Roaches in the Kitchen: Hidden Fears Claiming Meaning & Interpretation

"Last night, I had a dream about roaches. In my dream, I walked into my kitchen at midnight. I wanted a glass of water. I turned on the light. The floor moved. Roaches. Everywhere. Hundreds of them. They covered the tiles like a dark, living carpet. Small ones, big ones, some with wings. I froze at the door. Then they all stopped moving. At the same time. Like they heard a secret signal. Slowly, they turned toward me. Thousands of tiny eyes. Watching me. One roach, bigger than the others, walked forward. It stood on its back legs. Like a tiny soldier. I wanted to scream, but my throat was dry. The big roach lifted one leg and pointed at me. Then it pointed at the kitchen. My kitchen. "Mine," it seemed to say. More roaches came out of the sink. Out of the drawers. Out of the walls. They poured from everywhere like black water. They climbed the fridge. They covered the windows. The ceiling turned dark with their bodies. I grabbed a broom and swung it. "Get out! Get out of my house!" The roaches did not run. They held their ground. Some crawled up the broom handle. Toward my hands. I dropped the broom and backed away. They moved forward together. A brown and black wave. Coming for me. The big roach opened its wings. It flew. Straight at my face. I screamed and covered my face with my hands. I felt it land on my hair. Then another. Then five more. They were in my hair. On my neck. In my sleeves. I ran to the bathroom and turned on the shower. Cold water hit me. Roaches fell off me and went down the drain. But more kept coming from under the door. The bathroom mirror showed my face. Pale. Terrified. And roaches crawling all over me. Then I woke up. I jumped out of bed and turned on every light. I checked the floor. The walls. My pillow. Nothing. Clean and quiet. But I still took a long, hot shower at 3 a.m. Just to be sure."