The Dream

After a few weeks of relatively peaceful sleep my old friend, The Dream, decided to visit again last night. I've had this dream for as long as I can remember. There have been minor variations in the cast of characters but the gist has always been the same.

I'm in a large yard with my son and father. We are quite a goodly ways from the house playing in the yard. A light summer shower sends us running under the cool green shelter of a Weeping Willow tree. The boughs of the tree touch the ground all around us making a beautiful and peaceful respite from the rain. My father and I are talking about god only knows what, while my son starts climbing the tree.

He calls down to me.. Hey mom, there are kittens up here. I look up in the branches and see what look to be tiger cubs 4 of them. I feel my first stirring of unease and call my son down out of the branches. As he climbs down the cats start moving toward us climbing down after him. They are growing as they get closer. When my son first saw them they were about the size of your hand.. new born. As they move down from branch to branch I watch them growing..

Hurry up, we need to get inside, I call to my son.. As he drops the last little distance to stand beside me my father says "they are the size of toy poodles... they looked alot smaller up in the branches".. fear spreads in me.. They were alot smaller then I tell him..

We decide to go to the house and as we pass under the umbrella of willow branches I hear the first cry of anger from the cats.. an ugly, primal, and high pitched scream. My father grabs my son and we begin running to the house. About half way there I look over my shoulder.. the tigers are gaining.. and growing.. they are now the size of a collie.. Ice cold terror pours into my stomach.. 3/4 of the way to the house I feel the wind from a paw as it swipes at me.. sending a terrified glance over my shoulder I see bestial hunger only inches away.. in the eyes of a tiger that is now the size of a small pony..

My father roughly shoves my son into my arms never breaking stride and tells me to get to the house where we will be safe.. the last thing I hear is "I love you J. I've always been proud of you" and he turns to the tigers to buy me and my son time to get to safety. My son is screaming and I'm holding his face against me to keep him from seeing what I can hear happening behind us .. we run.. I run.. and leave my father behind.. to face hell crafted out of orange and black fur.. white fangs..

Only a few feet to the house.. I hear screaming.. wailing and begging.. and realize its me. Imploring them to open the door god damnit.. open the fucking door

As I prepare to hit the door it's opened.. I sprawl into the house rolling in my fall to keep from landing on my son.. I scrabble over to door and slam it shut seconds before its hit by a large and heavy thud from outside. My beau stands there open mouthed looking at me fumbling for the deadbolt.. what happened to you, he asks. Just bar the door with something.. anything.. I'm leaning against it.. hearing yowls of frustration.. screams of anger.. the tiger sounds like a woman trying to scream through of mouth full of broken glass in its fury. He drags the sofa in front of the door.. I'm oddly calm.. in shock.. tasting blood like hot electrified pennies in my mouth from biting my tongue when I fell.. I grab my son and tell my beau to come with me.. we can see the glare from an eye though the sheer curtains.. the eye takes up a full pane in the window.. Only one tiger has followed this far.. the other 3 are circling something in the yard.. something that doesn't resemble anything human anymore.. when my beau realizes what they are circling he turns white.. I begin to sob..

running into the bedroom I slam the door behind us.. we can hear the beast tearing thru the front door.. the dresser is pushed against the door.. and I run into the closet.. standing on boxes I open the trap door to the attic and shove my son in that dark recess.. as I turn back to the bedroom door I can see rips opening in the wood.. like paper.. made by claws fully 6 inches apart.. and almost a foot long. My love turns to me.. kisses me violently and then boosts me into the attic as the paw breaks thru the door. A paw fully 3 feet across...

As I close the trap door I can hear far too well what I've cost the man I love..

And now.. we are trapped.. in the hot stinking attic. I look out the one window..


they are circling the house..

they are hungry...

and they are growing...

Soon.. they will be large enough..

To knock the side of the house off..

like opening a hinged doll house..

soon.. I've never been so powerless.. so afraid..

soon... they are growing..

I cradle my son .. I promise to die before they get him..

soon.... soon... I'll get my chance