girl on the edge (dream narrative)

I was a girl in my dream. The beginning is fuzzy: we were traveling somewhere, the dog was with us, we were staying in old cement buildings that looked like they had been bombed out ten years prior. So we arrived after the violence. On the shore, people were trying to rebuild and kids shrieked from the beaches where waves tossed them. I wanted to go to the beach, too. I left you and our pretty black dog in the cool dark of our empty room, and emerged out into the sunlight. There was some impetus, maybe someone, maybe something, maybe just the water... Essential. The grade was steep, almost vertical, and the footpath incredibly narrow, not as wide as the length of my girl feet. I had to stop, think, breathe, and take stock often before moving forward. Ahead there was what looked like an over grown allow plant, tall as tree. The sandy mountainside made a hump over it, then the path dropped a few feet and continued on in the opposite direction. It was a treacherous switchback. In the misty distance was the grey blue of the ocean. Laughter and yelps emanated from the beaches. Gripping the wide branches of the succulent carefully to avoid the spiny thorns on the edges, I made my way over, then across and down. A blond haired woman was also on the path and I let her pass, then woke.