About two years after I graduated from the university, I was scrolling through the WhatsApp group of my university set, and I stumbled upon some devastating news: apparently a coursemate of mine had been shot multiple times by the police because he was mistaken for someone else while on his way to our alma mater to get his certificate. Reading the news made me have a grip of regrets envelop me because I had dreamt about that incident a month prior but did nothing about it even though I saw his face clearly in my dream. I was having a feeling of guilt and wondering what would have happened if I had warned him. Would I have changed anything? Regretfully, I learned the painful lesson of the weight of unspoken premonitions.
Fast forward to a year after that incident, around October 2016, I had another dream, just like the last one. This one also unsettled me; it was a dream about my childhood friend, a woman I've always admired and wished for her kind of marriage. In my dream, I saw her trapped in a turbulent marriage, one where she endures endless misunderstanding with her husband. But despite all the abuses she faced in those dreams, she never once raised her voice against him until one fateful day, when out of frustration, she snapped and spoke back at him, a span that was unleashed from years of suppressing her emotions. Unfortunately for her, instead of reinstating peace, her words fueled his rage, and what followed was horrifying, because he began to strike her repeatedly until she lay lifeless on the floor.
Frightened by what happened in the dream, I swiftly woke up in a cold sweat, shaken and disturbed, but unlike before, I knew I wouldn't want to ignore this dream. I mean, I know most times when I have a dream and remember it, it usually comes to pass. The new dilemma is how I'll tell her, It was difficult to relay such a message to her because everything I know about her contradicted what I saw in my dream; on social media, the way she painted the picture of her marriage shows it's a blissful one, and the same is the case each time we communicate; she has never once hinted that her family is facing any form of problem. All of this awareness made me wonder if my dream was a mere illusion, but then, given the last experience, I knew for a fact that I couldn't afford to overlook this.
So for about two months, I was struggling with myself if I should tell her about my dream or not; eventually, I summoned the courage to reach out, and when I did, I chose my words wisely, recounting my dreams and hoping she'll dismiss it with laughter and reassurance that such isn't happening in her family; however, what she said next sent shivers down my spine.
She literally broke down in tears and then revealed the dark reality of her perfect facade, telling me how her marriage is the direct opposite of what I see online and how she's been enduring constant abuse and maltreatment from her husband, emotionally, physically, and psychologically. She talked about how she's been suppressing her pain and hoping things will change for years. But nothing did, and lastly, she went on to tell me about how she had vowed to confront him the next time he tried such with her because she had had enough, but listening to my dreams, she couldn't help but acknowledge that this was a message from God to prevent her from what would have been her ultimate end I saw in my dream, and so she rethinks her decision.
After our conversation, I tried as much as possible to advise her like I would my sister, but then I know I don't have valuable experience in marriage to advise her. So I encouraged her to seek professional guidance, letting her know that what she's facing isn't ideal to be faced alone and that marriage is meant to be enjoyed, not endured. After that particular day, I tried as much as possible to reach out to her and encourage her, and about two months after that, I learned she made a difficult decision to leave. After which she called to thank me, but I felt a mix of emotions; I wasn't happy over her marriage ending and the likeliness that my dream was the reason it did, but then I was relieved that she had escaped what would have been a tragic fate.
It's been eight years since that incident of my dream and it leading to her leaving her marriage; presently she has remarried and is enjoying every bit of her new home, even though I still wrestle with the thought of whether my dream played a part in breaking her home, but one thing I usually use to console myself is the fact that I'd rather live with the weight of that than with an unbearable regret of staying silent and watching her lose her life.
All photos are taken and edited on canva.