So I had a dream last night.

It was disturbingly like another dream I had a while ago, but the setting at the people were different. (Strangely it's a year and four days after the other dream.)

I was in a bookstore. I think I worked there, or a relitive of mine owned it, or something. It looked like a bookstore, but felt like home.

It was well and warmly lit, and the whole place was in cheery, warm reds, oranges and yellows. I remember the bookshelf in question being a bright golden yellow. The books on it were, too.

I don't remember what led up to it, but something happened with the owner of the store (he felt like he was my father or my step-father), and he threw me down.

I remember my face being right next to the yellow bookshelf, and I remember turning and looking up at him standing over me with a grim look on his face and his fists clenched.

There were other people there. The men didn't care (they were sitting out on the deck drinking beer) and the women cared but couldn't do anything.

I remember being beaten severely and losing a lot of blood. I remember once when the series of blows had lightened up and I looked down at my hand in a puddle of my own blood.

And I remember when it was over, I remember barely being able to move, but the man made me clean up all the blood I'd spilled. I did. I remember it was hard. He left just before I was finished, and one of the women (who felt like my step mother, or my aunt) came over to help me. She looked very scared and very apologetic.

She took me away from the smears of blood left and said she'd deal with them, and put me behind one of the bookcases and started bandaging my wounds as carefully as she could.

I could tell it wasn't really love that made her do this, but fear.

I think time passed, but I don't remember. I was eventually strong enough to get back on my feet and sit with the other women at the women's table.

I remember sitting down, carefully, because I still hurt, and the man who'd beaten me looking over with a look of vague interest.

And I think that's where the dream ended. I don't remember.

Aren't you supposed to wake up before the first blow is struck?

Before&After