ALL IN A DREAM

      Monica was just 16 years old when she found out that she was pregnant. The father was a married man so he wanted nothing to do with her. Monica was living with foster parents, who would not be happy about her pregnancy. And, they weren’t. They insisted that she give the baby up for adoption, which Monica agreed with, since she was so young and hadn’t finished school and was only working part-time. As the pregnancy advanced, her doctor told her she was having twins. Wow! Monica thought. She was scared, thinking that having twins would hurt more, but her doctor assured her that most twins are small and that he will give her an epidural.

      The babies decided to arrive at 1 a.m.. Her foster parents were at the hospital with her. The delivery was easier than she expected. Next thing she knew it she was wheeled into her room and would be able to go home the next day. She asked about the babies only to be told that they were healthy. Monica accepted that and vowed to be more careful in the future. She wanted to finish high school and go on to college to become an architect.

      Her babies were female, identical. One girl was adopted by a missionary family and when able, they moved to Africa. The other girl was adopted by a family who moved to Canada. The missionaries named their daughter, Ruth; whereas the Canadian family named their girl, Naomi.

      When she was about 13 years old, Ruth would wake up confused about a dream she kept having. They were always pleasant dreams. She didn’t say anything to her parent’s, because she was sure her mom would tell her there’s nothing to them. So, Ruth started doing research about dreams. Since she didn’t want her parents to know, she did all the research at the public library.

      Naomi was also experiencing dreams at age 13 that left her confused. She did tell her mother who also said that there’s nothing to them. But her mother did suggest to Naomi that she do some research.

      Ruth decided to write down her dreams when she woke up. She didn’t worry that she would have forgotten them, they seemed so real. They were of the same theme but seemed to continue until a certain point, when they would start again. These dreams didn’t happen every night; sometimes days or weeks would go by between dreams. By the time she was 17, Ruth decided to pursue psychology as a major in university, focusing on psychoanalysis pioneered by Sigmund Freud.

      Naomi has also been researching dreams and recording hers. She also wants to study psychology with her focus on Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic studies.

      Ruth was accepted into the London college starting the following September; whereas Naomi will be attending college in Canada.

      Over the years Ruth and Naomi continued to write down their dreams. Their studies were helpful for them to understand the why a person dreams. 

      After college Ruth moved to the US for a job while Naomi secured a job in Canada. Both girls were happy with their career choices. Each of them was writing a paper about dreams with excerpts from Freud’s books to prove their findings. Also, each of them had attended conferences on psychology, especially pertaining to dream interpretation. 

      By the time the twins were in their late twenties, their dreams had changed. Ruth noticed a sort of closeness and like she was swimming. It didn’t worry her much, but she did turn to Freud and consulted with a colleague. She did not tell the colleague that the dream was hers. As Ruth was experiencing that change in her dreams, so was Naomi. She did talk about it with her mother as well as consulting with a colleague. Both girls were confused, but excited about the change.  They were both close to finishing their paper on dream interpretation.

      There was to be another conference in New York that both girls planned to attend. Naomi fell ill so she couldn’t attend. Ruth did attend and felt she gained a better understanding of interpreting dreams. Naomi was able to get a video copy of the conference. There was scheduled another conference to be held in a year, and both girls plan to attend. They also plan to finish their papers to submit them to the psychology journal they receive. That journal will be out just before the conference starts.

      The girls each had submitted their papers to their employer, which were well received. Their employers suggested they submit their papers to the committee for the upcoming conference. Reluctantly, they did and were surprised when told by the committee that their papers were well received. The committee would like them to be present to read their own papers. Ruth was reluctant to do so, but Naomi was all for it.

      Registering for the conference was intimidating for the twins. Neither felt their contribution was worthy to be included with the other speakers. 

      Ruth arrived early and got through the registration process. She was feeling nervous, but her employer assured her that her paper was very good and not to worry. Easy for him to say, she thought. Since she had some time before the conference starts, she got a cup of tea and sat outside in the courtyard. When she got back indoors and was finding her way to the auditorium, Ruth noticed that people were looking at her with a surprised look on their faces. That did not do too much for Ruth, who was feeling out of place already.

      Naomi was excited to get through the registration and was confused about the comment from the lady at the registry table, “back again, no need to register twice.” Once Naomi gave her name, things were cleared up. The registrar was amazed that Naomi looked exactly like an earlier registrant. As she was walking towards the auditorium, Naomi felt people were looking at her with an odd look on their faces. Still feeling confused she claimed the seat near the front that was reserved for her; since she would need to be close for when her name was called to go up to read her paper.

      The auditorium was filling up. The chair next to hers was still empty; a late arrival Naomi thought. At the last minute Ruth rushed in.

      As the speaker was about to call Naomi to come up and read, he also had a strange look on his face. Naomi was called first to read her paper, and while reading it, Ruth was shocked to hear that some things Naomi said were exactly what she had written. The descriptions of the dreams were exact. Ruth was called next to read her paper. When she got up front she looked toward Naomi and felt recognition; a feeling like she knew her. The speaker also made a comment to the fact that what a coincidence it was that two readers looked exactly alike, who were reading their papers on dream interpretation. After reading her paper, Ruth left the auditorium rather in a hurry. Naomi felt the need to find her to see if she was alright. She found Ruth in the ladies washroom. When they looked at each other, they looked again and smiled. Naomi broke the silence when she said, “you’re me.” “Seems that way,” replied Ruth. “Do I know you?”  “When is your birthday?’ Naomi asks Ruth. After Ruth tells her, Naomi tells her that it’s the same as hers- where were you born?” “Why do you ask? says Ruth. Naomi also asked if Ruth was a twin and if she had been given up for adoption. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I am and I was, were you?” “Wow, so we’re sisters,” states Naomi. “After all these years, I never thought I would actually meet my twin sister,” gushes Naomi as she gives Ruth a big hug. “Did your parents tell you you were adopted?” “Yes, they did,” answered Ruth. “When did you start getting those dreams?” asked Naomi. “When I was 13, and you,” same answered Naomi. “Wow, I read about this during my research,” mentions Naomi. “That twins can be connected through dreams.” “Now that you mention it, I do remember something like that also,” replies Ruth.

      “Do you want to go grab a bite to eat? I’m starving.”