Snowsyphus

I dreamt that I was trudging up a snow-covered hill. The incline was steep, the footing was treacherous, and there was no sidewalk, so I was forced to walk in the road and stand aside whenever a car sped by. It was late at night, and I was trying to get home. The hill seemed indomitable; every time I crested what I thought was the top of the hill, I discovered that there was yet more ever-steeper hill to climb. At one point, out of concern for my safety, I carefully made my way back down the way I came and tried to find an alternate route. At the bottom of the hill was a mall, still open although it was by now the middle of the night. Any chance I had of catching a bus home was long past. I made my way through the labyrinthine mall. People were standing outside the entrances to clothes and electronic stores, shouting at anyone who walked by about their deals. Ominously, there were children playing and yelling in a little play area even though it was now getting on to 2 or 3 in the morning. Where were their parents? There seemed to be no adults present besides the shop criers. Finally, I made it to the other end of the mall. I pulled out my phone to try to navigate my way home from this end but the battery was dead. I put it back in my pocket. I left the mall, was hit by an icy blast of wind, and there was another hill. I felt despair, but all I could do was try to climb up this one. Eventually the sun came up, my eyes hurt from the snow glare, and still I trudged, cresting ridge after ridge...

It's a good thing dreams don't mean anything! 🥴