Beyond The Boundary - A ShubSara Fanfiction

Dreams

August, 2017
Chandigarh

Nothing else but only the noise of ragged breaths and stomping feet reached his ears. He could feel his heart beats ringing in his ears. His muscles started feeling weak. Before exertion takes over him, he decided to stop. Slowly he decreased his pace and plopped himself down on a  bench, under a large Neem tree. He sat there, breathing heavily, head resting on the back of the bench. He wiped his face with a small towel that he was carrying. He closed his eyes and sat there in silence for a few minutes so that his breathing became even. 

A stadium filled with spectators. Everyone cheered for him. He walks down the stairs and steps on to the ground. The cheering increases. 

As he makes his way to the pitch, he knows this is a do or die situation. 6 runs needed off 1 ball. He knows he can do it. He takes his position on the pitch, all ready to smash the ball out of the park. He sees the bowler running towards him, he throws the ball at him, he swings his bat, the ball goes in the air, it goes up and up. He could see a fielder near the boundary. The stadium is now quite. No one knows if the ball will pass the boundary. The ball is losing its trajectory....

“Shubman..Shubman..SHUBMAN..” 

A voice reaches his ears. Shubman snaps his eyes open. His father, Mr. Lakhwinder Gill is towering over him. He sits straight. He could feel the pain in his muscles.
Looks like I pushed myself a little more today he thought to himself. 

“Lagta hai tujhe neend aa rahi hai” his dad said, sitting next to him. 

“Nhi aesa nhi hai” Shubman said. 

“Aaj bahot mehnat ki hai tune. Dekhna, agar tu aese hi mehnat karta raha, toh ek din jo sapna tu abhi dekh raha tha na woh pura hoga” his dad said, patting him on his back. 

Shubman looked at his dad with surprise. 

“Apko kaise pata main kya sapna dekh raha tha?” Shubman asked.

“Kake, baap hu main tera. Sab janta hu aur samjhta hu.” His dad said smiling. 

Shubman couldn't help but smile. 

“Chal ab, ghar chalte hai. Andhera hone wala hai” dad said, getting up. 

“Chal paega na, ya fir uthana padega?” His dad asked as Shubman got up with an expression which indicated his muscle pain. 

“Kya papa aap bhi. Thik hu main. Chalo” Shubman said. 

They both took off, walking towards their house. On the way, they talked about everything -  Cricket, politics, his friends, their family, about their farms - everything. 

They reached home after 10 minutes. 

His mom was in the kitchen talking with someone on the phone. 

“Maa, we are here,” Shubman said,  removing his shoes. 

His mom, Mrs. Keart Gill entered the living room, phone clutched to her ear. 

“Ji ji. Agli chutti me pakka aayenge. Ji. Chalo fir rakhti hu” his mom said, hanging up the phone call. 

“Tere dadaji ka phone tha, tujhe gaav milne bula rahe hai” his mom said, sitting next to him on the couch. 

“Time kaha hai Maa. Unse phone pe hi baat kar leta hu” Shub replied. 

“Haaye mera beta kitni mehnat karega. Kitna patla bhi ho gaya” his mom said, waving her through his hair. 

“Agar team me select hona hai, toh mehnat karni hogi. India me Cricket khelne wale ladke kam nhi hai'' his dad said, drinking water from the bottle. He passed another bottle to Shub. 

“Ha Maa. Abhi training chal rahi hai. Jab off season hoga, tab milne chala jaungi” Shub said and gulped down the entire bottle in one go. 

“Ye bhi thik hai” his mom said. 

“Maa, bahot bhook lagi hai. Chalo na khana khaate hai” Shub said. 

“Ha tu fresh ho jaa. Me khana lagati hu” his mom said getting up from the couch. 

Shubman went upstairs in his room to shower. He undressed and stood under the shower, waiting for the hot water to soothe his aching muscles. He stood there, doing nothing for a solid ten minutes. The growling sound from his stomach snapped him out of his reverie and he knew he needed to get out of the bathroom and eat something. He did the necessary cleaning, came out, wore fresh clothes and stepped out of his room. He went downstairs, his parents and his sister, Shahneel were already sitting on the dining table. His sister looked up from her phone and said
“Hey there baby bro. How was the training?”

“Excellent,” Shub said, sitting down on the chair next to her. 

His mom filled his plate with rotis, sabji, salad and daal. Shubman dug in, without even waiting for others. 

“Oyey this is rude ha. Humari plate toh bharne de,” his sister, Shahneel said, kicking him under the table. 

“Mujhe bhook lagi hai. Tum tumhara dekh lo” Shub said, without looking up from his plate. 

“Khane de usse. Ye dekh, teri plate bhi bhar gayi. Ab tu bhi khaa” their father said to Shahneel. 

They all ate in silence for a few minutes. Then, conversations started to flow on their own. They talked and joked. This dinner time was always Shubman's favourite time of the day. Sitting with his family, sharing everything without judgments, was something he always looked forward to. 

After dinner, he bid everyone Goodnight and went to his room. He was extremely tired but decided to check his phone which was  unattended on the table for the past 5 hours. He checked he had several new messages and emails. He checked the email, one of them was from the BCCI office. He read it. 

Dear Mr. Gill, 

You have been selected for a special training program next month in Mumbai. Details are attached below. Kindly share your confirmation by 20th August, 2017. If interested, kindly fill the registration form. 

Shubman sighed. He wanted to confirm his admission right now, but he thought of talking with his parents first. He knew they would say yes but he wanted to consult them. Right now he was too tired to go down and talk with them so he decided he will take their permission tomorrow morning. 

Thinking this, he kept his phone on the nightstand. He switched off the lights and lay down on his bed. His thoughts went back to the dream which by now, he had seen about 100 times. Everyone in his family knew about this particular dream. And Shubman knew he was going to make it true. He knew he wasn't going to stop unless that ball crossed the boundary line. Within a few minutes, sleep overtook and he was once again, lost in the dreamland.
                          
                            ******
So guys, how's the first chapter?? Do tell me in the comments.
Next chapter will be Sara's pov. Stay tuned!!