Cat in the Gulf: What dreams may come

Dreams are a strange place. We are different people in our dreams. We are with different people in our dreams. We love, we hate, we run, we fly, we cry in our dreams and most often than not we wake up oblivious to the drama we played a central role in just minutes ago. We enter strange houses, we are placed into the weirdest of situations, and they all make perfect sense to us in our dreams - until we wake up and realise we can't piece it all together anymore, and wonder at the weirdest of things we have said, done and seen.

There is a guy at work I don't like. Nothing wrong with him, but he is not the person I would like to go for lunch with. He makes me feel uncomfortable. He looks at me as if trying to say "I don't know why you are here". We don't work on any projects together, we are in different departments in the office, but our paths cross quite often in the building. We are always nice and polite to each other, but every such meeting leaves me with a bitter aftertaste - I don't like the way he makes me feel.

All that changed overnight.

Two days ago I had a strange dream. I dreamed that I was sitting alone on a bench in the park, and there was a fireplace next to me. The coal was cracking in the fire and I edged towards the fireplace to keep warm. Suddenly, a woman appeared out of thin air - don't you wonder at how people just appear in your dreams? I didn't see her approaching, I didn't hear her footsteps, she was just there and she was not a friendly type. She sat on my bench, pushing me further away from the fireplace, taking in all the warmth by herself. I was devastated. I was crying and feeling miserable. Then suddenly, there was this guy from work, standing right in front of me, asking me what was wrong. I complained about that evil woman who took my place on the bench, and without any hesitation, he walked to the fireplace, scooped two handfuls of burning coals and dropped them on her lap! I felt vindicated. We walked away together, that guy and me, towards the morning and the sound of my alarm clock. I woke up feeling very happy and a little in love.

When we happened to see each other in the office that day, I smiled at him remembering the dream, he smiled back, we went our separate ways. I looked at him over my shoulder, saw him walking away, and realised that meeting him made me feel good. He popped into my office to ask me something during the day, and I enjoyed talking to him. I made the conversation last a few seconds more than necessary, just to take in the sight of the person I'd disliked, and now felt absolutely fine about. He is not going to become my friend, and I will never tell him about the dream, but I wouldn't mind going out for lunch with him and his group now. I refused so many times before I don't think they'll ask me again, but if they do - I'll definitely say yes. If only to check whether he has burns all over his hands! ;-)

There must be something in hypnotherapy, after all.