Writer’s Workshop: Only a Dream
A Traditional Japanese Room with Tatami Mat
Sleeping is something that we do every night. It is the time of the day where we drift off to a foreign land while our body recharges itself.
It is when dreams may occur depending on the state of sleep you are in. Some say dreams are part of your subconscious. They may be based on snippets of your past life or some things that you are currently struggling with. No one really knows.
I remember when I was studying in Australia I had one of the most terrifying dream to date. It doesn’t scare me that much now thinking back but then as a 16yr old it really did scare the daylights out of me.
At that time I was staying in a hostel near Bondi Beach, Sydney and had my own room with a bunk bed. It was a simple room with a single cupboard, writing table and bed. The writing table was in the center of the room next to a window.
Floating baby exhibit at Gardens at the Bay
I remember that night I left the window half open as it was rather stuffy. ( We didn’t have fans as it is not the norm in Australia) I though I had woken up but in fact I was actually still dreaming.
Everything looked so real but it wasn’t. I tried switching on the light but just couldn’t do it. I tried to open the door but it didn’t budge.
It felt like an out of body experience like how they feature ghosts on TV. I was fully aware of my surroundings but not able to interact with it .
It felt weird.. really weird. Was I awake or not? Was I still alive?
I suddenly felt that I was floating towards the opened window as if it was going to float out of the room through the window.
The feeling sent me into a panic and I kept on repeating to myself that I had to wake up NOW or I may never wake up.
I couldn’t sleep the rest of the night and went over to stay at a friend’s house as I was too frightened to stay alone in the room. It took a while for me to regain my nerves.
From that day onwards I always made sure that the windows were closed before sleeping for peace of mind.
Do you have weird dreams too?
How do you cope with them?
