Esther’s grandmother had emigrated； it seems dreams were used as an excuse
to prove heretics met with the Devil and made love。 For example； even if
Esther’s forebears denied their Jewishness by declaring； “We’ve bee
Catholics like you；” the Jesuit torturers of the Portuguese Church；
unconvinced； would torture them； forcing them to describe the jinns and
demons of their dreams； as well as burdening them with dreams they never
had。 Then they’d force the Jews to confess these dreams so in the end they
could burn them at the stake。 In this way； dreams could be manipulated over
there； to show that people were having sex with the Devil and to accuse and
condemn Jews。
Dreams are good for three things：
ALIF：
You want something but you just can’t ask for it。 So you’ll say that
you’ve dreamed about it。 In this manner； you can ask for what you want
without actually asking for it。
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The dreams we recount are never the ones we actually see in our sleep。
When people say they’ve “seen it；” they simply describe the dream that is
“dreamed” during the day； and there’s always an underlying purpose。 Only an
idiot would describe his actual nighttime dreams exactly as he’s had them。 If
you do； everyone will make fun of you or； as always； interpret the dream as a
bad omen。 No one takes real dreams seriously； including those who dream
them。 Or； pray tell； do you？
Through a dream that I half…heartedly recounted； I hinted that my husband
might truly be dead。 Though my father at first wouldn’t