I want to write so many things, share so many thoughts, unravel so many riddles that plague my mind. For the moment, I am weighed down by three nights of merriment, and anchored to a comfortable recliner. I should be searching for relief from this bloating. Or a dark recess of my house in which to crawl and hibernate away the rest of this winter. Instead, pushing through the drumming of blood rushing throughout my body, aiding in much needed digestion, I type away.
In this post-holiday induced haze, I decided to write about some recent dreams. That forced me to discover the last time I shared images from my unconscious realm. May 16, 2021. That is a long time, with many dreams. Well, I read through that old post, and discovered a few things. First, it began with some half-hearted pledge to write book reviews (oh well, maybe in the new year). Second, I provided details about several vivid dreams, all of which showcased inner turmoil, including one that ended in my death. Finally, the first one I described, combined a post-apocalyptic setting, a school, and my departure from teaching. The two recent dreams that I am going to lay out involve a school. But one is set in a post-apocalyptic world, while, in the other, I am not a teacher.
(I love the original. It is beautiful and charming. Every few years, I sit down and watch it. Tried to sit through the remake. Not a fan.)
I find myself in wide open classroom, with large windows along one wall. A former high school friend stands in front of me. We are both teachers, and we are talking to each other. The conversation ends, and I realize a nuclear attack is imminent. So, I scramble for a desk, and shelter underneath it. Time passes. Nothing happens. So, I begin to think. Perhaps it was better to come out from under the desk, and face the oncoming explosion. It will probably end quickly, either under collapsing walls, or a wave of heat. Or, maybe my location was far beyond the danger zone of the blast, and I would end up physically safe. Struggling with these two thoughts, I crawl out, and stand up. That is when I see, through those large, glass windows, the mushroom cloud, a lighter gray against a dark sky.
People gather to watch, and I yell for them to get away from the glass that would inevitably shatter and send flying shard of death throughout the room. Then I head to a section of the room, like an enclave, away from the windows, and surround by brick walls. Kneeling, hand on the wall, I await my death. There was a pause. I began imagining how it would happen. But the wall never comes down, and so I stand back up. Turning my attention to the large windows, I spot something. If you have every watched the original The Time Machine movie, you might remember the part where the protagonist watches time pass quickly. Well, that is exactly how the scene unfolds in the dream. Except, instead of witnessing the evolution of fashion in a store window, I watch the evolution of dogfights It begins with biplanes and triplanes fighting it out. Then British Spitfires arrive, knocking out German bombers. The jets from Top Gun take over. Finally, Battlestar Galactica style helicopters show up. And all of this flashed by like someone hit fast forward on the VCR.
At some, all that technology gives way to an ice age. And just like Rod Taylor in the movie, everything comes to a sudden stop. Peering through those windows, a dozen or so students and I look across huge glaciers. It is beautiful and serene. But that sense of peace would not last. Across those fields of ice creatures crawl. As they come closer, they grow in size. They are running towards us. As their features become more distinct, terror strikes me. While drawing away from those open windows to the far side of the classroom, I call out to the students to follow me. They do not respond, too focused on the scene outside the window. When I reach the other side, I look back, and watch as a giant clawed hand enters the room, and grabs for the children closest to the window. It finds a particular one among the group, grabs them, and drags them outside. Of all the things to strike me emotionally, the randomness of the selection hits me most.
In place of the huge arm, a much smaller creature, no less frightening, jumps into the room. I do not hesitate, nor do I run away. Instead, I grab a long, heavy stick, and swing away. It strikes the creature, causing it to run back outside. A strength grew in me, while hope spread across the room. Everyone began moving into action. That is when a child appears, climbing through the window. In my mind, within the dream, I realize all is not lost. Running across the classroom, I arrive at the windows, just in time to see a hand grasping at the ledge. I pull at it, and find myself looking at another child. The windows give way to gaping holes in the side of the building. The landscape outside becomes thick dark shadows. But now I am emboldened, and begin searching for someone. I call out a name, letting them know that I am there, ready to help. For a moment I do not hear anything, nor see through the darkness in front of me. But then I hear a voice. Although it is not calling to me, it clearly wants help. The person is searching for a way out.
Standing on the ledge, the remains of glass windows, between the classroom and the darkness, I smile, and leap out...
Only to discover it is 3 am and I am lying in bed safe and sound.
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The first part of this dream begins with me losing control of a tractor trailer. But it is the second part that I want to share right now. I find myself driving in a car with young people for passengers. We are searching for a famous restaurant. A hole-in-the-wall like place. The kind you find on a Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. At some point, I sense the road ending. However, we have not yet found the restaurant. The road ends in the parking lot of sprawling school. Everything seems quiet and still, the school appears deserted. It doe not feel eerie. Instead. a sort of serenity fills the place. And we find that inviting, so we enter through the main doors. The hallway is empty and we begin to split up, exploring the place. For a time, I find myself walking aimlessly down corridors, alone. That soon ends, as a I turn a corner. A lobby appears, followed by a short hallway that opens up to a courtyard. Passing through the lobby, I notice nothing, as I make it to the courtyard. It is also silent, empty, abandoned, yet calming. Turning around, I return to the lobby area. That is when I discover two women sitting at a table talking. They are both teachers. I sit down. They tense up. That is when I realize I was never invited, into their intimate circle, nor into the school.
Although classes are not in session at the moment, I am trespassing. Up to that moment, I felt relaxed wandering about. Like I belonged. That is why I sat down. But now, I am anxious. One of the women clearly does not think I should be at the table. It occurs to me that only teachers should be there, and these two see me as an imposter. She decides to test me. Across the room is a bulletin board, and she points to it. She says something about it, hoping to catch me in a lie.
Well, for some reason, I consider that being clever and funny would defuse the situation. I lean back all cool (yes, I distinctly remember, within the dream I was thinking that I was being cool and clever). Pointing to the poster, and smirking (yes, even in the dream, I knew I was smirking), I say something intelligent about the bulletin board, using education jargon.
Apparently it worked. The women, caught off guard, murmur something to each other. They begin to relax. Looking back at me with smiles, they begin to talk. And I realize, still in the dream, that although they are welcoming, they do not treat me as an equal. Instead, they are explaining things to me as if I am rookie teacher.
With that final thought still in my head, I wake up.
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