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I check my back for the fifth time in a row. I have a feeling that at some point, when I check again, I'm going to find some kind of injury, but that doesn't happen.
This time I'm in a cafeteria in the center of the city. I'm meeting Laura at seven and I'm waiting for her to show up. It isn't new to me that she's late, as she usually arrives approximately thirty minutes late. For that reason and since I already know her, I'm thinking about the dream I had last night. I have always had special dreams, perhaps not very common, sometimes too vivid. When I talk to people around me and tell them, they point out how strange they are, and that sometimes they have too much plot.
I've tried to put some sort of meaning or interpretation into why this is happening, but haven't gotten anywhere. I could think, as Mario told me, that the dream elements are somehow a reflection of my traumas, but it seems a bit stupid to me. I have come to the conclusion that they are something like a random set of settings and characters that my mind decides to mix up at night and don't make sense.
That's when I see Laura appear in the distance. The truth is that she's very pretty; she has platinum blonde hair with bangs and shoulder length, (which looks great on her, in my opinion) and simple makeup that enhances her facial features. She's dressed in a white T-shirt bearing the anarchist logo, ripped jeans along with black boots. I stop to think for a few seconds what has become of that girl I met as a child, so small, rebellious and unruly. To this day, Laura is a strong woman with a lot of character (just as she was when she was little), but the years have flown by and I hardly noticed it.
I get up to give her a hug.
- Hi gorgeous! How are you? - I greet her affectionately -.
- Very goood! - she responds giving me a kiss on the cheek - You look great, I see that university is doing you wonderfully.
- Well, the truth is that it is. There's a huge difference between studying something that you don't find interesting amd studying something that you are passionate about.
- Oh, I'm so glad to hear that...
We sat down and chatted about our week, catching up a bit. Laura seems somewhat unmotivated, since it's true that she has not yet found exactly what she wants to do. I see her a little lost and that makes me sad. She's a girl full of wonderful qualities, but she lacks the determination and perseverance to study. I decide to change the subject.
-I did what you told me and I have started a dream journal. - I say suddenly -.
- How cool! Have you brought it with you?
- Well, no... I forgot.
- Claire! I wanted to read it! - she says -.
- I'm sorry, I'm sorry... The next time we see each other, I promise I'll bring it with me.
- Tell me about a dream you've had lately! They are always so funny... You have such a crazy head. - she tells me affectionately -.
I then proceed to narrate the dream I had the night before.
-Girl, I don't understand how it all makes so much sense. When I dream, it's all situations without connection and without a plot, characters or diffuse figures and most of them without dialogue. - she comments surprised -.
- I don't exactly get it either. Do you think it has to do with people's imagination?
- What are you talking about?
- I remember that one day I was watching a podcast from a youtuber who said that he couldn't imagine things in his head. It's called aphantasia, and defines the inability of some people to form figures in color and movement. - I explain -.
- I don't know if I'm understanding you.
- Look, if I tell you right now, "imagine a yellow elephant", the image of an elephant appears in your head but in yellow, right? That's to say, even if it's something that you have never seen before, you have the ability to form an image of it, that's what's called imagination. Well, basically, if you ask a person with aphantasia the same thing, there would be a black space in their head, that's basically that absolutely nothing would occur to them. They lack the capacity for it, you understand?
- Damn....So, in other words, they can't imagine anything?
I shake my head.
- But... What does that have to do with the dreams you mentioned? - she asks, not understanding -.
- That's the interesting thing: people with aphantasia don't dream. They can't do it because they don't have the ability to bring up images or moments in their head. Doesn't that sound crazy? - I say enthusiastically -.
- What the hell? So you they don't have nightmares?
- Actually, I'm wrong. They CAN dream, but without images. I remember that the youtuber I'm telling you, talked about how when he has a nightmare he only experiences physical sensations, which have nothing to do with sight.
- How strange, I can't imagine what that must feel like..
- It's hard for me too. And, as I told you, I think that dreams have to do with the imagination that people have, or at least partially. This is just my theory, but I have a very good imagination, because I'm creative and it's very easy for me to create images in my head and fake scenarios of all kinds. That's why I think it makes sense that my dreams are vivid and have a plot.
-Wow.... So your nightmares have to be horrible, right? - she asks, curious -.
- Well, yes..
We take a break to eat, leaving the subject aside, while she questions me about Mario. She asks me about his appearance, his aspirations, his character, his opinion on politics... I feel like I'm talking to my mother.
- Honey, you don't have to ask me so much about him, I don't like him. - I clarify -.
- So... why did you agree to eat with him? - confused question -.
- Because I am incapable of saying no.
This is how the afternoon goes. We talked and talked and talked for hours, as it usually happens every time we meet up. It's a good thing, it makes us feel less alone.
When it's time to say goodbye, we hug each other and head off to our respective homes. As soon as I arrive, I go to bed and fall asleep instantly.
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