Sometimes I wake, after a long peaceful sleep and I don’t remember any of my dreams. But on other mornings I do and if I write them down immediately I give myself the luxury of pondering over possible meanings.

This morning I awoke, to a vague memory of a beautiful young leopard running down the road I live in and then turning back to acknowledge me! She had a cub with her and my tiny (imaginary) kitten slipped through the fence to join them. I was frantic with worry, but at the same time, I knew that they were meant to be free. Wild and free, but still connected to me.

In the next clip, I saw myself catch up with the trio and slip a leash around the mother leopard’s neck. She allowed me to and I felt her love but I also felt her reluctance to be restrained. She pulled at the lead at every turn and looked back at me as if to say, “You know you shouldn’t be doing this.”

As dreams go, there was no resolution, except that you’ll be pleased to learn that I took the lead off and let the mother leopard  run. The cub and kitten followed and much as I was worried, I knew they’d come to no harm. The neighbours I spoke to thought I’d gone bonkers and one of them offered to call a doctor. Actually she didn’t but as I was in a dream, I could see into her head and that’s what she was thinking!

So what could all this mean? Leopards are my favourite wild animals. I have dreamt of them before. I adore cats, so a new kitten was not a huge stretch of the imagination. Being wild and free is a fantasy that appears in much of my writing. I am a mother and my kitten is free. She is blazing her own amazing path and definitely doesn’t need to be restrained. Archie, our three quarters feral ginger Tom, is wild and free but touches base for food and a little love – on his terms only.

What could this dream mean? Was there a message of some kind? Or did I simply put my favourite things together in a movie of the mind? If so, I’m dreaming of a sequel and tonight would be a good good night…