I Dreamt of You Last Night...

I dreamt of you last night. I’m not sure why.

It was one of the most vivid dreams I’ve ever had, and I woke up crying, overcome with emotion. It’s been hours, but I’m still thinking about it.

In my dream, I was alone at a small town festival. You know the kind I’m talking about, you’re from the Midwest too. Whether sweet corn festival, rose festival, pumpkin patch festival, grape harvest festival, etc. -- they’re all pretty much the same.

I wasn’t expecting to see you there. This was not your small town, it was mine. So when you ran up and gave me a great big bear hug, smiling from ear to ear, my heart overflowed with joy.

Public displays of affection and showy bear hugs are not the way we usually greet each other, as much as I might secretly wish we did. But I was so overwhelmed to see you, and I happily returned the hug.

Tears of joy shimmered in my eyes but I looked away before you could see. Showing our emotions is not something we do.

As the dream continued, we explored the festival booths, rode the rides, played the carnival games, ate the food, and talked and laughed until the hot summer sun dwindled into evening twilight. The hours we spent together were magical, wonderful, and it was just like the “old days” - as if we had never been separated by time or distance or lives that took different directions.

Finally, as darkness fell in my dream world, we found ourselves standing upon the rooftop deck of an old Victorian home. We gazed in awe of the sky, each making a silent wish upon the first star of the night, then laughing as we tried to guess the other’s wish.

But that's where the idyllic moment took a dark turn. All at once, there were a dozen angry men in black clothes, armed with machetes, rushing onto the rooftop. I don’t know how, or why, but we knew they were there to kill us without a word being spoken. No, to MURDER us.

And they were blocking the only exit from the rooftop. You and I stood frozen in terror.

Our only possible chance for survival was to jump. But as we looked over the edge of the deck, we saw the distance to the ground had grown inexplicably, from a hundred feet to what looked like miles. Our choice was to stay and be killed—murdered--or jump and maybe, somehow, live.

In a split second our eyes locked. We made our decision, still without words. Joining hands, we leapt over the railing, and now, finally screaming in fear.

Once in midair, it was as if we were floating on a cloud, yet hurtling towards the ground at a thousand miles an hour at the same time. My heart felt as if it would explode. I was certain I was going to die. I knew it was going to be extremely painful, and I was afraid in a way I’ve never been before, terrified in a way I can’t describe.

But I was also strangely calm, almost happy too, because if my life were going to end, it would be with you by my side, where you’ve always been when I really, truly needed you.

I can’t explain what happened next, but somehow two incredibly tall, but equally scraggly, pine trees appeared where none were before. As we neared ground level, the pines were wrapped with beautiful white linens, which also hung decoratively from their scrawny branches.

And as we sped towards the ground, tumbling head over heels, we were able to catch hold of the linens blowing in the breeze. This slowed our speed, and allowed us to get ourselves upright. Finally, as we each released our hold on our very last linen, we dropped the last few feet to the ground, gracefully landing on our feet.

When I looked at you standing next to me, my own eyes wide in disbelief, I was surprised to see you had the most beautiful, triumphant smile on your face.  And I loved you for it.

A huge crowd had appeared, as they magically do in dreams, and they all cheered for us. Hundreds of cars lined the roadway in each direction, with people honking their horns and waving at us as if we had just completed the most magnificent stunt. I suppose we had.

We waved back as if we were festival royalty. But when I turned to smile at you again, you were gone. Not there. No goodbye, no big bear hug, no laughter, no wish upon a star.

Just gone.

The last I saw of you in my dream was your beautiful face with that gorgeous, triumphant smile. I missed you already.

And then I woke up. It was raining cats and dogs, as it often does during rainy season in Belize, thunder crashing and lightning streaking the sky. Thankfully, the noise muffled the sound as I softly cried myself back to sleep.

I’ve heard it said before that if you dream you are falling, and hit the ground in your dream, you will die in real life. Thankfully, that didn’t happen to me. Or to you.

And I am glad.

I hope the next time I see you, we greet each other with a great big bear hug. And I hope you have that beautiful smile on your face.