I had a dream. I do not usually remember my dreams and so each dream I do recall is special.

This dream starts out with me preparing for a two-week vacation to the Caribbean. I am especially excited about this vacation because for those two weeks, I will be playing hookey from work -- knowing full well that should my boss find out, I would be fired. (They think I will be working from home or something like that)

At the Caribbean, I am checked into a beautiful resort and the beach is simply stunning with its white sandy beaches and the blue-green sea crashing onto the shore. Since it is not the peak time of year for traveling, the place is not packed with tourists - just how I like it.

The first thing I do there is head for the beach. I walk around for hours trying to find a secluded spot all to myself. Finally, I find it. The scene is absolutely breathtaking. My own slice of heaven, completely untouched by man.

As I am swimming in the sea, I catch sight of this fantastically weird creature. It has the body of the Spanish sea dancer (picture to the left), the head of a human, and it is the size of a sea snail. These intriguing beings are not unheard of in this dream-world of mine, but are rarely seen. They are timid little things that live and hide in giant clams like a clown fish in a sea anemone.

I seem to have stumbled upon an entire colony of them. I watch, utterly fascinated, as they swim around gracefully with each other, weaving in and out of a clam's mouth. They are cautious of my presence and keep close to the safety of the clams they call home.

Now it is evening and I am walking towards the small township near the resort. The sun has just started to set, casting a magical glow on the buildings. I love this time of the day. The entire sky is lit up in hues of red and orange with small patches of black cloud that seems only to heighten the intensity of the colors of the sky.

I arrive at the small town and find that most of the shops have closed for the day. The streets are empty - not in a creepy, abandoned ghost town way, but in a peaceful, laid-back way. And so I walk around just drinking the atmosphere in until I finally find some sign of life. It is a restaurant. Probably the only place in town that is open after sunset. I have my dinner there and then head back to my hotel room.

At my hotel room, I decide it is time I call my boss and update him on the project I am supposed to be working on. Of course I have not worked on it at all but I tell him that it is coming along well anyway. He then questions me about where I am. A small alarm is set of in my head. He sounds suspicious. As the conversation continues, I find that I was spotted in the airport by one of my colleagues who was returning from a conference. I start panicking, trying to figure out what to tell my boss. Not knowing what he knows but not wanting to reveal the truth.

I wake up.

Intense negative emotions wake me up... which I suppose is a good thing because I would not want a nightmare to last longer than it should.