Dreams

I dreamed that I was working in some kind of facility that closely resembled a school. I don’t know what kind of work I was doing, but it seemed like teaching...or perhaps even administration... At any rate, I spent a great deal of time walking the halls of a place that looked vaguely like my middle school. The one thing I know is that I was completely alone. I was surrounded by co-workers, but there were no kindred spirits among them. My closest friends were scattered at various points around the globe, and I have no earthly idea what had become of my family. I remember an altercation with three young Hispanic girls who utterly despised me and refused to obey rules. I could feel their hatred. I felt as though I were a stranger in a formerly familiar land. The next thing I remember is walking home across rocky, dry terrain. My surroundings looked like the vibrant deserts and canyons of the west, but yet I was still in Georgia. I danced along the worn dirt path, trying to avoid the rattlesnakes and cacti. A man in an old beat up Ford slowed and drove along beside me. Whenever I grew tired, he called to me encouragingly. I’m not sure why, but in order to make it home, I had to keep dancing. I was dancing wildly to the calls of the man in the baby blue truck. He had a gruff voice and manner and a large, powerful frame. He seemed like someone accustomed to hard labor and alternately reminded of chain gangs and oil rigs. When I arrived home, I expected the man to go on his way, but he lingered in the driveway. I ran for the shelter of Johnathan’s grandparent’s house, which turned out to be my grandparent’s house instead. When I entered, I was greeted by the scent of my old home on Timber Lake Drive. Dashing into the utility room, I watched and waited as the door was rattled by thunderous blows.I woke up in my own little house with fresh air and cricket songs filtering through open windows. I heard one of the kids roll over with a sigh and blinked sleepily. I was so tired, and the arms of sleep were still outstretched, but yet I continued to stare into the darkness. There are aspects of dreams that remain vivid long after the dream has passed. There are faces of unknown people that seem as if they will forever be etched in memory. Sometimes I half expect to see them in a crowd.