Owls and Orchids

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“I’ve always envied people who sleep easily. Their brains must be cleaner, the floorboards of the skull well swept, all the little monsters closed up in a steamer trunk at the foot of the bed.”    ― David Benioff, City of Thieves

In between bouts of insomnia or restless sleep due to the nasty bug reactions I’m having, I am now sleeping really soundly.  That in itself may not seem like a big deal, but for someone who has spent the past decade sleeping in micro nana naps it really is something special.  It also means that I’m dreaming again, and an even greater gift is that I’m remembering them.  Of course that doesn’t mean they’re all full of fluff and puppies, there are some quite unreal and surreal dreams happening too. That’s what happened the other night.

The evening had been really nice but unremarkable. We had watched a little light tv and read for a short time before lights out.  I remember hearing the birds calling at one point, which I thought was quite unusual. Way off in the background I heard an owl calling and thought that he had upset the local Currawongs.  At least that’s what I thought at the time.

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I suddenly found myself deep in a dream, a dream I remember vividly even now.

Even though it was daylight I could hear an Owl calling softly on the breeze.

I was ‘with’ a group of young people who were on a final outing before they finished their high school year.  It was a special trip to what appeared to be an island. There were sandy tracks and a largish building like an old timber schoolroom with tables and chairs inside. There were room dividers and blackboards on the walls, chalk on the side table and of course a teacher. I don’t remember how we reached the island, we were simply there.

The strange thing was the ‘teacher’ wasn’t teaching a normal subject. They were talking about preparing for entering the ‘real world’, the ‘adult world’ and how they needed to prepare themselves to ‘fit in’.  The girls were being told how to wear the correct clothes, make up and how to speak correctly when they were ‘outside’.  The boys on the other hand were off on the other side of the room being spoken to by a man, who I presumed was a male ‘teacher’. At times there would be some noise, laughter that was quieted and then one of the boys would vanish ouside.

It all seemed fairly normal…… but there was such an air of unreality to it that I started to take a little more notice.  Even though I was there, no one spoke directly to me. I could see the girls scribbling and doodling on pieces of paper but I didn’t have a seat, nor was I ‘teaching’. I was, in a very real sense, simply an observer.  It was almost as though I was watching over them and yet I couldn’t work out why, and all the time I could hear the Owl mournfully calling.

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The girls were getting restlesss. They wanted to return, although I had no clear idea where they were returning to. The ‘teacher’ was starting to look a little menacing, which was more a feeling than anything she did.  However I noticed that the boys who had gone outside hadn’t made a reappearnace.  It felt really strange to be moving towards the doorway. I wasn’t walking, there was no sound of footsteps on the wooden floor. In fact, the entire time I had been there I couldn’t recall any sound of footsteps on the floor. The only sounds were those of the youths as they talked amongst themselves and became more unhappy at staying where they were.

As I went outside I heard a strange thumping noise and the sound of soft crying.  Rounding the side of the building I was met with a horrific sight. One boy was crouched in a tight ball near the building, trying to stifle his sobs. Meanwhile there was a thud which brought my eyes round to a scene from a torture chamber, but in a terrifying modern setting.

There was a contraption fixed to a tree which was hauling an old car body into the air by thick ropes. After an achingly long time, or so it seemed to me, there was a clunck as a ratchet let loose and the car body dropped onto the other boy kneeling in the sand. His head disappeared inside the car body, the car itself seeming to rest on his shoulders.  Although I gasped there was no reaction from the man, and the boy simply sobbed softly. In horror I saw the car body rise and the boys head reappeared. He seemed unhurt, his clothing torn, but scared almost beyond endurance.

Hearing a noise inside I turned to look through the door. Inside I was met by an eerie sight. All the schoolkids were arrayed around the table, exactly as they had been when I first saw them. Behind each person was the spirit of that child in ghostly outline.  They were all sitting there smiling happily, yet of the two adults, the ‘teachers’ there was no sign at all.

The only sound I could hear was the soft hoot of an owl telling me all was well in the world. He was keeping his watch and all was well.

I cannot explain my dream, perhaps over time the meaning will come to me. Until then, perhaps you may have an idea. Perhaps its message is meant for…. you?

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“The Bat that flits at close of Eve

Has left the Brain that won’t believe.

The Owl that calls upon the Night

Speaks the Unbeliever’s fright.” William Blake quotes

All is well in the world. We are all being looked after.  Blessings.   Susan xx