I Had A Dream

• Zamael Berger, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2019

Dreams... My goodness, they can be so different … funny, scary, unreal and even unbelievable. In my dreams I can be anything, however my reality is very different.

I had a dream that I was a bird, swooping down low, wind tickling my feathers as I caught worms in my beak. I loved to fly as I could see all the beautiful things in the sky. I could smell the trees, the blooming flowers and ripening fruit in the forest. I could feel the slushy mud under my claws. Suddenly fear gripped me as I heard gun shots from a nearby hunting party. I hurried home to see my mother’s lifeless body fall to the ground – being a bird doesn’t feel like me.

I had a dream that I was a sad whale swimming in an ocean of red. My tail whipped though the water as I hungrily looked for food but could find none. I continued my search for my family, but my fish friends told me they had been harpooned. At that moment I felt something sharp pierce my skin and a net dragged me out of the water. I was thrashing furiously as my teeth tried to rip the net and that made me wake up – that’s definitely not me.

I had a dream that I was in a war fighting for our great and wonderful land. There were bullets zooming past me. Friends falling and dying, hit by unseen bullets – never to see their family again. I could smell the gunpowder and the dead bodies. The rotors of a helicopter chopped through the atmosphere and I was awoken by the deafening sound of a machine gun. Nope, that’s totally not me.

Finally, I had a dream of a world that was peaceful. No wars, no killing, no bullying. Everybody was happy and the world was filled with love. Humans and animals lived in harmony with each other. There was no animal cruelty, and no one took more than they needed from the Earth. There was no global warming and the coral reef was no longer bleached. The drought had broken, and our farmers were overjoyed. Their lands were once again lush and green, and their farm animals had plenty to eat and drink. I was at my kitchen table eating breakfast – ham, eggs, oats and vegemite on toast. I could hear the happy laughter of my brothers playing outside on the trampoline. I awoke calm and refreshed for the new day ahead of me. That was me and the life I wanted.

From now on I will try to be the best I can be to make my world a better place.