April 7, 2021
Rights of the Chagossian
This dream starts off in a dark forest; it was a hero's quest, I presume. Three young heroes and a few companions wandered through the dark and foggy forest. The eldest of these three is a young woman, followed by her two younger brothers, not sure if they were of Indian or African descent. Their destination was within reach. If only they could pass through the forest, alive. To help them on their journey, they were assisted by a djinn. Two wishes had already been used; they have one left.
As they continued through the forest, they were walking with a few non-human companions. One was a deer-like creature, reminiscent of the mythical Quilin from all across Eastern myth. If I remember correctly, this creature could talk, had the coat of a spotted deer with 7-9 small horns growing out of its back, specifically out of the thick of its lion-like mane. Its horns may have been made of green jade; despite their beauty, they were easily overshadowed by a pair of big antlers. I do not remember its face. This thing was also swift and spent its time urging on her other creature companion, a beast of burden, maybe a horse, or a donkey.
Both beast companions and her siblings leave her behind at the approach of something foul. It crept between the trees of the forest, its flesh white with rot. It had six spider-like legs and a long crocodile-like body. Its presence was more than enough to force our young hero to take shelter under nearby plastic debris. Between short pauses, the creature would lurch forward in a burst of incredible speed.
As she hides, the hope of reaching their destination alive or on time begins to fade. Seeing no other option, she sits still and makes a final wish. A male djinn/faerie appears to grant her final request. Her wish was to get them to their destination or get rid of the monster. I can't remember which because both happened, and she found herself in the center of a clearing in the forest, both her siblings standing beside her. With the monster out of sight, they could focus once again on the mission before them.
From out of the heavens above, a woman on a motorcycle-like device descends to help them, fulfilling the other half of the wish. All three of the siblings hopped onto the back of the floating machine; once settled, it soared back to the heavens and through the cloudy night.
The lady flew them up into the heavens and towards a flying palace in the sky. This is where they disembarked. Inside was a straight drop leading into the palace. Both of her siblings fell clumsily down the hole. Worm-like mouths protruded from pink fleshy walls and pushed the boys further down. She responded by jumping in and following them to the bottom.
At the bottom were more fleshy walls and floors. In front of them was a set of wooden floors; taking a few steps forward, they found themselves facing a wooden wall directly in front of them and to their right. To their left was a nearby room; upon entering it, they see two comfortable beds and a table. The whole room was brightly lit up, appearing warm and comfortable. However, on one of the walls was a list of rules. Work and live, don't work and die. As they exit the room back to the wall from earlier, the rules make sense. A wall in front of them is full of books, and they can read a little if they want, but there are also pickaxes nearby. They can read, but they must not forget to work.
The wall to their right was supposed to be mined with a pickaxe. Food would be provided as the children worked. Apparently, there was a precious substance down here that the master of this place wanted. The master was an Emperor from a foreign nation that had moved into the land and taken over. They were not alone here; many other children were down here working to survive.
The children managed to find their way to an apartment complex above the mines, where they found their parents. Each apartment represented a cage for the inhabitants. This small family was gathered in the living room, looking towards a wide-open balcony, tempting for sure. The family gathered around the oldest daughter, who began to tell them of the mine beneath their feet; the others were too young to understand everything that was going on. The apartment complex looked and felt like a very dangerous hood.
Though there were no doors outside of the balconies, they contemplated their options, the balcony being the most obvious with a rope ladder, the mine being another option, and the pickaxe they had found in the mine were all that was needed to secure freedom. They had to be quiet, though, scanning the ceiling, unsure if they were being spied on.
This family, and the people being oppressed, were descendants of an ancient African people group under attack, potentially a genocide. This family was descended from the original royal bloodline, but I don't think they ever lived as such. The family needed to escape to make their way to a courthouse for a case that held their people's fate. Without their testimony, their people would continue to be oppressed by a foreign empire.
How she escaped, I do not know, but she did, and she escaped alone. She crossed through a shadow dimension, a city lost to darkness. Everyone there was like zombies, thoughtless and empty-minded. These are the grey-skinned denizens of the invading king. She snuck around the dark to avoid detection as a giant figure with a tv for a head peered from over skyscrapers into the city below. The zombified people responded to its command, influenced by its propaganda of destruction.
April 19, 2021
Hope-Punk
The context of this dream was a far-reaching galactic empire established by mankind, the limits of which were never defined. In this dream, I watched a young child explore a military base full of armed soldiers. Traveling with her was a mysterious companion, a monstrous and haunting disembodied voice that desired to give hope to the men stationed there. When she gazed from the shadows at any of the soldiers, the voice would whisper to her the secrets of their lives.
I watched as this little girl navigated the base and tried to get seen by a person, one at a time. She would then go into a room, hide under a bed, and prepare to strike, hoping that she can catch whoever spotted her alone and off guard. Her first attempt failed to draw one lone soldier's attention as he turned his back to the shuffling child and began to walk away. However, the voice was persistent, saying, "Go get him, I want to give him hope."
So she tried again, successfully drawing the soldier towards her when she came out of hiding and approached him from the shadows. However, his reaction to her presence was too fast for her to attempt to hide, and she was forced to retreat towards a back wall. Here she stood her ground at the soldier's approach. Once within reach, she grabbed him by the legs, lifted him up, slammed him down on the ground, and then pinned him down. Her eyes flash red as she looked into his eyes, and then she spoke.
"You were once a good kid. But you stole your father's space explorer, and things went downhill from there as you spiraled into a life of crime." As she spoke, she would pause to listen to the voice before continuing. During a break, the man opened his mouth, and these non-symmetrical forms would float into the air, becoming pink hearts. This signified the change of heart that was going on within the soldier; in other words, it was working. Finally, after some time, the soldier would experience a complete change of heart, as they gave in to hope.
It was fascinating that she started by describing him as a misunderstood child who found himself on the wrong path. She then suggested that who he was had little impact on who he could be. Despite the darkness in which he found himself, she did not condemn him but simply pointed towards the right path.
I began working on this post on April 7th, and I have kept working on it even today. The themes of this dream seemed too real, so I took a few weeks to investigate. At first, I began looking into the idea of Sino-imperialism in Africa; however, upon further research, I came across striking comparisons between this dream and events surrounding a specific people called the Chagossians. The Chagossians are a mixed Afro/Indian people. They were removed from their Island home by a foreign power that set up a military base on the island. Currently, many of them are impoverished, living in ghettos/hoods outside the Island. The people fought for the right to return through court cases and won the favor of the UN. The case was repealed by the foreign powers, and so the legal battle continues. The foreign nations that have done this are the US and Britain. What began in the 1960s continues to this day.
Citation:
Durup, Julien. “The Chagos. A Short History and Its Legal Identity.” Études Océan Indien, INALCO, 1 July 2013, journals.openedition.org/oceanindien/2003.
Kitau, Ngovi. “Claim of Sino-Imperialism in Africa Is a Lie.” Cgtn.com, CGTN.com, 24 Nov. 2019, news.cgtn.com/news/2019-11-24/Claim-of-Sino-imperialism-in-Africa-is-a-lie-LSQn0FlFNm/index.html.
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