Meeting a dream specialist

'Institute of Dream Specialists'

The inscription became bolder as Ryan advanced towards the wide building under the scorching heat of the sun on a Saturday afternoon. The present season was one he could never get to understand.

In a blue long sleeved shirt and a jean pants, he strolled into the building via the door, letting in the sweet fragrance of the air filter as he got in.

He had particularly chosen today to see the dream specialist whom Matthew's dad had specifically recommended through Matthew of course. After being told by Matthew on Thursday, he contacted the man to schedule a session with him for two o'clock today during his lunch hour.

The stress of the week even forced him to book a session in time, perhaps he could lessen a burden in his heart by meeting up with an expert. Not that he had had the dream again, but he needed to understand what was going on.

"Good afternoon," He greeted the female receptionist seated behind a desk.

The receptionist, immersed in typing into the laptop on her desk, raised her head up to look at him. "Good day sir. How may I help you?"

"Uhm, I'm here to see Dr Craig."

"Do you have a session scheduled already?" she asked.

"Yes, I do..." He told her.

"Okay, let me get to him,"

She picked up the intercom, dialing a particular number on the system and putting it up to her ear.

Some seconds after she began talking to the person on the receiving end, she tool it off her ear and raised her gaze to meet the man's in front of her desk.

"Your name, please?"

"Ryan Stones."

She placed the intercom back to her ear and gave a reply to the person on the receiving end before she went off the call.

"Dr Craig will see you now," she told the man. "Just pass through this way, it will lead you to a row of doors. The one with the number 6 on top is Dr Craig's office."

"Thank you," the man said and began walking through the way as directed.

He eventually got to the door he was told to get to and gave a light knock on it to announce his presence.

"Come in," A voice from inside resounded and he accepted the invite by handling the door handle to get in.

The office which he entered into was a simple one. Plain white like the external part and plain looking as well. A man who looked to be around his fifties or more with a gray beard was seated on a small sofa beside a desk and a chair, staring at the flat screen TV showing a tennis game. From the left part of where the man was sitting, another small sofa occupied it.

The gray bearded man noticed Ryan's presence and stood up in the process, staring at him with a smile. He looked cheerful and it was so obvious he couldn't hide it.

"Mr Stones, pleased to meet you." He offered a handshake which was accepted immediately.

"And you too Dr Craig,"

______________________

A cocktail party.

Ryan was dressed in a complete black suit, his hand holding on to a glass cup which had a reddish liquor filled up to the half part.

He was standing alone as he scanned through the massive crowd of people all immersed in whatever they were doing at the moment.

The cup went up his lips as he sipped a content from it, his mouth savoring the neutral taste of the liquor.

"Ryan..."

From behind, he heard his name being called and he turned around to see who it was. Finding his through the crowd was Matthew and behind him was a seeming older man.

The two figures got in front of him and Matthew went on to do an introduction. "Ryan, meet Dr Craig, a dream specialist and my dad's friend. Dr Craig, meet Ryan Stones, my best friend and the head of department in which I work."

"Nice to meet you, sir."

"And you too,"

Both men stated with an handshake before all three began discussing relevant matters.

______________________

"Argh!"

He groaned in pain, forcing his hand out the man's hand. His hands were raised up to his head as he rubbed on the sides. A headache could be felt within and had a serious effect.

"Anything wrong, Mr Stones?" Dr Craig questioned worriedly.

The headache began suppressing bit by bit. "It's nothing, just a bad headache," he replied with gritted teeth.

"Do you want me to get you anything? I've got some relief tablets to help out if you don't mind,"

"It's okay. I'm fine now,"

He opened his eyes and stared at the man in front of him intensely. What did he just see? What did he just remember? Has he met the man before?

As he stared deeply, he realized that the man looked familiar. But where did they meet? Which cocktail party was that? For all he could recollect, he hadn't been to a cocktail party in a long time.

He shook his head repeatedly. "Sir, perhaps, have we met before?"

Dr Craig stared deeply at him. Have they really met before? He stared harder to see if he could recollect seeing him somewhere in the past. Although he was getting old, he still had a retentive memory.

"I don't think we've encountered each other in the past Mr Stones,"

"Hmph," he nodded his head. "Guess it's just my thoughts,"

"Have a seat." Dr Craig gestured towards the sofa beside his and both men sat down at the same time.

As both sat, they gazed at the flat screen showcasing a game.

"I see you're a lover of tennis, Dr Craig," Ryan spoke, trying to initiate a conversation, as he noticed the man's intense focus on the TV.

"You're right, I am. Truthfully, it's a good game. Has some energizing concepts which I wouldn't want to go into details about," Dr Craig replied. "Do you also love the game of tennis?"

"Not really, but I think I admire Djoker a lot,"

"Hmph, that's good. But I believe Rafa deserves more admiration for his credible records, don't you think? All the same, every man for his opinion."

They went silent for about two minutes as they focused on the game being shown.

"Let's begin the session." Dr Craig sighed as he turned to look at Ryan. "Now tell me, what dream has been bothering you?"

"It's the same dream, and it has happened twice already. I see myself dying and I just don't understand why," Ryan explained after thinking it through.

"Give me a better insight. How did you die in the dream? Was it an accident? A murder? A natural occurrence?"

"It's neither of the three. I was struck by lightning,"

Dr Craig arched his brows. "Struck by lightning? Where were you at that time in the dream? Can you recollect any part of the environment you were in?"

"Argh, no." He raised a hand to touch his temple as he came to a realization. "Apart from being struck, I don't remember any other thing,"

"So you mean you neither can recollect any of the events before being struck?"

"Truthfully, yes."

Dr Craig seemed confused as he stared at the man. With the look of things, the man wasn't lying about what had happened. But he couldn't get a hold of what the dream was implying, yet.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but where were you when you had the first dream?"

Ryan felt awkward when he heard the question. Of course he knew where he was when it first happened so he had to feel that way. He had to tell the truth anyway.

"In a hotel room..."

"Were you alone?"

If he wasn't expecting that question to be asked, he would be lying.

"No, I was with my girlfriend." He answered truthfully.

"Oh," Dr Craig let out. "What about the second one?"

"That happened in my bedroom,"

"Alone?"

"Yes."

"You see, your location at that time might have been an influence on the dream, including who was with you. So I need you to think harder, maybe you might recollect something from the dream," Dr Craig persuaded him.

Silence ensued for a minute as one began thinking hard while the other stared at him with interest. Ryan's eyes were closed as he tried to remember if he could recollect something from the two-timer dream. But now matter how he tried to, he just couldn't.

"I can't recollect any other event, I'm sorry." He told Dr Craig.

"It's okay, but I think I have an understanding of the dream."

"You do?"

"Yes, but before that, can you tell me what you read about such dreams in general because I'm sure you would have made your personal findings."

The mini research was still fresh in his memory so he didn't waste time on giving out his little findings.

"I read a little about death dreams but there was a particular part that caught my interest. I remember correctly that it says something about dying in a dream relating to starting a transitional phase, more like changes in enlightenment and spirituality."

"That's correct. There's a possibility that you are undergoing a certain phase in your life and it may be due to the dream. Tell me, have you noticed anything out of the ordinary since you had both dreams? Maybe like a feeling of paranoia or deciding beyond the present..."

As Ryan thought about it, his senses directed him to what had been going on within the media industry in relation with the Rubens. Well, there wasn't much of an issue in it but his constant reasoning of deciding the future was what just caught his interest now.

"I think I understand you. Of recent, there has been an issue in the organization I work and the media as a whole. It's about the news of John Ruben which media organizations began taking down abruptly. The thing is, I protested against it in my company but they turned deaf ears to it and now, the aftermath is really bad."

"Were you going through a paranoia while warning your organization?" Dr Craig asked.

"I think so," he replied. "But I don't honestly go through paranoias though. This is the first."

Dr Craig smiled. "You see, it's just as I'm trying to imply. Believe me when I say this, but your transitional phase just started. Do you know it's also possible that the dreams might have be generated unconsciously from your psyche? You know, the mind is such a powerful tool that we humans find hard to control. Especially the things that we let into it,"

"Is it that bad?"

"No it's not. It's really okay." Dr Craig replied and stood up from the sofa. "So, what would you like to take before we continue, Mr Stones? Coffee or tea?"