Sweet Dreams

It all started when I began dreaming. I'm a very light sleeper and continuously wake up during the night; which means I never reach rem sleep so I don't dream. I was home from college on my summer break. I worked in the mornings and evenings but noon to six was free time for me. I layed in the sun, read books for fun, and napped. The complete opposite of my college schedule. I was under no stress and slept better than ever, dreamed every night; and remembered all the details. Each morning before work I would share my dreams with my younger siblings at breakfast.

Thursday morning when I came to the table, I was tired and upset.

"What was your dream last night, shouted my youngest sister?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Now, Marci, you've shared everyday and the kids look forward to it", mumbled mother.

"You don't understand, it was a nightmare!"

"Tell us anyway, we know it's just a dream," said my chorus of siblings.

"Well, I was at work at my morning job on the playground. Timmy, a little boy who comes everyday, fell off the top of the slide and landed on his head on the blacktop. His head was caved in on one side, and he was in and out of consciousness. We had to call an ambulance. It was so real. I was so scared. I'm the one in charge on that playground, and all the other kids were crying and screaming. I woke up shaking." My siblings were very quiet.

"That must have been awful! But luckily we know it was just a dream. I'm sorry I made you tell us. Sometimes dreams are scary and we just have to dismiss them from our minds. Hurry up, Marci, you don't want to be late for work.

I put my. dishes in the sink as I had been trained and got into the car to leave for work. I still had a hard time "dismissing" as my mother had suggested. I arrived at the playground just as my assistants arrived. We dragged the equipment outside and set up the tables inside for crafts and quiet games.

"I want you to be extra careful today when you are outside, especially by the slide." I warned.

"We're always careful, Ms. Marci. Did we do something wrong yesterday?"

The children lined up after snack to play outside. I was saying "be careful" over and over. It was hot and not many children used the slide because you know how hot a slide gets. I blew my whistle for the kids to come inside to cool off. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something drop from the top of the slide to the ground. My heart skipped a beat as I ran over to the slide. There on the ground was Timmy's jacket. Timmy was fine but shaken.

"I tried to fold my jacket so I could sit on the hot slide, but I lost my balance, dropped my jacket and almost fell. I was really scared. I won't do that again," said Timmy.

I could hardly concentrate the rest of the morning. My dream had almost come true! Timmy was almost seriously hurt. I didn't want to dream anymore. When I shared the story with my mother she tried to be calm, but her face betrayed her.

"It's just a silly coincidence."

That night as I got ready for bed, I tried to think of ways I could stay awake and not dream. I could stay up all night and watch tv, or clean my room, or finish my current book. But eventually I dozed off and I couldn't stop myself from dreaming.

The next morning I shared my dream. I took my sister for a walk and when I got to the end of the road a lady with a floppy yellow hat ran by us. I heard her coming because her shoes made a clip sloppy sound as she ran by. Then a car I recognized drove by, and my friend honked and waved.

At breakfast I shared my dream. Everyone agreed it was better than yesterday's. I went off to work and had a lovely day at the playground. I had pretty much forgotten my dream when my

mother asked me to get my baby sister out of her hair while she fixed dinner. As I put on our sun hats and put her into the stroller, my dream floated into my thoughts. Well there was no danger involved this time so forget about and enjoy your walk.

As we approached the first cross street, a lady came running by us. Her shoes were loose and they made a clip clopping noise on the sidewalk. I helped her get her yellow floppy hat as the wind blew it in my face. I felt a chill even though I was sweating from the heat. I turned the stroller around and started home. I heard a car honking and it was my friend greeting me with a smile and a wave. I began to feel dizzy. Nothing bad happened, but I didn't want to be a prophet or fortune teller. I hurried home and told my mother. She got me a cool glass of water.

"It's just a fluke. Nothing happened to the little boy, and no-one was hurt today. It's just one of those things that can't be explained."

That night I stayed awake for hours. I flipped and flopped on my hot sheets. And my sweaty head tried to talk me out of dreaming. But, I succumbed. My dream was the front page of a newspaper that read: Local Family is Killed in Traffic Accident! Then I saw our church and everyone was crying. There were four caskets in the front of the church and in them were my best friend Penny, her sister and her parents. I woke up screaming! My mother appeared.

"What is it? What's wrong? It's just a bad dream.

I told her about my dream through my sobs, she held me in her arms and just kept repeating, "It's just a dream."

I didn't sleep the rest of the night. My friend Penny and her family were supposed to leave on vacation the day after tomorrow. I had to tell them not to go! They would think I was crazy, but I had to tell them. What if my dream came true and I hadn't warned them. The next morning I skipped breakfast and walked down the street to my Penny's house. My mother tried to stop me, but I told her I had to do this. I knocked on the door and Penny's dad answered the door.

"Well, good morning, Marci. You're here early this morning."

"I need to talk to you about something, privately".

"Oh, this sounds serious."

I explained how my first dream almost came true. And how my second one did come true. Then I started sobbing, and told him my third dream and begged him to not go on vacation.

"I don't believe that because you dreamed something it will come true; I'm also glad you shared your concerns with me. I'll tell you what. We were supposed to leave today, the day after your dream, but we'll wait til tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be better tomorrow anyway. Thank you for being such a good friend to our family. And Marci, Sweet Dreams!"