Saawali Si Raat (A Peek into a Vivid Dream)

The spring was in full swing with signs of blooming across the fairly wide alleys of this vibrant city. The city our slightly younger, less scarred versions dwelled in. In separate dwellings with our own people. Trying to leave our imprints on the world in the wilderness of the city splashed with a naked spotlight. Yet, unable to make a single dent, amidst our claustrophobic anonymity.

Still, we stole moments of fleeting togetherness from the watchful eyes of our source and the city. Perhaps we were still to step into the deep abyss of cynicism. That night, in the sparse periphery of the perennial citylights, our silhouettes and a faint gleam of moonshine kissing the crest of our foreheads shrouded the two wheeler beneath us, as my arms were firmly crossed and clutched your belly. The parkland nearby was nearly deserted. Suddenly, you wanted to catch the latest romcom from the posters you caught a glimpse of in the evening. Who was I to say no? Surprisingly in that universe, in that city, night wasn't the time when demons lurk around, serenity instead of fear was the driving force, and cinema halls were operational at the dead of the night and even in ungodly hours of 3 past midnight. 

We booked our show and embarked on our two wheeler, with the unusual, unearthly air drag making it a long, arduous journey in slow motion. An unremarkable residential styled building enveloped in dull cream welcomed us with couple of staff members doing their thing. We entered the softly lit corridor towards our auditorium. As we gently pushed the doors open, our eyes swung towards each other in a shared suspirium. It wasn't an auditorium but a home theater with a cozy bed. It does sound like a scene from a horror movie, right? But in that universe, in that sphere of sentience, it was anything but that. Sense of fear and danger didn't exist.

We stretched out on the bed, completely oblivious to our existence and the sense of our coordinates in the fabric of time and space, completely dissociated from the relational realities of our universe. Shrouded under the sheets, completely dressed, with palms clasped. We watched -- beads of tears forming and seeping through our eyelashes -- as the scenes unfolding on the screen stirred our vulnerabilities, raw and unfiltered. As the credits rolled, the imagery vanished abruptly. 

I woke up at the break of the dawn in our world, trying to make sense of what my subconscious mind conjured up from a state of absolute numbness. I couldn't do so, couldn't make much sense of it, however I could recall the details of it in unusually vivid manner.