This dream heavily reflects an anime I saw called 'A Lull in the Sea'. Not the plot or people but the scenery mainly as well as one other thing. The fact that they worshipped a sea god. I was probably still going through some post anime depression after finishing the show.
My dream began with me carrying folded up washing lines strapped together on my back. I don't mean washing lines as in just a line to tie up but like those lighting rod things you stick in the ground. They're slightly similar to umbrellas just bigger.
Every time I reached a house, a washing line would be planted. Some kids were playing and when the group saw me, they joined me on my journey to the top of the hill as I planted washing lines.
It was a coastal town with strong winds but the sun was out so it was neither too cold nor too hot. The kids asked me what I was doing and even helped me out a bit. It felt nice to have their company especially since it made me feel like I was part of their group (even when our age gap was so far apart).
It also made me incredibly sad too because I never had such a close bunch of friends when I was young. It's like I had failed my childhood. We spend so much time playing games and simulators where we have to ace the life of some character that we never actually ace our own lives.
At some point after putting up my last washing line, the kids introduced me to two pet Tom cats... that were the size of Lions!!! It was a petrifying experience though they were very affectionate.
Later, the kids took me to their neighbourhood where their families were having a dinner party. The whole ordeal made me feel out of place since I was surrounded by kids who were way younger than me, adults who were ten or so years older than me and Tom cats larger than any I'd seen before. It was impossible to relate to anyone.
Even so, they were all so extremely kind to me. The food was incredible. In fact, this was the first time in a dream I had actually managed to sit down and eat. The sensation was oddly normal. I don't remember how it tasted because I can only compare the meal to other food I've had in the real world. It was an immensely varied pot roast.
Where I slept escapes my memories but it was almost as though the kids, the families and the cats faded from existence. Could the town be suffering from a curse of some soughts? Other people had faded from existence before my eyes whilst walking down the street too.
I think I cried for a long time after they vanished. The population didn't seem to decrease though. I think new people replaced the ones who faded or maybe everyone swapped/moved around a lot. That's my theory but it was probably more strange or more simple then that.
After making my way down to the beach, people could be seen gathering at the Pier. Every single one of them held prayers in their hand to put in an upside down church bell as offerings to a sea God. I noticed there was something not quite right about it all though as for every prayer added to the bell, a toxic whirlpool grew under the pier.
I tried to warn them to stop but no one would listen. When I attempted to stand in their way, three of them lifted me over their heads and threw me into the whirlpool. An inky, black mess of fish consumed my flesh in seconds.
The dream didn't end there though. For about a day or two in the dream world, I festered in the void. Now and again I would receive flashes of happenings in the town until they grew less and I faded away from like the family... what were their names again...
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I learnt several things from this dream dive. For one, I can eat in my dreams, second, they might not end when you expect them to which can lead to being trapped or even mild sleep paralysis and third, it's possible to cry in the dream world before you wake up...