I dreamt about a house

Once upon a time in 2018 I had two connected dreams separated by months. Ever since, I tried to represent them in some form.. I tried comics and even abstract animation, but I could never show exactly what I wanted.

So, finally I decided to share these dreams in short story format and what a better idea than to share it here! In this post, you will read the first dream I had and later I’ll post the second part which is the second dream. Enjoy!

People and cattle roamed around me, trying to navigate through the somewhat packed market. The smells of horse dung, sweat, fresh bread and raw meat forcibly entered through my nose and I felt every tiny rock on the ground piercing my feet through my leather boots. As I scanned my surroundings, feeling like I’ve just woke up, I realised that something was missing, my brother. I was with him just a few seconds ago, and now he was nowhere to be found. A slight feeling of panic washed over me, like i was being suddenly watched and the market became claustrophobic all of a sudden. Yet, I had to find my brother, so I made my best to ignore those unpleasant feelings that could distract me from my duty. I asked everyone I could around me, but no one paid me any heed, as if I were a nobody. Eventually, after some time of nervous and rapid walking, the market dissolved around me like ghosts flying frenetically without knowing where. I took a deep breath of relief, and continued on my search. The sky quickly descended into a state of slight darkness, everything being dimly lit by twilight.

I walked endlessly until the gravel slowly became soft wet grass. I was so lost in the rampage of my thoughts, I became very tired and the coldness of the air started to prickle through my skin. I looked around. It appeared I was in a big private garden that probably accompanied someone’s residence. Everything was neatly cut and trimmed, looking almost artificial. Not too many yards away, a mansion showed itself as a visibly old looking building, like it was perhaps from another century. However, it was in an implacable state, as if it was built the day before. I couldn’t see or hear the any alive creature, everything around me was the infinite plastic looking garden. From the mansion’s window, there wasn’t a single light lit inside, bearing complete darkness and mysteriousness. The windows were tall and narrow, with white ornamented covers matching the ones at the double door that made the entrance, fabricating a quite intimidating scene.

The cold was starting to get slightly unbearable and my skin was forming goosebumps all over. My brother would certainly be cold as well, maybe he had sought shelter in that mansion, so I started going towards the entrance. I knocked on the door, but got no answer. I tried again and nobody came. Finally, I decided to open the door myself and, surprisingly, it opened without any effort at all. The door was clearly very heavy but somehow it felt like I was pushing a cotton ball of some sort. I couldn’t see anything inside, as everything was bathed in complete darkness. I stepped inside and almost immediately the door closed behind me with a soft thud. Surprised, I looked back and when I turned again, the mansion was no longer the place it was before.

Now lit, the house that was once big and elegant was now a narrow old thing with an unavoidable claustrophobic feeling. Before me there was a small corridor with very dirty and rough ground. At its end was a kitchen with a stony hearth and a wooden chair. I had an uncanny feeling creeping up the back of my neck. The house was clearly old and used but somehow felt like it was an exhibition with the objects meticulously thought about in order to appear as believable as possible. All the other rooms were dark and the staircase on my right side that led to the upstairs floor was the only path that didn’t seem like a dead end.

I started going up the stairs, in hopes I would find something or someone useful for my current task. The wooden boards creaked underneath my feet like they were howling in pain. I quickly realised I was not alone, I stopped to look at a girl who was in front of me. She was sitting on the stairs, had a buzz cut and had big hypnotising eyes that seemed like they hadn’t closed in years. I looked at her in surprise, as I wasn’t expecting to find someone in that place.

”Have you seen my brother?” I asked. “I’ve been looking for him..”

She didn’t answer, only laughed but her face didn’t show signs of movement. Suddenly, something from the side of her head started forming. In a cluster of skin and hair, another head appeared from the side of her face and neck. The two heads were completely equal, the first one standing still and the second one laughing at me. Bathed in shock and fear, my body couldn’t move and my breath was stuck on my throat. The girl with two heads stood up and ran up the stairs, still laughing hysterically. In an adrenaline filled second, I followed her up the stairs. She got in the first room upstairs and closed the door behind her with a loud bang.

Just as I opened the door, I took a step back. The girl now had very long hair that was supporting her whole floating body. Her face was pale and her mouth and eyes were pitch black holes. I quickly turned around and started running, without even closing the door. Now that I was trying to escape, the house seemed to stretch in front of my feet, with never ending corridors and stairs. After what felt like an eternity filled with chaos, I finally reached the entrance and ran outside.

With a fast beating heart and ringing ears, I ran as fast and as long as I could. My body reached a point when it couldn’t run any longer. I stopped and looked at the ground, with my hands on my knees and breathing heavily. My head spun for a long time and my legs felt so weak, I was close to fainting. Despite that, I straighten up. My vision took some seconds to adjust to the dark and to focus, as I was light-headed. In my horizon I could see a tree and below it, my brother.

I started walking toward him, dragging my feeble and tired body. My brother walked very slowly to the tree and I started panicking, I didn’t want to lose sight of him again. He started to disappear behind it and I screamed his name, but he didn’t seem to listen. As soon as his body disappeared behind the trunk, I tripped and fell with my face on the ground. I couldn’t understand if the grass was wet or if I was crying. I felt my body rapidly falling, as the ground evaporated underneath me. I opened my eyes and the world didn’t take shape. I was in complete darkness, falling endlessly without a sky to look over me or a ground to catch me.