Recurring Mall

A few nights ago, I dreamt of a building. More specifically, a mall. I've been here before. It reminds me of Union Station because of the separation of spaces -- there's the bigger lobby that you enter from the street, with some shops and restaurants, and then you walk past the arcade into the main area: more stores, the food court, the train station -- and it's all very open, while still enclosed.

Well, that's what Union Station is like.

This mall that I dream of...the stores recede into the walls and blend in with the architecture. Their entrances are arches in the arcade. Some of the other arches are doorways leading to another area: a wide courtyard, with potted plants and a marble floor with a thin layer of still water creating reflections. There is a grand staircase leading upstairs -- I don't necessarily mean a grand staircase that you would immediately imagine. I just mean.....this staircase is definitely grand.

I don't really know where it leads, yet. I just know I've begun walking up its steps, but I turned around at one point to see if my company was still following me. They weren't. I stood where I was, in a gown (also not the first time I've dreamt I was in this outfit).

The first time I dreamt of this place was a few years ago. I was running around with a bunch of my friends, past an arrangement of steel park benches, towards a big fountain.

Another time I saw this place was maybe a year ago. I was standing at one end of the long hall, looking at the arcade. About 100 ft away to my left was the staircase (is that right? How far is 100 ft, exactly? I need to learn how to accurately gauge distance....but I feel like 100 is about right) Directly in front of me was a big arch, probaby 8 ft wide --past that, I could see the courtyard.

In my most recent dream, I was able to focus more on the effect of the light streaming through the ceiling, which is made entirely of glass panels. The afternoon was fading, and it felt like early September.
You know about the golden hour, right? It was like that. Every shadow cast around me was so dramatic, and they seemed darker than shadows usually are. I love it when my dreams look like this. Even when I'm asleep, I can feel myself getting excited; my heart starts beating faster and I feel so alive.

That's why it sucks to wake up. I open my eyes and see things I don't want to see. Automatically, I begin creating a to-do list in my head. I don't want to, but I can't help it.

Well, anyway.

I dreamt of a tentative floor plan of the mall for the first time.
It's fading now, because for the past few days I've been focusing on schoolwork for final quizzes and tests.

But from what I do remember, it didn't really make sense. It's like I was seeing the floor plan for another place.
When standing in the building, I can tell that everything is very straight and orthogonal. Like most malls are. Meanwhile, this floor plan showed a very prominent, diagonal space. In my mind, this area (which was colored green on the plan) was either a staircase or some sort of bridge or overpass. The underlying areas, color-coded salmon pink and blue, noted the main hall and the shops. I didn't see the courtyard anywhere.

I'll draw it for you sometime.

I've been meaning to sketch perspectives from the other two dreams, as well. I'll get to that as soon as I can.

But for now, think of this.

And this.

And this.