Friday, June 26, 2009

Escape from a nightmare

Originally written for a writing activity in our Literature class, second semester, 2005



Escaping unscathed from the realm of nightmares.....


I have nightmares. There was a time in my life when I had them every single night without fail. Sometimes I wake up hearing my own screams, other times I open my eyes suddenly for fear of staying too long in the realm of a horrible dream. There were also times when in the midst of a nightmare I find myself slowly awakening, but then I would deliberately descend into that dream, no matter how horrifying. No matter how horrible the nightmare, I figured that to stay in it a bit longer would enable me to end it the way I wanted.

I wish I had known the legendary Sandman when I was young. I wish I had been introduced to the sweeper of dreams—that flighty and enigmatic creature who inhabits the world of dreams, whose only job is to sweep away the cobwebs of one’s mind, so that one can finally get some decent sleep. But I had an unconventional childhood. I was surrounded by no-nonsense adults who did not teach me to believe in Santa Claus and all that stuff. And who taught me to deal with my nightmares with a glass of water.

Nightmares are like unwanted visitors—they show up when you least expect them. No one claims to know where they come from. But perhaps it is easier to imagine that they have some basis in reality. Nightmares have a way of telling me that no matter how horrible I think reality is, there still exists a realm where the horror is beyond compare. Perhaps they come from one’s experience of living too much and too hard. Life is not exactly peaceful where I come from.
Nightmares. One gets used to them eventually. But I wish they would just disappear. Sleep would be more pleasant if one is not troubled with them.

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