the road begin with the man waking from a dream. Describe what he sees in the dream?

The man has been dreaming about wandering in a flowstone cave, led by his son, "Like pilgrims in a fable swallowed up and lost among the inward parts of some granitic beast". In the dream, the man and his son arrive at a "black and ancient lake" across from a blind creature . The creature is translucent, and its innards are vaguely visible. The creature turns away from the man and the boy.