I had a water-based nightmare that involved my son when I was living with my now ex. She was highly abusive, psychologically and physically. The reason why I was there was for our son.

In the dream, I was alone with my son on the edge of a river, and we were having a picnic. I have him in one arm and the basket in the other. I set him down, and then the basket. But I notice him running around a lot, and felt that maybe he could end up getting away or hurt.

I look out to the river, and I see what looks like a little island. This is when I have the idea that I can carry him and the basket to the island. We can relax, and he can't get very far away.

I start to wade out toward the island, and the water is getting up above my waist. That's when I notice this log floating down the river. I figure I can catch the log, put my son and the basket on the log, and push it to the island.

As I'm trying to catch up to the log, it shifts direction and starts coming toward me.

It's not a log. It's a crocodile, about the size of a mini van.

I'm going backwards, trying to get to shore. I drop the basket. The bottom of the river turns to sludge, and I barely move.

I'm close to the shore, and the crocodile is almost upon me. There was this split-second thought where I could throw my son to the crocodile, which would buy me enough time to escape. This little thought informed me perefctly of what I had to do.

I threw my son to the shore, and the crocodile got me. I actually felt physical pain as I jerked awake from this nightmare.

The water and sludge represented the abusive relationship. The shore represented safety. The crocodile was my ex.

The good news is that this nightmare went away once I got out of the abusive relationship.