Oblivion and theatrics

This dream is from June 2007:

I was walking around with my brother, who is 13 years younger. In the dream he was little, maybe 7 or 8 years old. We were walking in some sort of forest–garden hybrid; there were small areas with grass and trees enclosed by stone edgings and between them were gravel walkways. The trees were big and old like in a real forest.

We were on our way somewhere to meet the others, but weren’t sure of the way. After walking a while we ended up in the same place. I then got a somewhat clearer sense of the area and found out that we were going “that way”, a little uphill from where we were. We had stopped and unpacked something from our bags. I started collecting it, but my brother was already taking off up the road. Wait! I shouted, but he continued along. A short distance ahead I saw a theater curtain descending across the walkway in front of him. I’m not sure of the color of this curtain. It extended as far as I could see from each side of the road. I now ran after him shouting that he mustn’t go behind the curtain, but it was too late; he was already on his way through. (Did he go under, or was there an opening?)

I was very scared for what would happen to him on the other side of the curtain. I reached the curtain just as he disappeared, and I started frantically searching for the way through. I found it at last. (I think there might have been several layers of fabric.) I managed to grab my brother, and in so doing glimpsed the total and complete darkness that existed on the other side. I pulled him back. Appalled I discovered that his skin had changed to an ashen color, like he was covered with gray soot, but it was his skin color. His hair had changed from blonde to black and only a few strands remained on his head. He stood there in front of me shivering, but with an expressionless face. I grabbed him by his shoulders and asked him what was wrong. Nothing, he answered blankly. I searched in my head for the solution. I thought that I would either have to go behind the curtain myself, so that I would end up like him; or try to reach the edge of the curtain on either side, to figure out what had happened to him. These two solutions seemed logical in the dream.