(In)Coherence: The Halls

There it sits on an ornate mahogany reading table, a small composition journal. It bears neither title nor author, but it calls to me. It feels like I have been looking for it. I pick it up, its spine is well-creased and pages yellowed. I open it and begin reading. The writing is all in neat but faded pencil graphite that my eyes struggle to see.

Astoundingly few can say they truly have the ability to lucid dream almost every night. I hesitate to call it a gift, as some might. To some, the ability to know one is dreaming seems a blessing, to be able to fly on currents of imagination, to pursue dreams impossible in the waking world, and other such fantasies. Unfortunately, dreamers like me know this is just how it sounds: too good to be true.

The reality of lucid dreaming is quite more... nuanced. On a good night, you have that brief flight of fantasy and control. On average nights, though, dreaming is more... ambiguous. More often than not, you do not choose the dream; rather, you find it waiting for you. Moreover, every frequent lucid dreamer knows that dream and nightmare are often indistinguishable at most hours of the night.

In my experience, many first-time frequent lucid dreamers panic as they learn how to navigate their dreams. I was once one of them. In this state, sleeping becomes a terrifying exercise, and staying awake afterwards an equal chore. To wake up in the morning feeling content and unscathed, I have developed a few rules:

The items on the list are all written twice as large and triple-underlined:

1. Realize you are dreaming.
2. Accept that you are dreaming.
3. Learn the dream's logic.
4. Navigate the dream using its logic.
5. Trust your instincts.
6. Trust your fear.
7. Only enter Shadow if absolutely necessary.

The text resumes in normal size on the next page. The pages cringle as I turn them.

No matter what happens in a dream sequence you will see many of the same places. Dreamers like me call them our matrices, the places between each dream. My matrix is simple: the Halls.

The Halls are an endless labyrinthine space of hallways made of various materials unique to either the previous or following dream in the sequence, but they always appear dark, hazy, and dismal. If I try to navigate them purposefully, I always end up lost. If I allow myself to wander, I find my destination in the next dream.

Often, I will be alone in the Halls. Sometimes, I might see Fades. Nothing will be there, but I will recognize either a person or animal or creature as standing in front of me. This is a Fade. It does well to simply ignore them, they are usually harmless. Occasionally, however, Something might be in the Halls with me, just out of sight or hiding in the farthest reaches of perception. It is not a Fade. Confrontation with Something is not advised.

Shadow is most common in the Halls, see Rule 7.

I am told that your greatest enemy in your dreams is your own sub-conscious, and that your matrix reflects the state of your sub-conscious. I am not entirely sure what the Halls say about mine, but I have learned to live with them over the course of years of dream-exploration, and Something stalks me less frequently.

The text ends despite there being much more paper left in the journal. I put the journal back down on the table before me. What a mahogany table was doing in the middle of a school hallway, I do not know. This place looks like my old middle school... almost. Rows of rusted lockers with cracked gray paint line the walls and gaudy multi-colored tile spatters the worn floor. The rows of lockers are interrupted by doors. Most are closed and locked, I somehow know this without checking. A few doors are open, but the classrooms beyond are too hazy and dimly lit to distinguish. One thing above all was strange, though. Where I remember the entrance having been, there is only a hall that splits off into three directions.

Shadow obscures each path. Each way forward is nothing but foreboding and unknown.

My hackles rise. I feel a source of soundless laughter as I immediately look behind me. Something is there down the hall, just out of sight.

Suddenly, a feeling comes over me. I should run.

***

Thank you for reading! This story is loosely inspired by some of my own dreams, as I lucid dream fairly often. If I get enough engagement, I might be tempted to continue (In)Coherence, so like, comment and share!!

I would like to thank Matthew Fromm for the dare to do this challenge. You can find his entry below:

You can also find more info on James and Oneg's Summer Writing Challenge on Oneg's article below:

I would now like to offer the Summer Writing Challenge as a friendly dare to my friends Amanda Starks and Ashley Lima. I am excited to see what you guys make ;)

Here is something from Amanda:

And here is something from Ashley: