department store, water, hurt

[snorthog]

In the wee hours of this morning, I dreamed this...

My husband and I were in a mall, and then in a department store. We went to the back, some far-off corner behind the clothes, and then it was more like looking through closet shelves. We saw old stuff of ours. Then we were transported from the mall to our home, which of course looks nothing like our real house. I see 3 odd animals. They're all four-legged, about the size of deer, with hooves, tan or brown colored, but different species. I was sure that one was a "camelid." Another was much like a deer. Not sure about the third one. Suddenly I was looking down at the ground from the second or third story of this house, peering over a ledge. I was staring at a large, rectangular, thick-walled, concrete basin. I could tell that water was flowing from the closed end of it, under the house, and out to a place I couldn't see at that moment. Somehow, I knew that it flowed through a surrounding wall, out to another side I couldn't see. There was muddy, murky water in it. The three animals jump in, splash in the water, then disappear through the place I can't see. I noted that the water was very shallow, and it ebbed away from the end, exposing the flat bottom. Then my husband is standing there, naked, and jumps into the concrete basin. Within a second I hear him screaming bloody murder AAAGH MY CHEST HURTS, like someone dying (yet with a powerful voice), so I fly/swoop/transport down to where I can see the whole concrete basin through to the other side, and there I see him. He's on his stomach in the water, like he's sprawled on the bottom (there's only enough water that it covers all but his head), and his head is up, facing away from me, feet toward me. Somehow I am sure he's given himself deadly internal injuries by jumping in there. The dream ended when I was figuring out how to pick him up. In spite of this bad incident, I felt calm, collected, and rational. I remember sensing that what he represented was impulse, rashness, not looking first.

This dream was pretty vivid, after nights of intending to remember my dreams and remembering nothing. Other things that might influence: I had caffeinated espresso that day, which is unusual for me - I haven't had much coffee in a long time, and when I do, it's decaf. Nothing unusual happened yesterday, though.

I'm guessing that the whole part of that dream about my husband jumping into shallow waters in a hard concrete basin and my reaction to it could represent how I'm dealing with things lately. I feel more emotionally grounded, not so emotionally swayed by events, and I feel like I can make good decisions, in control of my life. However, there's no guarantee that I fix this situation, that my husband survives in this dream.

The animals - ? Not sure if these are illustrative of deer, of horses (not sure if the third one was a horse), and what was up with one being a "camelid" and not simply a "camel"? I've looked at dream symbol interpretations of deer and camel. What did it mean that they were all together, and similar in color, but not in other features?

The department store - I've had dreams like this before, where I'm rummaging through things of mine I recognize in the back of the store. This particular time, I don't recall specific objects, just that they were familiar to me. What is this? How does it connect to the animals and the incident at the end?

I've also had a few dreams in the last month where I am on a second or third story of a building, looking down at the ground below for activity.

Any ideas?