Dream Whisperer

Do you talk in your sleep? You probably don't know unless the person you have chosen to sleep beside tells you. I do. But when I do it, I know I'm doing it. I know this because when I do it I whisper.
I woke up the other morning and my wife asked me if I was having a bad dream. I was still half asleep when she asked so I just reflexively told her no, rolled over and fell back asleep. Later on that morning when I had my faculties about me I brought it up. I asked her if she had asked me before about a bad dream that morning. She said, yes I asked you that. I told her yes I was having a bad dream. I asked her what I said. She replied with it was just mumbling, I couldn't really make out anything you said.

I had asked her about this because a) I vaguely remember her asking me earlier that morning and b) I remember the dream in question. I was talking to an old school friend. I was telling her how upset I was that my baby was leaving me and I might never see her again. (In reality my oldest daughter is graduating this summer and is thinking about maybe, possibly going to Florida for a short while). I remember in this dream that when I tried to talk to my friend all I could do is whisper. When she asked why I couldn't speak out loud I told her it was part of the side effects from my coma. It all seemed natural.

I've had other dreams where I remember trying to talk and all that happens is a whisper. Only once have I been able to actually talk out loud and that was during a true nightmare. My brain seems to know exactly what scares me and when I have a nightmare it usually focuses on that weakness/insecurity/fear. In this particular nightmare I was in the shower. Suddenly I felt a presence behind me and something started to block the flow of water. I saw an outline of a body from the water and feet on the floor. I screamed out for someone to help me. When I screamed I could hear myself both in the dream and not in the dream (I'm sorry I don't have better words to describe the difference). The next thing I know my wife and daughter are both in the bedroom waking me up and asking me what had happened. It scared both of them and really shook me up.

The whispering in my dreams has been happening now for a while. I'm wondering when my mind will overcome the whisper and finally let me start speaking out loud. Oh, the stories I'm sure my wife will be happy to tell me when that happens! So, now you know that I talk in my sleep. Useful for just about nothing, but I thought maybe an interesting tale.