once upon a time i had a dream––tell me what this means lolzz..

in a backstory of ancient europe––tucked away in a dreamscape reminiscent of germanic transylvania––i find myself descending a circular stone stairwell into the lowest recesses of a gothic castle––a superstructure occupying that liminal architectural boundary between undercroft, forgotten stable, and subterranean sanctuary ostensibly consigned to darker tenants forever ago..

the air is cool––heavy with the scent of damp limestone, moldering hay, broken hearts, dark magik, and time..

at the foot of the stairwell, i wander into a dim enclosure––a hidden, faintly gilded enclave seemingly reserved for torture, feeding, or maybe both? and out of the corner of my eye, i notice a small procession of piglets, their innocent perambulations surreally at odds with the funereal atmosphere surrounding us..

somewhere beyond the visible confines of the chamber––ensconced in a shadowed alcove where lite and equanimity alike refuse to enter scene––dwells a serpent of cyclopean scale..

operating exclusively within the shadows beyond the chamber's visible boundaries, the creature seems almost to premeditatedly conceal its face from me. everyone seems instinctively apprised of its existence––as though its presence has long ago become an accepted feature of the castle itself..

at one moment, we all psychically intuit that it must now be fed, and someone begins ushering the piglets into the deepest corner of the chamber..

one by one, they scamper eagerly into the serpent's hidden lair, ostensibly unaware of the gravity of the mise–en–scène. each time, anguished squeals reverberate throughout the stone corridors, and we all reflexively arrive at the same conclusion––no way this one survived, obviously won’t return, duh..

and yet, impossibly, each one emerges again moments later––perfectly intact and unscathed, darting back into the broader enclosure as though nothing whatsoever transpired..

the grotesque ritual repeats itself ad nauseam––squeals, frantic hoofbeats, disgruntled hissings, premature obituary musings––only for the piglets to emerge utterly unbothered each time..

then, without warning, the serpent itself glides forth from the darkness into cold lite..

only now do i notice that standing proximately adjacent to the shadows is an aureate–haired puppy––small, trusting, adorable, guileless––ostensibly entranced by the darkness, blissfully unapprised of the ancient intelligence quietly evaluating it from only a few feet away..

amidst this scene, the piglets continue scampering happily throughout the enclosure. but, refusing even to acknowledge the former, the serpent suddenly lunges toward the puppy instead––its selection appearing almost impossibly deliberate and suggestive of a pre–calculated energetic appraisal..

with horrifying precision, the serpent sinks its jaws into the puppy, violently slamming its corporal innocence against the stone floor with astonishing force. not once, but twice..

the puppy’s tiny body falls inert against cold stone––its fate immediately consigned to that liminal ontological boundary between life and oblivion..

and moments later, the serpent begins dragging its limp body back toward the darkness from which it came..

i stand there in a kind of daze, quietly collapsing to the center of myself––my gaze absently tracing the caulking between distant limestone blocks dimly illuminated by aureate incandescence––almost as though some instinct within me refuses to permit what i have just witnessed to fully land, permeate, augur..

and just as i begin straining my eyes into the shadows in a final effort to ascertain the puppy’s fate, the underlying scaffolding of reality gives way––the castle's ancient masonry, wavering torch–flames, tenebrous alcoves, and impossible geometries fragmenting, glitching, evanescing until the entire dreamscape surrenders me back to waking life..

LS