MY NIGHTMARE

It was one of those nights when u feel sleeping is the worst thing to do in the world. I slept at the usual hour of my sleep- 9 O’ clock. Usually I get dreams every night... Good and bad but I forget most of them by morning. But this night I dreamt about ghosts- something I had never dreamt about before.

I was sitting in my college bus: the usual shaky bus with shaggy seats and of course the roofs got holes in it so if it rains It leaks down a bit- which is just a mild way of saying that if it rains outside it rains inside too. I was sitting beside a girl who was supposed to be my friend because I never saw her in my real life. Something had happened and we were told to leave before the usual time- that is not unusual what with the riots of Andhra-Telangana gangs. But something had happened inside the building not outside. And it was also dark which is funny because if we were leaving before time shouldn’t it be in broad daylight? But then when had dreams been logical? So, coming back, I remembered suddenly that I had forgotten my AIEEE application inside the building. It was the last date to submit it and I had forgotten it inside. So i made to get it. But my dream friend stopped me saying that there are some ghosts inside the building and I should not go it not it right now. If it had been in real life I would have laughed at her until I ran out of my breath. But in the middle of the whole situation It felt really scary. But this is my AIEEE application that is at stake, so I climbed down the bus anyway (actually fell down from it- It was steep and slippery).  A couple of small boys said that they would like to come too as they had left their pencil boxes inside. In a mad moment I felt that pencil boxes are a silly thing to sacrifice a life for, but I shook myself out of that theatrical thought and led the way.   

In reality my college is just an apartment adjusted according to classrooms. But this one looked more like my school-dark spacious and having four stories. The walls were painted in cement color- I detest that color. It reminded me of caves and dungeons. The boys pencil boxes were on the second floor and my application is on the fourth. They quickly climbed up the two stories and collected their things and went away. I envied them as I had to go the fourth floor alone. The moment I reached the fourth floor my heart skipped many beats. There were a whole host of ghosts waiting for me- all transparent and hovering over me. I had to get past them to get to my application. But at that moment my mind seemed numb. Nothing sensible whatsoever came to my mind. I just gaped at them as they hovered and hovered over me like particularly sinister bats (flapping their arms I’m sure). I felt so afraid. I’m sure I had supplied a bucket of dream tears. Then after so much time of stupid standing and gaping I got the sense to run. But of course like in all ghost stories I couldn’t. They kept blocking me. Then all of a sudden something small- a book- the size of a small letter pad fell into my hands. By its size and shape I thought it was hanuman chalisa- a remedy for fear. But after looking at its label, my dream heart started to beat madly. It was not hanuman chalisa and not a remedy for fear in the least. It was garuda puranam which I discovered only a month ago that It speaks on death and hell. I really could have supplied an ocean of tears if I had been real. The letters of the label flashed vividly at me, more vividly than the whole dream.

Then I don’t know what happened to me and the ghosts- I was back in the bus with my application in hand. In my hand something small and saffron in color was there. I didn’t know how I got in the bus. Dreams are never exactly consistent. Anyway I got out of that and I’m happy beyond words but  a small fear still lurked inside me that lived on the fact that  now I had proof that ghosts exist and I could no more stubbornly disbelieve in them. I was still crying. Then suddenly I buried that something saffron. I think my friend told me that. It didn’t matter anyway. I was out of that terrible building.

I woke up suddenly and It took several moments for me to realize that it had dream. then the first thing that I  felt relieved for is that I still have no proof that ghosts and I could still stubbornly disbelieve in them.  felt surprised at my own cause for relief.  The next few days I feared sleeping.