memorable

I've been having this dream with some alterations since I was twelve. Small things have changed, like how I and some other characters look in it, but it has more or less been static since it began. I have it once a week, and I had it when I went to sleep last night.

The dream starts with me standing outside a cathedral looking up at it. It is built with white marble, and shines under a noonday sun. All around the cathedral is nothing but a peaceful meadow, with a single dirt path running to the doors of the church and seemingly stretching out forever behind me. My shoes are caked with mud, I run a hand over my face and feel that I've let my facial hair become overgrown, and I'm carrying a bag slung over my shoulder. As I continue to look at the church, I begin to hear a hymn of sorts. It's slow, low in tone and in a language I don't understand.

Prompted by the hymn, I push open the doors of the cathedral and walk inside. Inside is a multitude of women, all dressed as Catholic Sisters and all singing the same hymn that I heard from the outside. When I look at their faces, I recognize them as all the women I know or have known in my life. The inside of the church is made of the same marble, with a deep red carpet extending from the door all the way up to a golden altar at the head of the church. Behind the altar is an ornate throne, decorated with gold, red silk, and diamonds. Sitting on the throne is a woman who is always in my dreams, with black hair down to her ankles, shocking red eyes, and in this dream she wears a red and white Nun's habit, with her black hair spilling out from the headdress. She sits on the throne, propping her head up with one arm, smirking at me. She is the only one who does not sing.

High above the throne is a circular stained glass window, filled with pastel blues, greens, and pinks. The light from the sun outside shines through the window and lands down on the last figure in the dream, the friend I've had since childhood. She is dressed like a Sister as well, though her clothes fit less loosely, the uniform itself is white instead of black, and her head is uncovered, revealing her dark hair to be as messy as it always is. Her white-gloved hands are folded, her eyes are closed, and she has a peaceful expression as if in prayer, completely unlike how she is normally.

After a few seconds she opens her eyes, looking right into my own eyes, and begins to sing. Her voice, while still recognizably her voice from reality, is much softer and more pleasant. Her song is faster than the hymn the others have been signing, though the two songs seem to fit together. She begins to sway in time with the rising and falling of the notes, and unfolds her hands, spreading her arms wide. I still don't understand the words, but I believe it sounds beautiful and I become fixated on my friend.

I drop my bag and begin to walk forward, like I'm compelled. I stop just a few steps shy of her and continue to watch her until she finishes her song. After she is done and all the singing has stopped, she puts a hand to her chest and takes a deep breath. Then, she turns to me and smiles--which particularly strikes me, as in reality, my friend is something of a grim person and has never smiled to my knowledge. Something boils up inside me, and I push her down on the golden altar, placing my hands on either side of her shoulders.

She starts to exhibit more atypical behavior by putting on a frightened face, and crossing her arms over her chest defensively. The crowd of Sisters behind me all gasp in unison, and she begins to fearfully shed tears. I seem to be only spurned on by this, and grab at her clothes beginning to tear at them. As I'm doing this, I lean in to her frightened face, and out of the corner of my eye I can see the woman-in-red's smirk grow into a full smile, bearing her teeth. When her clothes begin to rip, and I'm just about to finally touch her skin, I wake up.

Honestly, my dreams tend to extremes of violence, but this dream always leaves me shaken in the morning.

I'll probably post this in Dream Interpretation later because I always feel my dreams are symbolic, but am not clever enough to make sense of them.

When I became aware of myself, it was night, and the moon was full but golden in color. I was in the middle of an abandoned, dirty city. All the windows and all the glass was broken and scattered across the streets, and the street lamps flickered on and off occasionally. Blue wisps of fire darted around me and through the empty streets and buildings, and they made a soft ringing, like a small bell. I remember walking along, unsure what to make of the strange landscape, and checking for any sort of person or thing that I could recognize.

Suddenly, there is a loud crash behind me, the ground shakes, and I lose my balance. I turn to look and I see a large, black bull with pitch black, cracked horns and a lizard's scaly hide instead of fur. He had burning coals for eyes which were buried deep in his face, and they burned away some of the flesh around his eye sockets. His breath was heavy, and he exhaled smoke and embers. Then he reared up on his back legs and charged at me. I scrambled to get out of the way, but he was too fast--he was so fast that as he passed, all the debris in the city would fly up into the air. The bull impaled me on one of his horns, and lifted me above his head before he shook me off and tossed me aside. The bull then let out a bellowing howl and almost all the buildings save for the tallest one were torn apart and thrown into the air, then engulfed in bright, white hot flame.

I laid there, staring at the burning city, bleeding out and unable to move. I turned my gaze up to the tallest building, which had not been destroyed and saw a figure standing atop of it, looking at the golden moon. This figure has been present in all my dreams since before I can remember. She is a woman with black hair down to her ankles, bright red eyes, porcelain skin, and usually dressed in an elegant red and white ballgown. When I caught sight of the woman, she filled my vision, and was the only thing I could see. She then turned to me suddenly, her red eyes catching my own, and the golden moon turned red. Then, I woke up.