The Dream Of Choice
By: Chandni Vaya
Tags: Fate, Short Story, Faith, Dreams, Choices

You’ve suddenly found yourself walking… you do not know which side you are on, how far behind the junction is or how long you have been travelling. The sky looks the same, the birds sound the same, the air smells similar; and a crazy idea sets in. Faith. Faith is the crazy idea but it’s all that’s left to do, so you trust it and continue on the way. Just shortly after, the winds blow again, bending the long grass that were separating the two paths, revealing a shimmer on your far left side. Aha, you know now, that you are on the right path.

Let’s rewind this dream a few moments back while we are still in it- because we can. Alright. There was a water body somewhere with long typhus cattails surrounding it, a tree besides it, the sun had dried the wet clothes and…

…the wet hair strand behind your ear begins moving with the force, tangling itself around it. The wind blows harder, escorting the curly bunch into free space. Up and down, round and round; as if in a tumble dryer. A part of you is wild; dancing to the waves of the air while the rest of you is still- it makes this small dance indulging, slightly liberating. Thank goodness they are always attached to their roots no matter how wild the wind may make them to be- there would be no freedom then, only a bald head.

You close your eyes to better hear the music. The breeze blows making you aware of the skin on your face through the delicate friction as it grazes your cheeks and swooshes the corners into your ears delivering its fragile notes. Your entire being is beginning to give in to the sounds. The feeling to concentrate is taking over. The senses allow you to submerge into the ripples, opening one by one, enabling you to travel far into the land; it’s almost as if you can see with your ears, the layers of waves surrounding you in all distances. A trickling sensation sets in; the awareness of a conscious being among the living world. The body you are in is living through you, the air is alive due to your breath and the sky is watching you because you have watched it for so long.

Some moments of utter stillness.

The swooshes fade into chirping sounds of sweet birds coming from the acacia tree behind, another euphonious sound your soul simple can’t resist smiling to. Your eyes are now open and greeted by a tiny whoosh of the orange-red dragonfly, gone to surf the long brown and shiny grass. Look up to the clear blue sky decorated with a few clouds and in the distance, a horizon of faint red and pink colours waiting to spill their floor. Take a deep breath and soak in the cold scent of a wood-rain brew that will awaken you within; a freshness that reminds you of how alive you are. You will look around and appreciate how the sun has managed to kiss literally everything it can lay eyes on- especially the gold dusted paths in front of you.

Its a Y junction you are standing in front of. One road that leads to the dreams you’ve spent imagining, while the other is the complete unknown. You know this because the wind told you so, of course :)

Fate had held your palm in its own, placing his forehead on your right hand, bowing down to say it loves you, saluting your entire being, and gesturing a good bye as he takes the road to the left, leaving you to make your own brave decisions and promising to meet you at the next destined junction.