chapter 7
Finding nothing else in the trunk, she decided upon wearing the red kurta and rolled the dhoti cloth around her waist. After a whole ten minutes of adjusting the cloth, she turned and opened the first-aid box. She shighed when she found a small bottle of disinfectant and a lots of bandages.
Carefully she cleaned the dirt over bilious wound on her sole. It still hurt and she winced when she applied the disinfecctant over it. Slowly she covered it with bandage.
She had almost cleaned and dressed all her wounds with bandage when she heard a manly scream. She heard her name taken.
Who is shouting? Prithvi??
She rushed outside to check the cause of scream.
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His eyes wandered over the vast expanse of dark clouds that loomed overhead indicating an imminent cataclysm. He had been staring at the sky endlessly when a loud thunder bolt made him snap back to reality. His mind wandered neverendingly and came to a dead-end when the panic-stricken face would capture his thoughts. He had no doubt, the face he saw in his dreams and the girl he had just met looked the same. Even the names were same.
He had been haunted by dreams right from when he had started understanding things. When he was small, he would see just the face, nothing else. As time passed by, as he grew up, the dreams started becoming more and more intriguing, With each passing day the complexity with which the dreams came increased. They seem to get so interwoven, detailed and immensly formidable, he would sometimes feel them to be real. They were nightmares for him.
He never realised when he fell asleep in the porch.
<Dream>
Over a narrow gravel road lighted by setting sun's golden rays, she ran with whatever energy had left in her. Her loose hair playing in the wind, her hands frantically tried to hold crimson bright saree that she was wearing.
People ran after her. Five in total. They ran shouting at her to stop, their hands loaded with daggers and guns and rifles. "Meera!! Stop running! It is of no use."
Prithvi had an aerial view. He couldn't feel himself or see himself in his own dream
but then...
Her feet dragged on, as she bolted barefooted. Her face showed myriad emotions. With every step she took, small stones-grit- pierced the soft skin of her sole, the affliction shot up to her brain, numbing her senses. Pain reflected in her eyes. Her face panicked.
Prithvi was having the same dream again. Each time it would stop here. He would
wake up feeling dizzy and sweating. But this day, he was destined to know more.
She stopped dead in her tracks when she reached at a precipice. Thick forest covered the area below.
She turned to face her attackers. Her swollen feet were bleeding leaving the stones beneath bloodied.
Even though death stood in front of her, now, she felt no fear. She stared at them, incomprehensible. He eyes suddenly became blank. Al the warmth in them eveporated.
Prithvi wanted to reach to her, pull her out of the danger.
He stretched his hand. Tried to run upto her. But the more he tried, more far away
she seemed.
NO!! MEERA... !!
He shouted at the top of his voice in his sleep experiencing the dream.
Men advanced towards her. A bulky man spoke hoarsely,
"You did a big mistake, Meera!! If you had not fallen in love with that ragged beggar, we woud have spared your life. Instead of wealth, you chose him, a loser!! " he spat on her.
Her eyes burned with vegeance. Her expression fierce, she shot back.
"HE IS NOT A BEGGAR..!! NOR A LOSER.
She thundered.
"Really?"
Another well-built man came out of trees surrounding them, carrying something or someone.
He approached Meera and dropped the body of a person he was carrying. It lay on the gravel with a dagger pierced straight in his heart. The knife's edge glinted, blood sparkled on it. Blood was spurting out endlessly through the open skin. His kurta was soaked red. His eyes, open and dark, stared at infinity.
Sweating profusely in his sleep he also started hyperventilating.
He had just seen himself lying dead infront of himself. His head turned and moved.
This dream was getting dangerous and he could take it no more.
Seeing the lifeless body of her love, she screamed. Her feet gave away and she fell on deceased body, crying hysterically. Blood covered her face as she wept resting her head on his chest. She cried, screamed cursing those murderers.
After a few minutes, she gathered herself together and looked up to them.
They were enjoying her grief.
She looked straight at them, her hand on Prithvi's chest.
"YOU KILLED HIM!! GOD WILL NEVER SPARE YOU!! All of you will DIE slowly, painfully."
They laughed.
"I will get myself killed rather than die at your dirty hands."
She gave a lopsided grin, her hand reached the handle of the knife which killed Prithvi. She did the very thing that came to her mind. Using whatever energy she had, she pulled out the dagger from his heart and stabbed herself. She fell on him in a pool of blood.
Prithvi had seen too much. He shouted and screamed in his sleep.
NO! MEERA DON'T...DON'T LEAVE ME...
Meera rushed outside and looked at Prithiv who was shouting and screaming her name. Surely he was seeing a nightmare.
She hurried towards him and held him close to her bosom, her hand caressing his hair.
"Prithvi, wake up. It is just a dream. Prithvi..."
But he kept on shouting and crying like a little baby. His eyes were closed, but a steady stream of tears flowed. He spoke again, in an anguished tone.
"Don't leave me..."
His hands involuntarily went around her waist, hugging her. She stared at him.
He looks so cute.
Wait, what am I thinking? I have to wake him up.
She patted his cheeks to wake him up, but it turned of no use. Instead, he tightened his grip and feel asleep nestling his head on her shoulder.
"Let me sleep for some more time..."
AH! This guy...
He is such a baby underneath all the toughness he shows.
She tried to break free from his hug but could not . Seeing no escape, she sat down besides him and rested her head on his. In a matter of minutes, both were sleeping soundly in each other's arms.
Her eyes opened to the sensation of something poking her cheek. As her vision cleared, she saw a pair of almond shaped eyes staring at her. Meera slowly sat up.
She was back on the khatiya. A small boy of eight was staring at her with the most brightened smile. She could do nothing but grin.
"Bhaiiya, who is she?"
Jeevanlal called out to Prithvi who was outside in the bathroom. He entered the room drying his hair with a towel.
"Huh? Is that you Jeevanlal? "When did you come?"
"Just now." he grinned.
Prithvi raised his eyebrows. "You came alone, didn't you? How many times I have to tell you its dangerous for a little boy!" he addressed Jeevanlal sternly.
Meera giggled and ruffled Jeevanlal's hair. "I am Meera." she gave a knowing smile breaking Prithvi's lecture.
The little boy beamed. "So ,she is my bhabhi!!" he hugged Meera tightly and started jumping with joy. Meera raised her eyebrows.
Prithvi rushed to him and picked him up.
"Jeevanlal, she is not your bhabhi. Don't jump to conclusions."
His smile dropped and got replaced with a scowl. Seeing Prithvi had no experience in dealing with children, she rushed to his rescue.
"Jeevanlal," Meera called out. "Here." She pulled out two chocolates and handed them to him. His eyes sparkled at the sight of chocolates.
"Do you stay in Barahgaon, dear?" Meera asked.
"Yes." he replied, his mouth already full of chocolate.
"Great. I am going to Barahgaon too."
"Lets go together."
"OK." Meera continued. " Will you wait outside in my car? I will change and come."
Jeevanlal was all ready to travel in a car and readily went outside.
Meera motioned Prithvi to wait. When Jeevanlal was out of earshot, Prithvi spoke first.
"Sorry for what happened last night."
Meera remembered each and every moment of what happened. She blushed.
"Its alright. It must have been a real nightmare. You were shouting my name."
"It was." Prithvi inched closer, his face red. "I was? Listen. Promise me you won't
tell anyone about me getting dreams and crying and shouting." He had remembered every incident of his dream, much to his surprise.
She hesitated a bit.
" Alright. Whatever."
"NO!Promise me."
"Yeah, fine. Promise."
Listening this, he walked out, banging the doors shut.
xXx
This is it folks.
Don't forget to drop your comments :)
Edited by SuperChillz1 - 12 years ago
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