Anahí’s Dream: Park, Beach, and Ocean

Chapter 1: Sleepy Time

Anahi’s tiny fingers tightly gripped her big fuzzy teddy bear as she lay curled up in her cozy small child’s bed. She was only two years old, but her father wanted her to be independent and have her own space for her toys, clothes, and most importantly...Anahí. She missed her mom and her dad. However, she mostly wanted to sleep with her mom. Her mother would change her wet and smelly diaper as well as hug her in the night. Anahí´s father slept like a rock and would not be disturbed by anything besides his wildly annoying alarm clock. She knew he left the house a lot and her mom stayed with her, which was extremely confusing. Why did her father need to leave the house and why were those small rectangular pieces of paper important? Now, she had to sleep alone, wet, and in a dark room with only her 10 stuffed animals as company. 

Anahi´s mother had given her some sweet, syrupy medicine when she was too tired to resist. It tasted worse than anything in the world. She loved chocolate milk, different kinds of juice, and even enjoyed a clean glass of water. This medicine was torture. Her mother had stayed with her until she had stopped crying and then left her in the darkness of her room. It was warm in her room, the soft glow of her blue nightlight casting little shadows on the walls. She waited…and waited…and waited…and waited…and waited until it felt like she could not see. In truth, there was nothing to see in the complete darkness where the room window was far beyond her sight. 

"Sleepy now…" she thought. The world around her blurred; the ceiling above her turned into a swirl of colors. Then, everything changed. The walls of her room stretched and twisted. The bed beneath her softened and became like a cloud. Yes, she was on a cloud. It was painted on the road, and it is more accurate to say she was on a road. A road of any sort is a dangerous place for a toddler or child of any age. Luckily, the reader is well aware of the relative safety of Anahi’s situation.

"Cloud?" she mumbled, her tiny fingers touched it.

Chapter 2: Slides, Slides, and…Slides

Anahi looked around and gasped. She was no longer in her bed. She stood in the middle of the biggest park she had ever seen. The grass was bright green. The sky was a soft pink, dotted with fluffy white clouds shaped like animals—bunnies, elephants, even a big giraffe. There were swings, tunnels, and her favorite area: slides. Anahí loved a big playground slide and these slides from her dream were gigantic. On a scale, they were ridiculous. One of these dream slides would completely shame all of the popular attraction parks around the world due to its size. 

Anahi’s eyes sparkled. She was overcome with excitement and limitless happiness. She ran, climbed, and went down the slide. Once, twice, three times, four, five, and so many more times. Her father was not around to tell her to go home or to take her to a store. She continued going up and down while laughing to herself. She experienced endless joy. 

"Wheeee!" she squealed, kicking her legs and giving herself a round of applause. She waited. Her father did not clap or congratulate her. Where was he? It was a bit strange, but she was so happy. She looked up and down the park or insane crazy land as the reader may imagine it. She might have been tired after going down those slides numerous times, but she felt no different than at the beginning. However, there was something in the distance that caught her eye. She walked away towards it with as much curiosity as she could collect. 

Chapter 3: The Beach of Sparkly Water

She eventually came to the beach, which was right next to the park. In the real world or where Anahí lived, the beach was a kilometer away from the park and the actual park was in desperate need of repair. Its one small pick slide did provide the same level of excitement as this wild dream, which the reader may be experiencing simultaneously while reading this tale. Similarly, the beach was much larger than visitors to Anahí’s community would observe and again…there was nobody. For future reference, these are clear clues of being in a dream. 

"Water!" she cheered. “Agua. Agua. Agua. Agua. Agua. Agua. Agua. Agua. Agua. Agua.” Indeed, she was bursting with excitement. The bright and usually scorching Nicaraguan sun did not bother her and again…her father was not there. She splashed, swam, drank the salty water, and jumped around for what seemed like forever. In her playing, the improbability of being on a beach with nobody on it next to a park where not even one other person was playing never entered her mind. 

She ran toward the waves. Seashells danced around her toes, and little fish swam by her. The water was warm and clear, and the waves made a gentle, shushing sound, like a lullaby. Then, she saw them—Mommy and Daddy! They were standing in the middle of the ocean, waving at her. What do I mean by the middle of the ocean? Do not question the laws of physics in a lawless dream; it must have looked like the middle. 

"Mommy! Daddy!" she called, running toward them.

Boom! Boom! Boom! 

The ground below them shook. 

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! 

A shadow rose from the ocean. It was big, dark, and hungry. 

Chapter 4: The Giant Fish

A monstrous fish, bigger than anything Anahi had ever seen, burst from the water. Its mouth opened wide, showing rows and rows of sharp teeth.

"No, no, no!" Anahi screamed, her tiny hands reaching out. It was too late. The fish had swallowed her mother and father. Anahi’s heart pounded and she became afraid. 

"No, no, no!" Anahi screamed. She started crying and calling out to them. “Mama! Mama! Papa! Papa! Mama! Mama! Papa! Papa!”

The fish turned its enormous eyes toward her. They were red and she saw how it had three of them on its head. It stared for a long time, then slowly, its mouth opened again. For our readers to imagine, this animal was a mutated humpback whale. Why did it have red eyes? Again, everything could be anything in this dream. 

Out of the fish’s mouth, a bright light poured out. The light grew bigger and bigger until it swallowed everything. The light consumed the beach, the park, and all the water around her until she floated in the light. Perhaps this was heaven for her or only her unique perception of it.

Chapter 5: Waking Up

Anahi gasped, her little body jerking awake. She was back in her bed. It was morning. Her dad had left to go to work. Her tiny hands clutched her blanket and she smiled. None of it was real.

"Mommy?" she whispered.

A door creaked open.

"Anahi, baby, are you okay?"

"No fish,” she replied.

“It is okay. We can eat chicken later.”

“Chicken! Chicken! Chicken! No! No! No!”

“It is okay. How about some apple yogurt?”

“Yogurt. Yes. Yes.” 

Here ends an excellent dream or tale, readers. Is it real, or did it happen? It is up to you to decide on the dreams of others. Those dreams give us rest in a life that often drains and takes away. The worlds we make for ourselves have no limits. Those limits give us control though, and control is power in a large enough real world.