A disturbing dream

(dreamed in 1992)

I thought my dream was simply about taking care of Zack, Aunt Marnie’s green Amazon parrot. You see, Aunt Marnie, who was in the process of settling elsewhere, had temporarily left talking, whistling Zack with our family. But even though the dream was all about parrots, my family suggested the dream wasn’t about parrots at all.

In my dream Angela was caring for Zack inside an empty church building while Marty and I were out and about. The church building was a wooden structure that could possibly have seated about 100 worshippers if there had been pews. As it was, shiny wall-to-wall hardwood covered the floor and there were big windows along both side walls. The only bit of furniture was a pulpit.

When Marty and I returned to the church building, presumably to fetch Zack and Angela, we found only a white bird somewhat bigger than the green Zack. Immediately we asked for Zack.

The white bird hopped over to a small hole in the wall behind a wooden pillar on the left side of the church and pointed to it with his wing. Outside in the snow we saw poor Zack struggling about. As for Angela, she had altogether disappeared from the dream.

I knew a tropical bird such as Zack would not be able to withstand the cold so I demanded that Marty rescue her straightaway. At that moment, the president of church council and his wife entered the church. We two women took it for granted that the men would save the bird. After some problem finding Marty’s coat, they headed out.

By then it was dark so we women could not see the men on their mission, much less direct them from the window as women are wont to do.

Nevertheless, some moments later the council president and Marty returned. Perched on the president’s shoulder was a large blue parrot with black markings around beady eyes, and with rather a smug grin on his beak. Even though I like the colour blue a hundred times better than the colour green, I didn’t like that bird at all.

Marty quietly explained that Zack had been found lying dead in the snow, with a large chunk eaten out of its chest. The blue bird smirked as Marty related Zack’s fate.

Like Angela, the white bird vanished entirely from the dream.

When I awoke I remembered the dream in vivid detail and at breakfast related it to the family.

Marty matter-of-factly pointed out that I had been dreaming about our church. Zack represented our denomination; the white bird symbolized the Holy Spirit; and the blue parrot, what we could be left with when the squabbling about “women in office” was done.

Angela, on the other hand, said the dream had a personal meaning for me. According to her, it meant my church activities were for the birds and I should concentrate on my family.