I recently had a dream featuring Dana (my childhood friend), Jia-wei (my husband) and myself. It was a gloomy day, the sky heavy with clouds and strong winds whipped around us as we stepped onto a floating plastic pontoon extending to the sea. The water was rough, forcing all three of us to carefully find our balance.

As we ventured further out, a sudden gust of wind blew Jia-wei’s hat off his head. Without hesitation, he dove headfirst into the churning sea to retrieve it. He managed to grab hold of the hat, but by then, the wind and current had already carried him far from the pontoon. As he turned to swim back toward us, a shadow beneath the water shifted and an underwater creature raised its head just enough to peer at Jia-wei. He didn’t see it, but Dana and I did, and we immediately started screaming for him to hurry.

Before he could reach us, the creature lunged, dragging Jia-wei beneath the surface. Panic surged through me but before I could react, Dana had already jumped into the water, seemingly to distract the creature. It worked. The creature released Jia-wei and he swam frantically back to the pontoon, coughing and gasping as I pulled him to safety. But Dana.. was no where to be seen.

Jia-wei and I ran down the pontoon, desperate to find help. My heart pounded as the wind howled around us, and then, in the distance, we spotted someone approaching. The figure was wrapped in a blanket, moving steadily toward us. As she got closer, I was shock to find it was Dana!

Overwhelmed with relief and confusion, I blurted “WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?” in which she replied “I just woke up and came from my submarine.”

And then, I woke up.