This dream, like few others I've had, felt as if I was actually there, as if I was actually living it and doing all these things. My emotions were all over the place in this dream, and even if it doesnt quite express it through the description, I was happy, sad, frustrated, calm, panicked, worried, laughing, just everything.
It all started at my dad's old house. There was a large family get together, and I was going through the house looking for something. I don't remember what I was looking for, I just knew that it was personal, and I had a few of them lying around I just couldnt find them. The family was outside enjoying a barbeque, and I was the only person in the house. It felt so empty and lonely, and as loud as everyone was just outside the door, it was very quiet. I couldnt find what I was looking for, and when I looked down I noticed I was bleeding. I'm not sure where the blood was coming from, but it made me panic.
I thought I might find what I was looking for at my aunt's house, right around the corner. I walked through a doorway and found myself in her living room. Once again, the house was empty... presumably because everyone was at my dad's family get together. I could hear muffled chatter from the people at the party, even as far away as they were. It was like a constant reminder that they were, in fact, still there. I searched her entire house, finally finding whatever it was, and I grabbed a bandage to stop the bleeding. I noticed my hair was very dirty, so I bent over her bathtub and washed my hair under the faucet. It wasn't as clean as I wanted it, but it was good enough to be presentable. I rushed to towel dry it when I heard someone else come in, and it was just my aunt telling me they were all looking for me and I was expected at the party.
I went outside and found myself at our family get together, but in what seemed like a park of some sort placed directly outside my dad's front yard. The sun was high in the sky, and I found a huge jungle gym hiding under a very tall and wide old oak tree. I used to love climbing jungle gyms, so I made my way to the top, latched my knees and legs around a bar, and hung upsidedown from the center. Just enjoying life, peacefully and playfully.
Next thing I know, I hear a car pull up. It was an older car, reddish orange I think, possibly blue, but in fine working condition. It came to a stop right in front of the jungle gym, and my friend Chris stepped out of it. He walked up and started to climb the bars, and we sat and talked for a few minutes. Well, he sat, I hung. Something we were talking about reminded him of something else, and he sat up straight and in an excited voice told me there was something he had back at his dorm room, he really wanted to show it to me, and that I wouldn't believe it till I saw it. He wouldn't tell me what it was, just that I had to see it. I looked at the sky and saw that the sun was beginning it's decent, though it was still hours from sunset. I said I'd go, but I had to take my sisters with me. The were in their stroller nearby, both of them still tiny babies. I started pushing the stroller over to his car, and I knew I had been seen walking them, though I also know that no one saw us get into his car. We folded the stroller and put it in the back seat, and I held both of my sisters in my arms, wrapped up in a blanket. They were suddenly both so small that I could hold them side by side and it barely took up the space of one normal-sized child. That didn't seem strange at all though. As we were driving away, I told him that I had to be back before the sun went down, or else I'd be in trouble and I didn't want my family to worry about my sisters.
We drive for a while, it's really not too far of a drive though. Maybe a 10 minute drive? That is still quite a long distance to walk, though. We leave my neighborhood and the town seems to have changed drastically. Every building is made entirely of metal, and rusted at that. Most buildings seem to be built up on stilts of angle iron, some buildings have metal rods shooting up from the tops, and some of them are just metal frames with metal signs on them. A heavy smog hung low around the rooftops, and the air itself gave everything a burnt orange glow. Not a tree was in sight, and the small bits of grass in the dirt were long dead. The buildings weren't all industrial though; a few of the signs I spotted were places like Winn-Dixie and Walmart, McDonald's and a Nail Salon.
We pull up to a tall building that looked a lot like a school; if a school was old, metal, and rusted. There was a rusting chain link fence around it, and a metal staircase that went up a few flights on the front. Chris gets out and grabs the stroller, folding it up so small it fit in his pocket. I got out and ensured my sisters were safely tucked in their blanket, and they were sleeping so peacefully. He told me we couldn't be seen entering the building, some sort of trouble or fee he'd have to worry about, so we slid in through a section of the fence that had been cut open and quietly rushed to the staircase. We climbed a few flights of stairs, though I'm not sure how many. We eventually get off the stairs onto a metal "deck" that wrapped around the building, and walked a few doors down, took a side pathway that went in between what seemed like two different buildings, and came to a door on the right, which Chris opened and we went inside.
It was a small dorm room, no more than 13 feet across from door to wall. To the left, about 10 feet out, was a small kitchen that stretched the span of the wall, with a tall thin fridge, a small stove, and cabinets, with just enough counter space to fit the tiny sink and the piles of dishes that reached halfway up the wall. Directly in front of me as I walked in was a small square wooden table, stacked with papers and folders, a few plates and soda cans, and some plastic food wrappers. To the right, the room went another 12 feet or so, and rather than a couch, had a full sized bed with a coffee table beside it. There was trash all over the floor, I believe there was carpet underneath but I couldn't tell for sure, and the bed was disheveled, a pillow even hanging off the side, about to fall to the floor.
Chris turned and told me to wait a moment, he thought he had left whatever-it-was in his bedroom. I then notice a small door opposite the bed, which Chris walked through. He left the door open but I didn't look inside. I could hear things being tossed aside and moved around, and I took this time to look a bit more indepth into the rest of the dorm. Before I could really see anything though, the comforter on the bed began... shifting. I took a step back, only to watch someone sit up, shake their head for a moment, then look up at me. Apparently Chris had a roommate; although I think I recalled him saying that, it never occurred to me that they would be here. I stepped forward to introduce myself, though it took me a moment to say anything. I thought at first that it was a girl-- they had shoulder length curly black hair, and their facial features just seemed sort of feminine. Once they opened their mouth to say hello however, I knew it was a guy.
He started talking about something, but I wasn't really listening. I was looking out the window, trying to determine how long I'd been there. It was hard to tell, since the air was the same color as sunset. I finally made out the hazy image of the sun against the horizon, so hard to see through the smog... When it finally hit me that the sun was already beginning to set, I panicked. I called to Chris and told him that I had to go, and he came out of his room slightly disappointed but agreeing that it was getting late. I told him it was okay, I thought I could get home on my own, so he could continue to look for whatever-it-was. He offered to show me how to get out of the building. (Which was apparently pretty hard to do, since I guess either guests weren't allowed, had to be checked in, or perhaps just females not allowed in male dorms? Honestly I had begun to think they were hiding something on campus that outsiders just weren't allowed to see.)
I don't remember exactly every move we had to make to get out, but a few things stuck in my memory. I remember him looking both ways before we even left the room, I remember walking down the pathway between the buildings and thinking to myself, "I feel like I'm in a Mission Impossible movie..." and I remember coming up to the actual entrance/exit of the school. It was almost like a military guardpost, with three small sections you had to get past. The first section was more for stopping people from getting in, so we were able to walk right past it. The second section had a small open rectangular area, with a guard in a small hut on a hill, surrounded by a fence. Down the hill just below the guard was a brick wall with a metal door and a little red light above it. The guard apparently had a switch on a control panel in his hut that locked and unlocked the door. Reminded me of a prison...
We were just above the area on the hill, and it was easy enough to slide down the hill silently and step onto the roof of the hut, then when the guard was looking the opposite direction, jump from the roof of the hut off to the side of the hut, to a section of the brick wall that was just barely out of sight of the guard, but the wall was low enough to hoist yourself up over it. Chris went first and as soon as the guard was looking away, leapt off the roof and landed by the wall. I could see a small dust cloud burst into the air as he landed, and my first thought was of my sisters. I couldn't make that jump with them, it would risk them getting hurt or sick. So instead I thought about it. The guard was a thin, red-haired boy, covered in freckles, with a pair of thick-rimmed glasses. He didn't look weak at all, but he certainly wasn't one of the "popular" kids, and I doubt he had many women willing to talk to him, let alone give him the time of day.
So rather than jumping the fence, I stepped down the hill as carefully as I could while maintaining my casual pace, kept my head up and looked the guard straight in the eyes as soon as he saw me. I held his gaze until I was at his level, then I smiled and looked away, blushing. I asked him if he could please open the door for me, I had to take my little sisters home and they were just so small... He gave me a crooked smile and told me he'd be glad to open the door, and he stumbled his way to his hut without looking away from me. I kept smiling and giggling until the door was finally open, then I waved good bye and told him I'd try to come back soon, because I'd love to get to know him better. He never thought twice about openning that door. I'm not sure how I know that, but I just do.
I met up with Chris on the other side of the wall, who although disappointed that I didn't hop the fence, was glad that I made it out safely without triggering an alarm or setting the campus on alert. I wasn't even aware that could happen... so from then on I told myself I'd pay a bit more attention to what Chris told me to do and try to follow his direction a bit more closely.
The last section was a small building, much like a waiting room for an office. There were three men inside; one was a Deputy of some sort, though I don't think he was with actual law enforcement, the second was just another kid that went to the school, and the third was an older man who didn't seem to fit in anywhere but just sat in a chair laughing at everything everyone said. This room seemed more psychologically challenging to get out of. We couldn't just walk right out the door or we'd seem too suspicious, yet standing around in the room too long and I'd be caught for sure. Chris went over and sat next to the older man, while I leaned against the wall near the other student. Chris got to talking to the older man and naturally the older man started making jokes that had the entire room laughing. After a few minutes, while everyone was still laughing from something he had said, the student turns towards me and leans over, and whispers, "I'd be heading out that door right about now if I were you... this is the perfect time to do so. Hope you come back around though. It's nice to see new people every once in a while. Good luck!"
I silently thanked him and announced that I had to get going. I walked over to the door, took a deep breathe, and shut my eyes tight, afraid of what would happen when I opened the door. Thankfully, nothing happened at all. I was able to walk right out into the open, and I was out of the school for good. Chris came out behind me, and told me that it was all good now, I was safely out. I turned towards the road, beginning to wonder just how it was I got here and how to get home, when I heard Chris curse behind me. I looked back at him and he told me that he left the stroller back up in his room. I knew it would hurt my arms trying to carry my sisters all the way back home, but Chris had a better solution. He said he'd drive me home and worry about finding his whatever-it-was later. It wasn't that big of a deal anyways. We walked down the fence surrounding the school till we got over to where he had parked, and we got in.
He drove us home, and we arrived on the street my house was on just before the last bit of sun sunk below the horizon. Just as I was about to start walking down the street (I didn't want my family to see me getting out of a car, I wanted them to think I had been on the walk the entire time) Chris reached into his pocket and realized he had the stroller the entire time! We laughed for a moment, then he unfolded it and set it on the sidewalk. I set my sisters in it, and suddenly they were normal sized babies now. Pretty close to the size they actually were supposed to be in the dream anyways.
I waved good bye to Chris and told him to let me know if he ever did find his whats-it, and he said he would. I watched him drive off, then pushed my sisters down the street at a nice easy pace. The stars were starting to come out, and a gentle breeze began to blow. My mind was clear, all sense of worry and panic long gone, and I felt at ease. My dad was just walking out the door to call me to come in for the night, and he took my sisters from their stroller and walked back inside. I stood in the front yard for a while still, just staring up into the sky, wondering what else was out there.
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