Since I returned home over a week ago I have dreamt about Iwate every night. My dreams are vivid, bordering on disturbing. I see the houses I left behind. The people I worked with show up and speak to me. Is this me decompressing?
I expected decompression to involve tears. To date, there have been no bouts of crying, no breakdowns in public, no outbursts of emotion. My dreams, however, wake me up at night. My sleep is not restful. I don't always remember the dreams in the morning but I know what they were about.
Last night's dream is still on my mind. I was riding in a taxi down a road where we worked on multiple homes. To the left is the M household where we tore out drywall. I see the inside of the house through the windows. It's dark outside but the house is lit up. I see flags hanging in colors of rich, dark purple and scarlet. The taxi driver slows down to look at the homes. I see his face. I watch him looking at the houses on both sides of the street. I know he's about to cry but I don't know what to say to him. I don't like where the dream is going and I wake myself up.
Clearly, Iwate is nowhere close to being out of my system. If this is what it takes for me to process what I saw and felt then so be it. Bring it on.
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