moving through air

I was one of four performers playing to a large crowd of people in a vast auditorium. The audience was arranged around the stage, looking down on us - some sitting, some standing. The performers were paired. My partner gripped my hands and spun me around in a circle so that I was flying through the air, almost vertically. I could see the other pair similarly moving, one partner anchored to the ground, spinning the other partner around and around, and, as she flew through the air, she stretched, arched and moved her body, creating a beautiful aerial dance. The other performers were all wearing blue leotards with sequins, appropriately dressed for the show. It seemed I was unprepared and unrehearsed for, as I spun around, I realised that I was wearing a flannelette shirt, grey tracksuit pants and ugg boots and I did not know the choreography. Suddenly, the other pair left the stage, leaving us alone. All eyes were upon us and I needed to do something worthy of watching. I began to move my legs and arch my back, feeling muscles that have long been unused, remembering steps from early dancing days. Though I felt stiff, ill-attired and put on the spot, I danced through the air and, as I spun, my body felt fluid, grew lithe, moved effortlessly.

gatecrashers

We were in the back yard of the home where one of my closest friends lived when she was a child. It was night and everything seemed chaotic, dangerous. Too many people milled around - in the yard, throughout the house - as though the party had been gatecrashed. We were tense, sensing violence, and decided to leave. Five of us piled into my small car, which was parked in the front yard, with B behind the wheel and me in the passenger seat. As we turned to pull out of the driveway, a huge 4WD ute with headlights on high beam pulled in, engine revving, looming over us, forcing us to reverse. Young angry men were in the ute, yelling, and loud, aggressive music roared out the windows, base thudding. The ute spun around, tyres spinning, ripping up grass and spraying mud everywhere, circling around us. B was infuriated and, instead of driving away, turned our car to face them. I screamed at her to go and, as I did, the men in the ute fired guns, shooting at us, at the house, at everything in sight. B swung the car around, the rest of us ducked and covered our heads, and we pulled out of the driveway, speeding up the road through the suburban streets. We were unhurt.

dog crossing road

A small dog, much like the lovely, scruffy dog my grandparents had when I was a child, bolted out my front door, up the driveway and across the road. I was worried; the road is busy and the dog was excitable. She snuffled about in the bush on the other side of the road before returning. And, amazingly, she seemed to possess road sense, even though I knew her to be unfamiliar with the wider world. Before crossing, she quickly scanned the road in both directions for coming cars, and raced back to me, joyful.

keep moving

In a pool. My blankets, sheets and quilt are heaped on the cement at the side of the pool. As I swim, I see the quilt slip off the pile and into the water. There is nothing to be done so I continue swimming.

I am angry with someone I care about. Rather than say anything, I lie belly down on a board, much like a surfboard without any fins, and slide down the hill, following the path. I race down at breakneck speed, shoot past trees and driveways, steer my board by leaning left or right until I swerve around a sharp bend and reach the busy road. Then I climb the hill toward the house, board under my arm, calm.

venomous snake

Snakes. The grounds around the house were infested. Snakes different shades of brown and gold, snakes of varying sizes. Snakes under the cover of scrub and grass, silently gliding. Snakes across the path. I was careful not to disturb them, to step on them, but the light was low and they were camouflaged. The gold snakes were not as frightening, seemed not to be aggressive. But the brown snakes ... I stepped too close to a mottled brown snake. It reared up, darted forward, lashed out, attacked. I grabbed it around the throat and held it away from me. It struggled to wriggle out of my fist and its skin rippled forward so that its head began to disappear into its neck, pulling backward. I had to tighten my grip, prevent it from escaping. Its tail thrashed about and I pulled its skin back so that its head remained above my hand. Furious, the snake opened its mouth, baring its teeth; not two fangs, but about six or eight long sharp teeth that protruded from its jaws, fanned out. I held the snake as far from me as possible, knowing that the snake was desperate to strike. Venom sprayed out of the snakes teeth, fountained into the air, spraying the surrounds and my throat. As soon as the snake had exhausted its supply of poison, I mustered my strength and threw it as far away as I could. I saw it land on the bush floor and I turned and ran.

unclean house

I had returned home after some time away, but home was no longer the place I recognised. I lived in a large house with many, many rooms housing people with whom I have worked over the years. In fact, as the dream progressed, the house became increasingly like a place of work, even though it was furnished with the usual items one would find in a home. I was in the bathroom, doing my best to shower and dress, but the room had been left in a mess. Damp towels hung on the rails, the bath was filled with dirty water, the toilet was not flushed and sported drips on the seat, the shower needed a scrub, and various personal items had been discarded on the floor. For some reason, I needed to hurry - a job to do? - but I determined to return to clean the house from top to bottom. While I readied myself, I flung the soiled towels into a heap on the tiled floor and opened the bathroom door, so at least I could create a washing pile and air the room. Two women with whom I have worked closely were walking about in the hall, also preparing to go somewhere to work. I told them that I intended to clean out the rooms, that I like a clean house. They obviously agreed and yet they had neglected to keep the house in order.

feathers

My father had soft yellow feathers on the soles of his feet. Not stuck to his feet but growing out of his skin, sprouting like the plumage of a luxuriously fluffy bird.