An anonymous voice calls to me in my dreams. I see a vague picture of a temple and a gate, from where I hear a voice saying to enter.
"So, you hear this voice every day in your dreams?"
"Yes, every day the same dream repeats itself, image for image, without fail."
"Hari, you're thinking too much. Calm yourself. You say that's why you can't sleep well, right?"
"Yes."
"Okay, I can recommend some pills that will help you sleep."
"So, you're saying you're going to give me some sleeping pills for my sleep. That's it?"
"Yep. Take the pills before going to bed and let's see if they help."
"Sure, thanks for the help, doctor."
While walking the streets of New York, he saw a bench and sat down with a great sigh on his face. He had a piece of sandwich and started thinking about why this dream comes to him, why it repeats, and what the purpose of these dreams is.
While he was lost in thought, he heard a voice next to him.
A man sat beside him with a smile on his face and asked, "What's bothering you so much?"
"It's nothing, just thinking about something."
"Well, if the temple that you see in your dreams is what's bothering you, I think you just need to visit that temple. Then you will know the purpose of your dreams and what fate has in store for you."
"What? I never told him about the temple and the dream." Hari turned towards him, but the man who spoke to him was nowhere to be found; he vanished like a gust of wind. "Who was that man, and how does he know about my dreams?"
One thing is clear: I need to check where this temple from my dream is. I'll start searching for it when I get home. While walking through his neighborhood, he saw a man standing outside, waving his hand towards him. When Hari neared his house, he recognized the man; it was his childhood friend Sujeet. With a big smile on his face, Sujeet walked towards him and greeted him.
"It's been a long time since we met," said Hari.
"Yes, after high school, our paths were separated," said Sujeet.
"Hmmm, that's true. Let's go inside; Amma will be happy to see you."
"Amma... Amma!" Hari shouted. "See who came to our house. Do you remember him?"
"Oh yes, Sujeet, right?"
"Yes, Aunty."
"Oh, it's been a long time since you came to our house! Look at you now, all grown up. Where were you all this time?"
"Actually, Aunty, I moved to a different state for college, and now that I have holidays, I came here to meet my old friend."
"Good," said Amma. "You guys go upstairs; I'll get you some chai afterwards."
Hari took Sujeet to his room. Hari sat on his chair, and Sujeet sat on the bed.
"So, what's going on, Hari? Any updates in your life?"
"Nah dude, nothing much is going on in my boring life. Just going to college and coming home, that's it."
"Same here. It's like a cycle: going to college, coming home, working on assignments, going to bed, repeating it all over again," said Sujeet. "By the way, Hari, do you still play that game on your computer?"
"Which one?"
"Aaaa… Total War. Yeah, I still play that game."
"In sixth grade, you used to say that you built an empire and you were the strongest emperor in the world. I used to think this guy is getting crazier day after day."
"Then you told me it was a game on your computer, and I laughed at it all day until school was over. Then you showed me the game and boasted about it."
"Thinking about our school days, Sujeet, those were the best days of our lives."
"Yes, we had no pressure from our parents, and we played and had fun together all day. By the way, when you were walking on the street, you had a serious look on your face. What's going on with you?"
"It's nothing, just thinking about something."
"Want to talk about it?"
"It's just a dream that's bothering me."
"What dream, Hari?"
"It's about the temple that I saw in my dream. That's what I was thinking about all day long. Just forget about it. What's going on in your college, Sujeet?"
"Nothing. The new semester is going to start next week. Before that, I just wanted to meet my family and friends."
"That's a good plan. You need a vacation before the semester starts, Sujeet."
"Yes, I need a vacation, dude. It's okay, I'll leave my parents waiting for me. By the way, let's go out tomorrow."
"Okay, bye then."
"Bye, Sujeet. Let's meet tomorrow."
Sujeet left Hari's house after drinking his chai (Indian tea). After Sujeet left, Hari started playing his games on his computer until the sun went down and the moon came up in the sky. Then Hari came out of his room, went downstairs to eat dinner, and have a chat with his mom.
"Amma, what's for dinner today?"
"Roti and dal, Hari. Come, sit; dinner is ready."
Hari sat at the dining table, started eating with his mom, and asked her a question.
"Amma, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure," said Amma.
"Amma, do you get any repeated dreams in your sleep?"
"Like what, Hari?"
"Like, does the same dream come every day in your sleep?"
"Your grandfather used to have a dream. He would get that same dream multiple times and would tell me about it in my childhood."
"What?! Do you remember anything about it? Please tell me!"
"I vaguely remember it because it was a long time ago. I think he used to dream about a temple and hear a voice calling him to that place—something like that, I think."
"What? Amma, are you sure Grandfather had a temple in his dreams?"
"Yes. What happened?"
"Nothing, Amma."
Hari got up from the dining table, rushed to his room, and called his grandfather, who lives in India.
"Ring, ring… Grandfather, it's me, Hari, your grandchild."
"How are you?"
"I'm fine, Hari. How are you?"
"I'm good, Grandfather. Can I ask you a question, if you don't mind?"
"Sure, Hari, ask."
"Amma told me about your dreams—that you used to have the same one every day?"
"Yes, what about it?"
"Can you tell me about it?"
"Hmmm… It was a long time ago; I don't completely remember it, but I know I used to dream about a temple and a voice calling me in my dreams way back when your mother was still a kid."
"What about now? Do you still get those dreams?"
"No, I think I stopped dreaming about it a long time ago."
"Hmmm, okay. Did you ever search for that temple?"
"No. What happened? Why are you curious about it?"
"It's nothing. Amma told me today while we were eating dinner, so I was curious about it, Grandfather."
"Hahaha, it's fine. It was a strange dream, and it was interesting too."
"Hmmm…"
After Hari didn't get the answers he was looking for, he talked with his grandfather for a while and ended the call.
"What's going on here? Why did the same dream come to Grandfather, and why does it come to me?"
"Hmmm… fine, let's not think about it and take the pills the doctor gave me."
After taking the pills, Hari went to sleep.
"What? Where am I? What's going on?"
I see the temple clearly now. Why?
"Come, come… Inside the temple, the answers you seek lie here."
What?
An anonymous voice is calling Hari to come inside the temple. Hari steps inside the temple, walks around, and sees a statue of Lord Shiva. On his right side, he sees a gate.
"What is this? My legs are moving on their own. What's going on?"
Hari walks near the gate, and it opens, calling him to come inside.
Hari walks through the gate; suddenly, he is surrounded by pitch blackness where he can't see anything.
"Why did I go through the gate, and why can't I see anything? My legs stopped moving on their own, but why can't I see anything?"
Hari slowly moves forward. While moving forward, he sees a light and rushes towards it.
A light! Hari starts running towards it and goes through the light.
"Aah!" Hari woke up from his dream.