2| Evocative Sensations

131 9 8
                                    

Abhyudaya had never been one to believe in dreams or omens. He was a man of logic, someone who relied on facts and reason.

But for the past few weeks, something strange had been happening—dreams that felt too real, too vivid to be mere fragments of his imagination.

What unsettled him more was that these dreams were beginning to bleed into reality.

It was always the same dream: Gautami, his best friend of over 10 years, standing before him, her face soft but her eyes burning with intensity.

She would confess something he was not prepared to hear, something that in his waking life, he had never imagined. And yet, in his dream, it felt as if he had been waiting for it all along.

Each time, she would say, "I cannot keep this to myself anymore. I love you Abhyudaya." Her voice would tremble slightly and she would look at him with a mixture of fear and hope.

He would wake up in a cold sweat, heart pounding, unable to shake the feeling that the dream was more than just a figment of his subconsciousness.

It had been haunting him for weeks, and the more it happened, the harder it became to push it aside. Abhyudaya had always been close to Gautami—closer than anyone else.

She had been there through every high and low, his constant support system. But he had never thought about her that way. At least, that is what he used to tell himself.

---

One evening, as the sun began to dip below the horizon, Abhyudaya found himself sitting on his balcony, staring at the city skyline, lost in thought. His phone buzzed on the table beside him, pulling him out of his daze.

It was a message from Gautami.

Gautami: Hey, can we talk? It is important.

Abhyudaya's heart skipped a beat. There it was again—that unsettling deja vu. The exact words from his dream.

Shaking off the uneasy feeling, he typed a quick reply.

Abhyudaya: Sure. Feel free to come over.

Within 20 minutes, Gautami was at his doorstep. She looked a little nervous, her hands fidgeting with the strap of her bag.

Her hair was slightly disheveled, the wind having caught it on her way over, just as it had in his dreams.

"Hey," she greeted him with a small smile, but her eyes gave away her anxiety.

"Hey," Abhyudaya replied, stepping aside to let her in. "Everything okay?"

Gautami nodded, but her gaze remained distant, as if she was trying to gather her thoughts. "Yeah, it is just....but there is something I need to tell you."

Abhyudaya gestured to the couch. "Do you want to sit?"

She shook her head. "No, I need to stand for this."

Now, his heart was racing. He could feel the dream playing out before his eyes, as if he were trapped in some surreal loop.

Gautami stood in front of him, her eyes filled with an emotion he had never seen in her before.

It was something different but his mind could not understand what it was, being disturbed by a whole lot something bigger.

And then, she spoke the exact words he had been hearing in his sleep for weeks.

"I cannot keep this to myself anymore," she began, her voice shaky but determined. "I love you Abhyudaya."

For a moment, time seemed to freeze. He stared at her, his mind reeling. This was not happening—except it was.

Oneshots ft. Slayy Point (On Hold)Where stories live. Discover now