The Message

I opened my eyes. My head was throbbing. My body was aching in pain. I made an effort to shift but failed. I found myself dripping in sweat. It was bloody hot and stinky. Slowly I started recognizing my surroundings. I was at the back of a Pajero. I realized I was in some sort of accident. I couldn’t think clearly. Everything appeared blurrish. I reached out my hand feeling the door .. I presumed. I pulled out the handle and off opened the door and I fell down, my face flat on to the sand. Ouch!

I pulled myself together and sat up. Wow! All I could see was stretches and stretches of sand and behind me the empty abandoned Pajero. What happened? Where were everyone? Why was I left here? God I needed answers.. And now I needed to get help.

I got up and chose a direction to walk. It was tough to walk in this sand. The sand was burning hot and the sun above was not at all helping. I needed water. Wait, the Pajero. I turned back and hurried to the vehicle. I strip searched the Pajero, no phone, no radio but found a small bottle of water. Lord , you helped me there. That got some strength in me. I got out and walked out, determined to find a way out.

I walked and walked ..at times sank in deep sand. My feet was so burnt that I lost my sensation. My heart was leaping that I thought I would vomit it out. My breathing was becoming irregular and I was nauseous. I needed serious help.

What a place..was this hell? Did I die? My mind raced through all the sins I had committed. From all the stories I heard heaven had angels for company and hell some devils. Here there was not a single soul around. Even the sight of a camel would’ve made me jump with joy. I found myself crying out loud. I was being punished by some inhumane idiot. Why Lord , why.

I heard a gentle whistling in my ears. I could feel a light breeze. Nothing cool about it though. It started getting stronger and stronger and grew into a full blown storm filled with sand. A sand storm, all what I needed now. I couldn’t move any further, it was so strong. My knees gave away and I knelt down. I couldn’t give up. That was not me. My head bent down, as if it was a becoming a burden to me. My eyes were trying to remain opened with all effort. And then.

Amidst the wind, I saw a silhouette. In the far distance. My energy levels which had gone down the drain, flew right back in and I screamed. ‘Hey!’

I got up forgetting my sorry state and ran to the person I saw. As I closed in nearer and nearer, I realized it was my college classmate,Shikha.Why was she here? All sorts of questions were racing through my mind. To hell with those, right now she was God sent and I needed her help. ‘Shikha!’ I screamed. ‘Shikha, stop.’ I never seemed to get her attention and I was nowhere getting closer to her. Strange. She was somehow faster than me. I screamed and screamed. Tears of desperation streaming down my face.

Suddenly she stopped. I halted. She turned and smiled. And started walking towards me. I thanked my luck and the Lord and wiped my tears. When I saw that!

A large ditch was right in front of here. The sands were swirling. I panicked. I yelled at her to move out. ‘Shikha stop, you will fall down.’ I quickened my pace to try to stop her. The ditch was getting bigger. Now what’s this? What’s happening to this place. A ditch appears from nowhere and this girl is acting stupid. Can’t she see this? I ran screaming like a maniac and there she was walking towards me smiling. No no Shikha, I can’t lose you, I need you to help me out. I was yelling,screaming, kicking out and this idiot was hell bent on falling. 

For a second I saw her and the next second I could see her outstretched hand popping out from the sand. My ears were tuned in to a faint sound of ringing which was getting louder and irritating. I jumped to the edge of the ditch and held out my hand. ‘Here hold my hand.’ But I couldn’t do anything, the sand was burying my only hope and I was drowning in the strange ringing sound. I was out of breath, voice..hope..life..

‘Nisha..wake up!its time to go’ I opened my eyes and woke up. I looked around. I was in my hostel room and my friends were getting ready. ‘Are you ok?’ my roommate Meena asked. ‘You are sweating like a pig.’ I looked down and touched myself. It was a dream. Damn right. It scared me like hell and why was Shikha in it yaar?

I dressed up , took my books and went down. I reached the front door and I noticed Shikha getting down from the hostel jeep along with the warden. I looked at her and nodded my head. She just quietly walked inside, avoiding my glance, with the warden tagging behind her. I confronted the warden and asked her what happened. She said ‘Shikha had a minor stroke last night . We took her to the emergency unit nearby and later down to the main hospital in the city. There they confirmed she has a rare disease which affects one in a 1000. The stroke was just a start. But the more permanent effect was she suffered a hearing loss on her left ear as of now. Going forward , she will turn completely deaf .Poor thing. God knows what plans he has in store for her.’The warden walked to her room shaking her head.

I sat down shocked. Shikha was in the dream for a reason. It was a message ..loud and simple and not very pleasant .. Something I will never forget for years to come..

Based on a true story..