Settling for Happiness

December 16th

I was on my way home with my brother and my nephew. We passed through a few neighborhoods and an abandoned mall. As we walked through the empty mall, we had to drop down to a lower level if we were to proceed. To do so safely, I manifested an invisible box-shaped force field beneath me to break

my fall. From there, we pressed on, tiptoeing past a lit room to our left and through a series of doors

on our right. Sadly, my nephew couldn’t exit the building because of confusion from all the doors. It also did not help that he changed shape between a child and a big dog... No idea why. I snuck back in to help get him out. However, I saw a man walking through the abandoned place as he approached my

nephew on my way back in. 

When I got inside, I walked past them and tried to move through the empty mall unsuspectedly, pretending that nothing in this abandoned mall was suspicious. They didn't buy it, and they had seen my powers from before. My nephew was nowhere to be seen, and this made me scared and angry. As I walked further in, more and more people came into view. This was obviously not going anywhere good. I tried trapping a few of them inside these pearlescent and translucent boxes that I was manifesting, but they easily broke out. They had powers as well. Their skin was thick, and they were strong, so the fight rapidly turned physical. I punched a guy to my left and sent him flying. “No need to hold back if their skin is so thick.” I thought to myself.

I created another box to trap two others, but they broke out easily when they approached one of the

walls. Next, I created another box that grew as they moved towards an opening I left near the front.

The more they walked, the more it stretched. I continued forward through a big metal door and into a

big room. The room was crowded with people and guards with guns already drawn and aimed at me.

 

“I’m gonna count to three. Let my nephew go, or I will destroy this place!”

Three acts of unparalleled power ensued.

One.

Thousands of cubes appeared all over the room and when they popped, so did the contents within,

causing them to immediately collapse. Brick and rubble came tumbling down from the balconies above

where some of the gunmen stood.

Two. 

Hundreds of new cubes appeared all around the room; some even appeared over people's heads.

When the cubes popped, so did the contents within. Blood sprayed straight up into the air as if from

geysers.

Three.

A giant box-like bubble appeared around the entire facility.

“I will reduce this entire place to dust!”

Panic set in immediately as the reality of their situation became apparent to them. People rushed to the surrounding stores and restaurants. Others turned to have sex with the person next to them. They wanted to die happy and with pleasure instead of attempting to change their situation by doing what I asked.

A voice appeared all around us, saying, "Let them go." And with that, it was over, and we were free and the chaos was over. For this dream, I want to focus on the people in the panic. It was so strange to

watch them behave in such a way. For momentary pleasure, no matter the cost, these people were willing to throw their lives away. But it was also somewhat familiar. I have thought that when I am on my deathbed, I want someone to bring me a sandwich. Even if it kills me, I want to die with the taste of something good in my mouth. Even though this thought is just a joke, a part of me is serious.

They fought hard for a feeling that is so short-lived; that feeling being pleasure or happiness. In their

pursuit of that feeling, they became short-sighted. The closer they got to that feeling, the closer they

got to the doorstep of death. If not for the voice that spoke up, they all would have perished.

It is strange to think that they were all pursuing happiness and had given up hope to do so. This makes

me wonder if, in the pursuit of pleasure and/or happiness, have we given up hope as well? Is happiness the goal, or are we just settling for happiness?

Editor: Michael Vorhis