Preserving Another Dream

I finally got to sleep for a bit last night and I had a fairly pleasant dream.  She was in it…I can’t remember all the details but I remember that we arrived at the beach.  The time, I want to say 4am for some reason.  But I know it was before the sunrise.  She was wearing this classy black leather jacket.  She looked very pretty.  So we’re on this beach and I pull out a camera and start playing with it.  All of a sudden the sun begins to rise.  It was beautiful.  And it was all of a sudden as well, without warning.  And it was happening so fast.  The sky was changing colours, going from purples to blues to reds to oranges.  I remember pulling out this camera and I begin to start taking pictures.  And there was this empty house type building off to the side.  She goes behind that house thing and sits down.  I call for her to watch the sunrise with me but she just sits there.  But I wasn’t disappointed because of this amazing show of beauty before my eyes.  And as the sun is climbing up the sky, all these desi people come out of nowhere with their cars parking anywhere and everywhere they could.  I guess that was our cue to leave.  As this flood of people begin to arrive, I have this big smile on my face, watching everyone try to get onto the beach.  And I think to myself, aren’t we lucky that we arrived here early. 

And then I woke up.  Most of you may be thinking that because she was in the dream that that is the reason why I want to preserve it.  That is not the case, though I can understand why you guys might think that.  Its more about the setting of the beach and the rising sun.  If only I was an artist who could paint my dreams and show you how beautiful it really was. 

The Sweetest Walk

It was a few days ago I believe.  I can’t remember what time it was but I believe it was fairly late.  I was walking to my car at the University.  And where I park is quite far from everything (hence the cheap parking rate).  As I was passing the gym, I began to hear someone whistling a tune.  At first I just assumed it was someone in the gym just whistling so I didn’t really pay any attention to it.  But as I began to enter the ice rink attached to the Kinesiology building (far from the gym) I began to notice that the whistling was still lingering.  It wasn’t until I went outside that I actually began to pay attention to the sound. 

There were a a few people walking towards the parking lot with me.  It was night time and if I recall correctly, there was a light orange hue over the city due to the cloud cover that was keeping the weather at a pleasant 1*C.  There was no wind whatsoever.  It was only then that I actually began to listen to what was being whistled.  I am not sure what song it was but judging from the notes and melody, it was most likely an old classical song.  The way that this person was whistling it was just amazing.  Every now and then he would start humming the tune before going back to whistling.  And it wasn’t like he was whistling quietly, there was a great distance between myself and this person when I first initially began to notice it. 

As I walked in the night, all I could focus on was this tune that he was whistling.  I mean usually I am either lost in my thoughts regarding school or something else.  I don’t really pay attention to my surroundings because I walk that route every day.  But there was something about this tune that made me fully aware of the clouds, the night, the temperature…everything.  I noticed that the whistling and hum was getting closer.  Before, I didn’t want to look back to see who was doing it so as to not make the person feel uncomfortable, though admittedly I was dying to see who it was.  Finally I looked towards my left and saw a guy probably my age walk past me.  I am probably wrong but he looked like he was an engineering student.  He was walking pretty fast, maybe because he was cold or maybe because that was his regular pace.  I didn’t want to lose the sound so I began to walk faster as well.  I think I had a whole bunch of books that I was carrying so walking was already tough.  Usually the muscles just below my shins begin to ache real bad but I was determined to stay with this guy, or at least be in distance of his whistling. 

Walking behind him, listening to this beautiful melody, combined with the atmosphere of the night and the late night bustle of campus, it was quite possibly one of the most pleasant walks I have ever had in my entire life.  Even with all the stuff I was carrying, I had wished that walk never ended.  I wanted to stop him badly and ask what composition he was whistling and by who  but that would have meant a pause in the melody and I wanted nothing to stop that sweet song.  I listened to that melody the entire way to my car.  When I got in, I looked through my rear view mirror and he was still walking, still whistling.  I only got that song out of my head when I finally fell asleep that night.  When I woke up, the melody had left my head, lost in memory.   But that is one of the few walks of my entire life that I will actually remember. 

When You Stole The Moon

You walk ever so softly on this earth
As if you are mischievously hiding from my love
With all the world’s happiness laughing
Trailing behind you.
I look out my window
And watch a white glow slowly travelling through the streets of my town.
Are those Tambourines I hear?
No.
They are the sounds of the songs sung by your anklets as you take each step.
They sing songs of love, an eternal love, set in the town of love
This town
My town.
I step outside my door and ask the passer-by,
O Wine Barer, have you given me a drink tonight?
Silent he remains, only displaying a smile.
Am I going crazy or am I just drunk, I ask myself.
The bright glow travelling through my little town intoxicates my curiosity
And so, I travel true the tight alleys, following the glow and songs the anklets sung.
At first I walked.
But the more I walked, The more intoxicated became my curiosity
As if the search of this glow was its wine.
Walking turned to jogging and jogging turned to running.
I was getting closer.
The songs became louder and more memorising.
The glow became brighter
A heavenly contrast to the black night sky.
At last, I turned the corner of the old stone shoe maker’s shop
And there you appear
Caught whist mischievously hiding from my love.
Your body adorned in saffron.
Your hair blowing in a wind; A wind only centred around you
Your lips draped in the colour of roses in a wild field
Your anklets singing like a Bharati Princess in a castle court yard
Your eyes sparkling like a lake at night under the moon.
Wait…
The moon…
The moon!
I ask myself again, am I going mad or am I drunk?
Why have you the moon in your hands? I ask
Silent, you smile and say nothing.
Instead you turn to the West, and begin walking
All the happiness of the world laughing and dancing as it follows your saffron adorned body.
Instantaneously, I hear tablas and Sitars begin to play an enchanting tune
An unknown voice begins to sing poetic verses describing your saffron adorned body.
My curiosity, ever so drunk, follows you to an orange grove at a hilltop overlooking my little town.
With your arms stretched out, and the moon comfortably resting in your hands
You begin to spin
At first you spin slow.
The unknown voice ceases to sing verses, but now singing the sweetest raag
The tabla changes its tune to a hypnotic beat
And the Sitar changes its song to something that would put the faithless into a trance.
As you begin to spin faster, the instruments begin to play faster, as if to keep up with you.
The stars above begin to spin as well though the Moon stays still.
Faster and Faster you spin and everything becomes almost erratic but ordered at the same time.
Then, all of a sudden you stop, but everything else continues to spin.
The happiness that once trailed behind you, laughing, suddenly jumps up.
One by One, each explodes into the sky, like colourful fireworks at a festival.
Above that, the night sky begins to rain comets and shooting stars.
You laugh as the sky rains fire
Laughing like a little child joyful at the sight of a spinning top.
The wind blows the fabric of saffron adorned body
As if it were a flag representing your beauty.
I fall back against a nearby rock
bewildered and in utter shock.
You turn your head and look at me
Your hair dancing in the wind like an intoxicated dervish.
Slowly you walk towards me, smiling.
I pick myself up
Dusting off the grass on my clothes.
You come closer and closer to me.
And finally you speak:

I came here tonight
To your town
Filled with nothing but love for you in my heart.
But
Even with that
I felt it was not enough.
I felt I came with empty hands.
And so I reached high above
Right up to the sky
And stole the moon
For you.

She reached her hands out
Still with that glowing smile illuminating her face
And blew on the moon.
And then
By Magic
The moon disintegrates
First turning into dust
Than to doves
Flying straight up and away into the illuminated night sky.

…My eyes suddenly opened. I found myself in bed. And there you were, lying right beside me; wrapped up in your blanket, peacefully sound asleep. Right there and then, you had never looked so beautiful as you had right there. I couldn’t help but smile and melt. I reached over and kissed your soft, warm cheek and went back to sleep.

-Mast Malang