A wake up call

"Please help me...I want to go on... It's so peaceful here!"

Phil woke up with a start! He hadn't thought about Pam in a while. This dream brought back memories of her.

How long has it been! Wonder where she is and what she is up to...

He got out of his bed and got ready for work. He was standing in front of the mirror when Rose, his wife, walked in. She pecked him on his cheeks, told him that she had an early meeting to attend and that breakfast was kept on the table. He nodded and gave her a smile as she left the room.

That dream had shook him up. There was this strange uneasiness. He went down, sat at the table and stared at his breakfast.

The last time we spoke was when she called to congratulate me on my wedding. She said she won't be able to make it. That was 4 years back... 

He came back to reality as his phone beeped. He quickly stuffed some toast into his mouth and headed for work. He couldn't focus at work either. He cancelled all his meetings and decided to reach out to her instead. He didn't have her phone number anymore. He looked through some old emails and emailed her. He went through his Facebook only to find her account doesn't exist anymore. He buzzed some of their common friends about her whereabouts.

Whatever he did, the uneasiness was only increasing. Why haven't I kept in touch! Why am I always busy for everyone! 

-----------
Beep...Beep... The heart rate monitor’s beeping was what told them that she was still alive. Her parents, some relatives and friends were gathered outside the room; some in tears; some consoling the others; some discussing about life and death in general.

The doctor came in and started speaking to her father. "We cannot keep her in here any longer. I've already informed you about the gravity of the situation. We have tried everything; she is not coming back. It's been months now. Have you guys arrived at a decision?"

"Give us some more time, please! It's a hard decision to make... ", said Simon.

"I understand. But please understand our position as well.", said the doctor before walking away.

Simon addressed his wife, Mary, and the well-wishers gathered there, "We've two choices. We can take her home with the ventilator and let her continue to live in this vegetative state or we can show her some mercy and pull the plug!"

-----------
It was night. He has been constantly checking his email to see if she replied. His wife was getting concerned. He told her it was work. He couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong.

His phone beeped. It was a message from a common friend.

"Hi"
"Hey, any news?"
"I'm not a 100% sure. I have not been in touch with her. But I heard from an acquaintance who knows her colleague that she was in an accident and is on her deathbed."
"What?" he asked in shock.
"Yes, it's quite sad...That's all the info I have, man..."

God! No! How can it be? "Is there any way you I can get in touch with her??"
"I took the number of her colleague, Julie. Here's her number: XXXXXXXXXX"
"Thanks man! Thanks a lot! "
"No problem. Do keep me updated! I will pray for her!"
"I will."

What a horrible friend am I? I didn't even know! Why did I lose touch? Without wasting any time, he called the number. Julie answered the phone. He heard the news…

"They are yet to arrive at a decision. It's really sad to see her like this..."

"Please help me...I want to go on... It's so peaceful here!"
"It's so peaceful here!"
She wants to move on... She wants them to take the right decision...

"Hello, you there?"
"Yes, yes... I am. I think she would want to move on too..."
"You think so too, right?"
"Yeah..."
"Maybe you can tell aunty. She may be open to hearing it from you. I will put her on the line."

Her voice was shaky. One could sense the grief.
"Hi, my dear...", Mary managed to say.
"Hi, aunty..."
"I don't know what to do anymore...Why did this happen to us?"
"We can't change what's happen. We need to see what we can do to help her now..."
"What do you suggest?"
"I think she would like to be at peace..."
He could hear her sobbing.
"Aunty, please be brave."
"I'm trying to be. Maybe you are right. Maybe this is what is best for her..."

He heard the phone click. She had hung up.

I hope they make the right call...  

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"Have we made a decision?", asked uncle Rob.
"We should let her go in peace.", said Mary unable to stop the tears.
Simon just stared at the wall, nodded in agreement, and put his arm around his wife in support. Tears were gathering in his eyes.

"I will inform the doctor then. When should we do it?", said Rob.
"Why wait and let her suffer more? Let's do it now." said someone.

"No!” screamed the wailing grandmother. "It has to be an auspicious time so that my poor child's soul at least has a better life than the one she led here."

"Then you tell us when it should be.", said Rob.

This was definitely not the time to point out religious beliefs and superstitions; so many chose to keep mum.

"Tomorrow, 5:00 PM."

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His phone buzzed. It was a message from Julie. It read: "It's been decided. Tomorrow, 5:00 PM"

He leaned back on his chair, somewhat relieved. He couldn't stop thinking about her. The past they had. The pranks; the karaoke sessions. A rueful smile came up on his face. He stared at the ceiling and tried to revive all his memories of her. One by one, the memories played out to him in his mind before he fell asleep.

............................
Pam’s birthday…
"Happy Birthday!" he screamed into her ears.
"Go away...Let me sleep!"
"Sleepy head", he said as he tickled her to get her to wake up.
"See what I got! I baked it for you."
It was her favourite red velvet sponge cake.
"What? Really? When did you learn to bake?"
He laughed.
"You ass!" she smiled and gave him a hug.

............................
The time she insisted that he tag along with her for the movies…
"No, John will make fun of me. You know how I cry at movies!", said Pam
"He's your boyfriend!"
"But we have been dating only for a while. Pleaaaaseeeee."
"Fine, fine. We will go separately. Just both of us. Happy?"
She gave her usual toothy smile.

............................
When he confided to her about Rose…
"Are you sure Rose likes me?"
"Of course! Who dares to not like you?"
"Come on... I'm serious... I'm very nervous!"
"I've seen the way she looks at you. Trust me..."

............................
The times she would spoil him silly… 
"Here's a little something for you from my first salary!"
"Oh my God! The iPod I wanted! But, Pam!"
"No buts!" she smiled.
"Thank you so much, sweetheart! You're the best thing that ever happened to me."
"Are you sure? I don't think a certain someone will be happy", she smirked.
"I'm sure!"
He hugged her and kissed her forehead.

............................
When John broke up with her…
"It's alright..." he consoled her as he stroked her head resting on his shoulders. She couldn't stop crying.
"I can never do anything right..."
"Don't say that. This wasn't your fault!"
"All those dreams I had..."
"Not all dreams come true, sweetheart. You've to let go..."

............................
When she started to lead a different life…
"I haven't seen you in days!"
"I have just been resting..."
"I'm glad you are. Your mind and body needs it. But please meet me too!"
"Dreams are so nice, right?"
"What? Umm...I guess. Except for nightmares...Heh"
"It's my world. A world where I'm not judged... A world where nothing is wrong or right... A world that I own, I control, I live with all the people."
"Hmm?"
"It's like alternate reality, you know"
"That's one way to think about it. Some dreams sure are fun."
"Once you learn to steer them your way, it's even more fun."
"Anything that keeps your mind off is good!"
"Yep. I will talk to you later."
"Wait... hold on..."
The emptiness was all he could hear.

............................
When he called to tell her that he was marrying Rose…
"Hi Aunty, is she there? She never picks up her phone!"
"She is sleeping. That's all she does when she is home."
"Can you tell her I've something important to tell her? I'm getting married, Aunty and I want to tell her myself. I'm out of the country now, else I would have come there personally."
"That's some great news! Congrats, my dear. I will inform her."

............................
The last time they spoke…
"Tomorrow is the D-day, eh? Congrats!", she said.
"Where are you? You should have been here by now!"
"I'm sorry, but I won't be able to make it."
"You can't do this to me!"
"I'm really sorry... Have a great wedding and an awesome married life. My love to you both."
"Thanks. But remember, this is not over."

............................

Image source: http://goo.gl/W3bZDy

"Dreams... What if you could just live in them, forever? I could live with you. I could live with him, I could live with anyone I want, or live without."

"My rules...my way... my happiness... a world where there is no pain. I can erase anyone. I can revive anyone."

Everything is beautiful. Everyone is beautiful." 

"It's so peaceful here! I want to go on...Please help me..." 

"Please help me..."




Nooo! What have I done?
He got out of his chair with tears in his eyes...

"Did you doze off in the chair?", asked Rose.
She noticed the tears. She was concerned now.
"What happened, honey?"

"I did her wrong. That's not what she wanted..."
"What are you talking about?"
He ignored the question and grabbed his phone. He tried reaching Julie, but in vain.

"I've to go now. I promise I will explain everything once I get there. I can't afford to get delayed!"
"I don't know what is happening. But I hope everything goes fine."
"Thanks for being so understanding. I love you."
"I love you too."


He started packing his stuff. She helped with the packing while he booked a flight ticket, the earliest possible one.

"I'm taking the 3:00 AM flight. I should land by 12:00 PM their time.
About an hour to get to the hospital. I should be able to make it just before time!"

............................
"I've reached the airport. The flight is delayed by 3 hours!"
"Have you checked for any other early flights?", asked Rose.
"It's the bad weather. None of them are flying now. I don't know what to do. I can't reach them either. I want to stop it."
"I will pray. I hope we make it on time!"

............................
"....is ready for boarding", went the announcement.
He grabbed his bag and rushed to the gate.
The whole flight, he felt uncomfortable. He couldn't eat. Alcohol didn't help either. Her words haunted him...

"Please help me...""It's so peaceful here!"
He couldn't take it anymore. But there was nothing he could do.

"...cabin crew, prepare for landing.", came the captain's voice.

"... the local time is 2:50 PM and the temperature is 23 degree Celsius. We hope you have a pleasant stay."

He was the first to get out of the plane. The immigration line was long. He cursed everyone ahead of him. By the time he made it out, it was 3:30 PM. He quickly hired the first cab he found.

"To St. Mary's Hospital, please..."

"I still can make it. I can... I can..."The cab came to a sudden halt.
"What happened?"
"Looks like an accident, sir. The road ahead is blocked"
"It can't be! I have to get to the hospital. Please!"
"We are not going to make it via this road, sir. There is another route we can take. But it's longer"
"Any road that can get me to the hospital. Drive as fast as you can. I beg of you."
"Sure, sir. I will try to get you there as early as possible."

He tried calling the number again...
"Switched off!! Bloody fucking hell!"

-----------
4:55 PM
Everyone was gathered next to her bed. Her grandmother was reciting some prayers and blessing her. Her mother hadn't stopped crying. Her father looked a defeated man.

The doctor walked in. "Everyone ready?"

-----------
"Keep the change!" He almost threw some money at the cabbie and ran into the hospital.
"....which room? Please, it's urgent!"
"Room 306"
He ran.
The clock struck five.

Dreaming it up: S01E02

It all seemed like a distant memory. She could however relive it every moment. The times she laughed with him, her loving husband. Her friend, who was more of a soul sister. The image of all three of them together started to fade as reality dawned on her.

She was hiding behind the crates. She could see the silhouette of the giant of a man who was out to hunt her. She had forgotten how many days it has been since she started running. Her body had almost given up; but she was holding on to her determination to escape from this hell.

He had spotted her! She threw the crates towards him to slow him down and took the first door she saw. It opened into an alley that led to the main road. She ran. She stopped an auto and asked the passengers to take her aboard and told them how that man was after her. They took pity on her state and allowed her to.

The giant man saw her getting into the auto and hurriedly took control of another auto and chased after her. She pleaded with the driver to drive faster. He tried his best. But with the traffic, he was unable to. As the auto came to a halt, she got down and ran again.

That man was only a few vehicles behind and was trying hard to spot her. She found a small secret exit to the subway station and climbed down the pole. She could feel his hawk eyes trying to spot her. She landed near some stairways. Amidst the darkness, she saw a small platform and a door next to it. She hopped on to the platform and opened the door. It opened into the railway tracks.

"What if I boarded a train..."
"Goddamn it! The platform is on the other side. The train gates won't open from this side. Waiting on the platform could be risky. The cameras could spot me..."

As she stood there wondering about the next course of action, she heard footsteps. It sounded like a parade was approaching her. She closed the door, held onto the door handle and balanced herself on the small platform, to avoid being spotted.

Many of them had donned a Victorian attire. It seemed like they were heading to some play. She let them pass one after the other, and stayed hidden. She suddenly saw a familiar face. The man in a security uniform. It was Peter!

"Peter...", she called out in a feeble voice.

He heard it. He looked around trying to see who called out to him. He stood there, letting the others pass, and tried to get some vision in the darkness. He looked deeper into the direction she was in.

She slowly got down the platform and headed towards him.

"Oh my God! It's you! You're alive!", he almost screamed. He stared at her. Even with the stains, he noticed the white hospital gown she had on.

"Where have you been??"

"I..."; she collapsed before she could even finish her sentence. He held her, put her arms around his shoulder and took her into an alley within the subway. She could see a door towards the end. It opened into his small apartment. He laid her gently on the bed, told her to get some sleep before he rushed out.

She heard the door close after him as she drowned into slumber. She woke up after what seemed liked days, but was only a few hours. He was not back. She noticed that the front door was locked from the outside.

She looked around the apartment. From the looks of it, she realized that he was part of yet another undercover mission. She had known Peter since the time she knew her husband. They were partners for a long time till both started taking up undercover missions.

She decided to take a bath. She couldn't wait to get rid of that goddamn hospital gown. She tried to drown her worries, temporarily so, in that hot tub. The hot water was soothing for her mind and body.

That excruciating pain on her lower back was still bothering her. After drying herself, she looked for something to wear. Peter only had sets of the same uniforms in his wardrobe. She grabbed one and wore it.

She walked out to the main room and stood in front of the mirror. She lifted her shirt up to see the wound that was causing her so much pain. As she was staring at it and thinking of a way to fix it, she felt a pair of eyes staring at it. Peter was back!

She immediately tried to cover it, but he had seen it. He knew something wasn't right.

"Show me now!"

She lay on the bed with her face down as she lifted her shirt slightly, revealing the wound for him to examine.

Peter saw the bullet that was stuck deep into her skin; what shocked him was that it was frozen! There was no trace of any blood. He also noticed scars that seemed to run all over her back and stomach. Some of these scars were healed naturally. He could see the blood clot. The others were frozen!

He reached for his medical kit and tried to get the bullet out. As he cut the wound open, he noticed that tiny ice shards appeared on her skin and healed it almost as quickly as he cut it!

"What the hell have they done to her!"

A feeling of dread overcame him. After an hour's struggle, with the help of boiling water & hot oil, he somehow managed to pull the bullet out.

"Tell me, where were you all this time?"

" I don't know...", she said before breaking into tears.

Peter stroked her head and consoled her. He knew that he had to get some special equipment to test what mutations were going on in her body. He told her to get some rest and also to eat some food.  He promised to be back soon.

She realized how hungry she was only at the mention of food. She quickly grabbed some bread and ate it up. She felt much better.

Thanks to Peter, she was relieved from the pain as well.

Now that her body and mind felt relaxed, she began to get some visions of the place she was held captive. She looked for some pen and paper to note it down while she still remembered it. Looking through the drawers, she instead found an envelope, addressed to Peter, from...her husband!

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she read the letter.  She then wiped her tears, found the gun that was hidden under the desk, broke the front door lock and stormed out.

Peter was back and was worried to see the door ajar. He ran in, looked for her. She wasn't around. He noticed the letter on the desk. He knew what had happened.

"Shit!" he exclaimed, before running out to find her.

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Dreaming it up, is a series about my actual dreams. I have always had vivid dreams and have been able to remember a good portion of my dreams since childhood. So I finally thought I would pen it down.

You can find the whole series here: Dreaming it up 

Disclaimer: I do take some creative liberty to formulate it into a readable post.

Dreaming it up: S01E01

After finishing her earlier mission, where she lost a comrade and wasn't even given the time to grieve, she was now undercover holding number 16. Little did the guy holding number 4 know about it. Yet another evil weed she had to clean out. This time a couple. Everything was going according to plan, when the number 4 guy took pity on the condition of the undercover role she was in and talked to her to help her out.

She went along with his idea to save her cover. He took her to the camp area, where she originally belonged, after telling her about his plan to save her and how he had 4 others who could help him. One of them was Robin and she know it immediately although he used the code word to describe him.

But when they got to the camp, a bunch of guys with number 4s stopped them, guided the guy to a room on the left and asked her to continue ahead.  The number 4 guy asked her to wait there and said that he will be back soon.  But it was the camp and she knew it better than him.  So she walked towards the main hall.

As she was getting closer, there was a huge commotion. She rushed there. She saw Burt with his hand on his forehead.  "What happened?", she asked him. He said that the rest of their team were off to floor 12 and that a fight had broken out.

"Floor 12? Where is Robin?"

Burt didn't say anything. She shook him and asked again.  "He is gone...",  Burt said with tearful eyes, as he got up and hurried to floor 12.

The fight was beginning to break out right there.  She rushed out of there, went to that special room where number 4 went.  The guards didn't allow her to enter.  She pushed them and knocked open the door. Everyone turned around. The number 4 guy was looking at her in astonishment.  But he wasn't who she was looking for.  The group cleared to reveal Arthur.  He was bringing up this army of number 4s. Arthur told her that she wasn't supposed to be there. She ignored it and asked him how long he had been locked up there.  Sensing the tone of her voice filled with anger and sadness, Arthur asked what has happened. "Robin is gone".  she managed to say before she ran out in a frenzy.

An angered Arthur gave the command to attack.  She could sense the tears within the group. Many knew Robin.

She raced ahead and had gotten into her fury mode. There was a red aura around her.  She had claws like a wolf. "Feed the fury", she screamed out her war cry.  That old evil general was now waiting at the base and trying to close the door on them.  She grabbed him and hurled him to such a distance that he was smashed and went up in pieces.

The fury form of hers and Arthur's army rushed to join the rest of our team in the battle for Robin.

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Dreaming it up, is a series about my actual dreams. I have always had vivid dreams and have been able to remember a good portion of my dreams since childhood. So I finally thought I would pen it down.

You can find the whole series here: Dreaming it up 

Disclaimer: I do take some creative liberty to formulate it into a readable post.