Shopping during lockdown!

The shopping centre had become a silent construction site. The shopping centre (mall) was enclosed in a barrier of scaffolding and surrounded by stationary  diggers, cranes and other typical machines you would expect to see at a construction site. I had no idea what I was doing there; it was as if I followed someone or something and their trail led inside the vacant shopping centre. Even though I knew I was trespassing and putting myself in danger by being outside, it didn’t seem to matter. All I could think about was catching up with the phantom I was following. 

Like in most dreams; in this dream I could do things I’m not capable of pulling off in the real world. In this dream, I move like a ninja! As if I practised parkour; I effortlessly jumped up walls and run along railings. With the electricity off and the elevators not working, moving like this was the only way to get around the shopping centre. Instead of the stairs, I used the exposed scaffolding to descend to the lower floors of the mall. 

Following the phantom I find myself on one of the underground floors and am surprised to see there are stores open. Set up like stalls at a market, it was obvious the stores weren’t meant to be there; especially when the rest of the shopping centre was basically a ghost town. Looking around I didn’t recognise any of the stores; a little later I found out they were all start-up brands and small businesses. Apart from the store staff, there were probably only a dozen other people, customers browsing and examining the stores. 

Apparently, very few people know about the existence of the stores set up in the underground level. None of those chosen were ever able to explain how they found the secret floor or why they felt the need to trespass onto a construction site to get there.

Analysis

For once, it’s easy to understand the meaning behind this dream. During the lockdown, very few stores were open and shopping centres were basically empty. With so many small businesses struggling, advertising “Support Local” and “Buy Irish” influenced the public to do just that. The abandoned construction site is another representation of Lockdown, everyone was at home and therefore no builders were working on construction sites.