*Note: This was an actual dream that I had the night of Friday, October 8th, 2010. I woke up saying “Oh My God!” and woke up Bryan in the process. I wrote it word for word as I experienced it, without embellishment. -The Dreamer
Bryan and I were walking with a small group of friends. I don’t remember where we were coming from or where we were going, only that we were all content, laughing and enjoying the night air while heading down a path in a beautiful clearing as the moon was high in the sky. It was a beautiful night. The air was the perfect temperature, cool but not cold, warm enough to go without a jacket. We were all dressed as if we had been out hiking in warm fall weather. In front of us was a wooded area. Our conversations flowed easily from one topic to the next, and without strain. Bryan had his arm around my neck and we were teasing one another, punctuated by the occasional kiss. You could not ask for a more perfect evening.
Suddenly, a dog appeared as if from out of nowhere… loping alongside us. One of the most beautiful dogs I’ve ever seen. The dog had long legs, a narrow frame, and a beautiful, narrow face with a pointed nose. It looked like a German shepherd, but more golden tan and with golden eyes. I don’t remember who noticed it. One minute it wasn’t there and the next minute it was amongst us… The dog seemed playful, if reserved, and gradually its attention came to rest on Bryan.
Something was happening with Bryan. He was watching the dog interact with the others, but had grown quiet. He was fixated on the dog. The dog would occasionally throw him a look, but was interacting primarily with the rest of the group. It struck me as almost funny--as if the dog was a woman playing hard to get. The dog had Bryan’s full attention but was pretending to ignore him. However, the dog would pull away from the group to do something spontaneous, or so it seemed to the rest of us, which would cause us all to laugh and comment. The dog would sit, and throw a coy look at Bryan. Then, it would bark suddenly, always throwing a brief look at Bryan.
Unbeknownst to us, something was dawning on Bryan. He could give commands to the dog without saying a word. Mentally, he could speak a command and the dog would respond, immediately and effortlessly. The dog was now clearly interested in him and eventually ignored the rest of us. Bryan and the dog never touched, in fact, the dog seemed to remain just outside his reach—which intrigued him even more.
Bryan brought this “gift” to our attention. We didn’t really take him seriously. To us it simply looked like Bryan was staring at the dog and the dog was sitting, running, lying down, jogging in a circle, and on and on. We were all laughing about it… “Run,” he said, mentally, to the dog and the dog began to run. The speed, intensity, and agility of the dog appealed to Bryan and he began running alongside the dog. The dog gradually picked up speed, always staying just out of reach… and we watched, laughing as the dog and then Bryan disappeared into the woods ahead of us.
I ran ahead of our friends and called out for Bryan but he never so much as looked over his shoulder or heard me. I stood there smiling, waiting for Bryan to re-appear from the woods with the dog… but the woods were silent. I had a shiver… and sensed something. Everything was suddenly too quiet. I looked to my right. My friends’ faces were frozen in fear. They stood, unmoving, staring upwards at something behind me. I looked to my left and felt cold to the base of my soul. What was simply an inkling of worry a minute ago became a full-fledged realization. In one second I knew. I knew.
“Oh My God.” Before I had completed the short sentence, I knew Bryan was gone. I stared up into a dark shadow that now loomed above us. It was becoming three-dimensional and taking on a face, showing its power. Not because it wanted to take us all at that moment. It was showing its face because now it could mock us, now it could haunt us. Our best warrior, the fiercest among us had been taken, without even so much as a fight.
The huge shadow’s smiling, confident, demeanor confirmed my realization: like a cunning coyote that lures an animal away… where all the other coyotes are waiting…the dog had flirted with him, and successfully lured him away. I would never see Bryan again. By taking Bryan, they had made us vulnerable. Our illusion of safety and harmony was simply that: an illusion. The reality was, at any moment our own strengths could be turned against us and we could… disappear.