Dream CXIII

I was walking through my house and happened to turn and look at one corner of one of the rooms. Though the floor was covered in gravel, I saw that this particular corner was an open space, and I thought, "I can put that end table there, that'll be perfect."

I then turned and looked to the right, and saw a vast stone corridor extending off into the darkness. There were bits of broken wall dotting the gravel floor, and while I was thinking of other furniture that could be used here, suddenly I knew that this corridor wasn't any part of my house, and that I was actually dreaming. I knew, then, that I was having a nap on the couch. I actually said, out loud, "Ah, I see, I'm dreaming."

This was fine for me, I wandered through the rest of the stone house, admiring the dream-architecture. It was cold and dark, but seemed to be built very solidly.

Suddenly I heard what sounded like a brief shower of rocks on a linoleum floor. I knew this was happening in the "real world" and I tried to wake up so I could deal with it. Some kind of presence was emerging into my real house. I knew time was short.

But I could not wake up.

I stuck my fingers into my eyes, to try and force my eyelids open; every time I succeeded, I saw the fabric of the couch, but I could not be sure I was in the "real" world, because I could not open the other eye. In an attempt to startle the presence forming in my real world kitchen, I shouted out, "Who's there?" repeatedly, just to make the being out there think I was aware of it. But I still couldn't awaken.

My cat, alarmed at my panicked state, jumped off the couch and disappeared momentarily; as my desperate thrashings increased, however, she leapt back on the couch and sank all her claws into my right hand, terrified of what was happening around her.

I screamed loudly at the pain, certain that I would never use my right hand ever again. Her claws sank further and the pain became so intense I was certain the combination of pain and sleep was going to kill me for certain.

With what I thought was a final, Herculean effort, my right eye opened on the real world.

I stared at the fabric pattern of my couch. My right hand was fine. My cat, far from fleeing and mutilating me, was dozing peacefully by my side.

When I opened my other eye, and began shuddering from my dream-ordeal, though, she muttered something in cat language and jumped off the couch.

I was fully awake then.