BEYOND THE REALMS #wattys2018

Chapter 7

"There was extremely fine sand all around her. She was lost in that desert. How did she reach there, she didn't know. But she was standing in the middle of the largest desert she could think of. It was night, the moon was big and beautiful. The wind was blowing and the sand felt really cold to her feet. Wait! She was bare footed....Where did her shoes go? And how did she come in this desert, for Heaven's sake? She started to look around frantically. There was nothing.... Except for the white-silver sand, some cacti plants here and there, the dark expanse of the sky without a single shining star... and a bright, full moon that looked down on her as if it was worried for the lost human being....

Her heart beating fast, she felt trapped in the wilderness... Where was she? Why was she there? What would she do? All these questions were running across her mind and making her more frantic. She started running to her right side....but stopped...maybe she needed to go on the left.. She turned towards left, took few steps and then stopped.

What the heck! It was all alike from each and every side. There was sand everywhere, till her eyes could see....What should she do now? The howling sound of the wind was terrifying her..... The fine sand was threatening to enter her eyes, making her cover them with her hands.

She started sweating. What? Sweat in cold weather? She wondered. Then she touched her forehead and her fingertips found the spot which seemed to be sweating the most...No...how could sweat be so thick? She quickly brought her fingertips in front of her eyes. It was not sweat....it was blood....

Was she hurt? She started touching her head, her body, to find out any more sources of blood. There was no injury. Then how was her forehead bleeding? And what had caused it?

Questions, questions, questions...she was so confused and scared that she just sat down on the sand and started weeping. She held her head in her hands and tried to stop the blood that was oozing from an unknown source and simultaneously tears were falling from her eyes at her helplessness...Her ears heard some sound. Her head jerked towards the direction of the sound and she saw a huge camel which was coming towards her with the speed of lightning. She quickly stood up in fear that the camel would step on her if she did not move away from its way... But the camel stopped near her... And then she saw a man atop the camel. He was sitting erect, with a black cloak, black trousers and black boots. He was wearing a black turban and his face was covered by the loose end of the turban. Only his eyes were visible and...They looked strange to her.

She saw that the camel started to sit and when it completely sat on the sand, the man dismounted it carefully. She was rooted on her spot and watching the camel and the rider with speculation and wonder. He came near her and without uncovering his face, brought his arm forward and engaged it with her waist and jerked her towards him. She was astounded by this action....but it felt somehow very familiar.... She tried to look at his face but he motioned her towards the camel... And then he lifted her from her waist and made her sit on the back saddle. She cried with puzzlement and started to lose her balance, but he quickly held her arm and made her seat the camel properly. Then he engaged his foot in the stirrup and jumped atop the front saddle with ease and expertise. Without any further delay, he pressed his legs in the sides of the camel, and it started to stand up with its back legs first. She was already dazed and extremely bewildered, and this sudden motion of rising startled her and once again she was about to fall when he leaned backwards, and she got to hold his shoulder with one hand and then with a shriek, she clutched his back with the other. The camel was now standing on its front legs and he was leaned towards her, in the backward direction. His back and her torso were in immediate contact and despite all her fears and confusions, his touch felt very familiar...very comforting to her. The camel had now stood up completely and he had put it in motion. His body moved towards the front and their contact was lost. The camel started running in the right direction. She was still holding his shoulder, her woes now forgotten...she felt safe... she felt strange....

And then the camel stopped....He again made it sit and then dismounted it gracefully... turned towards her... picked her up like a weightless thing, from her back saddle, and made her stand on something concrete. Ohhh....where was the desert sand?? She looked down and found that she was standing on a road. There was no desert sand. Her messiah was holding her closely. She looked up to his face and tried to ask something, but he put his gloved finger on her lips. She could only see his eyes....those strange eyes...they looked in her eyes intently. And then, without saying anything, he turned her towards her left, his arms leaving her, and he went to his camel, mounted it again and in a blink of an eye, he and his camel were riding fast...far away from her.... She could not be more confused. She looked to the right, it was a long road....she looked to the left....it was a long road....then she turned around and saw a huge house, looming in front of her eye. The house stood in that wilderness as Taj Mahal, grand and unique. Her gaze caught an ancient board near the front gate of the house. She went near the board and tried to read what was written on it. The letters and markings on the board were dim and eradicated from some places...but she still managed to read...

The board said, "Welcome to The Hafeez Manzil, Azamgarh."

She woke up with a start. Her heart was still beating frantically, and she was drenched in sweat. Gingerly, she touched her forehead and saw her fingertips. There was no blood, just sweat now. She sighed with relief and lounged back on the pillows. Her heart rate was coming back to normal. She started to reflect on her dream. It was true that she was accustomed to have nightmares now, but this dream was so different. And who was that rider who helped her? He was a stranger but why did he look familiar? And what was she doing in front of that huge house? She wondered. The strange dream had very strangely affected her... she felt.....comforted...and she wanted to explore this alien feeling....

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