Lake dream I had a while ago
2022-03-20, 4:31 p.m.

I'm standing in front of a glossy black table where I see no reflection of my face or the lights above but the ambient light in the room lets me perceive the smooth, unperturbed texture, like onyx marble or a completely still dark lake. There are no fingerprint smudges or the slightest wave. I stare at it as though it will give me an answer the way the supernaturally inclined would stare at a dark pool or water or a crystal ball for divination. I'm not trying to find answers but falling through a portal of the mesmerizing stillness. The edges of whatever reality I am in start to fade and then a click occurs, like the lights are flicked off.

I am walking by an actual starlit lake. I look up at the sky, dusky purple and filled with stars. I breathe the cold crispness and try to let stardust into my lungs. I don't feel the crackle of my back muscles open anymore. The reverie of painlessness is interrupted when I spot someone running at the far end of the lake. They turn around and look at me, then I run towards them. I slow down as my feet get muddy and encumbered by the lake brush. I finally reach them and they grab my hand. We sprint to a house at the top of a hill. The perfectly glowing, large white crescent moon hangs above the house as it if is letting me know it's the haunted kind. I sit on the steps. The person finally speaks. They tell me they're coming back, and drop an axe by my feet. Somehow it doesn't scare me.

I can still see them running when the crackle of explosives lights up the sky. At first it looks like fireworks but the sky turns darker and I realize there are explosives. I call out to the running person. They tell me to follow. I'm not able to catch up. I've picked up the axe and it's too heavy to run with. I drop the axe so I can run faster. My lungs are bursting, adrenaline has pushed me to the limit. I feel my legs give out. My shins are burning and pushed to their breaking point. I hear the voice tell me to get up, soon I'm being lifted and hoisted. I'm trying to catch my breath, and feeling overwhelmed by the sounds and lights, my consciousness shuts down.