How I Escaped the Haunting Job: A Dream I Can’t Forget

Languishing Philosopher
2 min readOct 5, 2023

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Image Credit: TheColumbusDispatch

I dreamt this today. Somehow I felt it has deeper significance beyond the story.

I saw an ad in a newspaper inviting a certain ethnic group to work at a specific location. The ad didn’t mention pay but asked for volunteers in the town to accompany the workers. I decided to go with one man.

We easily located the workplace by walking through the city market and found a small door that looked like it belonged to a railcar. The door opened automatically as we approached. Inside, we had to jump three feet down to get in. The room was messy, and at first, we didn’t see anyone working. But then we noticed one man standing there. As we walked around in that small space, we noticed line of men sitting far below, 100–200 feet below, waiting to start.

There were also men preparing to be lowered into the pit. They were tied to a rope. Those men in the rope seemed to be at ease, however, the men in the pit seemed lifeless and dejected, and was only waiting to work. The man I was with had to choose between a device to take him down or a rope.

I felt uneasy and decided to leave. As I approached the door, it opened automatically again, and I jumped out. I thought someone would stop me, and this made my heart pound faster as I approached the door. But nothing like that happened. No one stopped me and I was relieved to be back in the market.

But then, a man from the workplace tapped my shoulder. He said I had a duty to watch over the worker I’d accompanied. I got angry and told him he couldn’t force me to return.

Even in the crowded market, I felt trapped by the man’s words. I realized that while I could physically leave the workplace, I’d always feel tied to it and haunted by the obligation to return.

I couldnt sleep after, and my mind was just rewriting the script of this story.

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Languishing Philosopher
Languishing Philosopher

Written by Languishing Philosopher

Lover of great food, books and people

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