Have you ever had a dream that was so real you woke up sore? The first time it happened I was climbing a mountain. My climbing partner, whom I had known for years before he was created in my mind that night, smiled at me and asked if I was ready to see the greatest view in the world. I smiled back, nodded, and set my calloused fingers on the first hold I could find.
The climb itself was nothing spectacular. Most of the rocks here were very solid, and many had irregular bumps and points, making the process of finding holds remarkably easy. There were even points on the ascent that I was able to crawl more than climb, so I didn't notice when i ended up almost 200 feet ahead of Isaac, whose name i suddenly remembered (invented?) when i heard him call out from below.
"slow down there lady! I'm supposed to showing you this route aren't I?" His accent was difficult to place. It would probably be vaguely Brooklyn-esque if Brooklyn existed here, but his home, a small town in the valley nearby, was not real, and so could not have been influenced by any New Yorkers.
“Sorry Isaac,” I glanced down between my legs and saw him trying his best to keep up. I love dreams where I’m the most athletic person around, this freaking rocks. “I got a little carried away!”
“More like… you carried yourself away from me! You decide… you want to do this on your own… or something? No time for… your old buddy?” He was breathing hard, but still as jovial as always. I waited to for him to catch up, and flashed him a sheepish smile.
“Guess I’m just excited to not be sitting around at a desk all day.” When I said this he gave me a slightly quizzical look, before giving a quick, out-of-breath chuckle.
“You sure are… something. There’s… a pretty flat spot… up ahead… can we… take a break?” I allowed a short break for Isaac’s sake, and once he was ready we took the last leg of our climb. The peak was just as beautiful as he explained. You could see for miles and miles over the dense expanse of foliage in the valley opposite the town. Huge swathes of forest the likes of which I had never seen in my waking life, with enormous old growth trees occasionally breaking up the leaf line. I could see several other mountains nearby, several of them significantly larger that the one we just climbed, and in the far off distance, I thought I caught a few sparkles of light off the sea.
In my distracted amazement, I failed to watch my footing, and tripped on a loose stone. My stomach dropped as I felt myself fall toward the same edge I had pushed myself over only minutes before. I let out a quick shout, causing Isaac to notice and jump to try to catch me. I felt the cracked skin on his hand meet mine ever so briefly, before waking up bolt upright in bed.
My girlfriend was not terribly excited to be jerked suddenly awake by my movement, but her frustration turned quickly to reassurance and gentle soothing when she saw how badly my hands were shaking.
“Luna, dear, are you alright?” She crooned sleepily, drawing me in for a hug. We had been together several years, and I was very grateful for her comfort now, as I felt my safety return to me.
“Yes love, just a very real dream,” I assured her “you can go back to sleep.”
“Mmkay…” I could tell she was ready drifting off again, and I smiled, glad that it was so easy for her to get right back to resting. I, on the other hand, was very much awake. I could feel the exhaustion in my shoulders and back, and the adrenaline from my dream hadn’t quite dissipated yet. I checked my phone. It was 5:48 AM, almost time to get up anyway, so I decided to take the extra 40 minutes and have a nice hot bath before work. After another minute or two of cuddles of course.
