Damayanti Singh

Fantasy

5.0  

Damayanti Singh

Fantasy

Aladin'S Cave

Aladin'S Cave

6 mins
10.8K


Sipping the wine I hold in my hands, I watch my husband Leo and my daughter Little dancing merrily to the tunes of peppy chartbusters. I wave at them with a wide smile on my face basking in the extravagant evening on the cruise.

Sitting with me are my mum and Leo’s mum who are awed with Little’s spontaneity. And somewhere near the dinner layout I spot my father-in-law trying hard to find some real vegetarian cuisine at the otherwise lavish banquet spread.

The dinner table has just been opened. Guests have already started filling their plates. Yet many guests are still on the dance floor, especially the honeymooners.

I see a beautiful pair dancing next to my Little, the woman looking absolutely gorgeous and stunning in the royal blue silk wraparound dress. Men in beautiful linens look to be the perfect counterparts of the elegant women wrapped in dazzling crepe and georgette flowing dresses.

The overflowing food, drinks, the live music, the jive and the merriness all around is intoxicating and has lent itself to the spirit of socializing which is now beyond knowing one another. It seems like the perfect memory of holidaying, that you would like to have in your heart, all your life.

‘Wah! What an evening! I wish I could hold this time.’ I wonder to myself.

Boom.

A loud thump disorients all of us with some tipsy falling off the chairs while others standing sliding backwards & forwards trying to control their position.

Music stops. And there is stony silence across the hall.

I catch the waiters looking at each other trying to understand what happened through their eye conversation. Many in the room staring at them with an invisible question mark on their face. Realizing something’s not right in the awful sudden silence of the room, Little got scared and came running to me.

And before we could enquire I felt my feet wet and under water that’s gushing in from somewhere I can’t see.

In no time the music and the merry turned into fright & panic all across the board. Children screaming with fear, elderly shocked and unmoved and each of us trying to save someone and hold on to something.

But not for long we could. The rapidly rising water was forceful to let our grasps loosen.

Leo seized his mum and we form a chain holding each others’ hands firmly manoeuvring through the flood trying to move up the stairs and find a high place. Little is on my back holding me tight breathing hard as much that I can feel her thumping heart on my spine. I struggle to keep holding her small feeble hands and keep pulling her up to my shoulders.

My Little is a strong girl who can hide her emotions even from me for a long time as ever but I could feel her fear of the unknown, unseen from her stinging calm, her cold limbs and her tight grip on me.

I wrestle to get Little close to my chest as I feel she’s suffocating.  Leo has reached atop the staircase but everywhere now there’s water. All over!

I still have one more flight of stairs to climb to reach the high place but it seems impossible in the neck deep water. I’m desperate. I’m ruffled. I’m in tears just thinking of how to secure Little.

The water in the basement is no more neck deep but over our heads. Amidst the crowd of people racing to save their lives and fighting to hold on to the railing of the staircase my hand slips off and I topple.

Little has slipped into the water. I’m mad at having lost her. ‘How the hell did that happen?’

I get inside the water and start looking for her frantically. My Little can’t swim. My heart is racing against a fear. I can’t feel if it’s tears or water in my eyes. I swam across to the centre of the hall to comb through the floors & tables to find her.

I’m at the end of my tether. I couldn’t find her. May hell break loose!

I move swiftly to find Leo and get some help. I see Leo clambering out of water almost reaching the safe zone with Little. Hope peeps into my heart.

 

But her eyes are closed and she’s lying still on her dad’s arms. I cringe and help Leo push Little up the stairs step by step until mum gets hold of her. She’s safe finally! Now awake and crying like a lost child scared to her wits end.

I can’t thank God enough. I wave at her blessing her.

The water is forceful and is gliding me away from them but now I’m not panicking. I close my eyes, let my tired body float and lose sight of things.

When I open my eyes I see myself on a small boat sitting by the window and everything was calm with no trace of the ghastly night. The sea is serene. I don’t remember how long it had been since I floated away.

I look around to find my family with a new found enthusiasm. My eyes scout for my life’s alpha & omega till reflection of my Little brightens my gaze. I can see her but she’s far from me. ‘Am I dead?’ I ask myself.   Or ‘am I the only one alive?’

My chest is aching with the torment so hard that I sit up with a jolt. I rub my eyes to clear my vision. I see my bed in my home. ‘Oh my God... what a nightmare it was!’

I was weeping so relentlessly in my dream that I have tears even when I’m awake. I hysterically look for my child and feel so thankful to life to see her sleeping peacefully right next to me.

My tears won’t stop choking me out. I have just been through the trauma of seeing my child near death and then the joy of seeing her alive, all in one night. The dream was unreal but the feelings were so real. Thankfully it was just a dream.

But why did I have such dream? I believe my dreams want to tell me something. They have always guided me through many unanticipated situations.

I remember how I’d been raising her till now. I’ve been giving her lot of dos and don’ts; have been getting angry with her at the slightest provocation; and my general frustrations were having toll on her. I’ve been so busy that I’d not given her the time, have not shown enough appreciation and not expressed my love for her since some time.

I stare at her and realise how much she’s grown up. I dive into my memories and look for the joyous moments of her growing up but not a single memory of her recent times crossed my mind. ‘What have I done?’

My dream was a premonition of my growing distances from my child’s childhood. The dream was like an Aladin’s cave where I found my child back.

This has been my worst dream I ever had but it taught me how precious are the moments with my Little! Like any mother I always pray no harm touches my girl but I also know today I want to live and be mindful of every moment that I share with her. If destiny ever has its way, my heart may collapse but my soul and mind will have her with me always.

I want to love her mindfully as much and as long as I can.


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