I woke up before the alarm and for ten seconds I could not remember what day it was

Tonight the sky will be just as blank. This letter is about what that feeling means in a dream.

I washed the dishes twice tonight

Once because they needed it, and once more because I was not ready to let the water go.

I wheeled a suitcase to a wedding and sat it under the table

Nobody mentioned it. That bothered me more than the bag.

I forgot the best dream I ever had

By the time I picked up my phone, it was gone. Here is what the window looks like, and what to do in the first few seconds before it closes.

I read Nadia's email standing up in the kitchen

Three lines about a swimming pool she keeps not getting into. She wrote: it is not a nightmare. Nothing bad happens. I just never swim.

I had the drowning dream on Thursday

The water was a stairwell, filling from the bottom. I was climbing with a bag I would not put down.

I sat with one of your replies until my coffee went cold

Daniela wrote about her hair. Her mother cut it when she was seven.

I missed the bus and stared at my shoes for twenty minutes

The next one was already at the top of the road. The lateness dream says the same thing about wherever you have been trying to get to.

I woke at three and could not move

Eyes open, ceiling fan turning, a glass of water I could see but not reach. And someone by the door who was not there.

I told myself at nine I could answer three dreams in one letter

That was before I had read the third one. Here is what Priya, Tom, and K sent in.

I woke up convinced I had missed a train I was never booked on

The platform looked like Reading. The board said 7:02. I had no idea where I was going.

I had the falling dream three nights in a row

Not once did I reach the ground. Tonight I am taking one question to bed instead.

I Woke up Gripping the Sheet

The falling dream, and what stayed was not the drop but the grip.

I Lost a Whole Dream on Monday

It was there when I opened my eyes, and by the time the kettle boiled it was gone.

I Checked My Teeth Before I Opened My Eyes

They were all there, which did not make me feel much better.

I Woke up Gripping the Edge of the Mattress

It was ten past four and my hands were still holding on.

The Same Thought Keeps Coming Back

I found it in my notebook three times this week.

I Keep Counting the Short Hairs on My Pillow

It happens at five in the morning, half awake, for no reason I can name.

Last Night I Did Not Want to Open the Notebook

The dream was ugly enough that putting it on paper felt like going back in.

I Woke up Running This Morning

Or I thought I was, because the ceiling was there and my duvet was gone.

I Cut My Own Hair in a Dream Last Week

I woke up checking it was still there, which probably tells you something.

I Had the Naked Dream Last Tuesday

Nobody in it seemed to notice, which is the part that stayed with me all morning.

I Iron My Shirts the Night Before

It is not the habit of somebody at ease with how they come across.

I Had a Dream I Could Have Drawn

By the time the kettle boiled, every image in it was gone.

I Had the Teeth Dream Again Last Week

I sat up and ran my tongue along every tooth in the dark.