LUCIANA
Nailing the exercise
I close my eyes, all set to nail this assignment – a basic room, just four walls, a ceiling, a floor. Easy stuff for an Oneironaut in training, right? But as I zone in, trying to keep it simple, the room's shape gets fuzzy, and bam – I'm not in my room anymore. I'm standing smack in the middle of that cinema lobby, the one with the popcorn smell and the echo of movie trailers. What's up with that?
A freaking detour
Ugh, this lobby just won't buzz off. It's like it's scratching at the edges of my dream, and the more I blink, the louder it gets. I'm really pushing myself to tune it out, to just zero in on this serene, blank space I've created. That was the assignment. A safe contained space. Don't want to mess up again. But nope, it's not working. Everything's way too sharp, like I can literally smell the funky old carpet and this stale coffee vibe. I'm starting to freak out a bit. This is a freaking detour.
Straw Hat Guy
And then, boom, there he is. Straw Hat Guy. The dude I spotted in the library's shadowy nook. Why's he popping up here? He's got no business in my dream space, my personal zone. Him being here is messing with my vibe, kinda laughing at me like, "Guess what, you're not the boss here."
His eyes kind of dart my way. It's not just a look, it feels more intense. Like he knows me, which is totally whack in a dream. My skin's all prickly. Feels like everything's starting to fall apart. Maybe this lobby thing, Straw Hat Guy... maybe they're creeping in from some deep, dark corner of my mind I really don't wanna check out.
Some kind of mental tug-of-war
Now I'm wrestling with my thoughts. Every time I shove the guy and the lobby out, they push back in, like some kind of mental tug-of-war. The room's a lost cause now. It's just me, straw hat guy, and the endless loop of the lobby scene. I'm supposed to be building dreams, not getting stuck in this repeating track.
The White-Bear-Problem
So, what's the deal? Am I focusing too hard? It's ironic, really. The more I try to kick these intruders out of my dream, the more they take over. It's like trying not to think of a white bear, only to have it pop up in every thought.
Let it flow
I guess the trick isn't about force. It's about flow. Letting the dream take its course, even if it means hanging out in the cinema lobby with straw hat guy. Maybe that's the real lesson here. In the world of dreams, you've gotta learn to roll with the unexpected. And who knows, maybe straw hat guy's got a part to play in all this.
A stupid shower thought
A sculpture cannot fathom the chisel who carved it.
