Breaking the Shell 破殼而出

I dreamed about my junior high school teacher, Mr. Hsieh. In the dream, we were working at the same company. He handed me a string of packages that looked like medicinal pouches, but inside were actually eggs. He entrusted me with the task of caring for these eggs and helping them hatch into chicks.

The eggs seemed lonely and a bit cold. I thought to myself that they should be hung near the refrigerator, where it’s slightly warm and could help with hatching.

I shared my idea with the teacher, and he agreed. As I turned to look for a hook to attach the string of eggs to the fridge, I noticed that someone had already hung them there.

However, I realized that instead of hanging vertically, the eggs were slightly tilted. While I was wondering about this, I noticed that one of the packages had already hatched, and a chick was trying hard to break out of its tightly sealed pouch. The poor chick seemed to be struggling to breathe.

I tried to tear the pouch open but couldn’t. Finally, I used scissors to cut a small hole, and I heard the chick take a deep, desperate breath.

Then I saw another egg starting to hatch. The chick’s head poked out, also trapped inside the pouch and unable to breathe. I quickly cut another hole and heard the chick take a big gulp of air.

I told the teacher that the eggs had started hatching. He acknowledged it and said he would report to headquarters, thanking me for handling the situation well. He assured me that he’d inform them of my efforts.

I then expressed to him that I could do more, that the company could assign me greater responsibilities instead of just caring for a few hatching eggs. He said he understood my capabilities but explained that this task was assigned by headquarters and someone had to do it. He promised to recommend me when opportunities arose.

I felt a bit disheartened. I understood that these were the kinds of tasks the company delegated, but continually doing these routine, mindless jobs left me feeling powerless. I shared my frustrations with the teacher, who comforted me. He said he believed in my potential, even suggesting that if I were given a factory to manage, I’d find a way to run it well.

I wasn’t so sure about that—I had never managed a factory before. All I had been given were minor tasks, and though I executed them well, they didn’t significantly contribute to the company or showcase my abilities. Still, I told him I’d be willing to try if given the chance.

Looking back at the chicks, I thought about how they had desperately gasped for air when I cut open the pouches. At that moment, I felt a deep connection with them—I, too, felt trapped.

Suddenly, in my dream, I experienced a sense of suffocation. I took a deep, forceful breath and felt air rush into my lungs. In that moment, I realized how precious it is simply to be alive.

夢見國中謝老師，我們在同一家公司上班。老師給了我一串看來像是藥包，可是裡面其實是雞蛋。老師把這一串雞蛋交給我，委託我照顧這些雞蛋，讓它們孵出小雞。

這一串雞蛋看來有些孤伶伶，感覺有點冷。我心想應該要把它們掛在冰箱旁邊，冰箱有一點溫度，可以幫忙孵蛋。

我跟老師講，他覺得可以啊！當我回頭要去找鉤子，準備黏在冰箱上來掛那一串雞蛋時，不知道誰已經幫我把雞蛋掛在冰箱上了。

接著我注意到，掛著的雞蛋應該是垂直狀態，可是它們看來有點傾斜。當我正在納悶時，發現其中有一包裡面的小雞提前孵出來了。我看到那個小雞的頭很努力想要弄破藥包封包，可是藥包封的很緊實，小雞看來快要不能呼吸。

我想要把封包撕破，但就是撕不開。後來我拿了剪刀，剪了一個小洞，就聽到那隻小雞好用力的吸了一口氣。

後來我又看到另外一顆雞蛋小雞的頭也探出來。牠也是卡在封包裡無法呼吸，我又趕快去剪了一個洞，然後感覺聽到那隻小雞也吸了好大一口氣。

我跟老師說這些雞蛋已經開始陸續孵化了，他說好，會回報給總公司，也謝謝我把事情處理的很好，他會讓總公司知道。

我跟老師說我認為我可以做更多，公司可以分派更多工作給我，而不是只是照顧這幾顆即將孵化的雞蛋。

老師說他明白我的能力，不過這是總公司派下來的工作，還是得有人做，他有機會會推薦我。

我覺得有點感慨，我當然明白總公司指派的就是這種任務。再不想做，還是得有人做啊！只是老是做這種不需要大腦就可以做的事情，感到很無力。

老師安慰我，說他知道我的能力，還說相信如果把一個工廠交給我，我就可以找到方法把它經營得很好。

我心想這點我倒是不敢確定，因為我從來都沒有帶過工廠。不過因為我得到的機會都是這種小不拉嘰的事情，即使我把它們做得很好，對公司來講也不是什麼大貢獻，很難證明我能力的好壞。

老師不斷安慰我，也相信如果把工廠任務交給我，我會處理的很好，他會跟總公司報告。我心想沒做過的事情我不敢確定，但我真的還蠻願意去嘗試。

我回頭看那些小雞，剛才我把封包剪開一個口時，小雞很用力的吸那一口氣。此刻我覺得我跟那些小雞一樣，感覺被困住了。

然後在睡夢中突然有種快要窒息的感覺，我好用力的吸了一口氣，感覺到空氣進來，突然感受到其實能夠活著，就很可貴。