dream fragment

More catching up.

13th July 2020

Fragment:

Mix of WoW, Minecraft and Dwarf Fortress. (DFLN thread)

Remember mining like in Minecraft and then stumbling into a Dark Iron fortress. Remember meeting with Hnk and some small raid group he had. Not sure what they were doing or if I joined or not. I vaguely recall some combat in a semi-open area (but still underground?).

16th July 2020

Fragment:

Few details remain. There was a small tree, a sapling, in a plant pot and atop a low wall.

For some reason earlier in the dream I had tried to cut the sapling with a serrated knife but not like a serious one, more like a table knife. Now I was trying again because I was making adjustments to a road next to this low wall. I was marking and dividing up the new lanes for this road and my lane dividers were made from stuff just laying about.

But as I was trying to cut this tree, two people came my way, I knew one of them from waking life but I forget who it was. The other one, was the owner of the small tree and he was a dream character. He seemed distressed by what I was doing and I tried to cover up the cuts I'd made on the tree. When he approached further as they got closer, he asked me what I was doing and all that sort of thing.

I tried to explain that I needed his tree and now actually I only wanted a cutting from one of the branches to propagate the tree. Some of the bits where I'd been cutting the tree at looked more like they'd been lathed than cut as they were very perfect and circular (spiral?). It made the tree have a very "modern" style look somehow.

19th July 2020

Fragment:

Quite a few dreams but mostly only memorised one segment.

Near the end of the dream, I was having a conversation with someone I knew from school a long time ago (who?). I remember seeing his face but somehow we were both near each other and not near all at once.

For some reason he started talking to me about my relationships. He commented that I had "abandon" some of my habits, referring to how I don't look at men the same way as I do women usually. He said I was a acchrophyl or something. No idea, but it looked a made up word as it happens in dreams. (DFLN thread)

I remember then seeing a white background and a sort of slideshow with still images depicting an anthropomorphic wolf and a person and the person had a silly face and was looking toward the camera and pointing at the wolf. The wolf was looking embarrassed and pointing at the ground ahead of him. I don't remember the rest of the slides.

We talked more but I forget the details. Then H arrived somewhere in the van and I went to meet up with him and get in.

I remember having passing thoughts about how this guy from school was seeming very wise in these conversations, which seemed unexpected. I don't remember anything else except that this segment was in continuation of another where I had been exploring an abandoned mall bunker with people who were possibly also old schoolmates. I remember thinking it all looked intact and immaculate and everything still worked, so I wondered why it was abandoned.

Psych fragment
At some point it's about Gus and Shawn at an airport working on a case. Then it's Jules being maybe shot and dead, but a few seconds later shows that she fell on yellow gems which were apparently zirconium which heals you, so she survived and Gus and Shawn came to help.

---

I should really really reality check to the series I watch, shouldn't I?

Girlfriend fragment
I am great friends with some girl, she seems to be my girlfriend. We keep doing things together, running around some old city or something. It seems to be early morning and we're alone. We seem to be having fun together, but something is chasing us, but we take it with humor and take it as if it was an adventure.

Talking fragment
In the dream I seem to have woken up and am lying in my bed and my mother sitting close beside me and I start talking about some private important topic and she's surprised.

---

Once again I forgot to do my mantra... sort of. I made progress. I was about to do my mantra but I forgot what it was and then forgot and fell asleep.

I had another strange dream involving my mom, sister, and the Reliant last night. Like the dream the night before, this dream was a mix of past and present.

The dream started in the baggage claim of the local airport where I live. It was late at night and my mom, sister, and me were waiting for our baggage after arriving from somewhere. I am pretty sure the dream took place in the present time as my mom and sister were both like they do now and we were all wearing face coverings along with the few other people we saw in the terminal.

After waiting a little while longer, we started seeing our bags come over on the conveyer belt. I am not sure where we were arriving from, but I pulled a lot of stuff off of the belt. All 3 of us had large black rolling suitcases and my sister and I each had our set of golf clubs. My mom and sister each also had a tote bag an purse, and I had a laptop bag.

Once we had everything, I got a luggage cart to help us get everything out to the car since mom said she had parked in the long term parking lot and it was a bit of a walk. I loaded everything I could onto the luggage cart and then pushed it out of the terminal following my mom and sister. As we were walking out, mom noticed a sign saying all parking tickets must be validated at the kiosk in the terminal and griped that she had left the ticket in the car and would have to go back into pay.

We walked past the parking deck and eventually got to the long term lot where mom had parked. When we got there, I noticed granddad's old Tan Reliant at the far end facing us. As we walked towards it, I asked mom why she had driven it rather than her Tahoe and she explained she would rather leave the Reliant parked in the lot for several days exposed to the elements.

When we got to the Reliant, mom unlocked and opened the passenger side door and then walked around to the back to unlock and open the trunk. As I walked around to the trunk, I noticed some changes to the Reliant from earlier dreams which included the back seat being clean and usable and bumper stickers on the rear bumper I had added when I drove the car in high school. It seemed like a later memory of the Reliant in this dream than the one I had in all the other dreams when I was 15.

While I worked on trying to figure out the best way to load all of our stuff in the trunk, mom unlocked the driver side door and got the parking ticket off the dash. She expressed being relieved that it was right where she though she left it. She then grabbed her purse from the luggage cart and headed back to the terminal to pay the parking fees.

After several tries at re-arranging things, I was finally able to get the 3 suitcases and all of our carry-on items into the trunk. I felt like I had really accomplished something as I closed the trunk until I looked down at the luggage cart and saw that our two golf bags were still on it. I then had a sinking feeling knowing the only way I could get everything to fit in the car would be to put the golf clubs in the back seat and have all 3 of us ride up front. My sister was distracted in the front seat looking at her phone and never noticed me putting the golf clubs in the back seat.

Once I had them in, I went to return the luggage cart to the appropriate place in the lot and then slowly walked back to the Reliant. When I got back, my sister was still sitting in the passenger seat looking at her phone and was zoned-out. I opened the door and asked her to scoot over. At first it didn't register what I was asking and then she gave me a strange look and something about she thought I was riding in the back seat. Once I explained about the golf clubs, she rolled her eyes and let out a loud groan and then unbuckled her seat belt and moved over to the middle seat. This was the first time in any of the car dreams I have had where I am riding by the window in the Reliant and my sister is riding in the middle.

While we waited for mom to come out, my sister was griping about how stupid it was for mom to have driven the Reliant when her Tahoe would have had a lot more room for all of our luggage. I tried to sit as close to the window as possible so my sister could have her space, but there wasn't a lot of room. As I was getting ready to look at my phone, I looked through the windshield and saw mom walking through the parking lot towards us.

When mom opened the driver side door, she told us that she had to go back to the terminal because she discovered she did not have her credit cards and remember she had put them in my sisters purse before going through security. She also asked why we were both up front and my sister snapped that the golf clubs wouldn't fit in the trunk and had to go in the back seat. Mom asked where my sisters purse was and I told her it was in the bottom of the trunk under the suitcases. Mom them closed the driver side door and walked around the the back and opened the trunk.

While mom was still looking in the trunk, my sister unbuckled and then moved over towards the driver seat and said she needed to show mom where she had hidden the credit cards. She opened the driver side door, got out, and then closed it behind her. I was looking at my phone when I heard mom close the trunk and then saw my sister walking around the front of the car from the driver side to the passenger side. She then flung the passenger side door open and told me to scoot over to the middle. I woke-up from this dream as she was getting in the car, so I have no idea what happened after she got in. This was the first ever Reliant dream that ended before mom got back in the car and tried to start it up.

Not sure if I am finally starting to figure out how to have control over these dreams or if I just moved out of that sleep cycle before it could go any further.

9th July 2020

Fragment:

Something about talking to A in some imagined version of her home. I remember it was day time and there was a coffee table? An old style computer with a CRT.

We talked about a few things, mostly random ones, but also about my art and I asked if she knew anyone who might be interested.

---

10th July 2020

Fragment:

Dream about being on the computer and looking through one of the art sites I frequent. I remember looking at my own art and other peoples' art, but the rest of the recall is gone.

---

11th July 2020

Fragment:

On the computer, looking at one of the art sites again, and at my account page. I think I'd received some comments and I was typing up replies to the comments. I vaguely remember new dream-generated artwork, both of my own authorship and of other artists.

Something about wanting to make a second account for only certain types of posts (?) but in the end I decided it would be too confusing if I had duplicate uploads between two different accounts.

---

Notes:
- There is quite a mix within these three days, the dreams being pretty much about the same thing in one way or another; my art and how both I and others perceive it.
- At present this hasn't been manifesting in dreams quite as much but at the time of these dreams I was perhaps finding myself obsessively thinking about these things a bit through the days, more so than currently.
- The recalled part of the first dream relates directly to how I no longer have direct contacts/friendships with people who are interested in the same things, thus trying to see if a friend did know anyone and if we could basically be introduced; I've had this thought consciously a few times during certain days but since then have decided that I can't meaningfully seek this out in a natural/organic way and since then I've also had a conversation about this topic with a friend.

7th July 2020

Dream (somewhat fragmented):

Some mix of walking and racing around a city. There was a long track that lapped at a military train station of some kind and looped around through a somewhat futuristic city and some mountains and sea side cliffs. I think I lapped around a couple of times at least. The track was a mix of dirt and train tracks along the non-city parts, so the car would transform or something as it went on and off the rail tracks. The moments during which I was driving were all in third person view.

(recall gap)

At some point I was driving a tank past the check point where the race track supposedly lapped, somewhere in the city. A group of rebels appeared and melded out from the cheering crowds gathered around the city race track. The group of people had guns and they clung to me and demanded "the truth" (not of me, it was their chant?). I was not their ally but not their enemy either. I carried on moving forward and some point I'm me and not in the tank anymore, and I'm going through this cramped and small hall of a sci-fi, neon-lit mall. It's kind of dark but the neon signs made a stark contrast.

(at some point there's a transition, maybe not instant but gradual, though my recall of it has faded)

The rather large group of rebels was much smaller now. I was now in a giant cavern and this much smaller (less than ten people in total) group of rebels and their children had been following me for a while now after what I think had been quite some time walking; some of the kids kept holding on to me (in fear?) or clinging but I found this annoying at times since I was trying to move forward.

In the huge cave there was this giant reptilian alien creature and it was fighting or attacking something. I remember running past its large open mouth and throwing a small nuclear bomb inside. Somehow I made it keep its mouth closed as I moved towards its tail.

The bomb went off at this point and the light shone right through the scaly skin; there was a certain iridescence to the effect and there were plenty of vivid colour. Because I was at the back at this point, I remember making note that it was a female (based on the genitals) and the creature began to feel weak and was sort of hanging on its knees.

Then I remember being the same size as it; I sort of rolled it over on its back and then it was a (friendly) dog. I was trying to be careful because some of those people were still nearby and now they were tiny. I gave the dog some kind of pill like a tranquillising medicine, without too much resistance; the giant dog began to look a bit out of it and happy. Then there was some kind of interface to choose how to reset or reprogram the creature's behaviour. There were two columns with a few options each.

The dream ended shortly after this.

---

Notes:
- Even only after waking up I thought that the general setting of this dream was very interesting. The sci-fi type city and the scenic landscapes are generally appealing and come to think of it, are both subjects I'd like to be better at portraying artistically.
-- I remember some picturesque sunset views at some point, around the seaside cliff areas.
- This was one of those dreams that felt quite long, where I feel there are many parts of the dream that I did experience but simply could not recall solidly once awake.
- The whole thing with the rebels and the city makes me think of the Hunger Games for some reason, though I don't think I'd rewatched it recently at the time of this dream.
-- I don't remember clearly anymore what was the general emotional state of the rebels and their children when we were in the cave, but my mind says "fear" at the moment; but the way the children were hanging on to me was more playful, in the same way that as when I was a child I might have done when being playful with my parents.
- The nuclear bomb and the shiny effect were probably in part brought on by playing Borderlands 3 and using a character skill that enables miniaturised nuclear warheads to be fired, and in part probably by Fallout and its Fatman too.
- Rolling over the creature (dog at that point) was very akin to my experience of having to give my dog medication, though in this case there was actually more willingness to receive the medication.

Dragon dream
I transform into a dragon at some point, it seems like an ability I have in the dream. I was getting mad at somebody. It was sort of in this like special bar like area, that seems to be becoming a recurring location. There are some of my friends there, I think.

---

Sadly I don't remember having any sensation of my form in the dream, which would've helped in shapeshifting in a lucid dream.

Also, I have been totally forgetting to use my mantra so that I'd get lucid; it works nearly every time, but my memory is horrible.

School has also been destroying my recall. I know I remembered more of the dream in the morning, but firstly, I don't want my parents to see what dreams I have, idk why but it's embarrassing, and on school days I can't get myself out of bed so I wouldn't even have time to write down the dream.

Tall shape on high building fragment
A white, tall shape on a skyscraper. It might be day. I look down. Maybe the shape is organic and alive.

Jamie

She showed up once. Found myself on a couch with her and she wasn't looking at me or talking to me. She eventually got and left without saying a word. Yeah, our dream friendship has gone pretty downhill over the last few months . I have pretty much given up hope I'll ever hear from her again. Sounds like whatever hope was left in her is pretty much gone also. I feel it.

Nightmare

Walked into my living room and saw my dogs head on the ground with his face twitching. I was shocked at that site and ran into my bedroom and my dog's severed head was there also. This time as well as twitching there was blood all over the floor. I went into the next room and asked my aunt what happened to my dog. She had a crazy laugh and said, "Well, He just looked so depressed I just decided to cut off his head! HAHAHA."

Car Crash.

Was walking around with riya from work outside ina field. We somehow ooka ride from someone. At a strange turnpike He lost control and the van slid into a super deep ditch. We hung on the edge for a second, and i said, "That's far down we're going to die." The driver said, "No we won't."

We fell in and no one was hurt. I got out of the van and riya followed me. I realized i left my gloves in the vand and went back for them. Back at the van a board in the van was pushing upward. I lifted the board up and a small dog got out. I found gloves that weren't mine and ruffled through things until I found the right kind. Riya was behind me talking. We left the scene and wound up back in the same field.

In the field I passed a blond woman with poofy hair. But she had really weird colours to her...

LEGEND:
Black = non-lucid
Grey = awake
Blue = lucid

---

Lucid fragment
I reality check and get lucid, but either don't remember what came after it or the dream faded.

Great false awakening lucid!
Discouraged from my failed lucid that I just woke up from, I decide to do an especially aware reality check and then go to sleep with the mantra "When I see my hands I will remember I am dreaming and I will remember my body isn't real." The last part of the mantra is to make me more lucid and aware, so that I'm not just a zombie.

I then heard a noise my father made (maybe be dropped something) and got startled by it, and was disappointed. But I did a reality check, and, to my surprise, I breathed right through my plugged nose and was in a lucid dream. I immediately stood up and decided to leave my home. I tried looking away and back, imagining there'd be a door. I wanted to go to a specific place, but I ended up going into a mall. For some reason I suddenly had a VR headset on my head and my lucidity slipped a bit and things started getting unclear, both since that's something that happens if you don't have your VR headset on correctly and because the dream was fading, but as I took it off it caught itself. For a few seconds, I was somewhere else, but returned to the mall without really noticing. The place might have been full of brownish sand and sort of boxed in somehow.

Now, back in the mall, I run around and explore, excited, although not as aware as in the beginning anymore, but still better than any other lucid dream I've had. I see a small (100ml volume?) box of sodium iodide and think about trying to blow something up (that's hard with sodium iodide, but, again, I had lost awareness in the VR headset segment), but I ended up not trying, both because I didn't know if they'd have any chemical that'd work out with it (forgot that you could summon things since my awareness was shit) and because I didn't want to anymore. As I thought about it, I had actually tried to grab the box of it, but I only had the lid in my hands since it slipped off, and somebody was mad at me since I grabbed it (I had a small fear that someone would notice, but I didn't really care since I was sure I could just flee). And thus, I fled.

I then decided to try some shapeshifting again. I looked at my hands and saw that I had way too many fingers than normal (about 14 on my right hand), so I tried to touch things with the hand to see how having more fingers feels like, and it felt like normal, just slightly different. It's hard to describe. But I didn't want to continue to do something else that is more personal.

I went to a sort of computer terminal and input commands and hoped for them to appear in the dream, but it didn't quite work out. At some point I did a stabilization attempt by inspecting my hands, but still nearly woke up, but ended up back at a sort of bodyless distant view that was even less aware of the terminal, which now looked like a piano/organ, and apparently dracula was playing on it. It sort of was like a comedic variation of some sort of area in a video game. I then sort of had to click on the piano to go to the terminal again to continue typing, and it still didn't work, and then I woke up.

---

That awareness drop after the vr segment was annoying, but being that aware at all was progress, at least. I think I will add something to get more aware of dream control in my dreams.

Also, the first lucid fragment resulted from an extra aware reality check yesterday before I went to bed, since I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't reality check all that much because of school eating my time and stressing me.

1st July 2020

Fragment:

Long dream but recall up to this point was poor. About halfway in, I was going through a busy-ish city centre with some other dream character walking along with me.

Then a very obvious dream sign appeared, a tall woman in labcoat, walking away in a different direction, possibly wearing nothing else. She had flat and very black hair, reminding me of one of my cousin's hair or come to think of it, a sort of Cleopatra hairstyle?

I recognised the dream sign and checked the fingers on my right hand, but for some reason I didn't realise I was dreaming and I didn't make further checks. Something about my fingers seemed distorted but the number was correct. I didn't remember to do any physics checks oddly and I think I was also distracted by whatever my previous dream objective was.

Later I either had a micro awakening or another pre-lucid moment during which I automatically reflected on what had happened and how I'd been unable to realise I was dreaming, but again not realising this irony.

(Missing recall)

Different part of the dream. I was somewhere kind of dark. Some dream character was showing me something? Then some of this characters pet spiders appeared on the ground out of nowhere, individually one after another, there were only a few though. But for some reason in the dream I let my phobia sort of return and take a small hold of me, mostly because of the first spider. It was a black and yellow/gold patterned orb weaver, about the size of a large hand. Even in my temporarily panicked state I realised that it seemed more afraid of me, but I couldn't shake the feeling of unease.

(Missing transition)

Another part of the dream sequence where I was at some modern-ish looking house. I was not myself, but a character for the dream plot. I was some kind of elemental creature but I don't recall any details of my form or appearance. There were four other humanoid creatures of similar elemental nature. There was an absent character that had created us and one of the other creatures had been created right in front of me. She appeared in a cloud of white smoke within a glass room, which I was standing outside of. The glass enclosing this "room" made it more like a container or cell of sorts really.

---

Notes:

- This dream was a particularly good pre-cursor to the lucidity I had later on (4th August).
-- At this point I had been becoming more diligent with my reality checks but not quite so much just yet. Currently at the time of writing (13th August) I am far more diligent with my RCing though there are still situations under which I should be checking but still am not quite so often.

- My primary issue with my RC was really the fact that I gave up on the first try but this was made much worse by the fact that the dream itself caused distraction from my RC procedure, something that I'm a bit more careful.

- The bit with the spiders was somewhat unusual in that I haven't been letting this affect me at all in waking life but it may have been around the time when I've seen bigger ones around the house more recently.
- This was the first dream with spiders for quite some time now, I think.

27th June 2020

Fragment:

Long dream but details faded. Remember being in the mountains, by myself. It was a sort of twilight hour. I remember looking under what was a false boulder and there was money under there, a few thousand euros and pounds. There was a message saying I was to take as much as I wanted.

I stuffed it all in my shorts pockets.

Then I remember thinking about going back home or something, I felt like I was lost in an unknown country. I arrived at a hotel place of some sorts and H was there in the role of a generic servant or something.

(Transition/recall gap.)

In some kind of big store. There's only a few people around, it's day time and not much artificial lighting is needed in here as it seems to be adequately lit naturally. Then this group of guys comes in and they are a bit stocky, not fat though. They are going to rob a vault at the store. They do so and there isn't much fuss about it, apart from the odd scream from a woman. I hear them talking or something and they managed to steal 6.2 billion.

I think about how much money that is, and how it looks so small physically, as they only carried a few sacks of notes between them. I remember maybe being in the car with them and talking about their robbed loot.

---

Notes:

- Although I remember having this dream since it wasn't that long ago, none of the visual recall seems to be coming back really, so in that sense I can't consider it very memorable at this time.
- I remember there was a fair bit of dialogue in this dream, but this is typically amongst my most easily lost details.

Some more DJ catch up.

24th June 2020

Fragment:

Dream about going into a doctor's office, either alone or with H. Doctor said they needed to do a biopsy and that it was going to be in one of my shoulder blades?

Created Wednesday 12 August 2020

Got a short WILD, two DILDs, and a fragment today.

Spoiler for Kinda long:

Scrap Group 1
Several dreams of my arguing with a man-eating giant, one that was previously a human, no less. I couldn't fathom how she could justify her actions.

WILD transition in bed. Things were rather blurry. I overheard my cousin's daughter Harriet supposedly entering and blabbering around nearby. I really concentrated to keep myself from getting woken up. Assuming a meditative pose, I floated out of the room. I found myself in a grey void. The dream collapsed shortly after. Re-entry attempt, but I drifted off two minutes later.

Dream 1 - Some Simple Requests

Almost no visuals at first, but that clarified over time. FA in bed, Noticing a mild spinning sensation quickly made me aware. My sleeping mask prevented me from seeing much of anything. I knew trying to remove it myself would be a waste of time. So, I called on my guide, E, for help. She didn't manifest physically, though an unseen force did indeed pull away my mask for me.

With that done, I floated to the kitchen and towards the back doors. I tried phasing through the sliding doors, but only bounced off of them. So, I called out for help again. Once more, the mysterious force interacted by pushing me forward. I managed to squeeze through the doors, if with some resistance.

I stepped outside to a beautiful dawn sky. The backyard looked more like how it was a year or two ago, at a time where it hadn't been paved over. In any case, I tried accomplishing a task, thinking the giant-killing one would suffice. I called out to conjure a giant. But, none appeared, not even after a minute or so of waiting.

Suddenly, my limbs tensed up. I reacted too slowly to keep myself from waking up. Another re-entry attempt, but I dozed off several minutes later. Various unknown dreams occurred before transitioning to the one below.

Dream 2 - Showdown with a Sorceress

The visuals were slightly blurred. I was standing by a one-lane road in the middle of a deciduous forest, daylight seeping through the leaves. A vintage 30's convertible with dark paint was nearby.

More pertinently, I was in the middle of a confrontation with a demonic sorceress! She appeared as a thin, light skinned middle aged woman in a mauve robe. A golden tiara rested atop a head of wild, long black hair. A set of sharp teeth, oversized and crooked, jutted out as she smirked. There were other figures nearby, each battered and worn out. I 'recalled' they'd gotten in a losing battle with the sorceress. They were trying to prevent her from causing wanton death and destruction. Now, it was up to me alone to stop her. Upon reflecting the situation, I got aware. Still, I decided to play along. No way was I gonna miss out on this kind of fun!

My opponent and I clashed via telekinesis, which manifested visually as an ethereal wall of shimmering blue light. However, I struggled to push back, whereas the sorceress looked no worse for wear. The wall inched closer to me by the second. It was only a matter of time before I'd falter.

Just then, the voice of a new figure calling out interrupted our match. "Mother?", utters a squeaky voice.

I glance over to see a young girl, no older than six years of age. Like the sorceress, she was pale, and had long, dark hair, if not quite as frizzy. She wore a long white dress, and had a wide-brimmed sun hat of the same color.

Upon catching sight of her, the witch hesitated. Her face contorted with rage and confusion. After a painful transformation, her teeth reverted to human form. "What are you doing here?!", she snarled in bewilderment. The little girl could only stammer. An awkward silence followed.

It took a while before I snapped back into the moment. Taking advantage of this situation, I attacked once again. I warp-dashed behind the sorceress, my body fading into black shadows as I did. As soon as I re-materialized, I grabbed the wicked woman, putting her in a Full Nelson hold. "Release me!", she roared out as she writhed in my grasp. She wasn't as overwhelmingly strong as she was before. Still, I knew she could break out at any time.

I looked over to the witch's daughter. "Kid!", I called out. "Try to talk her down!"

The girl winced and shook her head, desperate to make sense of this chaos. Eventually, she responds. "Stop!", she shrieks, addressing me and my foe. "Please, stop!"

The demon witch once again let her guard down. Using this chance, I projected all of my energy out in the form of a spherical force field. Like before, the sorceress and I engaged in a magical struggle. She tried pushing back with all her might, but to no avail. Slowly, but certainly, the orb wrapped around her, trapping her above me in a shining bubble. The sorceress glowered down at me in disbelief. She couldn't fathom that she'd been defeated.

I only barely noticed then that we'd all been warped to one of the upstairs rooms at home. Not minding that, I sighed in relief. Then, I broke out in triumphant laughter. "Hah! I did it!", I exclaimed. I flexed my biceps, pranced around, and shadowboxed as I continued celebrating. "Yeah! I'm the best! I'm the strongest! I-oh..." I trailed off when I heard the little girl sobbing nearby. Well, that was a real jerk move on my part. I was at a loss on how to handle this. I mean, what could I tell her? That her mother deserved this? That her mother is bad? That it's for the best?

The least I could do is try to apologize for my gloating. "Listen, kid... I..." But, the daughter's tearful glare shut me up. She was momentarily silent, before she ran off wailing. I felt really terrible about this...

Soon, the other figures began vanishing before my eyes. The dream destabilized, and collapsed.