I have always been fascinated by dreams! By the very concept of dreams! And I am one of those who have elaborate, vivid, and unfathomable dreams. I have seen so many plots and stories in my dreams that had I been a smart-worker, I could have published a few novels by now! I have even written down the events on many occasions but would give up on it later. I have also experienced lucid dreams numerous times.
I had sleep paralysis too since I was a teen that I learned to overcome! It was a quick fix for me! I had sleep paralysis whenever I slept on my back. So, I made sure not to do that, and it just stopped. I remember the first time I experienced it. I thought it was the end for me. My first experience was mild in the sense that I didn’t see anyone walk into my room or stand nearby or sit on my chest. I just couldn’t move! But I did think that it was the end! That’s how people die! I didn’t know for a very long time what it was. Only a few years back did I know the term and understood it.
If I google why people dream so elaborately, I could find numerous articles on many issues that I might have. Well, Dr. Google has always been scary! Diagnosing you with illnesses that you don’t want to even think about! So, it talks about mental health, underlying health conditions, and everyday stress! But I do not want to research further as I am not bothered! I love my dreams and would like to continue having such dreams because I am a writer, and I need ideas!
Why I am writing about dreams today is because of a dream I had recently. What a great story, imagery, characters, and even cinematography! If I was a painter, I could have done better justice. Still, I have my words so I will try to paint it for all of you. It seemed like a sad world, all gloomy. And surprisingly there was no color. It was all in black and white! I knew that there was an impending doom and people wanted to flee this world. I am a great fan of apocalyptic stories, and I can understand that I might have viewed all the ideas I had in my subconscious mind. And this genre was a big reason behind this dream. Now going back, I saw that many people were trying to flee this world and go to another world which was supposedly heaven. Then I saw my parents and a few of my friends sail away on a boat. They were looking at me, and from what I could understand, I missed my chance. It was a cloudy evening, chill and dismal. There was tragedy sliding through the air. There were not many people around, and I was happy that my loved ones were going to a safer place. But as they left I realized that I also had to leave.
So I set out on a journey with a friend of mine. I didn’t see his/her face but could feel the presence of a fellow seeker. After that, I don’t remember much. But what I could recall is a scenario like London city from Victorian times. London that you see in Charles Dickens’ stories. To be more specific, London from Oliver Twist. I had been to London, and today’s London is far from what it was back then. But because I am such a huge fan of Dickens, I think I viewed that reference.
So we ran through a dreary city, faced people who wanted to see us die, and at last reached a tunnel. It was supposed to be the tunnel of life. It was supposed to be guarded by an angel. But what I saw instead were the fiery, red eyes of a devil. My friend went with that angel/devil but I refused! He had a smirk on his face and as he closed the tunnel the sense of impending doom came back to me. But I thought in my dream, maybe it was not heaven after all where the people were going. It was just another hell in disguise! And after having gone through so much, I didn’t have the heart to go. I just stayed back on this rotting earth. This dream has stayed with me, and I might develop a story around it someday! Sometimes, I do marvel at my capacity of dreaming such excellent plots! So to honor my dream, I wrote a few lines of poetry:
A dream I had,
Toiling to escape,
Shackles and bonds,
The lashing of nails!
Yet when I reached,
The tunnel of life,
Guarded by an angelic face,
I turned back!
Photo by Maxim Hopman on Unsplash
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