Vanishing suddenly

Color legend: Non-dream Dream Lucid Lucid #158: Thankful Wife and I are starting a company that will manufacture a brand new type of video game console. I am standing in the middle of a park with her while we pitch the idea to about a half dozen investors while they ask us questions about it. Wife's doing all the talking and I am impressed with how well she is presenting the idea. The console is apparently based entirely around a light gun. (Think <PERSON> from the old Nintendo Entertainment System days.) We present several potential light gun designs, all of which have very kiddie designs. One even has a little plastic teddy bear sitting on top. Wife is going over the details of how we stack up against our competitors when I see my friend "CV" about fifty feet away, looking around. I believe she is come to support us so I walk up to greet her. There is a glass tip jar nearby which supporters of our project can shove money into. CV puts two dollars in the jar and I thank her. "I think this project is going to be a huge success," she says, explaining why she contributed money. I respond, "It is only money, right?" For some reason she finds this hilarious. "My husband does not see money that way! But he will spend money on... <cannot recall this part>" I thank her again and walk back toward where Wife is giving her presentation, but now she and the investors have vanished. I feel terrible, thinking that I have been gone so long Wife had to finish everything up without me and it looks like I rudely walked out on the meeting. Fortunately, I realize that it is all a dream. I begin walking along a path in the park and take a moment to look over my left shoulder. A beautiful sunset is taking shape over the trees and the rooftops near the park. That means I am walking north. Far ahead of me on the path I see two ladies in their late 60s. They look almost exactly alike, with wild hair and somewhat thick glasses. Their appearance reminds me a bit of Professor <PERSON> from <PERSON>. I remember the Task of the Month about asking a DC what they are thankful for. I become distressed for a moment that these DCs are too far away and I will have trouble reaching them. I focus my vision on the two DCs and then imagine myself "zooming in" toward where they are. Immediately I am standing right in front of them. "Hi! What are you thankful for?" I say, my words a bit of a nervous, hurried jumble. One lady immediately answers, "Youthful <something>." "Youthful what?" I ask. "Can you say it again?" "Youthful reef," she says firmly. Huh? "What is 'youthful reef'?" "It is an activity," she answers. Oh wait, is she talking about Task of the Year Australia? Should I be doing that one next? I thank her and keep walking along the path. The dream feels like it has thinned out, though, and I am soon in the void. I rub my hands together and keep moving forward, trying to stay relaxed. After perhaps 20 seconds I get the sensation of my feet walking through desert sand. It feels like a scene might be taking shape, but a sudden gust of wind catches me hard on the left side. I feel like I am losing my balance and become fearful. I mentally decide that I do not feel any wind at all and it quickly dies down. Unfortunately, at the same time I also lose connection with the ground and now it feels like my feet are no longer walking but flailing at empty air. I keep trying for a while but eventually lose connection with the dream and wake up.