Horror

She was holding the hands of her loved one. She could see only a hazy picture of who it was. May be her daughter? Surely, they were in a pleasant mood and were walking in the garden. Her grandchildren were playing around them as the two were talking about something with involvement. The daughter asked her mother about something, and she replied. She asked her another question and she was blank. Mother was staring at her daughter’s face as she sat on a garden chair totally lost, as if the person in front of her was a stranger. Daughter was calling her trying to get some response but to no avail. She had a strange feeling. As if she was emptied of all her thoughts, feelings and memory.

Sujatha woke up abruptly from her sleep with a sinking feeling. She was fully drenched in sweat, with palpitating heart and confused mind. Slowly she recollected her senses and then realized that she woke up from the middle of a nightmare, a horrible dream. It shook her to the core and it took some time for her to gain composure. She realized that she dreamt that she had Alzheimer’s!

Radha was puzzled at her mother’s ways for the past two days. She said,” what is the matter with you ma? you look very lost and worried for the past two days. Are you not feeling well? Shall we go to a doctor?”. After a lot of coaxing and cajoling, Sujatha revealed her dream to the daughter. Radha was a sensible girl. She realized that the dream had affected her mother’s psyche very strongly. She said,” your dream sounds horrible even to hear. It is very sad that you had experienced it. I don’t think you should give undue importance to it and worry.” “Ooh now I get it. Is it something to do with the workshop on Alzheimer’s that we all attended. Everyone jokingly thought they had Alzheimer’s citing their forgetful sometimes as the basis.” And both mother and daughter laughed heartily. It lightened their moods and the atmosphere.

 There was a workshop on spreading awareness about Alzheimer’s disease two days ago in their community, by an NGO dedicated for the cause and they themselves were providing services to the needy. A Husband-and-wife couple were in the lead and explained various aspects of the disease with some real-life experiences. The plight of those patients and of their caretakers, who were often their spouses, who themselves were dealing with health problems, was really moving. Sujatha was so involved with the workshop, perhaps that was the reason she had this horrible dream. Was this Horrifying dream triggered by the workshop? Most probably yes. It took a very long time for Sujatha to come out of its effect and to bounce back to normalcy.