Everyone dreams while sleeping, but statistically, not everyone will remember them. For me, I have always been able to wake up the day after and vividly recall most parts of the most significant dream of the night before. And owing to my over-active imagination, my dreams usually take me through a hell of a ride. In fact, I think it's fair to say that I lead a far more happening life sleep-dreaming than while awake. But I think it's safe to say that my dreams usually have some relation to what's going on in my life at that point of time - from the frequent big 0's on exam scripts yet to be returned to dying from exhaustion on a running track before a looming physical test.
Most of my recurring dreams have been impossible to conceive, yet could very possibly happen. Growing up, I used to dream of toys of all kinds (but mainly teddy bears much bigger than I was) raining down from the sky onto the streets, and me dancing and singing in joy a la Julie Andrews. It's not that I did not have any toys, being a pampered only child and grandchild I had a whole warehouse full to supply children in Africa for a year. I blame Enid Blyton and her books for filling my imagination with ludicrous but child-like fantasies. Another recurring dream that I had was of me dropping a baby precariously perched in my arms down a flight of stone steps. That was right after my first cousin was born and I so badly wanted to carry him but was afraid to.
In recent years, my dreams have became increasingly dramatic and my recollection more vivid, some of which even having the potential of being made into a Hollywood blockbuster. Two of which that come to mind literally woke me up from my sleep due to the intense emotions I had. The first happened the night after reading Audrey Niffenigger's 'Her Fearful Symmetry' about twin girls who lived beside a cemetery and could swop souls. And so that night, I dreamt that I was one of those girls and dreamt my way through the book until reaching an antique and eerie-looking cupboard out of no where. They say curiousity kills the cat, so maybe I opened the cupboard hoping to discover Narnia and start another chronicle. But the cupboard was empty, save for one soul or demon or whatever that just kept screaming and rasping incessantly until I woke up in cold sweat.
Another one, this time more pleasant but weird all the same, woke me up with a different feeling altogether. I dreamed that there was this fast-food restaurant in a foreign land (can't recognize where) that I frequented every day for a cuppa. And there would be this clown entertaining people nearby with his silky brown schnauzer puppy. So I would just sit there watching him and through the months we developed this bond. But as cliché as it goes, one day I had to leave for good. And on the last day, I went back to that place. But being bad with goodbyes and all, I just hid behind a pillar some distance away not wanting to be seen. But the dog kind of sensed me and started barking towards my direction, so not wanting to draw attention I walked away briskly. My clown friend saw me and started giving chase and it was then that I woke up with such strong emotions of love, sadness, longing all blended into an instant 3-in-1 concoction. And it was really weird as the dream lasted maybe an hour max but I never had such intense feelings before, not even after leaving gruyére boy in Suisse.
All the same, even though sometimes my dreams make it seem as though I never slept the whole night (especially after all those hours pounding on that treacherous make-believe track), I never want to stop being able to remember them and living through them.
Dream big, while sleeping, and even more so while awake.
