A Rather Different World

I had a rather lengthy dream after a short wakeup after 5:00 am, in which I was fooling around with no way out in a rectangular shaped area. The place looked familiar but became very untidy with many more illegal structures which appeared to be erected by wanderers for shelters, one after another. The structures composed of broken boards, dusty walls and dirty floors. The entrances were zigzagged with leisurely people. Grey, brown, black and yellow were the background colors of the dim and murky environment. I felt uncomfortable and decided to leave, but always ended up in another weird place. During the journey I met many friendly but untidy children. When I led them out I found that their hands and sleeves were sticky. Lastly a few very friendly dogs, more big than small, came along around us. They were all on leashes and were under control. Yet they were not mine and I don't want them to follow me. I quietly sneaked out while a few of the big dogs took a rest. Suddenly the alarm clock of my phone rang and it was eight o'clock while the room was still dark.

 

Was it night or day? Then I recalled that I was having a tasty dinner with friends moments ago before returning home. It should be eight o'clock in the morning, the alarm reminded me to take medicines.

 

The area was in the North Point Public Housing Estate in Hong Kong. It was surrounded by Kam Hong Street, west of the Eastern Mansion, the exit to the south for the buses on the east side, then with Java Road on the south of the Central Mansion, and Suk Kok Street, the entrance for the traffic from the south on the westside of the estate. The rectangular area was the place of a major bus station and a ferry pier. I haved lived in this area since birth to age sixteen when my family moved.

 

When life went on smoothly, I was always an agile climber and fast runner in dreams jumping over walls and passing across rooftops, along sharp cliffs, rugged trails, canopies and narrow stairs. Once I could fly among the rain, just like swimming, but not when the rain stopped. Anyway, dreams are like that. It can inspire or daunt you.

 

This is not a nightmare, but troubling. Hurdles come one after another disregard effort being made. What has happened? Suddenly the scene of a conversation with our best friends resurfaced regarding the profound challenges faced by their beloved ones. Without awareness I returned to the scenes decades ago and placed myself facing the evercoming waves. It was like reliving the repeating cycle of adversity. Luckily the alarm of my phone, like a rooster crow, brought me back. So we, with the help of friends, can find the way out in real life.