Dream World

"There is a world, a world made of dreams, vivid dreams
Dreams full of colour, greens and blues and blacks.
The world i could talk about for ever and ever, and yet find nowhere."

Thats all was written. Here i was sitting around expecting to meet this mysterious woman again and instead i found this note on the same spot she always sat. Manjari was her name, atleast thats what she told me when i first met her. I can clearly remember that particularly hot day. Me and a few other friends had been watching a cricket match all day and once it was clear to us that India was going to lose anyway, we decided to throw away the remote control and hit the road.

Driving along the shore was so much fun, until i saw her. At first i thought i was hallucinating, for she was the most beautiful. And now, the drive seemed to be one boring jouney and the gibberish of my friends was hurting my ears! I quickly slowed down, and motioned to one of my friends in her direction, and there she was, sitting alone, watching the sea. Quite far away from us by now, and her head covered with a flowing Dupatta, my friend was least interested and quickly distracted by the appearance of a Snack stall. And as the boys went away, spiralling toward the attaction of hot and spicy chaat, i stood there, unsure which way to go, the woman inexplicably pulling me toward her.

The matter had to be resolved, else i would get no sleep. And so i went. Gently tapped her shoulder and took her by surprise, or rather i must say a shock!. Ah! Those eyes! Sea green eyes stared at me and the fear which a woman displays when touched by a stranger reflected on those eyes, the quiver in those eyes reminicent of the waves which danced in front of us. I smiled and made up a sheepish excuse of mistaken identity and she giggled back. Probably she knew of my little lie, but who cared as long as she smiled. As i introduced myself she readily accepted my company, and we were chatting away the evening, until twilight. As the sea changed its colours, and twilight set in, she abruptly excused herself and walked away. I guessed her to be belonging to one of the fishing communities adjoining the shore and watched her until i could no longer see her silhoutte.

My friends who had by now finished two rounds of gully cricket and plenty of snacks were impatient to hit the theatres next and soon i forgot all about her and threw myself headlong into the fun night ahead. Lying on my bed that night though, her face haunted me and i could get no sleep. By the time it was morning i had made up my mind, to ask her out the next day. "Hi, why dont we grab a cup of coffee?"...No! that dint sound romantic enough, or rather, "Hey, wanna catch a movie tonight?"..I found myself rehearsing the lines i would speak to her, "I think i'm falling in love with you"...I somehow felt increasingly less confident as the day proceeded and i kept glancing at the clock. It was time finally, and i went to the coast. The same spot, she was not there! And i turned back dejected, when something prodded me to check again, and there she was. I recognized her with her long dupatta. Green and Blue, just the same colour as her eyes. I walked as fast as i could towards her, and soon we were chatting away the evening. Strangely enough, she refused to eat anything and kept staring at the ocean everytime i asked her if we could move away from the shore farther into the city. Maybe she was not comfortable with the idea of a date as yet, i decided.

Days went on, and the same happened every day. I would find myself on the sea shore, chatting with her all of my evening. Initially my friends were teasing and prodding for more details, but soon they became suspiscious and one of them even worried about me and i brushed it off with a laugh. Maybe they were right, there was something amiss here. And i realized it when i held that note this evening. She had not come. I had been waiting all along, but there was no sign of her. Much to my dismay, there was nowhere else i could go looking for her, i dint even know where she lived!! I cursed myself for not having elicited details from her. I had fallen in love with a Manjari, who sat by the shore. Anyone would laugh it off as an odd infactuation. Was Manjari her real name? I did not know. I felt like a complete fool holding that note.

As i read and re read the note, i noticed the flowing handwriting, like the waves of the sea. And then it dawned on me. All of our evening conversations had been about the ocean and what lies beyond the infinite. Her eyes, Her Dupatta, Her everything was one with the ocean. The world of dreams in the note was the world in the ocean, green during the bay, blue by evening and black at night. As twilight set in, i walked into the ocean. I could see her standing there with outstretched arms, welcoming me to her dream world and i walked into the sea.

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The next morning, the fishermen found the body of Kailaash, floating to the shore. He had died of drowning, a blue green dupatta clasped in his hands.