Dreams....

Image: Pixabay.com

There’s a dark tunnel. It’s probably night time. Crisscross railway lines meander through it. Though it’s dark, I can see pretty well. I wonder what I am doing here at this hour of the night. There is some baggage with me and a couple or more kids and some grownups. I don’t seem to recall knowing any of them. But it seems they know me well. It looks like we are waiting for a train. But why here, is what beats me! Why not at the railway station? These questions have no answers.

At the distant, we can see a light. Probably it comes from a train. Yes, we can hear the whistle and then the familiar chug. The train slows down as it approaches us. I am helping everyone get in. One by one, they all climb in. By the time the last person climbs up, the train blows its whistle and starts to move. I panic. I start throwing my luggage in but it falls out and I scream for the train to stop, but it chugs away. I run behind it, but I know I have missed it.

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Image: Pixabay.com

It’s the dark tunnel again. There is a narrow spiral staircase running up in the middle of the tunnel. I am standing on top of the staircase, with the same set of people. We are late; we might miss the train if we don’t hurry up. Everyone is climbing down the staircase balancing their baggage. There, I can see the train, its approaching fast and we must hurry. The guys in front seem to be taking ages to climb down. That the staircase is narrow and spiral, is adding to our woes. We are not even half way down, when we see the train come to a halt below. We clamber down; dropping our baggage, stumbling… we have finally managed to reach down. The train has started to move, but it is slow enough for us to try getting in. Everyone climbs in one by one. The train is gaining momentum just as I try to climb in. The force pushes me down and before I can get up the train has chugged off without me.

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I have seen this dream hundreds of times before. In fact, this is the only dream that I ever remember seeing. Most of the other dreams are forgotten as soon as I wake up.  Each time there are some common factors, and some totally new ones. But the end is always the same.

I have missed that train.

I have never seen those people who are boarding the train with me in real life. Their faces don’t seem known to me. Why I am always last to board the train is a mystery. Why I let them board before me and why I don’t shove them aside to get in, is a mystery too. Why I carry so much baggage is a mystery. Why I see this dream again and again is a mystery.

I always wake up sweating when I see this dream. I wonder if it has some meaning or parallel to my life. How do I find the answers?

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             I am participating in the write tribe festival of words. from 8th -14th dec.
                                This is written for the Write Tribe Prompt "Dreams"