The dream

[OakWood]

I had a dream and I would like to share it with you.

 

I was inside a large and somewhat long prison cell with a group of people that I didn’t know and had never met before. I had no idea how I had got there. The cell was probably only twenty feet wide but maybe a hundred feet long, at a guess.

There were no windows that I could see, but on one of the end walls there was a big iron door. Occasionally someone would shout and kick at the door then in frustration walk away. Three men even tried to push it together but it wouldn’t open. Inside the cell were bits and pieces of furniture, and alongside one of the long walls and roughly in the middle of it there was a bookcase.

I asked a sad-looking girl why we were all locked inside and she told me that she couldn’t really remember, but she knew that some of the people had been there a very long time.

I looked around and saw two men arguing. They looked as if they were going to start fighting, and not wanting to get involved in any trouble, I made my way towards the back of the cell. I passed a young couple who were half-naked and embraced in each other’s arms. They were passionately kissing and cuddling, oblivious to everybody else around them.

Sitting alone in one of the far corners of the cell was a man with his head in his hands. He appeared to be weeping. I had a disturbing feeling that he was one of the ones who had been there a very long time and he had lost all hope of getting out.

As I carefully toured the cell, I noticed that some of the people had formed little groups and were chatting to each other, but others were stood alone, simply staring into space with hollow eyes. One man was lying on the floor trying to sleep, but a woman came along and kicked him to wake him up.

I felt a strong urge to go to the bookcase and have a look at the books on the bookshelves. When I got there, I noticed that there must have been about twenty or thirty books and every one that I could see appeared to be very old.

I picked up a large heavy book that had a grey cover. All of the pages inside it were yellowed with age. I tried to read the book but I was unable to. It was written in some sort of Ancient language that I couldn’t understand.

Then a very tall, angry-looking man approached me and told me that I wasting my time. Reading books wasn’t going to get me out of the cell, he snapped. What we needed were tools - a chisel maybe, or a hammer or a crowbar, but nobody had any. He told me that he, and some of the other people in the cell, had already tried reading the books and every single book they had looked at was either written in a foreign language that nobody could understand, or was utter nonsense. Having said his piece, the man walked away.

I picked up another book and it was exactly the same sort of thing as the first one, and so was the next one that I looked at. Then I found a book that was covered with dust, a layer so thick that you couldn’t even read the title. The book had obviously been ignored by everyone. It was a lot thicker than the other books. I blew the dust off and brushed the cover with my hand. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was holding a copy of the Bible, an old King James Version. The cover was dark blue and had what appeared to be a cross etched on the front of it.

I opened the Bible and discovered that it wasn’t actually a book at all. It had been hollowed out and inside was a polythene bag full of golden keys. I took the bag, shook it, and the keys rattled inside. There was a label on the bag that read ‘THE TRUTH’ in large block letters.  I took one of the keys and leaving the bag and the rest of the keys inside, I put the Bible back on the shelf.

I cautiously walked over to the cell door, passing other people on the way and inserted the key into the keyhole. It fitted perfectly. I glanced around but nobody was paying the slightest attention to me. They were either standing in silence as if unaware of their surroundings, or too busy arguing and squabbling with each other to notice what I was doing.

I turned the key and slowly pushed open the door. I stepped outside into the fresh air and could feel a warm breeze on my face. I decided to keep the key in case I needed it again.

I found myself standing in a field next to a big tree and I could hear birds singing.

In front of me I could see a village, just a short stroll away. I could hear sounds coming from the village, a crowd of people laughing and singing. I could also hear musical instruments playing.

Wondering whether I should leave the door open so that my fellow prisoners could also escape, I turned my head to look back at the jail but the door was now shut and I no longer had the key in my hand.

Relieved to be free and feeling a comfortable rush of joy sweep across me, I started to walk across the field towards the village.

 

 I woke up.

[Guest]

 

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32

[OakWood]

 

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32

 

Thanks. It's my favourite Biblical verse - probably why I dream about it.

[chloe_fantastic]

Amazing, thank you for sharing it....

[Sheniy]

Interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Reminds me of a book I read years ago. The author had a vision/dream of people trapped in a prison yard with weak walls, but they are completely oblivious to the fact that they are in prison, so none of them try to escape.