Ghost of a Navajo Nobody

It is only a dream.

Im on leave for a few weeks from the army, and i have the opportunity to go visit my home on the navajo nation, of arizona. Im driving my vehicle up a bumpy desert dirt road, the wheels of my suv carefully crawling up the rough incline to my newly purchased home.

The house sits alone on top of a hill, with two full green trees on each side, providing comfort for my eyes from the surrounding dusty landscape. Barren hills stretch out in all directions to the distant fading mesas, creating the area we call 'the Valley'. The next door neighbor is several miles further down the road.

The sun is setting, and the western sun is in my eyes, but as i reach the shadow cast by my home, i can clearly see three navajo men trying to keep warm around a fire in front of my house. They wear old jackets, and have weathered faces, and are long due for haircuts and showers. They look like they have been drinking. One of them i recognize as my step-father's brother, who we all call Stone. I dont actually know if that is his actual name or just a nickname.

The men watch me pull up next to them, and before i can step out of my vehicle to greet them, the men kick out the fire and walk down the road away from me. My family was never as welcoming to drunk indians as the rest of our relatives were, and because of that we were treated like bilagana.

Sun has disappeared behind the western mesa, and it suddenly becomes cold, so i waste no time on going inside. My house is a small two bedroom, and empty, so i barricade myself in my bedroom with snacks, a warm blanket and some tv. My window shades are open, and thanks to eerie light from the moon, i can clearly see for several miles from my room.

Then i think about how easily somebody could be watching my tv screen from that same distance. I can feel my hairs rise, as i realize that somebody could be watching me from that distance. Somebody is watching me. Or am i just feeding my fear?

They could be waiting for me to fall asleep, so that they can crawl into my room and mysteriously hover over my bed. My muscles tighten to fight my own desire to jump out in fear. I do not want them to know that i am on to them.

As calm as can, i turn off the tv. But surely this will cause them to move closer, to watch me from just outside my window. To be sure they cant see me, i tactfully roll off my bed, directly beneath the window and i wait.

The moonlight is now shining brightly onto my bed, the shape of the window slanted across my blanket. I begin to get tired, and i rub my heavy eyes, but when i look at the bed again, there is figure partially blocking the light casted onto the bed. There is something standing outside my window.

I wait to hear it try to open the locked window, but instead i hear a quiet shuffle. I then realize that the shuffle is my inside window shades.

Its already coming inside.

My adrenaline hits a high, and fight or flight kicks in. In a desperate rage i reach my hands to grab the thing coming through the window. I briefly hesitated as my hands felt a fleshy face, but i quickly dug my fingers in to the soft skin, and yanked it through the window, tossing it on to my bed. It let out an ugly scream as it was pulled.

It is an infant with charcoal black skin, and the face of a grinning man. The only features i can make out are the white in the wide open eyes, and the toothy open smile that goes from ear to ear. And it is still screaming.

I wake up and immediately relay the dream to my wife. We conclude it was a nightmare. The next day, my mother calls me to let me know that Stone died a few days earlier. Shocked by the news, i then tell my mother about my dream, and my mother begins to freak out. She then tells me that Stone was drinking with some friends, and they ended up beating him and dumped him in a shallow canal. He froze to death.

I feel i have a good understanding of what the dream means to me, but i am very curious to hear yall's interpretations.

Thanks for reading

Wow. My first impression is that he froze to death, and when you saw him in the dream, he was "trying to keep warm by the fire", and as the dream progressed, that fire was "kicked out" like his life was snuffed out by the same kind of drunking buddies...

The rest I cannot say for now what I think of it... Except, a baby with a mans face, makes me think of the beginning of life, as a baby, and the death as a grown man.

One of the biggest reasons I stopped drinking was because the people I drank with became too violent, too often. Don't get me wrong, I still have a drink here and there... i just dont get drunk anymore. I will never let myself black out again. It was only a matter of time before I would have seriously hurt myself or others.

What's important is what it means to you, that's what I think.

I almost thought you were gonna say you found out the next day your girl is pregnant, just cause the baby and how it snuck up on you like a little monster. The charcoal black color representing your fear of parenthood and the mans face symbolizing that you are gonna have a boy.

Wouldn't that be weird if you Did get someone pregnant in the next year, and it was Stone reincarnated? I have had some strange occurances with the timing with deaths and births in my family, and sometimes I have wondered about reincarnation.

Thanks for sharing bud

You have lived amongst the Bilagáana for to long. Rejoice with the Diné.

a reply to: 3n19m470


Interestingly, my wife was only a few months pregnant when I had this dream. It was last winter. We now have another boy.

a reply to: Nickn3


In 2016, my father and my best friend died similar to how Stone would later die, like stray dogs in the street. There is nothing left on the reservation for me, but pain and traumatic memories.

But I appreciate your enthusiasm

it is common for people to be given a spiritual encounter when there is a death nearby. It is God's way of reminding us that the spiritual people are real & therefore we all probably go to the spiritual side after we die. The Ancients taught that we all have small & large spiritual beings watching us & they hover over our beds at night & take our souls to the dream worlds etc. They are all God's workers & God's angels & family. They would never harm a person but it is common for people to be deathly afraid of them. If you throw away all fear & meet them you will find that they are incapable of harming a human. They watch you & their own peoples & higher ups watch them. So there is great care being taken with humans always.
Also whenever children come into the family they have extremely powerful Guardian angels with them. So most young families have very powerful spiritual events happening in & around the home & it is all caused by the children's angels. When the children grow into teenagers their angels move to a different level & cease causing so many spiritual experiences around the home. So you have to give your children the safest life possible & that will keep their angels happy. If you don't look after the children, or if your home is unsafe for children in even the smallest way, it will prompt their angels to give you alarming experiences. So keep the house very safe at all times & make sure the kids always have everything they need to be safe & healthy. Then their angels will be pleased with you & never cause any shocking spiritual experiences designed to shake you up. So keep yourself & your family safe at all times, especially from the cold. I remember when I was 1-2 years old I went outside & got trapped in the ice & snow. Anyway have full faith in God & take care of yourself & your brilliant family