Sambhavāmi

1. Shooting Star

Shooting stars, it was said, could grant wishes and make your dreams a reality. Niyati wondered if it would bring her what she longed for. Her heart's innermost, truest desire.

Her eyes gobbled up the sparkling, other-worldly mess of crackling starlight. It blazed like a minuscule supernova, bursting with love as it sped past the various barriers between this world and the Universe beyond. Silver and sublime, entwined and racing past, it was almost as if it was aiming right for her heart. A star that burnt itself to bring joy and dreams for all.

Niyati remembered the stories her mother used to tell her when she'd been a toddler. My sweet Yati, her mother's voice used to hold a wistful fantasy, Do you know that during the longest and coldest nights of every year, the Gods descend on Earth and come to us like Shooting stars? To quench the never-ending thirst of mankind. For peace and love. To protect and cherish what is left of humanity. And if someday you meet one of Them, you will give Them my love, won't you?

She was currently perched atop a rickety stool on the rooftop of her apartment complex. Some song was playing through the wired earphones that she had inserted in only one ear. Craning her neck up to the falling star, she smiled. Warmth spread to her heart and across her whole body, radiating a kind of peace that didn't come very often. It was the middle of a sharp winter, and yet she felt surrounded by the comfort of a soft quilt.

The clamour of voices on the other side of the long rooftop arose as more people joined them from below. The children ran around in circles pointing out the shooting star to each other.

The residents from other apartments had also gathered, ooh-ing and aah-ing at the splendid display of magic. It was a rare marvel, down here in South India. The last one had been spotted some two hundred years ago. Niyati stifled the urge to gasp, as the star was followed by smaller outbursts of energy whizzing in streaks of gold, silver and blue.

Unlocking her phone to skip to the next song, she saw the time turn to 11.11 PM.

Goosebumps rose all over her exposed skin, which she swore had nothing to do with the chill wintry night. Her eyes once again found the shooting star still racing towards her from afar, celestial and intangible. She hoped if there would come a day when she'd get to tangle her fingers within the wispy tendrils of starlight that quenched every desire and gave form to each of her million dreams.

Niyati shut her eyes reverently, letting the incredulity of the moment take over. She pulled from within her deepest core, the one thing she most craved for. The truest of all her desires, one that was unfathomable as much as it was treasured by every pore of her existence. Squeezing her eyes even more, she let the wish spiral out from her heart into the world beyond. Letting go of that which was most cherished into the Universe. It was freedom and it was beautiful.

This time though, all her instincts whispered that it would come true, no matter how unimaginable. She stayed put, her face turned upward, soaking in the peace and divinity of the moment. It felt like the whole of eternity had been filtered into the unaltered purity of those few minutes, powerful enough to grant any wish, the line between human and God blurred.

Slowly, she heard the voices around dwindle to nothing, footfalls receding down the flights of stairs to their respective apartments.
Niyati made no haste to go back. She wanted to revel in this world of starlight and dreams a little more.

When she opened her eyes, it was no surprise to find the falling star burnt up, save a few ringlets of glittering smoke; consuming itself to accede to her demands.
The entire world seemed to be dripping with a seraphic presence.

The winter breeze caressed the loose strands framing Niyati's face as the next song in the queue started playing.

In that brief spark of dopamine and oxytocin, she stood up on a whim and shook herself a bit before swaying to the tune. The beats made her feet tap in rhythm and she threw her arms out to spin, the music carrying her over the edge of warm joy. She imagined her hero in shining armour dancing opposite to her. She twirled around, sashaying and moving her hands in waves. The song built up in beat and melody while she picked up her steps to match the tempo.

This is why we live, she thought giddily. For moments like this that liberate us. Moments that unchain us from reality and into the arms of inexpressible bliss.

As the song rose higher and higher, she spun and spun-

"Am I a little too late for the show?" A deep, cascading, very masculine voice disrupted her thoughts.

Startled, she screech-halted her mini dance show as intense heat rose to her cheeks in embarrassment. Cringing and squeezing her eyes shut, she turned slowly, very slowly towards the sound of that deep baritone.

DID SOMEONE JUST FIND ME DANCING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROOFTOP? OH GOD, NO!

Slightly cracking open her eyes a sliver, she found a tall guy clad in a bright off-white shirt and some worn-out pants. In all the darkness, she couldn't very well place his features.

She could swear to Narayana, that he hadn't been there a moment ago.

She swallowed sheepishly and looked everywhere except him.

"I am sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt-" He spoke again, "But the star fall- is it over?"

"Uh-what? Yeah, it just -", Niyati hastily stammered, "I- I got to go."

Before the last syllables were even out of her mouth, she turned her back to him and almost ran down the steps to her apartment, internally squirming.

Did he just see her dancing? Did he materialize out of thin air? No, no. She chastised herself, How can anyone just appear out of nothing?

Her heart pounding, she shut the doors to her flat and exhaled loudly.

Oh God, what did I just do?! She face-palmed and bit back a sound that was half-distress and half-giggle.