Dream 1: In which I adopt a dog

I am not a dog person. I am a cat person, but we’ve decided to have no more pets. This might change, but at the moment we are pet-free. Therefore, it is odd that I dreamed last night that I adopted a big, yellow, happy, friendly dog and immediately wondered why I’d not done this earlier. In the dream Dean was out of town, but I was sure that he would love this new addition to our family too.

Dream 2: In which Alan Rickman* kidnaps me but doesn’t murder me

In this dream my family was in a sort of indoor hiking facility and accidently chose the most difficult path that would eventually include some near rock-climbing abilities. I knew I could not handle this so when an employee offered to lead me to the lobby I said yes. He told me his name was Dag and then told me about all the people he’d killed at the facility, including a young boy whose photo he gave me. I escaped and was back on the difficult hike with my family, only this time I was stooping down, covering my eyes and hoping another employee would help me to the lobby.

This time the owner of the facility came by and offered to lead me to the lobby. As I stood up, he noticed the photograph of the young boy the other employee had given me. He asked, “Where did you get a photograph of my son?” I told him about the first employee and how he’d killed people there, but not that his son was one of them. He asked what the employee’s name was and I couldn’t remember. As we walked to the lobby through a labyrinth of narrow khaki colored halls, I remembered that the homicidal employee’s name was Dag. The owner said that no one employed by him was named Dag.

Here the owner of the facility led me into an auditorium where the manager was about to give an orientation speech. I saw that the doors to the lobby were just behind her, so I walked through them and waited for my family.

Dream 3: In which I tell Maryellen** about my dog (sequel to dream #1)

I stopped by Maryellen’s house to tell her about my dog. She asked what I was going to name it. I didn’t have a name.

Dream 4: In which I try tell my family the rest of the story (sequel to dream #2)

Since I couldn’t find my family in the lobby of the facility, I walked to the parking lot where they were waiting in the car. I asked them if they wanted to know the rest of the story, but they said they’d seen it since they finished the hike. I told them I doubted they knew the real ending.

Then I woke up.

*I didn’t realize that the murderous employee, Dag, was Alan Rickman until after I awoke.

**Maryellen is the mother of a student I taught many years ago. We’re friends on Facebook.