Dream of the Week: Near Death by Orca
I’m with a group of close friends in an observation cage suspended very high over a small town near the ocean. One friend arrives late, jumping into the cage from an unknown location. She doesn’t quite make it in the cage at first, gripping the side of it while throwing her pink handbag to another friend. After a short bit of hanging on the edge, the late friend manages to climb inside, and everyone settles down.
The cage swiftly flies over the town, touring the area before making a stop over the ocean. We are delighted to observe a large pod of orca feeding in the sea below. Suddenly, the cage breaks, and we all plummet into the water, splashing hard and fast. I lose track of everyone else as I try to find my way to the surface. The orcas are restless and aggressive, and I’m panicked to see one coming right for me. I am instantly killed when it bites down.
I “wake” up on the floor inside a small, dark room in front of an elevator. I’m aware that I have died. An unknown man and woman are there too. The woman is supportive and helpful, calming me down and helping me get up from the floor. She says nothing, but her presence is comforting. The man is standing inside a service window next to the elevator. I understand that he is the operator, and he is very stoic and emotionless. Ten bright lights appear in the air in front of him.
“You have ten seconds to decide if you want to stay here or go back there,” he says as the lights blink off with every passing second.
I don’t quite know what to do, so I close my eyes and let my instincts speak. “Go back,” I say without thought, and three seconds left.
The elevator door opens. The woman hands me two gray stones, the size of my palms. She sends me in alone. As the doors close, the stones begin to emit tiny white lights around them as if fireflies were circling each stone.
The elevator begins to descend, with the doors slightly open. I can still see the man and woman in the room. The rocks begin to float above my hands as though activating something. I feel incredible joy and love and call out to the people how much I love them. The woman happily waves down to me, and the doors close fully. I continue to ride the elevator down until the environment fades to black.
I “wake” again under the water with the orca still circling above, just as before.
With a renewed sense of purpose, energy, and courage, I swim as fast as I can to the surface, breaking the water with pure joy. I call for the orcas to follow me so I can get them away from my friends. With impossible speed, I lure them to chase me but manage to keep them at bay. Eventually, they give up, and I swim back toward one of them, completely unafraid. With reckless abandon and utter confidence, I leap onto the back of an orca and ride it toward land.
I wake up. 🐋
