The dreamscape was not over yet… Stories within stories were
still unfolding, and I was there the protagonist savoring the near perfect
life. There were friends, relationships, and the love existed in those
relationships. Life was not a cramp to live with in a city of hustle. It was winter,
the moon shining white, and the musk floated in the air of a small town called
Brotherhood. A colony of people dwelt there who loved to grow affection for
others. They cultivated love, they ate love, but they never sold them. They had
stored so much of love in their hearts that their chests were bigger than the
people on the other side, separated from dreamy episodes by a thin film. ‘Those
who rupture the film don’t get roles in our episodes’, he had said. They must
cross over it, without tearing apart their own existence as well as that of the
film.
I am not the creator of dreamscape; I am the protagonist playing the role that
I wanted. He always insisted me to quench my thirst with Love and gallop on the
pavements without the fear of falling down and getting injured. He confirmed,
as long as I am in Brotherhood and my wishes are sacred I won’t get injured,
although he never guarantees anything for the world on the other side. Everyone
calls him the Grandfather. Big chested people say that he is the creator of
Brotherhood.
I had always thought of love. I imagined that one day I will
be at par with them who were loved on this side, in the real world. I was in
delusion in reality. I was deluded till the night when the grandfather
explained me the truth. I don’t remember how it happened, but I recollect that
he had crossed the film, stepped into the real world, and carried me away to
Brotherhood. In that episode, I spent the whole night at Grandfather’s mansion
where he lives alone. He is the one with the biggest chest in his town. There we
had dinner together; we had roasted turkey, sausages, and warm milk for me
while he had wine for himself. He kept smiling at me in between his sips of
wine, and through pauses in his speech. He explained me how deluding the world
on the other side is, and how deluding its inhabitants are.
‘Love is not just between a girl and a boy. Love is so sacred
that it exists between every two entities and more. Love is between sand and
stones. Love is between air and the mountains. Love is between birds and the
sky. Love is between a mother and her kids. Love is between me and you. And don’t
forget, that the love is between you and yourself.’
As the grandfather spoke, his eyes used to get closed and his
right arm swung here and there in air.
‘But do you know what is necessary for the Love to be
present? It’s the truth and the honesty. And I doubt they don’t exist anymore on
the other side’, his head bowed down, his eyes were still closed.
Grandfather sipped some more, and then followed his words.
‘You might get yourself hurt my son. Expectations have been killing
people from inside. I have lived my whole life there, and I know how many times
I was killed.’
‘Will I get killed too grandfather?’, I asked hesitatingly.
‘I will not let you. And I have brought here to prevent you
from any injury you might incur. Expectations, wishing for love staying on the
other side, these are potentially dangerous’, replied he.
‘Come on, give me your hand and lets go for a night stroll.
Let me show you how the Love feels like in its truest form. But I suggest you
not to expect the same when you wake up in your world. In Brotherhood we
cultivate love, we eat love, but we never sell them. You must know what the true
love is and this will prevent you from falsehood and delusions…’
The night was beautiful. Trees were dressed with shimmering
lights from fireflies. The twilight was mused in the music of violin coming
from a distant hut. I saw the moon through the clouds that were not polluted. I
could see people with varying sizes of chest. And I could easily deduce who
were more loving. ‘Truth and Honesty’, I was engrossed within depths of my mind
with these two words told by the grandfather to an extent that I watched every
movement in that episode to confirm that indeed the truth and the honesty
existed there which made the whole ambience so loving. The truth and the
honesty, they existed in families, between friends, and strangers. I was the
protagonist, but I was the stranger too. But the showering love never seemed to
go lesser on me.
I would never free my hand from the grandfather’s. I wish if
I could stay here forever… I wish if…
I was about to mutter some more to myself but the episode ended. The
night full of love came to an end with the warm sun overhead and with the alarm
clock proudly at its work.
It’s not summer here, but still the heat is killing. I don’t
focus on weather reports. I have a different measurement scale like the one
that the grandfather used in his life here. I want to learn some more from him.
But not right now. I must hurry for the school. I will be the protagonist in
the next episode of the dreamscape tonight.
PS: Every night I get into dreams, and they are like episodes of a tele serial where the life is what I have always wanted. Dreamscape is a tele serial, and I am the protagonist, and I will continue to be in each of its upcoming episodes.
