r/nosleep | Reddit Horror Stories • Collection

Our Dreams are Being Eaten

This story took place in 2010. Me and one of my best friends Carissa were fresh out of college and hanging out at my Uncle Roger’s house. We were rummaging through his Attic looking at the various antics he has collected throughout the years. One item in particular peaked my interest. It was a small, dusty blue chest that had various Mayan symbols engraved on it. I picked it up and began examining it.

“The heck is that?” Carissa said, crawling over to get a closer look.

“I don’t know, looks like some old box” I said, getting curious of what was inside it.

“Well what are you waiting for open it.” Carissa said

“What if my Uncle sees us?” I asked, paranoid

“Come on Glover It’s just a box what’s the worst that can happen?” Carissa said

“Ah what the hell, there’s nothing else to do.” I said

Luckily the lock was broken, allowing me to open the lid, albeit with some effort due to how worn it was. We looked to see a black, shriveled up object resembling a butterfly’s cocoon. I was mildly surprised by it considering it must've been in there for probably centuries.

“It looks like shriveled up dog shit” Carissa said, causing me to crack a laugh.

Suddenly, a weird, almost sweet scent began to flood the room. My vision became hazy as the last thing I saw was Carissa passing out.

Eventually, I woke up to see the broken box on the ground, the cocoon missing. Carissa was still asleep

“Hey are you okay?” I said, shaking her awake, she moans as if she just woke up this morning.

“Yeah, just a bit of a headache” Carissa said, putting her hand over her forehead

“You kids alright up here?” Uncle Roger said

“Shit, the jar’s broken” I thought, looking at the broken chest

“We’re fine Mr Peterson.” Carissa lied

“You guys have been up here for two hours. You weren't doing any funny business up here were ya?” Uncle Roger said, giving me a subtle smirk

“What no!” I said, me and Carissa looking at each other, embarrassed blushes forming on our faces. Although she is beautiful, I've never thought of her like that.

“I see you took out that one Mayen chest i got a while back, thought i lost this piece of shit.” Uncle Roger said, checking out the chest.

“Oh that reminds me, how did you get that?” I asked, omitting the fact that me and Clarissa just magically passed out because of this thing.

“I'm glad you asked.” Uncle Roger said

“When I graduated from college I got the chest from a souvenir shop in Jamaica. The guy who sold it to me said the chest was very rare, but also dangerous. It contained something called the Ladrão de Sonhos. It was Portuguese, for Dream Stealer i think. Personally i thought he was full of shit, but it was interesting nonetheless.”

Uncle Roger’s story was intriguing, but it didn't explain the scent, or why me and Clarissa suddenly passed out for two full hours for no reason. Later on Clarissa was complaining of a blistering pain in her ear, so i decided to drive her home to save her the walking. She thanked me for the ride when we got to her house. I told her to be safe as she gave me a hug before walking to her door.