Orphan Trap

Dear Peregrin,

I tend to have very vivid dreams, and I tend to remember every last detail, down to what color eyes every person in my dream had. I'm sure a lot of it is my imagination "filling in the gaps" so-to-speak, after I wake up. The one I had last night disturbed me greatly and I just can't shake the feeling I got from it, and the feeling stayed with me all day and the next night, and I kept having flashes of it. Any help you can offer up would be greatly appreciated.

My husband, myself, and my two children, (ages 22 months old and 3 years old) are on a vacation and are driving down a road my grandmother lives on when I spot to our left a trailer (someone's residence) that has burned completely to the ground. Lying on top of the rubble are 3 bodies: a man, a woman, and a small child. They are completely nude and appear to have not been burned at all, yet they are dead. In the middle of all the ash and rubble stands a baby crib totally untouched by the fire with a baby around 15 months old just standing there, calm as can be. I call the police and ask them how long ago this happened and why the bodies are just lying there and tell them there's a baby there. They tell me it would be best if I just kept on driving. This happens all the time and it's a trap. (I later realize these are ghosts.) We take the baby to the hospital and subsequently (to make a long story short) begin the adoption process. I go back to the burn site to look for any photos of the family and feel like I am being watched the entire time. Any time that I am alone with this orphaned child, I feel like someone else is in the room. I also notice that strange things happen whenever I'm with the child, like the child has some kind of telekinetic powers.

I am so disturbed by this dream. Is it that I just watch too many movies and too much TV? What does each element of this dream? Or am I just completely crazy.

Thanks.

Nicole

Good morning, Nicole.

Having your imagination "fill in the gaps" is a valid part of the dream recall process, so long as it "seems" right. It's likely that visual creativity and dreams originate in the same area of the brain.

And I wouldn't write off a deeply disturbing dream as the product of "too much TV," either. While some of the images and sequences come from outside sources, within your dreams they take on a personal meaning.

Adopting a baby relates directly to taking on a responsibility that wasn't originally yours. It could be related to career, or practically anything. You accept it from someone who cannot fulfill the responsibility any more - for example, taking over payments, or a co-worker who is fired (which could be the case here, as the parents died in a fire but weren't burned).

This particular responsibility is more work than expected and has people looking over your shoulder quite a bit. The warning from the police - "it's a trap" - could be taken quite literally as a warning to not take the duty upon yourself. If it's too late to heed that warning, then you should be very careful how you perform it.

The age of the baby, in the dream, 15 months, may be a clue as to what this responsibility is supposed to be.

Now, I'm not saying you're a prophet, any more than I'm saying that you're crazy. Sometimes, though, the subconscious mind can pick up on clues that we don't see consciously, and can sometimes make an accurate prediction based upon them.

That's my take on it, Nicole. I hope it was helpful.

Pleasant dreams,

Peregrin