I was driving up a hill with my younger cousin in the passenger seat. It was a single lane up the steep hill. It was a bright, sunny day. There was a lot of brown in the surrounding area – must have been California.
The car in front of us slowed down and signaled to the right, pulling over to the dirt shoulder, and waved at us to pull over as well. I slowed and pulled over to the dirt shoulder on the left, thinking the driver needs help.
The driver, male, exited his car and crossed the road to meet me at my driver’s side window. I rolled down my window halfway, but in the process, accidentally unlocked the car doors. The male pulled the door handle with his right hand, holding the window with his left hand. The male pulled the driver’s side door open; however, I reacted just fast enough to pull the door back and lock the doors again. I struggled with rolling up the window at the same time, trying to place the car in drive to pull away from the aggressive, unknown male.
We were able to get away.
A white, clean building. Similar to a hospital or laboratory. Speckled white tiling. White walls. Fluorescent lighting. Flecks of this dream slip away from me the more I come to consciousness upon waking. I’m instructed to follow a specific procedure. Check in. After my work’s done, make sure I check out. My cat is there.
My apartment. My cat is perched on my shoulder. I have a dog. We’re all going out to my car. A man is with us, accompanying us. I can’t figure out who it is.
An imminent sense of danger from within my apartment. Fear for my safety and my cat’s safety. I can envision a shade of red as I attempt to remember this portion of my dream.
I’m with a familiar man, an ex-boyfriend. We’re planning to go out for dinner after finishing a popular TV series; however, the last two episodes are an hour long each. We start the second to last episode, but ten minutes in, I get tired of it and go to take a shower to get ready for dinner. I enter the bathroom and lock the door behind me, not wanting him to join me. I breathe a sigh of relief to get some me-time. Somehow, two hours pass as I shower and get ready. It’s 8:20 PM now. I open up the bathroom door and the rest of the house is silent. He’s nowhere in sight. I open my phone to a flurry of messages from him.
“What’s taking you so long?”
“Are you avoiding me?”
“We’re supposed to be getting dinner.”
“You know what? This isn’t working out.”
“I’m going out to dinner with my friends.”
I feel relieved after reading this series of messages. Release. Relief. No longer needing to please him. I go out with my friends for dinner instead and update them on my newfound single status.
A gray, barren world. A dark sky. Chaos. Panic. Humanity is attempting to survive. From what? I find myself in a barren landscape. Houses here and there in the middle of nowhere. Further down, miles down, I make it to a shelter. Friends, resources, food, water. A temporary haven. I sit outside with some friends and enjoy some water and snacks. The phrase, “We need to go!” is shouted at me over a cloud of dust impending. The sense of panic and danger.
The common theme of my dreams: panic, danger.
5'1" Stories 
Leave a comment