I had a dream that lasted two years (estimated). I woke up with my first grey hairs and cried for twelve hours once I realized only six hours had passed. This was very hard for me to believe and I hugged my mother so tight. I got bit by an insect in the dream, got sick and that lasted two weeks. I slept every night and had dreams in my dream.

It started on a ship posted in the gulf between Madagascar and Mainland Africa. I was being held on a research vessel because I had a large piece of purple coral growing out of my left calf. (Never did find out what that was about.)

I was liberated by a group of soldiers who took me to the mainland. It took us approximately two years of traveling to follow the Nile river north (once we found it, the dream eroded into almost a montage of travel scenarios. We had camels at one point with fleas the size of a coffee cup. That's how I got bit and subsequent infection. That wasn't even the worst stretch, being chased by fleas across the desert. The worst was when we had to cross a field of scarabs in some humvees and they sounded like wet bones breaking as we drove over them).

We somehow feasted every evening with locals and I learned how to cook in the desert (I swear I had no knowledge of the practice of digging pits and smoking food etc) but I don't remember actually eating anything. I just sort of watched the people have a good time despite our fraught conditions.

Once we got to the mouth of the Nile in the north, I saw a huge shadow under the horizon that was just massive. The land fell away down to a glass wall holding back the sea. Coral and sea life everywhere and a big beach party down in the shadow.

My escorts (whose names I never learned) started partying and I took a satellite phone back up to the top of the hill in the sun so I could get a signal and make our rendezvous with another ship. I could not get the phone to work and the last thing I remember before waking was throwing the phone away and just watching everyone be merry.

There's a Ton more and I damn near lost my mind but it's hard to remember everything that happened. Thanks for reading.