The Pond Behind the House

 

Dream Journal

This is one of the strangest dreams I have ever had, and what makes it even more unsettling is that I have seen it twice. The events felt so real that even after waking up, I could remember every detail. It began like an ordinary afternoon but slowly turned into something I can only describe as a nightmare.

I was outside my house playing badminton with my mom. The weather was calm, and we were laughing whenever one of us missed the shuttlecock. It felt like one of those peaceful evenings where nothing unusual could possibly happen.

A car suddenly pulled up near our house. It belonged to our neighbors. They looked around and asked, “Is everyone at home?”

“We thought they had gone out,” I replied.

As they were about to leave, they noticed the badminton rackets in our hands.

“Our son has been wanting to play. Can he join you?” one of them asked with a smile.

Before I could answer, everything around me seemed to blur. The street, the house, and even my mom disappeared as though someone had erased the entire scene.

The next moment, I found myself standing inside the home of a young woman. Somehow, she felt familiar, almost like a close friend. She was heavily pregnant and looked busy preparing for a journey.

“We have to leave for the village,” she told me. “There are rituals we must attend.”

Without questioning anything, I followed her.

The village looked untouched by time. Narrow mud paths stretched between old houses, and the silence felt heavier than the humid air. We eventually reached the home of an elderly couple who welcomed us warmly. They spoke very little, but their smiles carried a strange sadness that I couldn’t explain.

Behind their house lay a large pond. Its water was unusually still, almost like a mirror that refused to move. The trees surrounding it leaned toward the water as if they were hiding secrets beneath the surface.

As everyone became busy with the preparations, I stayed behind in the house. Something about the place felt unsettling. The walls seemed older than they should have been, and every corner carried an eerie silence.

Curious, I wandered toward the back of the house. Near the pond, half-hidden beneath overgrown grass, I noticed an old cloth bag. It looked forgotten, as though it had been lying there for years. I slowly stepped closer, my heart beating faster with every step.

Just as I reached out to inspect it, I heard footsteps.

Everyone had returned.

I quietly stepped away from the bag and joined the others, pretending that nothing had happened.

We sat together talking for a while. The elderly couple seemed calm, and the villagers slowly gathered outside as if waiting for something that everyone understood except me.

Without any warning, they all began walking toward the pond.

At first, I thought they were performing a ritual. But then one after another, they stepped into the water without hesitation.

The old couple entered first.

Soon, every villager followed.

Suddenly, horrifying screams echoed across the village. The peaceful pond erupted into chaos as people cried out in terror. One by one, they disappeared beneath the dark water. The screams continued until there was nothing left but silence.

Only three of us remained—the pregnant woman, a little boy, and me.

Frozen in fear, we stared at the pond, unable to move.

Then a voice echoed through the air. It wasn’t loud, but it sounded as though it came from everywhere at once.

“They have been taken by the spirit.”

The words hung in the silence.

No one spoke.

The pond became perfectly still again, as though nothing had ever happened. Yet the feeling that something was watching us from beneath the water only grew stronger.

The three of us stood there, terrified, knowing that whatever had taken the villagers had not disappeared.

It was still waiting.

And that was the moment I woke up.

Even after opening my eyes, the image of the silent pond stayed with me. The strange part is that this wasn’t the first time I had seen this dream. I had dreamed it before, almost exactly the same way. Somehow, that makes it even more haunting—as though the mysterious village and the pond are waiting for me to return once again.

BY

SIENNA GREY❤️‍🩹