I had dreams involving various
sea monsters.
- I am in a resort town with my family and some friends of my parents. We drive to an outdoor pool owned by our hosts. We are to clean it up, then swim in it. The pool is kind of a cross between a kidney shape and an hourglass shape, and very deep. It is completely infested with algae across the top and down the sides. I get in a small plastic boat and float out into the pool with a pool cleaner.
As I lean over the side, I notice something moving down in the pool. I take a closer look, and see that it is a huge fish. It is shaped vaguely like a large carp, but it is about 8 feet long, and a solid red color. I don't think it's going to eat me, but I row the boat to the side of the pool and get out quickly. As I continue to scoop out algae, I can see that there are two or three of these huge fish swimming around in the pool. I wonder how they got there, and how they can sustain themselves...they don't look like the kind of fish that my parent's friends would introduce to such a small pool.
As this part of the dream ends, I am talking to a mermaid that also lives in the pool.
- Now I am in a State Park, next to a lake. The area near the lake has been developed to support visiting families on day trips: grass has been planted, picnic tables and fire pits have been placed at tasteful distances around the area, and playground equipment has also been set up. Lots of people are having picnics, and children are playing on the equipment.
There are huge snakes swimming around in the water. The water is clear, and you can see them swim by, about 20 feet out from the shore in shallow water. They swim by undulating their bodies in a slow squiggle. There are two types of snakes. One type looks exactly like a Burmese Python: A yellowish body covered with large brown splotches. It is about 15 feet long. The other type looks more like a Ball Python. It is also about 15 feet long. This confuses me, since that size is much too large for a Ball Python, neither snake is indigenous to the area I am in, and neither snake is primarily a water snake. However, every time I see a splotched yellow snake swim by, I am sure that it is a Burmese.
Out near the center of the lake, one of the snakes, this one well over 20 feet long, launches itself out of the water and undulates along it. I think it is some sort of mating ritual. It looks very much like the old pictures of sea serpents that are seen in storybooks. The guidebook I have with me claims that tales of sea serpents were inspired by these snakes. I think that is bullshit: This park is located in the middle of the New World, and besides, these are freshwater snakes.
As I was writing this, it occurred to me that this was based on a true experience. I did go to a lake in a state park about 6 years ago, and while I was there I did see a (smallish) snake swim by in the water.
That is all I remember. No, I did not discover that I had wet the bed when I wake up.