I’m well aware that I’m dreaming. I’m well aware that the endless rows of winter jasmine,
primrose, crocus, violets, winter aconite, pansy and snowdrops could slip out from under me any
second now. I look up to the crisp blue sky as I brace myself for it, but then suddenly I’m thrown
upwards. I’m moving insanely fast when I look down and realize I’m sitting cross legged on a
cloud of smoke. I look around only to be blinded by a bright light, and as I blink the stars and
darkness out of my eyes I notice figures in front of me. Several beautiful horses gallop ahead
along the gusts- oddly I’m barely caressed by the wind. At first they seem to have identical
gleaming brown coats, but then they turn and I realize that they are only smoke and ash, like my
horse. I didn’t notice it change. I tilt my head up hoping to catch sight of whatever marks the
skies up there, when suddenly it begins to snow. I stick my tongue out like a little child because
there is no one around to chide me for it. But the snowflakes seem to fall everywhere but on my
face. It is as if up here they have a mind of their own. Puzzled by the oddness of the events I
resolve myself to observe all I can while I’m up here. But when I try to look down it is as if time is
thickening up, turning from water to the richest honey. Then it solidifies to cold hard ice, and I
realize my view of the world below is encased in ice. My horse is riding on sheets of thick,
frosted ice in the sky, that disappear as quickly as they appear. Suddenly I’m gripped by the
sudden feeling of falling. But really it is me being lifted up, and my view of the world switches.
Suddenly I’m in space, peering out from behind the moon I see Earth. Dizzying, swirling colors
and lights! So many of them. Millions of little fireflies flitting across the planet. I’m so lost in the
sight before me that I almost miss the whisper- focus, look there to your right. A gentle voice
chides me, it is almost as if I see a hand pointing towards the- and I gasp, unbelieving. A large,
golden bird? No wait, it can’t be- but it seems as though a sleigh is circling the area around the
North Pole. I’m too far away to see who is riding in the sleigh and who’s pulling it. For this
reason I mark it off as a very elaborate tourist attraction, but considering all that I’ve been
through in the past- half hour? Several hours?- it doesn’t seem too crazy to believe that it might
be something else. Then slowly the Earth seems to get closer to me- wait no- it is me who’s
moving. Gentle hands push me closer to Earth, covering the vast distance between our moon
and the Earth in a matter of minutes. It should feel crazy fast, but it’s all very incredibly slow and
fun to me. The gentle hands slowly fade as they drop me into the Earth’s lowest atmosphere
and I realize- I’m floating over the ocean! It’s incredibly scary, yet beautiful. The sun is almost
visible on the horizon, so I must’ve been gone all night. I make a slow turn to observe my
surroundings- I see no land anywhere close by- and when I return to face East.....I stifle a
scream. Standing- or rather hovering- in front of me is the golden sleigh I saw from the moon!
And sitting inside it is none other than my grandma? Wait, that can’t be right- it should be
St.Nick or Santa Claus or whatever you’d like to call the jolly old man. “What are you- what are
we doing here grandma?” I stammer out. She simply stares at me with a small smile on her
face. “Why are you on that sleigh, and why are there no reindeers? And what is that-” I ask just
before she cuts me off “Oh, one second dear, I keep on forgetting how little you know of
christmas. You know you really ought to read the old texts back home...it would have really
cleared so much. Wouldn’t even have to go through all this trouble to show it to you in a dream”
she said. The last part she mostly mumbled to herself- I found that I could in fact move closer to
hear her better. “So tell me” she went on, completely oblivious to my confusion about all that
she had said, “what all happened tonight?” So, eager to share the weird situations I’d
experienced, I launched into a detailed and slightly dramatised tale of the last few hours. She
nodded her head along to it, an intent expression on her face the whole time. She did not
interrupt me even once. And when I was done, she pushed a bottle of water into my hands. I
took a sip and immediately regretted it- the solution tasted so weird- it tasted like extremely
watered down, overly sweet tea. I winced, but she didn’t notice. Instead she started talking, and
what she said - well, I wish I could say it changed my life but honestly I remember little of it
today. But what I felt in that moment stuck with me. I remember she explained that Santa was
not one person, but anyone you wished it to be. Whoever your mind went to when you first
heard of Santa, appeared as Santa for you if you were to ever meet them. She explained that all
I had seen that night was purposeful to..to.. Sorry trying to remember through the fog in my
mind. Fog? How come? Remember that tea? Yeah well it wasn’t tea, it was a drug meant to
make me remember only the meaningful part of this experience. Atleast, that is what I choose to
believe. So back to the matter at hand- all of what I saw was purposeful because it was some
sort of scrooge like- Charles Dickens remake for me. See he tried to revive the Christmas spirit
in a non-believer like Scrooge. But for me, I already believed in the spirit- pretty lame right. So,
what was the point of the whole thing? If I already believed in the wonder of christmas, what
was the point of all that I saw? I wish my grandma Santa had given me the answer to that,
maybe she did. And maybe it is for my own good that I do not remember it. So, that christmas
morning when I woke up from this fantastically confusing dream I was so very tired, but also
moderately excited. So, when I went downstairs and saw my present by the tree (which was an
amazing piano) I had to work a little harder to be Christmas level happy and excited. But as the
day went on, I slowly stopped obsessing over the dream, and accepted that I would never
understand it. I let myself get lost in christmas breakfast, and christmas celebrations.
But sometimes, I wish I could have stayed in that dream.
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Written by Navya Swali
Date Published: 01/11/2021
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