The Dark Dream.....Family short-story

THE DARK DREAM (Family short story)

Moon light was seeping through the Úne curtains, bestowing a golden glow inside the room. It
was a full moon day. The rich, cold rays lit sleeping Rupa’s face, giving it an unearthly hue. She
was deep inside a dark cavern surrounded by voices – voices, all male. Suddenly a deep voice
spoke words very near her ears, words she could not perceive because the breath that
warmed her ears had unnerved her. She came awake and sat upright with her heart thudding.
Tiny beads of sweat formed on her forehead and twinkled as would embedded stones in a
tiara. She had had dreams previously, – all pervading darkness. But this dream was diÙerent,
and she had it repeatedly. A week had gone by; the same dream unsettled her. Ever since she
happened to meet those students who had come to her college on a student exchange
programme, she had become a disturbed person.
Beside her, Ratna, her elder sister was muttering in her sleep. Ratna was a nonchalant, no
nonsense girl, worked like crazy on her projects and was rapidly moving up her career ladder.
She had become the man of the house after their father had passed away. Mother always was
terribly worried for her as her relatives kept picking on her over her daughter’s unusual work
timings and her imperturbable attitude to criticisms. Ratna brushed it all aside saying that they
were all jealous that despite her father’s untimely death they were aÝuent . Most of the
days Rupa never knew when she came home. Ratna was on her cell phone most of her
waking hours and at times Rupa could not make out whether Ratna was on her phone ormuttering in her sleep. She said she overrode men and showed them how good she was in
work. Rupa was awestruck. Ratna was a blazing volcano in their tradition bound family circle.
Both the girls were brought up in a household replete with restrictions. Rupa remembered her
grandmother who held the reins of the family. Each one’s talk, clothes, habits and a lot
more were closely monitored and strict vigilance was enforced. Ratna proved to be a rebel
from the beginning. Rupa could only admire her courage. More than everything else they were
prohibited from talking to boys, even with their own cousins, except in the presence of elders.
Ratna deÚed everything. She played cricket with the boys without the elders’ knowledge,
climbed trees with them and rode their motorbikes. With grandmother’s death, there seemed
to be more breathing space in the house. But Rupa’s mother was no better. She proved to be a
well trained daughter in law to mother in law. The same laws continued even with the full
assent of their father.
The world seemed to had come to a standstill when her father succumbed to a heart attack.
The unexpected turn was Ratna’s job soon after she completed her degree in commerce.
Rupa could continue with her college education and Ratna made time in her busy life, to
educate herself further, to enhance her career.
Rupa liked her college, a women’s institution. Ratna bore all the expenses. It was during her
fourth semester, Rupa became part of a student exchange programme. Every girl in the group
was excited. Students from a Mumbai university came and started staying in the campus. Rupa
and group had to attend lectures together and interact with them. She went into a shell when
she came to know they were all boys – and a boisterous group!
Rupa cringed when one by one they grabbed her hand for a handshake. Her grandmother
would have considered it an outrage of modesty.
Rupa listened to the boys’ endless talk and found each of them had a diÙerent voice, tone and
pitch, and way of talk. She had only heard her father talk, at close quarters. Not even her
uncles came near them. She fell silent. The other girls were talking excitedly. They asked her
when they were away, whether they seemed lively or dumb. She could not understand why
anyone should talk so much in front of those boys.
There was one particular fellow in the group with a deep voice, who tried to converse with her
and she answered him only in monosyllables. All on a sudden it happened a week before, at
the social get together she was forced to join in, with the Mumbai students. She was standing
in a corner so that she would not be on the way of others, and someone touched her shoulder
and talked in that deep voice so close to her ears that she felt his breath brushing her ears.
Before she could understand what she was doing, she pushed him roughly and started
running. She fell down and someone picked her up. She was taken home. Her mother was so
shaken that she did not leave her side for two days. Those who brought her home did not
know much to tell her mother. Her mother gently asked her what the matter was, but she
would not answer. She did not talk to Ratna either.
She had the dream that night and every night after that.
Rupa got down from the cot and groped her way to the study table, hit the chair and
prevented its fall in time. “What are you up to at this hour, Rupa? I am trying to get at least Úve
hours of sleep. Show some mercy on me,” Ratna gabbled and slept again.
“You must go to college today. It’s time you told us what’s wrong,” said Ratna in a compelling
tone, the next morning.
“‘Let me come along with you,” she insisted. “The way you get up in the middle of the night,
shaking like a frightened chicken perturbs me. Come make your heart lighter, Rupa, tell us.”
“That … b…boy was trying to talk to me,” stuttered Rupa.
“Trying to talk to you?” Ratna rolled her eyes.
“Yes, he came very near and I was frightened and it comes every night in my dream,”
concluded Rupa.
Ratna sighed and their mother also seemed a bit relieved. “Is that all? Ok, I shall talk to your
principal,” she said.
Rupa accompanied her unwillingly to college. Inside the campus she could hear the usual din
from the ground, students enjoying games period. When they neared the principal’s room, she
could hear the rise and fall of the professors’ voices from the adjacent class rooms.
Principal called them inside after they had waited for a few minutes.
“What’s the matter, Rupa? Are you not well?” The principal turned to Ratna. ” Is she alright
now?”
Ratna nodded and explained what was wrong, to the principal, briefly.

“We thought that, being a bright student she would do well in this students interactive
program. We also want our students to interact with people to inject conÚdence in them,” the
principal observed.
Ratna lowered her voice, “It is not because she is visually challenged that she fears things. She
has been so brought up in an old fashioned way, she fears life. I will help her get out of her
fear. Meanwhile, please take care of her as you have always been doing and thank you once
again for admitting her in your institution, along with sighted people, helping her with her
notes and providing her scribes for writing exams. But please let her not be hurried into
anything that she fears.”
The principal smiled her assent. “Oh! She’s such a brilliant student.”
She turned to Rupa and said, “Rupa, don’t worry. Hereafter nothing shall happen that will
disturb your peace. The boy had already apologized saying that he talked to you that way
because he thought you might not know he was talking to you, if he did not come very near.
Most of the sighted people believe it to be so. He is here right now. I had called for him when I
knew you had come, as he wanted to apologize to you.”
Rupa heard the deep voice telling her from a distance,” I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten
you. I think you are damn smart, despite your ..er… I mean .. er .. ..sight problem …. I saw your
performance records and all, so, wanted to be friendly. Sorry again.”
The principal’s voice was heard again,” Are you alright now? Ready for the next semester?”
Rupa nodded, unfolded her white stick and followed Ratna out of the room.
END