A couple of days back, one of my favourite travel bloggers, Shivya, announced the AirbnbBucketList contest on her page. I posted my entries but I could not stop at that. The images of those beautiful dwellings found their way into my dreams and I’d wake up shattered by the reality of getting dressed for work and waiting for the day to end so I could get back home and dream some more. I read somewhere that keeping a dream-journal helps people deal with recurring dreams and understand the deeper meanings behind them. So here I am, writing about this particular dream that I saw thrice in the past 3 days…

Source: https://www.airbnb.co.in/rooms/1720832

This neat little cottage is tucked away in Mayne Island, Canada. But for now, it sits firmly in my head. The house appears as it if has been modelled by a kindergartener playing with Playdoh. It’s so smooth with no apparent edges! The roof curves fluidly, lending a kind of flexibility to the character of this edifice. The grassy patch around this quaint house is home to Opal & Onyx, the sheep that stay here and welcome new guests every now and then.

Onyx says hello to you! (Source: https://www.airbnb.co.in/rooms/1720832)

I often enter this hut in my dreams and gasp at the tastefully designed wooden roofs and bamboo-stairway (to heaven, perhaps? 😉 ) I notice there’s a showcase full of my favourite books and a basket next to it. I decide instantly to fill my basket with a book and head outside to enjoy the summery skies and short tales.

The inside story (Source: https://www.airbnb.co.in/rooms/1720832)

I re enter this tiny paradise and fall fast asleep in my circular bed with half a dozen pillows to keep me comfortable. I wake up to find I have a splendid view outside – the sun is bright and the forest, green. I walk out onto the balcony and breathe in the fresh woody air.

The room upstairs (Source: https://www.airbnb.co.in/rooms/1720832)

I realize I am hungry now. I head down to the S-shaped kitchen. The counter has some scones, I see. I put some tea leaves to boil in a kettle. I pick up some butter on my way out of the kitchen with my plate of scones and a cup of tea, to sit outside in my balcony with nature again…

The food-space (Source: https://www.airbnb.co.in/rooms/1720832)

But before I bite into any swirl of scone, I hear the doorbell. Immediately, I rush to answer the door, but the door brings me back to the present, and I find myself sulking on a Monday morning. From the rustic peace in Mayne Island to the noisy streets of Mumbai – I return to the grind of daily-life, and long for that dream to come true someday…

*  *  *

The title of this post is rather misleading. I don’t have a list, just a little dream. If you too dream of living far away in a lovely cottage, enter this contest now!