Visions in the Dark

(Sorry for the length)

I am in a valley that is damp and fog-laden. It looks to me like the highlands of Scotland or something. I appear in this dream as my dream incarnate Kalima (image), but wearing a plain grey Victorian dress and white apron. The hills surrounding the valley are covered in ancient, crumbling castles and decaying ramparts while the valley floor is a huge never ending hedge-maze.

I am desperately lost in the maze and I am in a panic because I can feel not one, but two, dark presences nearby and I can sense that they are hunting me. I run through the maze as fast as I can but because of its enormity and the fact that it never ends I don't really get much farther ahead of the pursuers. I am not try to memorize or mentally map out the hedge maze and just run hoping I will get lucky and either find my way out or find the middle (where I instictively know I will be safe).

No matter how far I run I can still hear the creepy snuffling of my dark pursuers, like they have giant nostils and are sniffing me out. I find myself in a dead end and can hear the sniffing sound of one of the pursuers just on the otherside of the hedge. I know it can smell me because it stops to hover around the other side of the hedge where I am leaning in fright to sniff, before it lets out a terrible high pictched shriek to inform the other dark presence that it has found me and start running through the maze to find the fastest way to get to me.

I am so terrified that I fall to my knees and forward onto my stomach, because my legs have gone numb with fear. This allows me to see the smallest of spaces between one hedge and the ground. It looks as if a small pit was dug by a fox or ground hog or something to get under the hedge. I scramble to deepen the hole as quickly as I can and am able to squeeze through and start running again, long before the two dark pursuers find the dead end I was trapped in. They are much to large to fit through the hole (I'm not sure they even noticed it actually) and have to turn around and find their way back through the maze.

I suddenly feel two things simutaneously. First, a heavy object in the front pocket of my apron, which turns out to be a large cast iron key. The blade of the key is plain but the bow part of it is intricate in detail and had a peice of dark red glass set in the middle of it. Secondly, I feel someone close by who is watching me, but their presence is not threatening, though I cannot see them because they are invisible. The being feels warm and radiates love and kindness and for some reason I believe it is a guardian angel, even though I don't believe in angels in waking life.

The being starts to move through the maze and I am able to follow it by moving in the direction of where I feel the warmest air. After a long while I am led to what looks like another dead end somewhere near the middle of the valley and the warm presence suddenly disappears. I know there is something about this part of the hedge maze that I am supposed to discover but I can only pace back and forth in frustration for a long while because I cannot figure it out and I can hear the snuffling of the two dark pursuers getting closer again.

I pull out the key that appeared in my apron pocket a while ago and assume that I am supposed to find a door, but none can be seen with the naked eye. I feel around inside some of hedge wall where there are little openings in the heavy brush, but all I encounter is thorny branches and after several times I have sore and bleeding fingers. I feel like I have been misled by the thing I thought was a guardian angel, as well as abandoned, and I am angry and frustrated and I remember thinking to myself "this is why I don't believe in angels!"

The blood on my hands makes me think about the dark red glass set into the bow of the key and I look through it like one would a spyglass, mostly out of bordem rather than thinking anything would happen, but as it turned out I could see a glowing red outline of a door at the very end of the dead end, where the hedge appears the thickest. Upon investigation the thick hedge is even thornier and more difficult to get my hand through than the ones before, but I can feel a metal door on the other side.

I fumble around with the key, trying to find the lock, all the while the two dark presences are getting closer. So close in fact that I can here them on the other side of the hedge and I start to panic because I cannot find the hole for the key. Almost at the last second the key finally slips into a hole in the door and the door opens, but I have to force by entire body through the thick wall of thorns and it is terribly painful and unpleasant.

I get through and am able to slam the door shut and lock out the pursuers just in time because they were so close that one was able make a swipe at me and catch the end of my grey dress and rip a peice off. The creatures looked like tank sized crosses of a pot-bellied pig and a bulldog. They had rough black skin, large snouts and glowing red eyes. There bodies were covered in scars like they had been badly beaten and tortured. I had been terrified of them the whole time I could not see them but as soon as I caught that short glimpse of their battered and beaten bodies, as I slammed the door shut, I felt kind of sorry for them because they made me think of domestic dogs that become ferocious and violent after being mistreated and abused. I wanted to open the door again and have another look at them, even try to pet them and be nice to them, but I realize just then that when I slammed the door shut I left the key in the lock and since the door has no handle on this side, I was essentially locked in (and unless the pig/dog creatures suddenly grew fingers, they were esentially locked out).

I take a moment to catch my breath and have a look at my surroundings. I am in a large open area that has rows and rows of plots for planting, but the whole garden is dead. The small trees and bushes around the perimeter are barren of leaves and many have broken branches. The few plants, and what looks like stalks, that can be found in the plots are whithered and dried. The grass is brown, the air smells of earthy decay, the few marble staues around the garden are weather worn or crumbling to peices and it looks as if the garden has not been tended to for hundreds of years.

In the center of the dead garden is a a small stone fountain at the base of a huge oak tree. The fountain only contains some dried and decaying leaves from the oak tree that has mighty, thick branches that reach eagerly upwards, but it looks pretty pathetic without its leaves. I feel sad and wish there was something I could do to revive the garden but all I can do is sit on edge of the fountain and sulk.

My eye catches something white sticking out of the ground in a growing plot not far away. At first I though it was just like one of the many dead and dried out flower stalks found throughout the garden but when I get closer I can see that it is actually human finger bones sticking out of the ground, which sends a chill down my spine. Now that I am aware of it, an awful lot of the stalks sticking out of the ground look like skeletal fingers, and I even notice the old sun bleached bone hidden under the bushes and trees.

I suddenly want to leave very badly but don't know how because I've locked myself in the garden when I left the key in the otherside of the door. I briefly think that I will became another skeleton in the garden when I suddenly feel the warm angelic presence nearby again. I follow it to the locked door which suddenly unlocks and swings open. The pigdogs are gone but I am able to retrieve the key. The warm presence complels me to return to the fountain where I suddenly notice a keyhole in the bottom of it. I stick the key in and when I turn it, fresh clean water starts to flow out of the key hole and fill the fountain.

I am all excited and happy and stuff, because I think that the garden will now suddenly recover, but the dream ends there because I wake up.

I drifted off to a very light sleep just after Coach's Corner with Don Cherry and Ron McClaine at the first intermission of a Toronto Maple Leafs at Vancouver Canucks game. Although there was much imagery and happening that made it obvious I was in a dream, the hockey commentary could be heard the whole time and was not garbled or altered by the dream state.


The dream starts off with me in a small hockey arena skating around the rink and batting hockey pucks thrown at me by my teammates like baseballs into the net. A couple of visiting hockey coaches asked me how I knew how to do that so accurately and I told them that my paternal grandfather taught me how. My coaches took me out to a secluded road out in the country side that was covered in ice. The coach tied a rope around my waist and pulled me behind a truck while I tried to throw pucks into hockey nets along the side of the road. This unusual practice lasted until early afternoon when the coaches returned to the arena and told the team that practice was over and we were invited to watch the Toronto at Vancouver game on another ice rink within the same arena.

I wandered though the halls of the arena and found myself in a changing room lined with portopotties and small cubicles where professional hockey players were changing. I did not see anyone I recognized until the last minute when I saw Canucks lead goalie Roberto Luongo sitting in his gear, looking at me with a wry and amused smile on his face but I was then escorted out by a security guard and directed to the rink where the hockey game had started. I was in the second of three seating levels and thought it has weird that the game was playing in such a small arena and that there were not very many spectators there for an offical NHL game. For some reason I had no jacket but a large and very warm brown blanket which I wrapped around me like a cloak.

The game was in the first intermission so I got up and explored the arena and by the hallways and the layout I believed I was in a high school of some sort. The hallways began changing and the layout became confusing and I believed that the arena was changing shape at random since I could not find my was back to the second level seating area, which was very frustrating but understandable because I know that my dreams frequently do stuff like that. When the game started again I could hear the hockey commentary as clear as day, so I was aware that the game was on but I could not find my way back to the ice rink. I found several rooms where people were watching the game on small television sets or just sitting listening to the commentaty and staring at the walls but I could not find the ice rink no matter where I looked. Even though I could hear the Toronto/Vancouver game the images on the television sets were of Toronto Maple Leafs vs. the Montreal Canadiens game. I went up a set of stairs and found the nosebleed section (third level seating) of an ice rink but I found that it overlooked a basketball court where small children were playing with random non hockey related toys.

I wandered around the arena some more before I found my way to a small area behind the arena that looked like a garden admist fall where some more small children were playing in the fallen leaves. I wrapped the blanket tightly around me and walked through the garden and into a narrow alleyway at the side of the arena. There was a large man standing in the dark in the lonely alley and when I got closer I realized that it was Roberto Luongo, still in his full hockey gear (minus his helmet), and who seemed to be waiting for me. I was all embarassed at first and did not know what to say but he broke the silence by asking my who my favourite hockey team was and I sheepishly responded that the Montreal Canadiens were my favourite and that my second favourite team was a toss up between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks. Luongo just laughed in response though it seemed to me that he was a bit disappointed that I had not mentioned his team as my favourite -- though I did make a point of mentioning afterwards that even though the Montreal Canadiens were my favourite team that he was my favourite goalie currently playing in the NHL and that Carrie Price (lead goalie of the Canadiens) was my second, which made Luongo very happy. Every time he smiled at me I felt my heart stir and started to believe that I was falling in love with him even though I was vaguly aware that I was in a dream and was not really talking to Roberto Luongo but an aspect of my subconscious that had taken his form.

We talked about hockey for a while but our conversation soon became more intellectual and we were talking about these deep universal things which were very personal and spiritual and I was surprised that we shared many beliefs and agreed on a lot of things. Unfortunately I cannot remember any of the details of that conversation because even though I was talking to him I was still hearing the Toronto/Vancouver game loud and clear as if I was right there at the game. I was just going to ask Mr. Luongo how he could be there talking with me while he was at the same time playing goalie in the game when suddenly the hockey commentators said that Toronto finally scored early in the third period after trailing by 2-0. I was very happy and excited and my light sleep faded and I woke up to see the game still playing and indeed Toronto had just scored early in the third period after trailing 2-0. This convinced me that my mind was still focused on listening to the game even though I was dreaming.


I later watched the replay of the game a few hours later and everything I had heard from the hockey commentators in my dream had indeed been said during the gameplay and I thought that was really cool because I have never simutaneously listened to something happening outside of my subconscious and dreamed at the same time.

This is the first of three dreams I had on October 14th, 2009.


I am in a medieval castle with grey stone walls. I am a princess of some sort and I have just arrived with my fiancé prince. It is the day before are wedding and we are shown to different rooms on opposite sides of the castle after we arrive. When I have finished putting away my things in my room in the tallest tower I go back down to the main floor and have a look around. The main floor is bustling with servants and people running around preparing for the wedding. I am able to walk around without many people noticing or bothering me.

Later that night I am in my room just laying down to sleep when I hear something outside my window. I go over to the window but there is nothing there. For the first time I notice the courtyard of the castle which is a lush and beautiful garden. I take off my night clothes and put on a simple dress and cloak overtop and sneak through the halls of the castle and out into the garden. I am careful that no one sees me, not even the few guards who are patrolling the halls. The castle and garden are illuminated only by the full moon.

I don't know why I feel drawn to the garden but I sense that there is something here for me. I walk through the carefully tended isles and come across a beautiful archway that is covered in red roses. I see something silver shining in the moonlight on the ground and find a ring. I immediately recognize it as a ring that once belonged to my mother (in the dream, not in real life) whom died when I was very young. I am perplexed but excited that I have found her ring. The design on it is of a bird of prey spreading it's wings perched over a circular design which I guess is supposed to represent the Earth. The ring is very old and the design seems a bit faded.

I suddenly hear someone walking through the garden towards me and turn arround and see my fiancé prince followed by several guards. He seems upset and tells me that he raised the alarm when he found me missing from my room in the tower. I briefly think it is strange that the prince came to my room in the middle of the night but do not question it out loud. I show him the ring I found by the prince is uninterested and has me escorted back to my room by the guards, which are then posted outside my door so that I cannot leave.

The dream skips to the next day after the wedding (which took place in the garden courtyard) and I am walking around asking high ranking officials and guests if they know anything about my mother, who I am convinced was once at this castle because I found her ring here. No one knows anything. I sense that the prince is becoming annoyed with my fascination with the mother's ring and not the giant diamond ring he put on my finding during the wedding ceremony. The prince absolutely forbids me to wear my mother's ring but does allow me to carry it around with me.

I am walking beside tall, handsome elf through a creepy, haunted looking forest at night. My elf companion has long dark brown hair, a smooth narrow face and is wearing dark red velvet clothing. I have pale blond hair and have on a purple Victorian style silk gown, with a black hooded cloak overtop. (The dress looked similar to this, except it was purple.) We are walking down a dirt road through the forest. Because I cannot see very well in the dark, and there is no moon to provide illumination, the elf insists that I stay close to him.

I have a palm sized, metal item that looks like one half of a purple, blue and gold butterfly. There are various indentations on the back that make me think it is a key of some sort. I do not know the reason, but I sense that I am supposed to find the other half.

There is a large gnarled tree in the middle of the road just ahead of us. There is a woman who looks similar to me (only she has golden hair and is wearing a light blue gown and a white cloak) standing under the tree, waving at us to come over. She is lithe and bubbly and seems to give of a dim light that reflects her glowing personality. Behind her I can see a large iron gate that is covered with think tangled vines. I want to move on but my bubbly doppleganger wants to solicalize with the elf and I and will not let us pass until we do so.

She knows the elf and volunteers information about a past relationship the once shared. The handsome elf smiles at her and they both seem enthralled with each other's presence. I am anxious and eager to go to the iron gate; I can feel something drawing me to the darkness beyond. The woman in the blue dress is telling me what attributes of the elf she like's the most. I very vivdly remember her saying, with much longing in her voice "...his hair, his smell... his testicles..."

The elf and the woman fall into each other's arms, onto the grass under the tree and start making out. I take this opportunity to investigate the iron gate. One of the bars has rusted out and I am able to slip through the gap after brushing aside some tangled vines.

Beyond the gate there is a small garden that is illuminated by four lamps in each corner. In the middle of the garden is a double tiered fountain. Other than the soft trickle of water, the garden is eeirily silent. The temperature in the garden drops dramatically and it becomes very cold. On the other side of the garden is two large doors made of wood, set into a dark grey brick wall. I cannot tell if the building is a castle or just another gate. I try to push the doors open but they will not budge. There is an impression where the doors meet, just above the handles, of a butterfly. The butterfly item I have fits into one half of the impression, but the doors remains tightly shut and I know that I have to find the other half of my trinket to proceed.

Walking back to fountain I notice a faint glimmer in the water. It is so cold in the garden now that the water in the fountain is starting to turn to ice. I have to smash it with my fist and plunge my hand into the freezing water but it is completely worth it as I pull out the other half of my butterfly key. When I place the retreived half into the other impression on the door, there is a loud click of a lock opening. The two halfs of the key glow and float out of the impression towards me and right into my hands. The item is now a completely fused together and I cannot seperate the two halves even when I try.

I push open the large wooded doors and walk into what appears to be a large theater or opera hall. There are rows and rows of cushions seats and a stage draped with velvet red curtains. The only light comes from small flickering candles that run the length of the aisles. Unlike the garden, this theater is warm and comfortable. There is a gap between the stage and the seats where a table upon which a small, black, metal chest sits.

The box has a butterfly impression on the front and when I place the key in, the lid on the chest opens by itself. There is nothing inside but images and colours appear on the stage and memories and feelings of mine, some vague and some farmiliar, play out on the stage like a psychedelic, holographic light show. I cannot remember any specific details of what I saw but it was extremely ethereal and wonderful and I was completely entranced and lost in the experience.

When the lights and feelings fade I find myself sitting in one of the front row seats, leaning forward on the table and hugging the small metal chest tightly. I do not want to move because I feel that what just happen will never happen again. I take the butterfly key in my hands and gaze at it intently, gently tracing my fingers around its contours like it is some fragile and vital part of my soul.


This dream is my absolute favourite dream that I have ever had up to this point in my life.

It starts off on an island beach resort where many people are enjoying the fine weather and warm water. I am relaxing on a beach towel not far from the water and I can see a family of four in front of me. There is the father and son, who are caucasian, and the mother and daughter, who are oriental. The father is playing with the children at the water's edge and the mother is watching from their beach towel not far away.

Seaweed started drifting to shore in vast amounts and many people start rushing out of the water. Some of the seaweed has jellyfish hidden inside and they are stinging whoever happens to touch them. The father ignores the seaweed and continues to allow his son to play while the daughter responds to the mother's call to get out of the water. Eventually, the frustrated mother gets up and rushes over to her son and pulls him to shore, where she cradles him in her lap and fawns over him for a bit. The father and mother begin to argue. For some reasons the father has not seen the jellyfish and has not acknowledged all the people rushing out of the water. He is angry because he thinks that the children should be allowed to continue to play in the water.

Just then there is a voice over a loudspeaker telling everone in the army to gather in a nearby parking lot. Just after that sirens start going off all over the resort. Apparently I am a soldier, even though I am on vacation, I am being enlisted to fight. At the parking lot all of the soldiers who have gathered are told that we are under attack - but the sky is clear and there are no signs of "enemy" activity anywhere, (unless you count the mass amounts of seaweed and jellyfish washing upon the shoreline). The soldiers are given weapons and ammunition, split into groups, and most are sent into the forests to "hunt down the enemy."

My group consists of 16 men and I (the only woman) and there is a wide variety of nationalities represented. Our orders are to secure the area as the civilians are escorted to safety. Chaos ensues when smoke bombs and gunfire errupt from an unseen source. There are people running everywhere and some of the commanders from the soldier's units are either killed or run away. Some of the members from my group (including the commander) get seperated from us in the smokey chaos. The rest of us commandeer a school bus and directs civilians to get on. It takes a few trips but we seem to get all of the civilians in the area to a nearby airport where an airbus is waiting to take them to saftey.

Before the last airbus leaves I hear something odd and run off on my own into a nearby forest. There is a helicopter trying to take off from an akward angle on a hill and I cannot figure out it managed to land without hitting any of the surrounding trees. There are two men in the cockpit and they look like they start to panic when they see me. The copter begins to lift into the air and I duck because I am afraid of being hit by the blades as the craft straightens out. When it is off the ground and starts to ascend gunfire errutps from a nearby bush and damages the underside of the helicopter, but does not stop it. When the copter is gone, a muscular black man steps out from behind the bush. It is the commander of my unit and he asks me to come along with him. I agree and report that all of the civilians have been evacuated and the vacation resort has been secured. He gives me a strange look but says nothing.

We walk down the hill, through some thick bushes and straight into what looks like a zen garden. The men from my unit are all sitting on benches that encircle the rock garden and seem happy to see me. The commander asks me if I remember everyones name and to point them out if I do so. I think it is a weird request but I comply and am able to name every single member of my group except one, a black man with long dreadlocks. The man with the dreadlocks laughs at me and says in a thick jamacian accent: "My name would be "Johney Oh" in english and it rhymes with cloud". I still cannot remember his name and the whole unit finds it very funny.

I am told that when I dissapeared into the forest that I had dissapeared for several months. The "enemy" could still not be found and everyone wanted to know where I had been. I tried to tell them that almost no time elapsed between running from the airport to coming across the helicopter in the forest, but no one believes me. The is a bit more with my unit on an aircraft but I cannot rememeber most of it. The dream ends soon after anyways.