Living Dreams

This time she found herself on some barren plain. All around her there was nothing but rocks, rocks, and more rocks. The sun was a big, orange ball of fire in the sky, twice the size of a normal sun. The air was heavy and extremely hot and dry. It hurt her throat to breathe it in. Burned it almost. The sky was a pinkish color that reflected onto the sand and rocks, making everything seem like she was looking through rose colored glasses. She glanced down at herself. As she expected, she was barefoot and in her nightgown.

Dreaming again , I must be dreaming, she thought to herself. Panicking, suddenly remembering her last weird dream, she quickly spun around in a circle, trying to see all around her at once. Whew! There weren’t any of those weird monstrosities coming after her this time. Thank gods. She didn’t think she could tackle another dream like the last one. Wait a minute! How could she be thinking so lucidly? It was like she was awake and genuinely here. But that was impossible. Wasn’t it? She had never heard or even thought about a place like this before. And everything was in such detail.

She bent down and grabbed up a handful of sand. It was almost hot to the touch and rough, grainy. She let it sift out between her fingers. It fell straight to the ground. There was no wind, not a breath of a breeze, and so hot. So hot. She looked around for some shade but saw none. The largest boulder came only to her knees. She couldn’t stand here forever. She’d die of a heat stroke. Can a person die of a heat stroke in a dream? Well, she wasn’t going to find out. She started walking.

She felt she had been waking for hours. Her legs hurt. Her feet hurt. There were now blisters on them. Big, raw, painful blisters. Her lips were chapped and beginning to split and it was increasingly hard for her to take in each breath of the harsh, dry air. She was thirsty, parched. She kept walking, hoping to find some shade soon.

She woke up on the ground. Christ, I must have fainted, she thought. Painfully, she sat up. How long had she been lying here? Her head spun and she sported one hell of a headache. Water. There must be water around here somewhere. She tried to get to her feet but only managed to make it to her knees. She started crying. I’m going to die out here. And I don’t even know where I am or how I got here. Why don’t I wake up? How can a dream hurt so much?

She lay back down on the hot sand. She figured she would wake up sooner or later and while she was waiting she wasn’t going another step. Not one more. The sun beat mercilessly down on her. She closed her eyes and prayed, soon drifting back into unconsciousness.

She awoke to the feel of a cool wet cloth on her forehead. Oh, it felt so good.

"Demi. Demi honey. Wake up dear."