The Saddest Dream

I had Domino's bacon/sausage/extra sauce (I blame the extra sauce) pizza last night, along with a bowl of Cookie Crisps (I don't know...I've eaten a lot of sugar lately for some reason...), so this is what happens:

I dreamed I was at a house in the country with my family and some of their friends that I remember from growing up. The house was old, with vines growing all over it, and a partially fenced yard in the back. The house was down the road from a new development (some of our friends lived in the development) and we had our friends over to help us clear out the backyard, which was full of tangled weeds.

I was on the left side of the yard, above the house (there was a sort of hill, and the house sat midway between top and bottom), and as I circled, I saw a gigantic GRIZZLY BEAR in the fenced-in area directly behind the house.

I quietly made my way back to the front of the house and warned everyone to stay out of the way until it left.

That was not enough for the boys, apparently. My dad and some of his friends grabbed some guns and went back around the house.

I never heard gunshots, so I don't know if they killed the bear or not, but the next thing I know I see a tiny cub, walking on its hind legs. I was holding two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (I'd eaten the crusts off of both), and it looked up at me, one of its front paws in its mouth, and I surrendered a sandwich.

It had never eaten a sandwich before, and at the first bite it closed its eyes and wriggled in delight. It loved the grape jelly. Each bite was wonderful, delicious, heavenly. We finished our sandwiches together and then someone came to tell us that the big bear was dead.

It turns out the little bear was a Talking Bear. The big bear had been his grandmother, and I felt so sorry for him. He didn't cry, but he got down on all fours and began sniffing and started searching for something. I followed him, past these amazing pink blooms on vines that hung over the trees that produced a sort of melon. I asked what he was looking for.

"I want to bury grandmother under the grapes."

There was a muscadine grape plant behind the house, and all of a sudden I got very, very sad. He'd just had his first taste of grapes and loved it, and now he was burying his grandmother beneath something he had just learned to love.

We went to the right side of the house to a path where my family were preparing for a cookout. The baby bear grabbed some plates and cups and followed me up the steps. My father spoke harshly to it, which made me intensely angry. "You stick close to me from now on," I said to the baby bear.

We sat down beside the steps and I cuddled him in my arms, trying to comfort him. I explained to my family that he wanted his grandmother to be buried beneath the grapes, so my dad and friends got out their shovels and started to dig while I rocked the bear back and forth, back and forth, thinking about the grapes and grape jelly.

I woke up with tears in my eyes, and here I sit, still crying.

I know it's silly, but it was achingly sad.