The Devil’s on the Other Line

A friend of mine told me the story of his brother’s dream over a decade ago.  I haven’t been able to forget it. I’ve thought a lot about it, studied it, I even asked to hear it again and again.  This dream has lived in the recesses of my mind long enough — it’s time to let it out.

First, a bit of background.

This buddy of mine had it rough growing up. His home life wasn’t the greatest and he acted out by stealing cars. This lifestyle eventually caught up with him and he was forced to relocate. Problem was, he had no intention of living a better life.He joined a cycle club out here in Colorado, and things got worse before they got better.

His affections had turned to a certain female biker who wouldn’t give him the time of day. As the months rolled on, my buddy found it more and more difficult to get any female’s attention and wondered if he’d caught some kind of plague that only women could see.

Then, through a set of circumstances, he found himself on the phone with The Woman and things took a hard turn into the strange. Before he knew it the woman’s voice turned guttural and otherworldly.

He was clueless. Speechless. Helpless.

As he was on the phone trying to figure out what was happening, his brother called and told him the following dream.

“I was talking to you and up walked this woman. She came right up to you and her head split open and a dragon came out and devoured you.”

“What did she look like?”

“Medium height, dark hair and she had these beautiful hazel  eyes.”

Silence.

“Mike, what’s the matter?”

“What do you think that dragon is?”

“That’s the devil.”

“Aw, c’mon man, I don’t believe in no devils. Besides, if any devil tries to come after me I got a .38 special for him.”

“That don’t work, bro.”

“Matt, I’ve got something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“The devil’s on the other line.”

 I find it interesting that my friend’s brother was given a dream about this woman who had a “dragon” inside of her. You’d think that he would have this warning dream. Dreams are interesting things. Yes, they’re given to the dreamer to warn them about something in their own life, but very often they’re given to help someone close to us.

Some of you may be wondering when Matt had the dream about his brother Mike.  He actually laid down to take a nap and awoke from the dream just moments before he called his brother. This fascinates me. The timing of this dream was impeccable, yes, but there seems to be much more going on here. It was as if the Dreamgiver was watching what was unfolding with Mike and gave a dream to the one who wouldn’t hesitate to call and speak the dream, no matter how far-fetched it sounded.

You, dear dreamer, could be used to help someone you care about in a similar manner. You never know just when you might be given a dream for someone else. Dream freely. Honor every dream. Be vigilant and fearless in sharing the treasure that unfolds behind your slumbering eyes. You just never know who’s on the phone with a devil.

EB

                For those of you wondering how this true story ends, you’ll be interested to know that I’m crafting a short story with the same title. I should be finished with it in a couple months, the late summer or early fall.