Daily Dreaming

If you’ve ever played the game Yume Nikki, which I did recently, then my dream last night was in a very similar vein.

I was in a black void, with nowhere to go but through a door some distance in front of me. Walking over to it and pulling it open, I was presented with a different scene altogether. There was a dark forest in front of me, with a path leading away from the door and into the night. Deciding that I was better off in some kind of environment, rather than nothing at all, I headed through.

Following the overgrown path through a long, winding stretch of tall trees, I was struck by how quiet everything was. I couldn’t hear any birds, insects, or animals; the only sound was a rushing wind in the branches above. I felt a sense of creeping dread, unsure of where I was going or what I was doing, and my paced quickened as I followed the track for what seemed like an eternity.

Eventually I emerged into a clear opening, with nothing to see except for another door in the middle. Confused, I walked over to this new entrance and pulled the handle. The door creaked open, and inside was another completely different setting. This time a road led straight ahead through a gloomy street. I was anxious to get out of the forest, but the oppressive darkness of the street gave me pause. I finally decided to move forward, hoping that there might be some sign of life in a built-up area as opposed to the wilderness.

In the new zone I had entered, I was again struck by the silence. Unlike the forest, this road had no sound at all. It was eerily dark and I could detect no signs of life in the houses lining the street. I began walking along the pavement, only the moonlight guiding my path. Although seemingly alone, I couldn’t help feeling that there was another presence following me. Whenever I looked behind me there was nothing there, and calming myself down I moved forward.

After what felt like an age of walking, I reached a crossroad. On the corner of the opposite pavement, barely visible, was yet another door. I was getting quite tired now, and was almost tempted to try knocking on one of the houses behind me to see if anybody was actually living in them. I didn’t want to have to deal with a new environment again, but at the same time there was a strange feeling about the empty looking buildings that put me off.

As I scanned the closest houses one last time, a small movement in one upstairs window caught my attention. A curtain had shifted slightly. I kept my eyes fixed on that window, waiting and waiting until I was almost ready to give up. At the last second, the curtain twitched again and there were now two small, faintly luminous lights visible. I squinted and then my heart sunk. They were eyes, and they were looking at me.

That decided my next steps. I ran for the door on the corner, flung it open and entered without even processing what was inside. Slamming it shut, I turned around and realised that I was again in complete darkness. There was nothing visible – at least at first. As my eyes adjusted to the light (or lack thereof), I could see faint shapes dotted unevenly around the landscape. They were almost indeterminable, strangely designed pillars and architecture that I couldn’t quite comprehend.

Utterly confused and dejected, with no end in sight, I slumped against the door. I closed my eyes, hoping for it to end, but then a noise jolted me back up. On the other side of the door I had entered, I could hear a faint scratching. It moved from the bottom to the middle, and slowly towards the handle. As I watched in terror, the handle began to move. I backed away and then started running, heading in a straight direction towards the nearest pillar I could see.

Hiding behind the structure, I took deep breaths. I could hear scratching still, getting slowly louder. I made to run, but my legs wouldn’t let me. I was so tired, and so scared, that my body was failing me.

Scratch.

Scratch.

Scratch.

And then I awoke.