Jolting out of a nightmare, gasping for air, covered in cold sweat, it was like a weekly routine yet these nightmares scared me every time. It was more than a nightmare, Vivid dreams, too realistic for my liking…it's like going through something that's cursed.
After calming myself down, I slowly got out of bed, taking a look at myself in the mirror; I looked pale like a ghost. This dream was particularly intense- standing right in front of a guy who's face is always blurred, in the middle of a forest, near a pond…Not even my parents believe when I tell them this. Hoping onto the shower and washing away the reminiscence of the chills of the vivid dream I felt and getting ready for college, the smell of Upma made my nose scrunch in disdain.
Upma, I hate that thing more than anything. With one final touch up, I left for college without eating breakfast, giving my mom and dad a kiss on cheek as usual. The ride to college always made me regret choosing a far away one. My daily trek—twenty minutes on a bus, ten on the metro, and a final kilometer on foot—finally ended at the psychology department on the first floor.
Class started at 9 am, we had more free time than studying, only because we are first year students. The time slowly ticked away. Break time felt like heaven for me and my friends. Sitting in the cafe on the rooftop, I told my friend Aradhya and Sneha about the dream. Once I finished talking, Sneha burst out laughing while Aradhya was hiding her laugh behind a cough, as usual…"Oh my god, are you for real? This hasn't stopped yet??" Sneha said through her laugh, catching her breath, Aradhya was still busy laughing like a maniac. I rolled my eyes, "I'm serious guys, do you know how terrifying it is to wake up like that?" Aradhya held back her laugh and smacked Sneha on her shoulder, silently telling her to shut up as she said "Fine fine, we believe you, there, happy?"
I almost groaned out at her words, always joking around, never serious. I could understand them, after all those dreams sounded like a fantasy or something…but it felt like a Hyper realistic one that refused to leave my mind. Not even my own therapist believed me saying it's just a *fragment of my subconscious mind*.
Back at class, I found a white tulip covered in blood under my desk with a note beside it. The class noise was just a distant background noise for me, my eyes fixed on the tulip and the note, my fingers clenching around the stem of the tulip unconsciously. Others would think it's a prank considering the reputation of the boys in our class but it felt way worse to me. With a shaky breath, I opened the note; *I'm as real as the dream, Meri Saans*....The words 'Meri Saans'—my breath—should have been poetic, but written beside a blood-soaked tulip, they felt like a noose tightening around my neck; it sent chills down my spine, a tulip in blood, cryptic words. It felt like being watched by someone unknown, suffocating, goosebumps out of terror. I kept it in my bag to avoid being seen by others, forcing a calm look despite the shakiness of my hands and my eyes darting around a lot more than usual. I went back to talking with my friends; yet those words on the note and the feeling of being watched never left me, not even once. The day felt agonisingly slow, like torture that was made to make my sanity lose control. Each shadow, each whisper made my body tense, sweaty hands and a chilling sensation that maybe…just maybe, my dreams were real or was it really a fragment of my mind?