The Next Day

As he opened his eyes, he found himself lying on the bed in his bedroom. His wife was not by his side. He was feeling fine, actually he had never felt better than that in all these times. As he got off the bed, he noticed something unusual about the room.

It was June, the hottest month in Delhi, still the windows were closed, fan was not moving and AC was off. But, even after all this, he was not sweating or feeling hot. He felt lighter and fresh. He came out of the bedroom towards the lobby.

The lobby area gave a deserted look. There was no one there, and it felt as if there has been some ritual performed in that area. There was a strong smell of flowers burned incense.

It was 9 am, usually this was his breakfast time. But today he didn't feel like eating anything. He wasn't hungry at all.

He sat down on the sofa and grabbed the newspaper lying on the table in front of him still wondering about the calmness around him. It felt as if time had taken a halt.

He took a deep breath, and started reading the newspaper. His heart jolted as he was taken aback by the news that read-

'In a fatal accident, a youngster lost his life'.