Vivid Images

I've had a few disconnected images in my head lately. I haven't really been dreaming so much as seeing little scenerios race through my head. It's like walking in on a movie and catching some intense scene then walking out again. I guess I've been distressed lately. These images aren't entirely unfamiliar to me.

The first one I remember was a first-person view and it started with a beautiful night sky. A web of midnight blues and the shade of black speckled with stars - some bright and gem-like while others look like dust across the sky. The moon is a perfect orb amidst the web of stars and it outshines them all. I stare at this gorgeous scenery for a few breathless minutes before my vision dives. I see a flash of the dark emerald meadows and this lone dead tree before I am engulfed in the darkness of a canyon. I fall fast and fear I'll hit the bottom but instead I see a white dot ahead. It reminds me of a bright star for a minute until the details of the open maw come closer. Only when the figure is inches from me do I see that it is a powerful white jaguar. The feline is complete colourless, no spots and no imperfections, which make its vibrant red wine eyes stand out even more. Suddenly my vision zooms out of the canyon and I watch the great cat leap from ledge to ledge of the canyon. The darkness seems to follow it hungrily and it ascends faster and faster until it reaches the emerald grass. It takes off running, the grass turning to frost beneath its velvet paws and shattering as the darkness gives chase. It's running straight for the dead oak tree and without hesitation bounds up the ashen trunk. The jaguar crouches in the center of the dagger-like branches and tightens its compact body until the muscles twitch. The darkness inches closer and closer and finally leaps out at the great cat. Pouncing skyward seconds before impact, the feline somersaults over the moon and disappears in a twinkling star. The darkness recedes, grumbling nonsensically, until it's safely back in its hole in the ground.

The second one is third person and it took place it a huge ballroom. The floor was black and white marble like a giant chess board. Everyone was wearing fancy gowns and suits with gems and feathers and masks. Some people were playing chess with quartz pieces off to the side, others were already sitting at the many tables sipping German wine and still others were dancing to the strangest yet beautiful music. The man playing the piano is in a pinstripe suit with coat tails and white gloves but he has no head. There's just the white collar of the dress shirt beneath his jacket and a red scarf. He plays beautifully though. The man playing the cello looks like the mummy in an expensive suit. His face and hands are bandaged but he plays flawlessly too. The violonist is in this flowing black dress - the material clings to her lithe arms and body but flows out after her thighs - it shines a dark red when the moonlight strikes it. Her hair is dark brown and done up in an elegant and complicate style. Her face, however, is just an oval mirror. The other members of this strange orchestra seem to be part of the wall shadows. I came down the stairs in a corsetted dress with a cat-like mask over my eyes. A man in a joker mask and top hat strolls up to me and bows. I offer my hand, which he takes and pretends to kiss. His mask has a wicked grin that makes me smile. We dance amongst anthropomorphized cards - the Queen of Hearts is dancing with the King of Spades and the Jacks are romancing the Diamond Sisters. The four of Clubs and the four of Diamonds are sipping brandy by the fire. My mystery man with the joker mask gently spins me around and dips me. Then all of a sudden I'm falling and I land in a pile of pink rose petals. Alice, six times her original size, bounds up to me purring and we curl up together and sleep.