The Dream

I don’t remember a lot of my dreams. And the ones I do have recollections of, it’s usually the last chunk of the dream right before I wake up. But what I’ve been doing for some time now, is writing down any of the dreams I do remember. And over the last, I’d say almost four years, I’ve accrued a rather lengthy list of scenarios that I was able to jot down before I forgot them entirely. And for the most part, the dreams I do have are fairly grounded in reality. Nothing about flying, or powers, magic, or anything of the like. They are there, but it’s way more common for me to dream about a single person or place. And of course, the one dream that I have written down the most, or I should say the one person that crops up more than anyone else is her. It surprises me because for someone that I haven’t spoken to verbally in a long time, it’s shocking how often she ends up in my dreams. Again, even these dreams are grounded they aren’t outlandish or bombastic in nature. A lot of the time, it’s just the two of us. Sharing time together. I usually end up recalling the times where we did just that. And all it does is make me yearn for them once again.

From what I wrote down, and the little bits I can actually remember, I was on a road; a really long road. It was old and decerped. No one had fixed up the road in probably decades. Mother Nature was beginning to take back the ground where the pavement was. To the left of the road was a wall, or building, I can’t remember exactly. All I can recall is some building to the left of the road, following it stride for stride. The road curved to the left and the wall went along with it. Lots of trees were on the right of the road. So, I did the only thing that made sense with a road that I couldn’t see the end of. I followed it. No one else was around me; alone and not so much confused, but more compelled to walk down the road. And every once in a while, a female figure would find its way ahead of me on the road, as if she was waiting for me to catch up. When I eventually did, she would look at me and her expression was one of encouragement; as if she wanted me to keep going down the road. Maybe there was something waiting for me. Or better yet, someone. Before I could even say anything to her, she would walk into the forest and disappear. Where she went, or she managed to stay ahead of me is unknown. But after what would feel like a solid hour of walking, she would walk out of the woods, smile and me, and just go back in. Eventually, I picked up the pace, and made a conceded effort to stay ahead of her. Which, after a couple of attempts of passing her, and each time getting closer and closer, I finally made it ahead of her. She walked out of the forest, and this time, was behind me. The look on her face went from one of encouragement, to almost panic. She dashed back into the forest; now it turned into a game of cat and mouse. Each time we made progress down the road, she would alternate from ahead to behind me, each one us trying to get to the end first. And each time she was ahead, her face would change as if she had already one. A sly and cunning smile. But it wouldn’t be long before the tables would turn, and her expression would grow more and more frustrated each time I outpaced her. This went on for what felt like an eternity, but eventually, the end of the road could be spotted.

My emotions were a mix of excitement because this chase was going to be over, but also worry. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I reached the end, but I was determined to find out. By the time I could see the end of the road, where the pavement turned back into grass and shrubs, there was no sight of her. I hadn’t seen her for some time and figured maybe she had given up. Right as I was about to step off the pavement and onto the grass, I heard a very loud voice behind me yell “STOP!”. I turned around and there she was, tired, catching her breath, and with a very concerned look on her face. One I hadn’t seen before; it almost looked like a face of dread or anguish. Her sweatshirt she was wearing was now tied around her waist because we both got really sweaty from running so much. She had her hand up in front of her and gestured me to walk back towards her. Confused and, honestly a little frustrated she hadn’t said a single word to me up until this point, I asked her why I shouldn’t just walk off the road. She took a moment to calm down and still wouldn’t explain a reason to me. She simply said: “You won’t like what happens if you leave the road.” I was now more frustrated than before; no logical or sound reason. No explanation as to why she wouldn’t talk to me before, or why she wouldn’t walk with me on the road. Nothing. Out of spite, I turned my back to her and placed one foot off the road. I could hear her scream something incoherent, before I woke up. So that’s why she didn’t want me to get off the road. I wish I had listened to her.