Kamal Ghorui
‘They’ have gone, but I still feel the stains of their venom on my soul.
A cloudy evening and a book, what else do I need !
Unwinding myself, I breezily walk along the hedged pathway that leads me to the poolside of my society. It is a soothing place with a babbling fountain that glistens with soft yellow lights.
I move towards the lounger on the deck to finish the last few chapters of my current read about past life. As I recline, I feel the refreshing coolness of the pool water over my tired feet. Immersed in the book, I empathise with the protagonist, a beautiful lady named Sally, who heals herself by confronting her past life traumas.
Suddenly my reading is obstructed as the soft lights blow out, it is dark everywhere. The fountain noise fades too. The peaceful atmosphere has been replaced by the death air.
My eyes fall over the pool water, it looks opaque, as if someone just blackened it with soot. Leaving my book and pencil on the lounger, I try to grope my way through the darkness.
My heart pounds assuring someone’s uninvited presence around me. Just then, I feel something slippery, slithering over my foot. It has scales that are shimmering against the darkness. A chill runs through my spine as it swiftly enters the pool.
I open my mouth wide to vent my fear, but my voice is choked in my throat. It then rises up from the water high in the air. My eyes freeze with horror as I see a giant lethal serpent’s body with a human face. His blaring ‘hiss’ tears through my ears, even the pool water writhes in fear! I know this face, but the serpent…… Alas! I was too blinded by trust to decipher it!
I want to run away from this hell, but my feet are jammed to the ground. His fork tongue is dripping with honey, the venomous honey he feeds me everyday. He is accompanied by many others, perhaps as lethal as him. I know them too!
Some stay away, giving me death stares whiles others coil around my legs and arms, penetrating their needle like fangs into my veins. They drag me towards the pool.
I drown into the black poisoned water, gasping for breath. The monstrous serpent in the pool laughs at my END. In a few seconds, I float on the surface, silent and still!
“Wake up my dear!” I hear a soothing voice, drenched in love. I open my eyes, my mother is sitting beside me.
I look around in fear, but the pool water is clear and the fountain babbles as before, glistening with lights. I remove my book that lies over my chest.
“You have been sleeping for an hour here,” she says as she came looking for me. I hug her tightly, letting out a sigh of relief. I walk hand in hand with my life giver, feeling safe and protected.
My dream, was it just a fantasy or a mystical mirror that pierced through my shell and cooked up my untold traumas into a story?
Perhaps there is someone more awakened in me who wakes up when sleep!
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