My head is hurting... My head is hurting... My head is hurting... My head is hurting... My he-My he-
A Few Hours Earlier:
On a clear evening, as the sun kissed the horizon, a bus pulled to a stop at the side of a dusty road. The street brimmed with life—lined with small houses, modest shops, and expansive farms. Behind them stretched a dense forest, its edges fading into twilight.
Even though humanity had advanced in terms of technology remarkably in the last twenty years, after being able to fully harvest the planet's energy and master renewable energy, some places, like Navagram, struggled to catch up. This village had remained untouched by the tidal wave of technology, lost in time.
THUD!
A young man, no older than 18, jumped off the bus with a dull thud, adjusting his sling bag on his shoulder. He scanned the unfamiliar surroundings for a moment, then began walking.
His steps echoed softly on the road, which was surprisingly empty. After making a few turns through narrow lanes, he stopped at the entrance of an old, but well-maintained house.
He knocked on the gate several times. Although the paint was chipped in places, the gate remained sturdy and polished with care—a sign of someone who hadn't let time decay it. Moments later, a woman in her thirties opened the gate.
"Karma, you arrived early!" The lady said calmly, surprised that he had made it there sooner than expected due to the long bus journey.
"Come in."
Karma gave her a polite nod, stepping through the gate. He bent down to touch her feet respectfully.
"God bless you," she murmured, placing her hand gently on his head.
"Go wash your face, hands, and legs before coming inside to greet your grandmother," she instructed, gesturing toward a cement platform in the courtyard. On it, a row of colourful buckets sat, brimming with water that shimmered in the dim light.
After washing up, Karma stepped into the house and found his grandmother seated comfortably on a worn sofa in the living room.
"Namaste, Nani," he greeted with a warm smile, sitting beside her.
The room felt cozy. A cluster of sofas was arranged in an 'L' shape against the wall—a mix of single-seat and longer three-seaters.
His mother then entered the room, who had gone to the kitchen a few moments before carrying a tray with tea and biscuits, placing it carefully on the wooden table between them. "How was your journey? Did you have to take the bus early?" she inquired.
"There were not many stops on the way here and the driver was driving fast so it didn't take much time. As a result, the bus arrived early," Karma replied while picking up the cup. The warmth of the tea seeped through the ceramic, offering comfort to his hands.
"So did you get the seat?" she asked.
"Yes, the bus was mostly empty," Karma said. ...Well also not many people visit here. He said to himself.
Buses were sparse, and drivers often picked up passengers along the road, waiting for anyone with a vague destination. It wasn't uncommon for trips to stretch longer than expected, making Karma's early arrival somewhat of a surprise.
After a few more exchanges with his grandmother, dinner was served—a simple but delicious spread of paneer, paratha, and rice. The first bite filled Karma's mouth with warmth and flavour, a taste of home.
After filling his belly with delicious food, he went to the room upstairs where he would be sleeping. He got into bed and started scrolling on his phone, playing games or using social media before his fatigue took over and he fell asleep.
The next morning, the sun has risen, replacing the moon at dawn. A soft breeze whispered through the open window as dawn bathed the world in a golden hue. The chirping of birds filled the air, blending with the quiet rustling of leaves outside.
"YAWN!"
Karma stretched, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as sunlight poured into the room. He lazily peered out the window, gazing at the forest that bordered the fields beyond the house. Roads snaked their way through the farms and led into the dense greenery.
Should I go for a walk? He wondered.
Making up his mind, he got dressed and told his grandmother, who was sitting outside on the veranda. "Nani, I'm going for a walk."
The streets of the village were waking up as he made his way through the small marketplace. Vendors arranged fresh vegetables on mats along the roadside, while the morning sun cast playful shadows between the stalls.
After passing through the market, Karma reached the road leading into the forest. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, illuminating the path ahead. Birds chirped in the branches above, adding to the serenity of the morning.
As he walked deeper into the forest, an old temple emerged from the shadows. Its worn walls and crumbling pillars hinted at years of neglect, yet it exuded a strange, ancient presence.
Curious, Karma stepped inside the temple grounds. A small staircase led to the entrance, and off to the side lay a pond—its surface littered with fallen leaves.
He climbed the steps to the shrine and bowed before the idol of Lord Vishnu. Three pillars stood on either side, holding up the temple's roof. After a brief prayer, Karma descended the stairs.
"Hmm... " I decided to go near the pound, I couldn't see how deep it was as it was completely covered by the fallen leaves of the tree, however, something was glowing deep inside of it, its glow passing through the gaps between the leaves reaching my eyes.
"Huh...?"
A strange feeling washed over him. He glanced around, his heart quickening.
Is someone watching me? ...no there is no one here He thought. A cold drop of sweat slid down his forehead."Must be my imagination"
Even after this, he wasn't able to ignore the light that came from the water like it was calling him.
I knelt and dipped my right hand into the water to inspect. At that moment, my consciousness slipped away.
When Karma opened his eyes, he found himself standing in a place unlike anything he had ever known.
The place was extremely silent, not even a sound of wind, like a soundproof room where the sound was completely turned off to '0'.
In that place there was nothing. There were no shadows, for there was no light to cast them—nor was there darkness, as the idea of contrast itself had been erased. It wasn't a vacuum, for even that implied the possibility of something being displaced.
No whispers of time passed through this realm, for time itself had dissolved, leaving behind not even the ghost of an instant. Space, too, had been stripped of its meaning. It was not emptiness, for emptiness is still a form, a possibility of being.
This was a non-place, silent oblivion that could neither be touched nor fathomed, where existence and non-existence collapsed into a single, unfathomable state.
Where am I? How did I get there? What is this place? Why is there nothing? How am I standing? Karama thought, asking questions to himself.
Suddenly, a searing pain shot through his skull. He clutched his head, gasping for breath. Fragments of images—memories, conversations, thoughts—flashed before his eyes, only to vanish just as quickly.
Then came the flood. Unknown 'information' surged through his mind, overwhelming him. His thoughts twisted and turned into chaos as if he were being forced to confront himself on a level deeper than consciousness.