PREVIOUS NIGHT

1:30 AM, I wake to automatic gunfire. Many dozen rounds, maybe a hundred--VERY fast, sustained, 8-10 rounds a second. First gun violence around here in years.

THAT DAY

My housemate Christopher goes up to the next block to find out about the gun battle. Some teens rented a house through AirB&B and held a party; a gang with a grudge toward the organizers came and opened fire. Two hospitalized. Cars all down the street shot up. Only because it was way after midnight were there no passers-by to be mowed down.

THAT NIGHT

I'm a self-taught shaman living in Oakland. I work with dangerous forces--especially fire. A few other witches and wizards with degrees and professional reputations often sweep in and take the credit for the people I save. For a long time I endure this--I don't like publicity and my motive's to rescue people not profit, but I start to do a slow burn when I actually hear the local witch talk to a TV reporter about how she saved this little girl after "a timely tip from a local citizen"--in fact I saved the kid, at some risk, too, and all the witch did was show up after, to give the cops a lead on the curse-casters.

On the next case, I get wrapped in a fire curse. Keep it dormant, suppressed, like being doused in gasoline but not lit. Until, close to the kidnapping victim, I run into some skeptic yuppies who ignore my warnings and bring open flame near me. And I burn. Hold my breath till it dies down a bit--burnt all the spell-fuel, now it's just feeding on my clothes. Tilt my head to get non-flaming air. As a shaman, I can endure the burning skin where a human couldn't. Gradually get it under control. It hurts, and looks terrifying, but I can bear it. Barely.

I'm furious. I warned them "Keep your damn lighter away from me, I'm flammable."

I do eventually find and rescue the victim, but this case hurt. Unnecessarily.

NOTES IN THE MORNING

• Oakland, fire: Oakland's underground music club The Ghost Ship burned. Took no malice to get dozens killed--stupid negligence was enough, just as in the dream.
• Mad at publicity-hogging witch: do I burn later in the dream because I denied my earlier envy? Or WAS it envy? What got me so mad was that reporter buying her lies.
• Fire: last night's gunfire?
• Burning head: I do have a headache and hot inflamed neck--stress of that gun battle has triggered a mild Lyme attack.
• Idiots set me on fire:
  1. That gang shooting up the street.
  2. An article on frat hazing found 60 killings since 2010! In the example, fratboys beat a pledge till his spleen ruptured. He might have lived if taken to a hospital; the only black frat member tried to call. So they beat him up too. The pledge tried to crawl out on his own, but they trapped him there all night, just to make sure he died.
  Boys! So high-spirited.

LONGER-TERM NOTE

I've been having nightmares that parse the components of modern evil. An obvious one is violent malice toward the different, but this dream points out a subtler factor: reckless stupidity despite clear warning. Trump ignores inconvenient science, Xi jails reporters who expose corruption, Putin meddles in his neighbors' elections even after getting caught. Reckless leaders dominate the news, but my dreams are pointing out such leaders reflect their followers. These idiots don't even aim to set me on fire. They still do.

As I look closer, this dream seems to be about truth and lies. The witch lied; reporters buy her lie. I tell the truth; the yuppies ignore it. Both times, in different ways, I get burned.

As the world's getting burned.

World Dream Bank homepage - Art gallery - New stuff - Introductory sampler, best dreams, best art - On dreamwork - Books
Indexes: Subject - Author - Date - Names - Places - Art media/styles
Titles: A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - IJ - KL - M - NO - PQ - R - Sa-Sk - Sl-Sz - T - UV - WXYZ
Email: wdreamb@yahoo.com - Catalog of art, books, CDs - Behind the Curtain: FAQs, bio, site map - Kindred sites