The Dream and the River

I had a dream, about 2 years ago now, which was so terrifying and emotional it woke me and kept me from sleeping the rest of that night. And unlike most dreams, which fade as the waking mind resumes the helm, this dream remained vivid over the months, and now years, since.

I dreamt that my (now) husband and I had found the perfect house. It was tucked in the woods near a stream and it was quirky and beautiful and everything we wanted. We had signed all the paperwork and stood in front of it holding the key. Our key.

Suddenly we were both swept away by a flash flood, away from our new home and into the river. We were carried away with the current, no matter how hard we fought to get to shore. We clung to logs and tree limbs and floating debris when we could, but we were eventually tumbled back into the cold murky waters to choke and sputter and fight. We never lost eachother though. We clung to eachother and took turns fighting the tide.

The river was long and winding, carrying us with it though we always kept fighting the current. No matter how the rivers path changed it always brought us back past our house. we would fight to get to shore, the water would bring us within fingers reach of the bank before swallowing us up again. Everytime I felt I could take no more, that I would break from the heartache of coming so close. But we kept trying. We kept swimming against the current. For months. Years, we swam. The water rushing us past the banks too quickly to catch hold.

Our families would stand atop the bank shaking their heads as they watched us drowning and fighting the tides, Though we would cry out for help they all turned their backs, telling us this was what growing up meant. That we had to pull ourselves out.

So we continued on, facing the rapids with nothing but eachother. Until one day my husband caught hold of the shore. He brought my hand to the bank and we climbed it together, slipping in the mud as the bank grew taller. When we finally crested the top, cold and soaked and out of breath, there was our house. Just as we had left it. Waiting for us.

And in the yard was a beautiful white dog with blue eyes. He looked to us, smiled and said "You've earned it."