Last night I had this horribly bittersweet dream. It made no sense and yet, at the same time it made enough sense for me to be upset by it.
I had a boyfriend. Or so I thought.
The whole thing played out in scenes, like a short movie. First, there was this dulled flash of a rainbow and I was standing in front of the calendar in my room, only the month read “June,” and next Saturday was some ridiculous holiday called “Give your boyfriend a gift day.” So naturally, I was going to have to find a great present for my “boyfriend.”
Another rainbow flash and I was talking to one of my friends in my room, which had been turned into some sort of daycare center. She was bouncing this little light-skinned girl on her knee, while thinking of a gift to suggest. The girl tugged at my ear and whispered a suggestion to me. I can’t recall what she said, but I smiled and laughed, and she joined in.
Rainbow flash and I’m sitting in my sister’s room, wrapping a big red box in a silky white ribbon. My mom was sitting on the bed watching me wrap it and asked why I was going to so much trouble. She suggested I just throw a party. I was immensely confused, but my sister seemed to think it was a good idea, too. I told them I didn’t want to; a party was unnecessary. I didn’t want to spend the day with anyone but him tomorrow.
A few minutes later (in dream time, anyway) my phone buzzed and I saw this blurry image of a light-skinned boy light up on the screen. I’m guessing that was him. I opened the message and my face fell. I left the room and migrated to my room, which was no longer a daycare. As I felt the tears beginning to clog my vision, I saw the windows expanding and giving way to a beautiful sky line, lit up in oranges and pinks.
He’d told me he didn’t want to see me. Apparently I hadn’t even gone out with him on a date yet. Saturday was supposed to be our first date.
Then I woke up.
——
I know there are dream analysis books and what not, but I’m going to have a crack at this one myself.
I feel like the little girl was light skinned because my boyfriend was light skinned, so she was meant to represent him. And whatever she said, I was never meant to hear, because it didn’t really matter. She was the innocent, ignorant bliss; she said something and I laughed at it, but I didn’t hear it. He made me laugh, made me smile, but it wasn’t real.
The rainbow flashes were the motif gluing the three scenes together. A rainbow is fleeting, though beautiful, and doesn’t even seem tangible. Therefore… rainbow flash transitions.
And of course my enigmatic “boyfriend” never appears and his face is all blurry in the caller ID. Then he tells me he doesn’t want to be with me.
I think this is all just pointing out the obvious: I’ve never had a boyfriend, but I want one. I want something I don’t even understand fully. Someone I don’t even know. Even if the heart break is inevitable.
And then I guess I could look at this like so: Even in my dreams I can’t have a boyfriend. How nice. (I think you can tell which way I prefer to think of it as, haha.)
But I’ll be honest in saying that I woke up with a pang in my chest. This is deep fare to roll out of bed with at 7 am on a rainy Tuesday morning.