Missing my dog (Dream Diary #7)

My brother decided he would take my dog, Tater, home with him for a while. Just for a couple of weeks. They went off in his truck into the night.

Some time passed and my other brother and I were walking in the neighborhood where Tater was staying. As we were walking he decided to put on a pair of new shoes he had gotten. They were black sandals with red soles and a small heel. He immediately took them off again and said he'd wear them, "if they didn't have those red soles and the heel". I decided to try them on for myself. I looked up at him, laughed and said, "Check them out". My feet went into the sandal part and the heel was left with no foot visible because they were 2x too big for me.

We continued walking, me in the new sandals and I discovered I could see over the fences with these shoes on. Maybe I can find Tater, I thought to myself. "There she is!" I pointed to a Shepherd mix sitting close to the fence, but as we got closer, the dog lifted it's head to look at us and we realized it wasn't her. She was much bigger and had a wide, brown furry face like a wolf. She laid her head back down. Disappointed, I looked around and again exclaimed, "There she is!" The whole yard seemed to be filled with dogs here and there. The dog I thought to be Tater rolled over and had black spots on it's white face like freckles and I realized it wasn't her.

Then, off in the distance on the right side of the yard, I finally found her in a huddle of dogs. One of them had its paws latched onto her back as if humping her and she was looking at me with a worried expression as if to say, "Get me outta here."

Stuck singing (Dream Diary #6)

I was a little late to class. They had already started as I made my way to the couch and sat down. The classroom was informal. It looked like my grandmothers living room.

The next person was called forward. It was her turn to sing. She put up a little resistence at first, but then stood up, walked over by the person playing the keyboard and started her song. We used to be friends, but that was a long time ago.

"She can't make me sing," I thought to myself. As if hearing my thoughts and sensing my discomfort, the teacher explained that once you got your ten songs done, you didn't have to do any more that semester. I took this class because I thought she was cool. If I knew it was going to be like this I would never have signed up. I leaned back and knocked something off the table. I looked down at the spilled contents: a couple pens, scraps of paper, pennies and whatnot. I left it there in defiance.

Another girl walked in. She had on a white button up blouse with the first several buttons undone, so you could see her breasts, barely covered by her bra. She had on cutoff jean shorts. Her hair was long, brown, wavy and thick. It hung halfway down her back. She was smiling and had a carefree air about her. I was sitting next to the teacher and everyone including her, just watched her. She got into the shower, which was now right in front of us and started wetting down her hair, her chin lifted, face back, and her eyes closed, her mouth still poised with a smile. The teacher leaned over to me and said, "It looks like she's been partying." It looked like that was probably true. The girl looked a little dirty and tan, like she had spent all weekend in the sun with a beer in her hand. I used to be friends with her too. She had ended up figuring out she was gay and submerged herself in a new set of friends. It was too bad because we had really gotten along.

Intelligence (Dream Diary #5)

We were hanging out at a Carnival, which took place at school. I was with some of my eighth grade classmates from St. Pat's. She was sitting on the curb looking up at us and started telling us a fable, which related to the situation we were in, "It's like the story about..." I can't remember the names of the characters, but it sounded like a direct quote from a book with big words and specific names and dates. Words I couldn't even pronounce, let alone remember. I was intrigued and annoyed at the same time. I guess I was really just jealeous because I was never able to do that. The group was intently listening.

Then I remembered something my brother told me the other day. He said that, "Everything in a dream comes from your own mind." He would have a dream about something really insightful and realize he was the one that came up with it.

I smiled to myself.

Survival (Dream Diary #4)

We lived in a two story building and were upstairs. The upstairs room was fairly large and was more like a living room with lots of open space and few pieces of furniture. On one wall there were sliding glass doors that had a view of the houses and hill ascending above. Looking out of the glass doors is when I noticed the water rushing toward us. Huge waves consuming everything in their path. A rush of white water heading straight for us. It was a Tsunami. I ran to the doors and tried to hold them closed to keep the water from entering. There was a gap between the two doors and I couldn't keep the water from coming in.

Suddenly we felt the building leave its foundation and it felt as if we were floating, flowing with the water down the hill. We looked at each other as the room started to fill with water. A calm came over us as we said, "I love you" and gave each other a look as if to say "goodbye".

The calm quickly changed to panic and determination to survive. I hurried to the window, which was now a wall of water. I had to get out.

Secure (Dream Diary #3)

These blankets are impossible to fold. They run the length of a room and seem to be as thick as a mattress. Everyone was leaving the beach at this point, heading home. He slowly walked over and put his arms around me, holding me tight, his face in my hair. "I have to go clean up," I said. He kept holding me and replied, "I don't want to let you go." I gave in to his embrace and melted further into his arms.

On the Road (Dream Diary #2)

I tried on the black sweater even though I already knew I probably wasn't going to like it. It looked too bulky, but also too small. It was a button up with embroidered flowers running up one side. It was all black, which was a plus and theoretically, my style. I didn't want her to feel bad, so I took my time buttoning it up and looking it over. Why was it so bulky? I reached in the pocket and pulled out some jewelry and set it on the table next to her. It was a mix of earrings, necklaces, bracelets, you name it. It was all tangled together. I kept pulling out more and more and setting it there. She looked over, smiled and said,"Oh, I forgot I put all that in there." She was moving and trying to just pack things in where ever she could.

I looked around and more and more people kept showing up. We'll have to order a ton of pizza to feed everyone. That'll be expensive. Maybe we should make Mexican food or something. A kind of, put it together yourself meal, like tostadas.

I went back to the trailer and got inside to hide out for a while. I needed to see if they were going to show up. I can't believe they'd still be following me after I took that alternate route. I pulled out the map and tried to figure out where I was and which way I'd come. I guess it was possible we would just happen to end up in the same place. I had to keep moving and get back on the road.

The Last Day of School (Dream Diary #1)

"How is she going to pay for all that if she's going bankrupt?" I asked him as we walked back down the trail to the beach.

It all sunk in, in that moment and we both fell silent. She wasn't going to pay for it. She was just going to leave town. It made sense to us now, the big send off, the wine, the graduation. It was the perfect time for her to just go and hope nobody noticed.

I put my arm around his waist as we walked along and I remembered how good it felt. I looked up at him and watched his blonde hair blowing in the wind with the cloudy sky beyond. A little self conscious and wondering if he felt it too, I broke off and walked down the sloping path that lead to the shore. I let the water wash over my feet, the sand instantly attracted. I probably should have stayed up above, because now I'll have to wait for them to dry so I can get the sand off. But it was worth it as I walked back to the water's edge, enjoying the cold.

I found the little waste basket I was sent to fetch as my thoughts shifted to all of us sitting in that classroom. I got the desk without the table top and was disappointed as I looked around and noticed I was the only one. How was I supposed to work without somewhere to set my notebook? The girl next to me noticed and offered to share, but between our books and backpacks, I couldn't see how it would work. Without answering her, I looked away and leaned my chair back on two legs. Before I knew what was happening, my chair rolled all the way back and I was on the floor with everyone looking at me. A little embarrassed, I slowly got up, played it off with a laugh and announced, "I'm ok. I'm ok". I probably also did some lame bow or something as if it were all an act.