I'd Rather Be Awake

I'm sitting here wrapped in a towel, Biore strip across my nose, completely perplexed by the dream I awoke from this morning.

I can't recall exactly where it started but I know I was walking around one of those interstate highways that have tons of local motels and greasy spoon restaurants lining it. I had my purse and luggage with me. There seemed to be no true destination in mind. All of a sudden I'm at an airport. Apparently I was waiting for flight when it occurs to me that I no longer have my luggage. Did I check it? Was it stolen as I sat right there not noticing? In the dream- I have no idea. I'm too embarrassed to ask the flight clerk at the counter if I checked my bag or not. I leave the airport with the intentions of finding a branch of my bank. Why, I have no idea. Perhaps most of my cash was in the luggage that I've now admitted to myself was stolen underneath my nose.

While walking over to the bank, I see a Dunkin Donuts and decide to go in. As I'm crossing the street a man in a red car is revving his engine while turning into my path- as though I'm walking too slowly for him. I stop. I look at him. He is lurching his vehicle forward in an attempt to quicken my pace or frighten me. Neither happens. "Asshole." I say it loud enough for him to hear. I make my way to Dunkin Donuts, half noticing that he has changed his mind and is now pulling into the parking lot. I'm on line ordering a Chocolate Croissant (do they even sell those?) but he is already sitting at a table like he was there before me to begin with. I sidle up to him and a woman that is now sitting with him. She's wearing a silver gray petticoat. I speak. "You're rushing to get me to cross but you have time to detour for some donuts? Asshole." They say nothing. I walk off.

I never get my food but find myself looking for a table with an outlet nearby. My cell phone is dying. The sequence gets a little hazy from here. Back on the interstate highway- I am not even sure whether I am in Orlando, FL or Atlanta, GA. I consider that I'm within walking distance to a friend I barely speak to now and the bank. But I don't find either. Suddenly I'm in a taxi under a train trestle. The cab driver is an older Black woman. She looks more like she should be baking Sweet Potato pies than hacking. She tells me it'll be $30. I'm wondering where we went to rack up such a hefty fare. I tell her I'll be right back. There is nothing in my pockets to give her. I never return. In a dim hotel room, my cell phone rings. It's about to power off from such a weak battery. I answer and it's my good friend, Sweetest Tea. She asks how my trip is going. I begin to crack up laughing but the hilarity is amiss. I relay that my luggage has been lost. I have no money and I'm not really sure where I am exactly. I leave out the part about the asshole in the red car. She's happy I can laugh about it- and then I come clean. "Girl, if I don't laugh about this, I'll break in two. Lemme run. I'm not gonna cry about this on the phone when I have no battery." She sounds worried. Tells me to call her when I get home. I make her a promise that I will. I close the phone with a flip of my hand, rest my weight on the edge of the bed. I don't know if I'll ever get home.

Fin

That's it in a nutshell. There were some other minor details but they really make no sense so I left them out. This dream was so vivid that I looked it up for interpretation. According to the website- roaming on a highway represents my sense of direction in life. Losing my luggage represents a loss of identity. To dream that you nearly escape the impact of a car denotes successfully overcoming some sort of rivalry. All of this on the heels of my sister telling me that presently she hardly recognizes me anymore and that my life doesn't look good on paper. True story. Maybe I have lost myself somewhere along the way. Maybe I prefer confrontation to actually getting important things done. Maybe I should go peel off this Biore strip.