I’ve had dreams with the same theme for months: I’m in an unfamiliar place with no money and need to get home.
Last night, I dreamed that my a-Dad, a-mother, sister and I were standing at the foot of a highway on-ramp. A-dad pointed to the ramp and yelled at me, “Get out of here! Get out of here!”
I walked up the ramp, which led to a city street with trolley tracks. I had very little money, maybe a dollar and a half. I was in a Black inner city neighborhood and felt myself to be in peril, although no one really bothered me.
I tried to catch a trolley heading out of the neighborhood, but the driver closed the doors before I could reach it. Incredibly, I was able to grab a couple of handles outside the trolley and road it in that way until it stopped.
I got on the rear doors and was confronted by a couple of big-mouthed passengers who complained that I had to pay a fare.
I walked up to the fare box where a leering conductor and his pal gave me a hard time about the fare. I kept asking how much it was and they wouldn’t tell me right away. Finally, they smirked that it was $3.
A kind woman gave me enough money to ride the trolley. She cautioned me to be careful where I got off, since the trolley was going through some tough neighborhoods. For some reason, I thought we were in NY City, although I would guess it’s been decades since they’ve had above-ground trolleys.
I woke up at that point and had another dream about being unfairly accused of stealing and defacing merchandise.