at StumbleUpon. I'm "isabeats" there too.
Peace.

[DailyAlice]

I'm so glad you found your story. Ruth Rendell is a favorite, and I'm ashamed it rang no bell.

Confusing dream with memory is something I think most of us have experienced. I used to hunt for a little bookstore of which I knew the *approximate* Philadelphia location, but finally had to admit to myself that I'd dreamed it.