A Lucid Dream

I found myself laying on a cold block of ice drifting with nothing but water encompassing me. I felt impeccably small, and for a moment, I viewed myself from a bird's eye view, staring down upon myself, just a speck of white floating in the calm sea. I abruptly came back into my body and jumped to my feet.

“Hello!” I called out, but the sound of my voice was absorbed completely, the same way noise is absorbed by a fresh blanket of heavy snow. I spoke again, “Hello?”, this time more quietly. I thought for a moment that I could see my words in the air, brief vibration, before they fell to the ground and writhed like worms drying in the sun. I sat. I felt the whiteness of the ice beneath me. Cold. Hard. Rigid. Prickly. There was no wind. No noise. No sounds. I was not cold. I leaned forward and looked into the water. It reflected the sky so perfectly that I thought it looked like a mirror. “I will walk on you,” I whispered. I stood, and stepped out onto the water. It held me because I believed, and I walked daintily forward, careful to not break the surface. A breeze started. It blew cool air against my face. My hair flew out behind me like a flag on a windy day, and the tips of my hair flicked the bare skin of my neck, shoulders and face. It stung. “BE STILL!” I roared. The wind knelt to my command. Everything stilled. My heart began to race as panic rose inside of me. I started to run. Starting slowly, my pace quickened with each stride. The water now splashed with each strike of my forefoot, spraying up and out; it dampened my clothing. Finally I stopped.

I looked to my left. Nothing. I looked to my right. Nothing. I looked behind me. Nothing. The ice I had found myself on had disappeared. I stood now in complete solitude, in complete silence, completely alone in nothingness. The sky was perfectly blue with a few white wispy clouds. I looked down. The water was no longer a mirror but clear glass. My heart began to pound hard in my chest as I became terrified of breaking through. Doubt began to fill my head, spinning and spiralling. I could hear the beating of war drums, the sound of my heart.

CRASH.

The glass broke beneath the weight of my fear. I was being pulled down into the water.

Down.

Down, like a cement block was attached to my feet.

Down, like a smooth, round rock sinks, steadily, without floating from side to side. I sank without struggle. My arms tight to my side. My ankles bound together with imaginary twine.

It was a long way down. When my feet touched the bottom, I knelt. I touched the soft, fine, sand with my fingertips, and closed my eyes, hanging my head low.

Why was I here? How would I leave? What was this place?

I was not out of breath. And despite the situation, which should have evoked terror, I felt no need to panic. I looked around. There was. No Fish. No seaweed. Nothing. The landscape glistened. The light rippled in the water and danced on the white sandy bottom. I stood and walked again. Walking in the water was difficult, my limbs heavy and slow. I felt an awareness.

I looked to my left. There, though it had not been there seconds prior, arose a perilous castle. It was obsidian and Gothic with three towers. It stood in stark contrast against the white sand and the pristine cerulean water. It cast a shadow twice as long as it stood tall, and I wondered if the peak of its highest tower broke the surface.

“I have chosen you.” a deep voice declared.

I felt a tingle journey up my spine. Turning to the voice, there was a mermaid. I squeezed my eyes shut. Astonished by what I was seeing. I opened them. Now I was staring at a great octopus.

“What?’ my words sounded muffled.

“I am whoever you need me to be.”

Now I was staring at a great white shark. The presence of this shapeshifter was alarming, and I fell to my knees.

“Now child, do not be so alarmed. I am the greatness of this world. I am the light. I am the way. I will be your shield, your sword, your courage, and your amour. It is through me you will find greatness and fulfill your destiny. RISE UP!”

I opened my eyes and stood only to see the being was gone.

I felt the touch of a hand on my right shoulder. A whisper came in my left ear, “You must free Isaiah.”

I looked, but no one was there. For the first time, I started to feel cold. I wanted to walk to the castle, but I was floating upward. I was rising. Shooting upwards to the surface, I felt wet for the first time.

I shot up out of the water and…

“AHH. Oww.”

There was a loud thud. I held my head, and tears came to my eyes almost immediately. I had smacked my head against the ceiling of the shelter, and a tiny stream of blood dribbled down the center of my forehead and between my eyes. I held my damp shirt over my head. I was cool, and while I had dried out a bit from the previous day I was still a little wet in some places. Especially my feet. I had a headache. I felt an almost unidentifiable emotion welling up inside of me, the irresistible desire to sob, but I didn't.

“Are you ok Natasha?” Vanessa looked at me with big blue eyes, and I thought for a moment that her eyes looked just like the water in my dream.

“I don't know really,”

I thought for a moment. “I had a really weird dream, Vanessa.”

“It's ok. You have me Natasha, and I will help you no matter what.” I knew she meant that, and I knew it was true. She was loyal and loving and capable. She had faith in me and my ability to guide her. I felt as strong as I had ever felt. My mind settled on what I needed to do.

“Ness we need to head out. We have a lot of ground to cover” I took Vanessa’s hand and squeezed it.

“Ok, Tasha. Let's go!”