The Ape Dream

he Ape Dream The first time i had the ape dream-woke up in perill i had never seen the likes of, and i swore no one had, ever. It was the first dream id ever had with an ape in it, or any animal for that matter.Wasnt really interested in animals. The dream opened (and a very clearl opening, not so hazy as most dreams tend to be) withme and my family sitting on our couch, some on the floor, watching the telivision. It was about 8 O clock so the neighborhood outside the large window behind us was lit only by a difuse, weak but mystifying, terrifying light. leftovers, it was the carcass of the day and somehow even at 8 i knew that. everything was calm when i look over my shoulder, and i see one very large very agressive ape standing on the sidewalk only feet from the window- staring straight into my eyes.The next thing i know the ape has torn my whole family limb to limb, there are parts all around,but i am spared. The ape saunters out the open blood soaked door. (we hadjust put it in, it had a circle window in it, with cut glass shapes, they would refract the light and cause wild designs to be projeted on the wooden floor.The door was white.)The door was red. I wake up and scream, and spend the rest of the day making up stories or drawing pictures to distract myself from the gaze of this ape, the son of brutality and epitome of strength. my teacher at school sees this and im scolded "this isnt art class" then she takes the paper and her smile might aswell be a fart. "I wasnt drawing" i say, but she cant hear me.She was busy with my drawings.I imediatly find a page in the mathbook with nothing important on it. Nothing anyone would missand tear it out, fold it to a very small size. 'every little square will be its own sheet of paper' i decide. 'Way to go, you have so much paper'. I went on to make many drawings of mountains, stick people climbing,and with the green pencil i found in the desk drew fairly intense jungles. Before i knew it the day was over and i was getting into my Mothers car.It smelled like air conditioning. "how was your day"she asks turning about and looking back and forth between a thousand people and cars, using adult specialties to master the world. SOMEhow this brought me back, imediatly, to the ape staring at me from striking distance. I had seen 2 apes in my life, one at the zoo, sad and obsessed with shit, the other on a movie set, spastic and what i know now to be horny. I had a pretty good idea of how they moved andacted so i could form an idea as to how they would strike through glass to remove my face, or how it could open my door and massacre my family. "hows was school?....?"she asked again we were at a stop sign. "Good nothing happend" nothing had happend, and nothing mattered knowing that ape would come kill us all tonight anyway.I took dreams very seriously then, and often viewed them as predictions rather than creations. We got home and i sat around waiting for the sun to leave but the dead light to remain behind, rotting untill the moon cleaned things up.Finaly, the windows across the street stopped shinning, that meant the sun had 15 minuets, i was proud that i had figured this out because i was the only kid who didnt understand the math we were learning in school (and never would). Once i got over being proud i felt as though i might shit my pants again, because that ape was probably about 7 blocks away and i was ass-first in the couch, right where i was when he came to un build my family.But things didnt go the same as they did in the dream,Our neighbors came over, their son was my friend and we stayed in my room until the sun was completely gone. I told him about the ape and he explained his uncles friend got torn apart by an ape, we were both horrified and didnt leave the roomthe whole time. Finaly his parents came and grabed him and at first my fear was for him, seeing as he had to cross the street, out there to his house, ape country... I then realized he was gone and i was alone and it wasalmost time to sleep, it could get me in my sleep. Even if it never came, what if i dreamt of the ape again. The ape killed my family 6 or 7 more times. Once there were 2 apes, once 3 apes, but mostly 1 ape.And he had no trouble tearing off arms, breaking bone, stoping people from leaving the room by blocking the door with furniature.It seemed everynight that he stayed longer and took more time with his execution, and i realized at some point that it was directed at me.The room became a shrine to ape savagery.for weeks i couldnt stand to be in that room.The dream stopped coming and was replaced by other terrible nighmares, but none as vivid.I now know my friend's uncle's friend wasnt killed by an ape,and i cant say that hearing so didnt set me at ease even today.