BEYONDER

Chapter 1

Ria woke up to the alarm, stretching sideways for the first cuddle of the day with Raj. She slipped the duvet off her body and sat on the edge of the bed, pushing her feet into the slippers, and tying her hair in a knot. As she walked to the bathroom, she thought about her last night's dream, she could not remember everything about her dream, but she felt some unease.

She remembered that she was running for something, looking for someone. Ria thought to herself, whether she was running from something or someone.

Ria shrugged the thoughts away, as she thought of her day ahead.

It was a very hectic day at work with loads of useless meetings, and then finishing the urgent matter for the day. She wondered as drove back to her house, whether Raj had reached home and started cooking for dinner, she so hoped so, as she hated cooking, and Ria thought cooking was a waste of time.

Ria slid the keys in the lock to open her main door and she got a whiff of chicken curry, Ria sighed and exhaled deeply, loving Raj increasingly every day.

Ria went towards the kitchen putting her bag and keys down on the side table, she hugged Raj tightly and said,” How lucky can I get!”
Raj turned around, giving her a resounding kiss, and said, “You don’t know how lucky I am, to have you in my life.”

They stood hugging each other for some time, each feeling lucky to be together.

Chapter 2

Ria walked towards the huge mansion, opened the door, kept her bag on the side table, and walked towards the humungous hall, turning left to reach the kitchen by calling out to Raj. She entered the big kitchen and turned on the light, disappointed that Raj was not home. She turned towards the big balustrade stairs to go up to their bedroom, she walked towards the bathroom, took a bath, and put on her pajamas.

She sat down on the settee of her dressing table to brush her hair, wondering what to make for dinner. She thought Raj would love it if she made vegetable pulao with curd. She set down her hairbrush and went down the stairs towards the kitchen.

Ria started peeling carrots, cutting them into fine pieces, then peeling green pea shells and dropping the green peas in a bowl, chopping onion, while all the time her ear towards the door for Raj’s footsteps. She looked up at the clock on the wall and wondered, why Raj had not reached home yet. Ria washed the rice and kept it aside, and turned towards the fridge to get the spices. While she turned, she saw a shadow cross the kitchen and go towards the stairs. Ria was surprised that she did not hear Raj’s footsteps coming into the house.

She started towards the stairs calling out to Raj, and rushed up the stairs towards their bedroom, finding it empty, she turned around and bent over from the stairs to look down, all the time calling out to Raj.

She came down the staircase towards the living room just next to the big hall and stopped in her tracks when she saw a huge portrait of her sitting in a big chair and a stranger standing with one hand on her shoulder. She went towards the portrait and squinted to look up at the man in the portrait, she whirled around when she heard someone coming behind her.

She turned slowly and, was shocked to see the man from the portrait standing in front of her. He smiled at her and asked, “I am hungry, is the dinner ready Ria?’

He walked towards the stairs while pulling the tie from his neck. He turns around to check on Ria, who is shell-shocked to hear him calling her by her name.

Chapter 3
Ria arrives at her office on time and gets some respite for being the first one at the office, she puts her bag down and opens the laptop, to check on all the deliveries scheduled for today, Ria grabs her cell phone from her bag and calls the warehouse supervisor to check the status of the deliveries.

As she keeps the phone on her desk, she thinks of the weird feeling she had about her dream. She remembered that she was in a huge house with some unknown man. She wondered why she was dreaming about this man.

Her cell phone rang flashing Raj’s name on it, Ria smilingly picked up her phone, and lovingly said, “Hi sweetheart, have you just landed in Delhi?”

Raj: Yes, just landed honey, just wanted to remind you that I have made a chicken sandwich for you for dinner.

Ria: My God, you pamper me so

Raj: I don’t pamper you; I love you, Ria.

Ria: I too love you a lot. Have a good meeting and come home soon.

Raj: Thank you Ria and you have a good day too. Hey, all the best for your delivery of the important consignment to your first new client. I will call you in the evening.

Ria: Bye love.


Chapter 4

Ria opened her eyes, turned on her side, yawned, and cuddled the warm body next to her, she jerked her arms back, realizing that it wasn’t Raj by her side.

The stranger turned to her and said, “Ria what’s wrong, why do you look at me strangely lately?” “Is everything okay with you?” pulling Ria towards him.

Ria starts screaming and wrenching herself from his grasp, gets out of bed, and rushes downstairs toward the main door. She pulls open the door with all her might running in the dew-filled morning, darkness and light dancing and merging, in the early morning.
Ria ran through the garden, towards the field to escape the stranger. Since it was dawn, her vision was blurry, and some unknown fear gripped her, making her run as fast as she could to get away.

Ria ran and her mind screamed, Raj please come and save me. She wildly scampered into unknown territory, waiting to wake up from the nightmare.

Chapter 5

Ria woke up gasping for bed, and looked around to look at Raj, but found the other side of the bed empty. She gulped air and felt some unknown terror, not to find Raj or to find the stranger on the other side of the bed. She felt as if she was violently traveling from one world or one lifetime to another. Ria always had these dreams but not with such clarity as last night.

She messaged her best friend, Sheena, asking her to meet for breakfast. Sheena was a quantum physicist and Ria’s childhood friend.

Sheena messaged back with a thumbs up and wrote, “Meet you at Udupi to Mumbai at 9:30 am.”

Ria arrived at Udupi to Mumbai first and went in and sat in one corner waiting for Sheena. She took out her phone and messaged Raj, “I am having breakfast with Sheena today. Are you coming home today or do you have to stay back in Delhi?”

She instantly got a reply from Raj, “Hey sweetheart, very good morning and so glad you are meeting Sheena for breakfast. I think I will finish my work here tonight and will catch the last flight back home. Love you and see you tonight.”

Ria replied, “Love you too, and come home soon.” As she kept her phone back in her bag, she saw Sheena walking towards her. She got up and gave Sheena a tight hug.

Sheena: What up Ri?

Ria: Sheens, I wanted to discuss a dream I have been having for years now. Last night, the same dream that has been haunting me for so many years, became so distinctly clear as if I was living that life and it felt as if this life is a dream.

Sheena: Is it the same dream you used to keep talking about when we were in school?

Ria started telling Sheena about the dream and vividly described the mansion, kitchen, bedroom, and sitting room where she saw the portrait of her and that stranger. She went on to tell Sheena about waking up in the dream to see the stranger in her bed and her panic when he came forward to hug her, and then her running away from there to wake up in this world.

Ria: Sheens I don’t know if I am going crazy.

Sheena: Ri, you know in my profession we do believe that there are parallel worlds, and different realities can coexist. It’s just that we do not have proof and hence cannot be sure. Between the REALM of dreams and wakefulness, we think the wakefulness is REAL.

Ria: Sheens, but for me it felt as if I was cheating Raj, betraying him! It feels as if my world is, split between night and day.

Sheena: In Parallel Universes theoretical physicist Michio Kak, also co-founder of String Field Theory suggests that another universe may be floating just parallel to our own. He explains that we can’t see inside it because it exists in hyperspace, beyond the four dimensions of our everyday reality. But in fact, we can and do go there – in dreaming and in the imagination.

Ria: Sheens, how is all this information helping me? I feel terror when I see that stranger and keep running in my dreams, looking for Raj, knowing fully well in my dream that I am married to Raj. My dream seems to be like the long-running serial on TV.

Sheena: Ri, relax! You are getting agitated for no reason, it's just a dream. Who knows if it’s a different realm or is it a premonition of what's going to happen in the future?

Ria: So, what do want to say that my dream is forecasting that I am going to leave Raj and meet someone else? I cannot for the life of me think or dream of my life without Raj!

Sheena: I know Ria, both of you are, made for each other. It is just that, I was thinking why have you been dreaming the same dream for so long, which started with snatch here and there, and now it's become a whole new story in that realm?

Dreams show us possibilities. Dreams give us sketches of what is possible. One of the great functions of dreaming is it shows us probable futures. If you like the possible future that you saw in your dream, then you want to take action to move towards it. If you don’t like the future, you want to avoid it.

Sheena: Ri, I feel Raj and you should take a short break, go on vacation, and spend more time with each other.

Ria: Yes, you are correct, I am making a mountain out of a molehill.

Sheena: You know right that I am always here for you.

Ria: Squeezing Sheena’s hand said, “Yes I know!”

Ria’s phone rang, and Raj was calling her. She swiftly picked up her phone, “Hi sweetie”

Raj: Ri darling, I will not be able to take that flight today, but will leave tomorrow morning, should be home by 10:00 am. Let us go out for the weekend.

Ria: Oh! Okay, sweetie, I understand. Yes, let us do that. I will pack for both of us and will also book us into the hotel at Lonavala. Love you.

Raj: Love you too!

Ria looked at Sheena and said, “I will not live if Raj is not part of my life anytime ever.”

Sheena: I know love, and that’s never going to happen.

Both left the restaurant to go to their respective office.


Chapter 6


Ria sat on her bed, after having packed both Raj and her bags for the weekend trip. After having spoken with Sheena, she realized, she had to face the stranger in her dream, so that Raj and she could live happily after. She gave a long sigh and switched the light off. Immediately she fell asleep.

Ria sat on the edge of her bed, in her dream, contemplating how she was supposed to face the stranger and what is she going to say to him. As she mused over her thoughts, the stranger walked in and looked at her strangely. Ria looked up and gestured for him to sit on the bed with her. The stranger took a long stride and sat next to her, waiting for her to speak.

Ria: You see this life that I have is a dream. My wakeful life is my real life. And in that wakeful life is a man, who I love immensely.

I do not know anything about you and why I am here with you like this. I want to beg you to release me from this realm or dream and let me be with the love of my life. I beseech you to please let me move on with my life. I apologize if I am making you uncomfortable with all this but you need to see that this is not the life I want.

Stranger: Is that what you want Ria? Will you be happy? I don’t think anybody can love you as I do!

Ria: But this is a dream, you are not real.

Stranger: So be it.

The stranger smiled at her sadly, nodded his head, stood up, and turned to walk away from the room, he stopped at the door to look at her once, then strode out of the room with his shoes making sound on the stairs as he left her behind in the dream realm.

11 September, 2023
2299 words