The Demons in the Abyss

A Dream of All

Elnora gasped and woke up abruptly from the sleep, her chest moving up and down in an abnormal rate. Her clothes were soaked in sweat, so was her bed. It was midnight, one could clearly hear the howling of dogs outside. She closed her eyes and tried to control her breath and cleaned the sweat off her face with the end of her Saree.

“What’s wrong honey.” Bastian asked her as Elnora’s sudden movement woke him up too.

“Nothing really. Just a bad dream.” She said in a low tone and slept in bed again facing the wall trying to console herself. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep but she couldn’t, she never had nightmare like this, never. She laid in bed until morning, as the day arose with new hopes for the people but the day seemed like a Black day to Elnora. She was confused and afraid. She wanted meaning of the nightmare she had the last night. She turned and found Bastian is already out of the bed. She covered little Lily with another blanket as it gets cooler in the morning, gave a kiss on her forehead. She walked out of the room lost in her thought and then said, “Wake up Philip. You need to help your father in delivering the orders of boots in nearby village. you remember it, right?”

“Yes Mother.” Philip said from the attic half asleep.

Then Elnora engaged herself in the daily chores of the day trying to avoid the visuals of her bad dream but she couldn’t. She needed to let it out, she needed to share her nightmare with someone. She needed the meaning of it.

******

The bank of the river was filled with few women washing their clothes and engaged in their daily gossips about a third woman who wasn’t present there. The bank was filled with chitter-chatter and laughter of women. Elnora walked slowly towards her usual stone to wash the clothes and found Amelia over there too, busy in washing the clothes. Amelia seemed off today. Elnora have never seen her that sad ever. She was lost in her own thoughts that she even didn’t realise that Elnora was standing beside her.

“Hello Amelia.” Elnora tried to earn her attention.

“Hey Elnora.” Amelia said with a fake smile on her face and trying to hide the tense looks on her face.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I am fine. what could happen to me?” Amelia said with a tone that showed how strong she is beneath her slim figure.

Elnora and Amelia were friend to each other since childhood. They lived in same village few miles away from Dhudesar and fortunately got married in the same village. They knew everything about each other and one knew the other much better than they knew themself.

“Okay. I need to tell you something.” Elnora said and placed the basket she was holding on her head on the ground. Amelia stopped washing clothes and stood in front of Elnora few distance away from her.

“Sure. I am always there for you in any situation. you know that.” Amelia said.

“Okay come a little closer. I don’t want it to spread all over the village.”

Amelia moved a bit closer to her so that she could hear the whispering voice of Elnora.

“I had a bad dream last night.” Elnora said.

“ohh..” was all Amelia could say as if there is some similarity between what Elnora said.

“It was really bad. I have never seen such a dream before. I saw a man, weak as his ribs could be seen and his stomach almost reached to his back but his face reflected an amusing wisdom, a wisdom no one ever seen in their life. He walked in our village. Talked the words of his fine wisdom and the people of our village were drooling like the words were some kind of alchohol. He Intoxicated everyone with his penetrating words and everyone was behaving as if they are his slaves. Then, he said, ‘I want apprentices. I want the kids of your village but i will never force anyone.’ No one was ready to deliver their kid to an unknown man but the kids were ready to join him to be his apprentices, to drink his wisdom. The next visual i remember was a mother crying loudly, screaming her heart out for her child, the part she kept and nourished for 9 months in her body and her boy was walking steadily with the stranger holding his finger.” Elnora Completed recitation and looked at Amelia’s face.

Amelia was listening to Elnora carefully. She was surprise not because of what she heard was strange but familiar. “I had the same dream Elnora. That is why i was tense today and you caught me.”

“And me too.” Both of them heard a voice from behind. It was Cecilia.

“What? but how is it even possible. how can three women see a same dream?” Elnora said confusingly. Her face reflected a complete worried expression.

“I don’t know but something bad is going to happen.” Cecilia said.

“At least think positive Cecilia. Maybe this is what written in our fate by the almighty. We should not think about it much.” Amelia said.

All of them then engaged themselve in washing trying to wash off their memory along with clothes.

*****