Friday, January 28, 2011

Dreaming wide awake.



He had been dreaming.
Dreaming, that she is sitting by his side, close by, snuggling up into his arms, her head on his shoulders. The lights of the bus had dimmed, but to him, her face was glowing, with purity, sanctity. He had dreamed of her quite often, but this relative closeness was rather absurd. In this dream, he dreamed that she had been accepted into the family, without a hitch. He dreamed that they were headed home, their home. And yet it all felt so real. It felt like he remembered everything. It’s funny how the subconscious plays tricks on a tired mind and body.
So he sat there, in the bus, with her sitting next to him, her head resting on his shoulder. The windows were drawn, and the curtains too. The bus was moving almost smoothly with little shudders every now and then. It was warm. He knew it was a dream, but still wanted to live in it. He put his head lightly on her head. But then, he opened his eyes. Found himself lying in his room, alone, on a bright white morning.
He felt nothing. The date read 13th March, Saturday; clock said it was about 9 am. No pain, no memory of the dream he had been seeing just before he opened his eyes. But then, we remember morning dreams, don’t we? It was a quiet morning. Birds were chirruping; his mother was busy with her kitchen, father reading his morning newspaper in the garden, and his dog, lazing there in the corner in the morning sun. He brushed his teeth, switched on the television, and yet felt nothing of it. It was being all too normal. Like a memory had been wiped off clean. He wasn’t thinking much, just doing a chore. A quiet nice morning, on a worry free weekend.  
He was having breakfast, on the couch, watching something on the television without interest and eating meanwhile. He just had a hiccup, gulped down water, and it was the same old morning again, smooth and quiet. He was relaxed, totally, surprisingly. He talked to his parents, joked, laughed, spent time sitting on the mowed lawn near his father’s chair, playing with his dog who was rolling near him and then running all around the lawn to come back and roll again. Mother was chiding him for being careless and that the dog would dirty him, but laughed along with everyone else when the dog crashed into him after taking a round of the garden at full speed and then spread out before him so that he may scratch his belly.  
He was on a stroll in the neighbourhood.  Dog’s strap in his hand, he was moving around lazily. Distilled sunlight showered from between the trees along the footpath. People were moving, just like any other day. Known faces, memorized smiles and gestures, and a lively carefree gait. The dog stopped every now and then to smell bushes and then mark his territorial boundary by urinating, every time he had to jerk the dog to move on, it felt like hiccups again. Suddenly, the dog lunged forward and with a snap, he opened his eyes.
There were dim lights, and a faint humming of the engine. The face close to him was familiar, glowing, and pure. She was readjusting the shawl around his legs, it had fallen off some time ago when the bus had hit a rough patch. Seeing him awake, she smiled. He returned hers with a similar expression.
Dreaming, wide awake.

67 comments:

Sayak Shome said...

The hiccups were good. The progression of the story was indeed laudable. And, oh! It was a nice invisible hiccup at the end.

Komal Ali said...

:) Like always, beautiful.
You always maintain great flow in your writings.

Deepika said...

The flow was perfect and the concept unique. Really, read something like this for first time and i was hooked from the start till end.. Amazing.

Sarah malik said...

vivid and tangible. u have a good writing style. the story was written with a flow too :)

PS : consider dividing ur long posts into paragraphs, makes the reading easy. And i loved ur blog theme, gonna come back here for sure :)

sarah

Ritika said...

vividly described! :)

though what u wrote as ur dream, is my dream too! :)

Blasphemous Aesthete said...

@Sayak
Thank You.

@Komal
:)

@Deepika
:)

@subtlescribbler
thank you.

As for the paragraphs, I had provided them in the MS Word, but blogger does not preserve the IEEE style formatting. Next time I will put deliberate extra space to mark the end of a paragraph. Thank you for the valuable suggestion.

@Ritika
I did not say it's my dream. Still, I hope your dream is fulfilled. :)

Tanishka said...

Very creative piece of writing... Loved the flow of it... :)

Tanvi said...

Anshul... oh wow... thats like me... i miss lazing around though.. :( But the only point its a guy, and i am a girl.. :P So i'll write my part soon :D :D Heehee :D Dream dream, wow anshul going more into it!

Cheers,

SaJ said...

Nice. :)

We are such stuff
As dreams are made on;
and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.


Dreaming, wide awake. Not a bad way to go really. And only those who dare to daydream, can make them come true.

But you have to stop after a while, I guess. -_-

Suruchi said...

Wow...the moving...back n forth...the transition n the brilliant end.
Spellbound!

Quite a journey u sketched out in these brief lines.
Very gripping narration, you made me read it again to enjoy it even more fully:-)

Fatima said...

Dare to dream, quite apt !
Loved the way the story flowed...there was a soothing calmness in it...

It's a dream but do dreams always come true is the questioning lingering at the back of my mind?

Take Care,
Fatima

Blasphemous Aesthete said...

@ Tanishka
Thank You.

@ Tanvi
:)

@Saj
Shakespeare eh?
Nice one bro. But what if you are living your dream everyday. I don't think you'll need to stop then.

@Suruchi
:)Thank You

@Fatima
The answer in which I believe is, Yes, they come true.
As for this, I think you did not understand what really happened. :P

Rià said...

Loved it so! I love the way u write...so vivid, each time its something new n fresh. :) Liked the ending too.

Cinderella said...

Hmmm....interesting.

This reminds me of a particular overnight bus journey life bestowed. Very dreamlike.

Unknown said...

absolutely 'wow'! i like how you write beautiful stories yet manage to keep them short and succinct. the description is very well-written indeed.

Megha said...

absolutely amazing...the flow was fast and gripping and the ending couldnt have been better..very nice...keep writing :)

AS said...

made me feel nostalgic .. :)

Blasphemous Aesthete said...

@Ria
:) Thank You Ria.

@Cinderella
It was (is). :)

@Mehak
:) Thank You.

@Megha
:) Thank You.

@AS
Why so?

Killer Drama said...

Wow, a dream in a dream? That rarely happens. I loved the narration and the language. Very captivating :)

Alka Gurha said...

I am not saying this merely for the sake of commenting but honestly...your posts of late take the reader along the perceptive journey of your dreams, your thoughts in a very engaging manner.Loved it.

Fatima said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Fatima said...

@ Blasphemous Aesthete: Yeah Anshul maybe this time round I din quite get what you meant to say...not in the right mind you know off lately, just can't understand even simple things...I mean its quite funny you don't get certain things and someone understands its quite embarrassing at times you know...I just dunno what's happening to me, can't even understand what I myself write at times! Sounding like a fool right? Funny yet not so funny....

But nevertheless I enjoyed what you wrote...

hope and love said...

love ur writing :)

Blasphemous Aesthete said...

@ D
You keep shuttling names, hope you won't mind this acronym for yourself.
Dream within a dream? Well that has happened once or twice with me, that's why I liked inception, though I know the theme that they exploited. Like shutter Island.

But, you too did not get this right. Was it a dream really? Or was he really living his dream in reality.

@Alka
Thank You, I will continue trying to improve.

@Fatima
Do I look like laughing? I try not to laugh at people but at situations, conditions.
They say ignorance is bliss. It is.
Oh and since lecturing is free, I'd suggest, don't try to get in a right mind, but get the right mind in your situation.
All the best.

@hope and love
:) Thank You.

Ph_ said...

Very nice . =)
*Dreaming, wide awake.*
I guess dreaming wide awake has to be the most beautiful reality one is lucky enough to live !
I like the post .

S said...

Loved the vivid description of mundaneness. Loved the way it left me amused in the end.. so which one was the dream?! :) m not looking for the answer.

SEPO said...

loved the story!

had some trouble concentrating though, maybe you should increase the font size, just a bit!

p.s the pic was awesomee!

Simran said...

Full of imagination and feelings..
Liked your work !!

Thanks for the visit and comment :)
Keep Smiling :)

Chandana said...

kind of like the movie inception? :)
lovely writeup...
next time try dream in a dream in a dream in a dream :P

Unknown said...

"It’s funny how the subconscious plays tricks on a tired mind and body"

So true !

I am a fan of your writings..
I have an award for u dear..check on my blog.

and hope all ur dreams come true.

Purba said...

I love how you conjure up images in your reader's mind.

There is a thin line between dreams and reality.

Blasphemous Aesthete said...

@Princess
It is. :)

@S
:) Thank You.

@Sepo
done, is it fine now?

@Simran
:)

@Chandana
It was just the first level. Nothing like inception.

@Duchess
And I am honored. Thank You.

@Purba
There is, it was crossed in mine own mind.

Rek Sesh said...

A dream here
a dream there
often irrelevant
some strange
some strongly connected
not coincidence nor convenience
such dreams often seen
signifies thus
time to wake up or let go
without or without a scream
really loved the thought, the visual wording and the way you ended the tale...

Mademoiselle Deva said...

I like the way you write! so dreamy! I love the first sentence the most!

nil said...

So very vivid, the story- my dear friend, you sure have a gift.
Beautifulyl crafted.. I sure do hope to read more of you :)

P.S- An official stalker of yours now, haha ;)

-Cheers,
Nil.

DISGRUNTLED GENIUS said...

Good writeup dude.. nice flow and tone to it :)

itsamuktha said...

Wooo amazing write up...Is there a part 2 coming up??
Keep visiting..!!!!

Beyond Horizon said...

Hmm...Dreams...We love them...I liked where you said...the subconsious plays tricks on a mind and body...How True!

Unknown said...

it was nice....there was a sense of soothing and calm in the way it was written...lovely...worth the time spent in reading the write.....:)

Blasphemous Aesthete said...

@Rek
Thank You very much. :)

@Deva
He had been dreaming This one?
Strange!

Thank you anyhow.

@nil
Am grateful :) Thank You, for both.

@Disgruntled Genius
Thank You dude.

@itsamukhta
no, there isn't. Thank You.

@Beyond Horizon
:)

@Animesh Ganguly
dreams seldom trouble us, not to the extent that we wake up.
Thank You for appreciating.

Disguise said...

Amazing beyond description :)

PriPat said...

wow! well written!

Neeha said...

You are awarded in my blog.

Unknown said...

Well dreams do sometimes leave you with some fodder for thought.....

I wrote something of this sort months back..
http://penningdownthemind.blogspot.com/2010/07/question-mark.html

Unknown said...

this one as well...

http://penningdownthemind.blogspot.com/2010/12/story-has-begun.html

yasha said...

I really love your style of writing.Awesome post.Good going.:)

Geeta said...

This is great!

...I'll be in Hyderabad mostly, staying there but exploring other areas I didn't get to last time... Kerala, Agra, Delhi maybe, Jaipur... we'll see where life takes me! :)

Sourav said...

Liked the flow and the strong emotions it portrayed. I guess our posts have few similarities! Keep dreaming and writing such nice posts :)

Blasphemous Aesthete said...

@Disguise
Thank You.

@Pripat
:)

@Neeha
Am honored.

@Animesh
Nice one.

@yasha
And I really admire your paintings, that is something that I could never do.

@Geeta
Up north, more north! Himalayas.

@Sourav
The aim, maybe, the aim.
Thank You Sourav.

Quaintzy Patchez said...

Aye Blasphemous :D

Good to see you on my blog :P

How's it going? :)

And.. ah! now I feel *so* tempted to quote Poets of the Fall ;)

Blasphemous Aesthete said...

@Quaintzy
Go ahead, give me the cure with my own medicine. :P hahaha I could quote someone else too... but they ring in much too often in my mind.

AL said...

LOVED ITTTTTTT

Kavita said...

Woww...this was good!!
Layered and textured... and with so much attention to the smaller details too... loved it!
Felt like a scene of 'inception'...
Too good!!

Raj said...

:)

Samadrita said...

I'm glad I landed up on your blog. Especially the blog of such a gifted fiction-writer.
Just a li'l problem...your layout is nice but the shadowed parts where the birds can be seen flying maybe a hindrance to reading at times. Try and change that if you want to. :)

D2 said...

The narration was splendid. There is a thin line between seeing images when you're awake and when you're dreaming. It's only the memories that can single them out then. Loved the vividness of the images you created with this story.

PhilO♥ said...

Beautifully written..
The picture is amazing too!
Loved the post completely!
Keep writing :)

Vivek said...

Hi Anshul,

Very Nice Deams Glimpse , I super liked the freshness and images that emerge after reading through your post.

It was felt as if was there to witness it.

Lovely .. looking forward to read more of you

Soumya said...

Beee yayyyyy!!

This is awesome :D

Sonshu said...

My first time hereee. :)
And I was pleaseeed. Lovely. :) Beautiful :) Amazing. :P

Lookng fwd to visiting soon. Now following youuuh :)

Blasphemous Aesthete said...

@AL
It's been a long while, isn't it?
:)

@Kavita
:) Thank You.

@Raj
:P

@Samadrita
I will, as soon as I make my own, or find a better one.
P.S. Haven't searched yet, will do, soon.

@D2
Thank You.

@Lonely Dreamer
I'll try. :)

@Vivek
That is a very encouraging compliment, thank you.

@Soumya
Thank You. :)

@Sonshu
Thank You Sonshu. And welcome.

sm said...

nice story

Megha said...

Beautiful..interesting..touching and the words paint such a lovely picture that they actually come alive as you are reading it..!

divsi said...

beauty....
read a rocksolid gripping tale afta long..
wow is all i say!

p.s: first time here..lovely blog:D

Rooj Siddiqui said...

Thakur sahab :) you completely aww'ed me with the post. Whattay flow! I love your how you keep my attention through out :) Amazinggg ...

Alcina said...

Very unusual story..never read something like it.Enjoyed from the beginning till the end.The details were penned down so at ease.

Blasphemous Aesthete said...

@sm
thank you

@Megha
Thank You :)

@divsi
welcome here Divsi

@Nostalgic
:) thank you Urooj, how are you?

@Alcina
thank you!

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