Just a Dream

Chapter 1 – A Dream is Just a Dream

How can you tell the difference between a dream and reality? The feeling I have in my dreams feels no different than if I was awake. Again, how does a person know when they have woken from a dream? The emotions, the physical elements, they diminish when I finally kick myself awake from the dream. But damn, the lingering feeling in my dreams cannot be completely shaken off!

I often wonder what happens if I die in my dreams. Or worse, what happens if I stay stuck in the dream? What crazy damn distortions of reality await the person who never wakes! Well, I hope that is a scenario that I never have to experience. With good reason. This dream, this dream that seems to come back frequently and is accelerating as if a conclusion is expected or I’ll end up dying in my dream and in real life.

Not only is the dream reoccurring more often than I want, but they are also changing. There is a creepiness that did not exist in the earlier versions. Although still very frightening when they first began as I lay helpless in the bed as the interlopers had struck me in the head with a 2x4 piece of lumber, the intruders are now attacking my elderly parents and searching for my 8-year-old daughter.

What is worse, is in the early iterations of my dream, the faceless intruders scared the crap out of me because I knew there was evil in their intentions. Malevolence reeked from their bodies as they left me on the bed thinking I was either dead or knocked out. Now, these intruder’s faces are coming into focus a little too clearly. What were once shadowy figures, that were black, with maybe hoodies on, tall, lanky, slinky, and strong were beginning to show details in their faces.

As I sit there reliving my dream and contemplating what I saw, I hear my doorbell ring. I answer my door and my best friend is standing there with two Peet’s coffees ready for consumption. “Hey you, what a pleasant surprise! What brings you here this early?”

“Well, I had a feeling you needed a friend today.” Isabella smiles as she hands me a coffee. She has a radiant and beautiful smile.

“Thank you, my friend, you always seem to know. Your psychic abilities are in full force I see.” I cannot help but return her smile. Although any man in my position as a friend would surely do everything in their power to make a move on a beautiful woman such as Izzy, I never crossed that line. Although, she has caught me peeking at her backside occasionally. We have been friends since 2nd grade, and I understand that what we have given each other as friends all these years is damn near the same as a long-term marriage. Minus the sex of course.

“Perfect timing Izz, that damn crazy dream I told you about just woke me up. The dream is getting worse. The two guys are showing their faces, they are demons. I can see what they look like now. They are not those movie looking demons, these guys, they are far more menacing. I’am afraid to look into their eyes because I feel like if we were to make eye contact, they would come to life and possess me and my daughter.”

Izzy looks at me and I can see concern in her expression. The frown lines deepen, then they disappear. She has heard the progression of my dream over the last few years. She knows every detail as I have described this dream to her many times as they evolve. She understands my fear of loss and why I am so disturbed by these dreams.

Chapter 2 – Time for Action

“We should go talk to my Tia Blanca. I know you do not believe in her religion and her beliefs, but I swear Chewy, I know she can tell you why you’re having these dreams and what it means”, Izzy takes a sip of her piping hot coffee.

I know her coffee is super sweet. She knows I like mine black and strong. Hence, the Peet’s dark roast for me.

I sigh after I enjoy the hot, bitter, rich taste of my coffee and it hits the taste buds. I inhale that rich coffee aroma I say, “I’m not sure Izzy, that Santeria stuff scares me. I know I always tell you I don’t believe in that stuff, but your Tia, she has that aura of power and knowing. If anyone could convince me it was real, it’s her. And I think that’s what really scares the shit out of me.”

Izzy looks at me, studies me, the brows furrow briefly again then falls back into place. “Chew, I’m just a bit scared for you if you don’t do anything. I know that therapist was unable to help you at all. You fully committed to her solutions and nothing to show for all your hard work, it didn’t help you very much. Although you have opened up more about Teresa than you ever have since she left us.”

Izzy always calls me Chewy, short for Jesus in the Mexican world. Don’t ask me how, it just is. She calls me Chew when she means business, which is most of the time. Talking about Teresa is certainly another indicator she means business.

Teresa was, is my wife. She was brutally murdered when our daughter was only 6 months old. Raped, then tortured, then murdered. Her killer was caught because he wore her wedding ring in a makeshift necklace around his neck, with her finger still attached. He was caught because the homeless encampment he lived at off 23rd Avenue in Oakland near the railroad tracks had a woman who lived in the tent next to his with a conscious. She saw him wearing the finger and called OPD, he was arrested a couple of weeks after that call. But the police found the woman dead, a rat stuffed down her throat and a needle in her arm.

The guy that killed Teresa was named Billy Doo. He was pure evil, that is the easiest way to describe him. He laughed and taunted me and Teresa’s loved ones throughout the trial. He was removed from the courtroom multiple times. He never denied what he did to Teresa and his scumbag defense attorney had him take the stand merely to demonstrate that he was insane without regard for any of us. He described what he did to Teresa and looked at me the whole time to watch my reaction.

I refused to give him any reaction to feed off of, I knew that’s what he wanted. I only maintained eye contact to let him know I did not fear him, in fact, I would kill him if I had the opportunity to get my hands on him. When it was all done and said he stood with his scumbag attorney to receive his guilty verdict and life sentence, we locked eyes one last time. That’s when I saw the demon. The true identity of the thing that killed my wife.

The only person I ever spoke to about this incident was Izzy. Izzy and my wife became great friends because Teresa knew the friendship we had between us was true. There was never any jealousy, Teresa was like that. Although there was no denying Izzy’s beauty, Teresa was a beauty in her own right. She had that traditional Latina look and flavor, the long and thick straight black hair to the middle of her back. When she flipped her to one side or the other, I was always captivated by her sexiness. She was my version of Salma Hayek, short, curvy, perfect brown skin, a slight accent, fire, and her loud laugh always made everyone turn toward her and smile.

Izzy’s brow furrows only slightly this time, then relaxes. I always wonder if she knows she does this with her eyebrows to express her tensions or if her tensions are escaping her and she does not realize others can see her concerns so easily. Either way, I respond, “Izzy, let’s go see Tia Blanca. The demon I saw in Billy Doo, those are the same type of demons that are beginning to show themselves in my dream.”

Izzy shivers, maybe she knows something or maybe she is picking up on my fear.

“I know this sounds weird, but I know those two demons in my dream are not a manifestation of my thoughts about Billy and what I saw the day he was sentenced. I know they come from the same place, the same origin, and they are purposely coming to me in my dreams. To make me suffer, to get my precious Ari, to hurt her, to get me.” I trail off a bit to keep my emotions in check. I cannot fathom any harm coming to my daughter Arianna.

I always promised my daughter I would protect her from everything bad in this world. I will keep this promise. It was time to act, as unorthodox as going to Tia Blanca for a resolution seems, I am not sure what else I can do.

Chapter 3 – The Dream

Tia Blanca lived in a nice neighborhood in Alameda’s West side near Encinal High School. She says she likes the energy of the young high schoolers as they walk by her home to and from school. Her house is quaint, a small three bedroom with one bathroom. A one-story home with a small front porch and a spacious back yard. The home was very welcoming but the shrine in the living room always made me wonder what powers it held.

Tia was expecting us, we gave her a hug and kiss and she asked us to take a seat on her La-Z-Boy couch and I almost started to recline it but remembered we were here on business. She looks at me, looks into me, I feel as though she is poking around my thoughts, then she asks, “Mijo, please tell me your dream. I see danger ahead, a fight you cannot back down from. It is coming fast.” Her voice is almost hypnotizing, soft but oozing with authority, an amazing combination.

“Tia, I hope I can convey what I feel in this dream. I’m not sure I can do that, but I will try. I am sleeping in bed at my parent’s house, lying on my left side. All of a sudden, I feel and hear a something go CRACK! It’s the sound of someone hitting me across the right side of my face. I know that my eardrum has been ruptured, I feel blood coming from my ear and maybe my face. I’m paralyzed, I can’t move, I see two shadowy figures move around me, laughing lightly as they move toward the hallway.” I feel my breathing getting shallow, I try to correct my breathing.

I look at Izzy and I see the brows furrowed deeply now. I proceed, “I cannot tell if they are dressed in all black with hoodies on obscuring their face or if they are all black. I know that sounds weird but that’s what I see. Then I know what their intentions are, to kill my parents and take my baby. They mean to hurt her, torture her, torment her, take her innocence, and kill her. But only after they have used her up completely.”

Tia Blanca looks concerned, I can feel she knows something, she asks with an urgency that she is trying to hide, “Where is Ari now?”

“She is with my parents, she stayed the night so they can watch Encanto again, eat popcorn and have enjoy some sweets.”

Tia nods her head approvingly, “Good, she needs to be with strong people. Your mom and dad, they are old now, but stronger than you think. Although your parents and I do not speak much these days, we have been through more than you know. We came here together, to the U.S., before we were teenagers. We crossed the so-called boarder by ourselves, the three of us, we seen more death and cruelty on our journey from Juarez to California than I care to remember.”

I never ask my mom or dad about how they got to the States, my mom and dad always redirect the conversation to other topics when I did. I always figured they did not want to talk about what it meant to be in the States illegally in their earlier years, but now I see it might be for other reasons. They are both U.S. Citizens now, so I always wondered why they still choose not to tell me about their journey.

Again, Tia nods as if she sees understanding in my face. “Now Mijo, tell me about these two in your dream. What do they look like?”

“Tia, that is the hard part, they are changing. I can see them more clearly each time the dream comes back. They are coming back more often. I see them becoming demons, but hideous, dark, and the eyes, they are black, more than black, they radiate evil and hate.” I catch my breathing picking up speed this time and make a conscious effort to slow them down. “Before Teresa’s killer was taken from the courtroom, we made eye contact, I saw the same type of demon. I saw the blackness, the hate, the depth of nothing in those eyes. These are the same type, but not the same demon. Don’t ask me how I know, but I know.” I slow my breaths again.

I see Tia’s eyes were wide, I do not know if it was fear, but it was certainly urgency.

“Mijo, you have to listen closely and do everything I say. What you have seen, is blackness, void, hate, it requires pain to grow its power. I must call the oricha, they will help guide you, arm you, and protect you as you battle this void.” Tia’s heartbeat is pulsing in her neck as she hastens her directions. “Go to the room at the end of hallway, tonight you will battle for your life, for your baby’s life, for your parent’s life.”

I look at Izzy, she looks at me, I know she will not leave my side today. I look at Tia, the warrior that brought her to the U.S. is showing in her face. That gives me hope and scares me at the same time. She comes and hugs Izzy, then hugs me, I hug Izzy hoping this is not the last hug for us. I feel the warrior growing in me, the warrior that began with my ancestors. I am not ready but I know that I will not fail my family. Tonight, will change all our lives. Tonight, I fight.