Dreaming of Scotland

It started as soon as I closed my eyes.

I was roaming through a dark medieval castle, surrounded by thick stone walls, searching for something I couldn’t see. I found a window and looked out at acres of bright green grass dotted with wildflowers. The flowers gently blew in the wind, and I almost could smell their sweet fragrance, but it was a scent I couldn’t name.

I went to another window and stared out at an endless sea, with frothy white waves crashing into boulders several stories below. The salty air reminded me of family and home, and I lingered, recognizing the ocean but not the shore.

At a third window, I saw an enclosed courtyard, with walls so high I could only see the sky, and a single, tall, branching tree struggling to reach that light.

I woke up.

I immediately started researching, wondering if the castle existed. Had I encountered it somewhere before? What sparked this vivid vision?

But no matter where I looked, I couldn’t find the exact castle I’d seen. Rather, it seemed as if I’d pieced together several castles, a medieval Frankenstein created in my dreams.

Those castles were in Scotland.

So, I was off to Edinburgh with the name Mary ringing in my head, thinking of the author of Frankenstein and the imprisoned Scottish Queen.

I needed to find those castles. Only, with so few clues and no black birds to guide me, I didn’t know where to start. Thankfully, when I stepped off the bus from the airport and caught my first sight of the castle on the hill, there was only one way to go—up!

Dawn B~