Roaring Thunder and Dancing Shadows

Dream 1 

The bright flash of the lightning blinded him fleetingly. The growling thunder shook his heart and scared him to his bones. He wanted to stop and take shelter underneath a broad branched tree, but he could not. The piercing words of his employer forced him to walk on the sandy path. He tread on the sandy path on the way to the obscure land he was destined to reach. There wasn’t a single drop of rain, only the rumbling roar of thunder. The spikes on his shoes made a scratching sound on the parched ground when he moved. Oh! But they were not spikes. Looking down at his shoes, I noticed that his shoes had artichokes attached to them. They left a trail in the sand when he dragged his feet ahead.

Sweat trickling all over the face, Theon Greyjoy carried a heavy wooden chest with immense efforts, without any complaints. In the dark scary backdrop of a jungle he came across a large gate, formed of climbers mingled with each other for years. There were barely any leaves on the tree which fashioned a gate arising from its aerial roots. The pathway leading to the destination had dried up remains of enormous trees and shrubs. Theon’s eyes widened as he saw the petrifying path on which he was about to tread on. The artichokes rustled as he walked with a ghastly face and sheer determination.

Tiny drops of water made a bubbling noise on the road.

The clouds thundered scaring a dog away into a shop nearby. I stood by the window, waiting for Dad to come home. It was 11:45 pm and the electricity was out since quite some time.

The inverter had stopped working. The candlelight cast dancing shadows on the walls. As I made dogs and birds with my hands into the shadow, I was very happy. It reminded me of my childhood, when times were simpler. “When is he coming?” I asked my Mom. “He’s on his way, should reach any moment now.” she replied while handing me a bowl full of cake. It did feel like a celebration. Although I couldn’t figure out what it was for.

It has been a tradition in my family to sing songs when the electricity goes out. When I was younger, we did not have an inverter so there was nothing else to do. “The lights will be back faster if you sing.” my mother would say. So, we all sang whole heartedly. While I was thinking about this, unknowingly I started humming a Raag. I stopped singing when I couldn’t remember the rest of the lines. I couldn’t even remember which Raag it was. Just as I was about to ask my mother for help, the dog outside on the road continued with the phrases of the song. It didn’t seem scared by the rains anymore.

I looked at him, not with surprise or shock but with intense admiration. He was drenched in the pouring waters but that did not stop him from singing elaborate alaaps. It looked like he was barking with short pauses. Nothing but musical surprise emerged from his wide mouth. I called my mom near the window to witness this overwhelming and impressive event. We watched him as we ate a bucket of cake popcorn that suddenly appeared in my hands.

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