The Bite That Didn’t Bleed

The house was familiar, although I didn’t recognize it. I’d never seen this particular bathroom before, but I knew in that innate sense of dream-logic, that this house was somewhere I was safe, a place I could bathe in peace.

So it was to my rather immense surprise that I noticed two snakes resting in the water by my feet. Snakes don’t scare me — either in reality or in my dreams — but I am inclined to give them space, especially when they show up unexpectedly in the bathtub.

The first snake was a small, young grass serpent, bright green in color. He didn’t mind me, and I didn’t mind him. The second snake concerned me, however. A big, ugly thing mottled gray, brown and black, he glared at me suspiciously, reared his nasty head and hissed at me.

It didn’t surprise me when the larger snake bit me behind the ankle. I knew it was going to happen, but I wasn’t afraid — of the pain, of the snake, of the bite. All the things that would normally turn an average dream into a horrible nightmare didn’t alarm me. The path before me was simple: all I had to do was grab the snake behind the head and lift its fangs out. Easy.

And yet, I called for help. I called out as loud as could, but nobody answered. I raised my voice over and over until I began screaming — not out of fear, but because I wanted assistance. Somewhere, in a different world, my husband pulled me closer and whispered, “You’re okay, it’s just a dream.” His words went unheard. My only focus was the snake with teeth sunk into my ankle.

When still nobody came to my aid after I screamed, I took a deep breath to ready myself. With steady hands and a sure heart, I lifted the snake by the back of its head and carefully pulled it loose. It hissed again and writhed in my hand, but released its hateful clench and left my ankle unmarked, like it had never been bitten in the first place.

I awoke unafraid and confident, certain I had figured something out — if only I knew what. I could still feel the points behind my ankle where the ugly monster had sank its teeth into me, and I still knew what I had to do.

I’ve been having a lot of weird dreams lately, and this is one of them. Tell me about a dream that left a lasting impression on you.