The dream ((OR WAS IT))

 I felt drowsy as I dragged my legs and followed Abhay, Anirudh and Anaya in to the forest. It was late in the night and I really did not know why I was following them, where we were and where we were going. We were walking on a mud path and I was walking behind everyone.

 

I had come to Germany and we were camping in the Black Forest. My parents did not come with us and was feeling a bit homesick, due to their absence.  The sky was filled with dark, heavy clouds making the place look like a cemetery. 

After walking for what seemed like an hour, the path came to a fork. There were three forks each bordered by metal grills on both sides. Everyone stopped dead in their tracks. I asked them what happened. They looked as if they had been completely immobilized.

In a flash, even before I could think of it, they broke into a run, into the darkness of the first fork. Now it seemed as if I had taken their place. I stood there rooted to the spot, wondering what happened. It took me a few seconds to realize what had happened.

Then I said, “Guys, this is not funny. I know you’re trying to scare me”. 

I felt a chill run down my spine even as I said it. Where did they go? I couldn’t understand why they were scaring me. Also, while walking with them I felt that they were hypnotized. Then, suddenly out of the first fork came a blood curdling yell. 

I felt the ground shaking. Was it an earthquake? Definitely it could not be, since it felt as if it was coming towards me. A loud howl came from the first fork. The thing that was shaking the ground seemed to be very close to. Then from the horizon, came the earth-shakers. A pack of twelve to fifteen wolves ran in a second into the first fork, even without looking at me.

At an instant, the air was filled with howls of the wolves and yells of my dying friends. I didn’t want to go back. Who knew how many more wolves were waiting there. Because three was my lucky number, I decided to enter the third fork. 

As soon as I ran into the third fork, the ground began to shake again. About twenty wolves, their yellow, sharp teeth bared at me were chasing me. I knew they were faster than me and there was no way I could get away from them, I still decided to give it a go. I ran with all my energy. Then, with one mighty howl, the wolf right behind me pounced on me.

I fell down, right on my back. I heard a soft crack from my back. The wolf’s mouth watered. A voice in my head said, “Let it go, my dear boy. There’s no way you can survive”. Then another voice, that sounded brave, said, “What is the need to die, young man. You have a long life ahead of you. Try your best to survive”.

I felt that I could survive. I landed a hard kick, right on the wolf’s stomach. It fell off me and I began to run. The wolves pounced on me. I was so filled with adrenaline, that I could fight them off me. A boy, one or two years younger than me, was running beside me. It felt really good to have company, making it feel like a god sent gift.

Then to my horror, the fork came to an end. As the saying goes, when none of the doors open, try the windows. At the end of the fork, I saw a few rocks. With all my energy, I jumped up, onto one of the rocks. The boy beside me did the same. The wolves, unable to climb the rocks, stopped following us. 

Instead of feeling better, I felt as if everything was lost. We were stuck between the demon and the deep sea. If we jumped back, the wolves would gobble us up. It would be really difficult to fight all of them at once. And the rocks we were standing on were moving slightly ahead, threatening to fall down the valley.

The only hope of surviving was to jump off the rocks, to the other side of the garden which was about three to four yards away. I decided to risk it. I took a long breath, steadied my legs and jumped. As soon as I did it, the rocks slid off the platform and slipped down the valley along with the boy.

The wolves ran away from the fork. But definitely, there was no way I was going back to the fork. I walked ahead into the other side of the garden. There was nothing of interest, only trees, bushes and shrubs. I walked for some more time and came to a mountain. On the top of the mountain I saw a blue object.

I decided to climb the mountain to the blue object. There were small gaps in the mountains which I could use perfectly to climb the mountain. After an hour of climbing, when each and every part of my body ached, I reached the blue object. It was something I had never expected. A helicopter!

But this was the strangest of its kind that I had seen. It was cuboid in shape with an entrance like a submarine’s. Everything else was like a normal helicopter. I went inside it, but there was no one in side. Because my legs aching due to walking so far, I sat in the pilot’s seat.

I rested my hand on the platform in front of me, which were full of buttons. To my horror, my elbow pressed on one of my buttons. The blades of the helicopter began rotate. I froze as I felt the helicopter rise in the air.

Now there was only one thing I could do: Control the helicopter. But how could I. I didn’t know a single thing about helicopters. I took the steering wheel and pulled it back as hard as I could. The chopper rose higher faster into the sky and shot forward.

My hands filled with sweat, and my head started to ache. The helicopter seemed to listen to my brain more than the steering wheel. It carried me along for a long time until I felt cold air enter the chopper. I looked down and saw I was flying above the Mediterranean Sea.

Then as if the sea was huge magnet it sucked the chopper down into its own waves. I tried hard to control it with my mind and steering wheel. But it was of no use. The bottom of the chopper was touching the surface of the wave. Water entered the helicopter. In a few seconds the water was up to my chest. All hope was lost and there was nothing else to do other than pray. There was a small locket and quite stupidly clutched it tightly in my hand.

Then a huge wave crashed against the helicopter. The door of the helicopter snapped open. The water was almost up to my nose. I tried my best to increase the altitude of the chopper, but in vain. My worst night mare was true. The water filled the helicopter completely. There was no way I could swim up to the door and open it in a moving helicopter.

Then suddenly the helicopter rose from the sea level. It was gaining altitude. Then in a few minutes all the water was drained out from a small hole in which I guessed it entered. In few hours the chopper was flying over my home town, Bangalore. 

Then a jerk caused turbulence in the helicopter. There was a small blast in the engine and it was losing altitude. In a distance I could see my apartment. Not now, not when I’m so close to my destination, I thought. The chopper began to heat up. It was so hot in a matter of a few seconds that I felt the locket in my hand would melt. I clutched it so tight my hand started aching but I didn’t let go.

“Sonu ... Sonu wake up. It’s time for your cricket class”, came my father’s voice. What was happening? The scene was dissolving. I woke up, sweating completely. It was a dream! It was all an illusion showed to me by my brain! I was never so happy to see my house! It was a dream that I could never forget! But was it I felt my palm burning and paining dreadfully and when I opened my clenched fist, I was most shocked to find the locket stuck hard to my palm!!!

THE END