what dreams may go

i haven't dreamt in quite a while; or at least not remembered one anyway. 10years or more of no dreams. i'd accepted that i was one of those people who simply never remembers their dreams until suddenly about 4months ago, i awoke with a dream in my head. it's happened more and more as of late and some of them are just weird, ridiculous, insane yet creative projections. what follows are the notes of easily the oddest dream i've had in the last 10+years. *yes, i may make it a full story eventually. no, i'm not looking for any 'what does it mean' critiques.

i'm homeless. walking along the side of some country highway in near pitch black darkness. patches of tree then farm then field then tree line the beat up road. an old faded red pick-up truck drives by and comes to a stop just 100meters in front of me. weary as i approach the vehicle, i look into the passenger side window to see only a cigar light up the driver's face. a farmer; he tells me he can put me up and offers me work. with not too many other options available to me i accept...

when we reach the farm, he says there's a small house just the other side of a gated brush field down a dirt path where i can stay the night. the work will come in the morning. the field is washed in moonlight but the tall brush and many trees provide plenty of contrast. it's eerie; like something out of a hitchcock movie (or "alfred hitchcock presents"). and my visible breath means the temperature has dropped significantly. i'm just happy to have a place to stay. i wonder about how nice it might be and if perhaps it might have a heater, or fireplace. i walk down the longer than expected narrowing path as it becomes clear no truck or tractor had been on in quite a while when i suddenly come across an animal i'd never seen before...

the animal: stood about waist high. had a body like a small deer but not as lean, though still hoofed and moved like deer; dainty, graceful, nimble. the creatures fur was more like a bear than a deer; thick and matted. and the face was more like a friendly teddy bear except the mouth contained a big set of even spaced, sharp teeth reminiscent of a bear trap. more creatures appeared. some of these creatures had antlers which resembled a pair of rabbit ears sitting atop an old television; one longer than the other, but they were wooden and sticking straight out of the top of their head. more and more and more of these fascinating creatures began to present themselves to me. like a herd of sheep they gather around me 'til i have to shoo them from my path just to continue toward the end where i'll find shelter. they don't seem afraid of me and beyond teeth that could easily kill, give me no reason to be too afraid of them.

as i get to the end of the field i see no home, no structure of any kind, until i turn back toward the path to see a small dog house size structure made of wood and rock tucked in the shrubs. my first inclination isn't to simply turn and leave but instead i think "this is what its come to" as i crouch down, crawl in, and close the wooden door behind me. it is cold and wet and it i realise quickly that if this is the house i'm to stay in the work i'd being doing in the morning wouldn't be worth it either. i'd rather spend the night walking toward the next town than stay here and head back toward the gate figuring i might find another place to stay.

i crawl out of the structure and attempt to stand collapsing as if suddenly my legs are too weak to carry me. try as i might, i continue to find the mud beneath me. what the fuck?!

panic rushes over me and i begin crawling toward the gate as fast as possible through the mud and creatures which are now my height or taller. once tame, they suddenly begin to become aggressive with me and each other; snarling and head-butting and trying to bite. some of the creatures stop right in front of me and i have to use whatever strength i have left to forcibly push them out of the way. this continues all the way to the gate. i notice the gate closed as i approach and my panic becomes outrage.

i rattle the gate like an innocent convict tugging on bars as i yell for the farmer, for anyone to rescue me from this place. with my yells the creatures begin to snort like mulls and pound their hooves, lowering heads and rushing me like rams. i yell. i scream for help. one creature impales me with his antlers which break off in my side and i writhe in pain.

i give up on the gate and the farmer and turn back toward the structure, needing shelter from the creatures now as much as the elements. trailing blood back down the path the creatures aggression subsides and they even seem to listen as i verbally direct them from my path like a dog obeying master. it seems like hours before i get back to the structure, crawl in and lay on one side, holding the other to try to stop the blood.

the creatures suddenly continue with their aggression, clawing and butting at the door. i close my eyes as if its all a dream and begin to yell 'go, you go, please go.' there is a strange straining on my vocal cords and i figure the wet cold weather is giving me a cold, but the strain gets tighter and tighter until my 'go go' sound more like 'gaww, gaww.'

i grab for my neck with my hands but instead just jab my throat with my smooth newly formed hooves. now losing my sanity while confronted with the supernatural i examine the rest of my body to find new matted fur and the begins of two sticks growing from the top of my head. and in the midst of my life's greatest panic it suddenly occurs to me that i'm becoming one of them and that perhaps all the creatures here started out as one of me; a man or woman down on their luck.

...i wake up... weirdest dream ever.