A Dream At My Granny's Home

It was late 90s to be precisely 1998. I was living with my parents in a small town called Bankura,West Bengal. I was studying in 12th standard and I really love to be at home. All was going smoothly. But that summer has something planned for me. I loved my grand-mom but didn't go to her because of my hectic study schedules. Another thing that was not allowing us to go there. It was 400 kms away from our town and the communication to that village was also very poor those days.

I was missing her really. Perhaps she was also thinking of me,her favorite boy. One day in the middle of summer, Rabi uncle from the nearby Post-office delivered a letter and asked me to open it at once. I was really happy to see my grandmother's name on the sender column of the letter. She wrote that she is very ill and asked me to come on my own to see her and also not to come with my parents because I am a grown-up boy and besides she is angry with my parents.

Next week,I was busy on my week-end with my friends. All of a sudden, I heard my mother calling me. I ran quickly and entered our house and saw my mom talking over the telephone with someone. Seeing me,she handed over the telephone and I took it. I heard my grand-mom's voice. She was speaking with a heavy heart - "You didn't come my child.You are all same."

I tried to interrupt her saying "I will go definitely next week.Don't cry.Don't worry."

She stopped me saying -"Your mom,my own child never came in these 6 years to see her own mother.What a shame.She didn't even care and hand over the phone to her child to speak.And you my child,you're also the same.I am old and I think......I have a very few days in my hand.I want to see you for the last time."

The phone call ended abruptly. I tried to redial but nobody answered the call. I tried many a times from different places like P.C.O.s or from somebody's house telephone. But no one answered the phone.

My parents tried to convince me not to go there. But I was ready to go at any cost.My grandmother's voice was haunting me everyday and I couldn't sleep properly for two days and at last my parents agreed on my decision to see my grand-mom but asked me to reutn home as soon as possible.

On a fine sunny morning,I went to visit my ill grandmother at our ancestral home in Burdwan,now in West Bardhaman,West Bengal. It was a small village and at that time only bullock carts could take us to there from the nearby bus stop. When I reach there it became dark and the old caretaker who was the only companion of my grand-mom asked me to settle in the empty guest house.

I somehow reached the bed finding here and there as there was no electricity and the lantern was also not there.I have fallen asleep at once.Then I started to dream.

I was running through a dark forest.I never went there before.Suddenly found a boy of my age.I asked his name but he didn't say anything and asked me to follow him.I have no choice but to follow him.He stopped in front of a small cottage made of soil.He offered me food and let me share the bed.

All of a sudden,a sound of hissing came from from some corner of the room.Looking desperately,I found a snake somehow and it was a poisonous one.I couldn't remember what's the name of this snake?That unknown boy saw the snake coming towards me very fast.He tried to change it's path towards him and the plan worked.That snake turned towards him following the sound of his clapping.It bites him on the leg.That boy somehow managed to throw it out of the room but he was feeling well due to the snake poison.The snake attacked him again and this time bites near his eye.He didn't let it come towards me and throw it out with all forces of his body.The snake died hitting hardly with a big rock outside of the room.

But when I looked back at the boy,he was shivering and his body was becoming blue due to poison reaction.I couldn't do anything except crying for help.The boy only said"I repay my debt to your father".

I suddenly wake up from the dream sweating heavily and saw the caretaker asking me to have my food.Suddenly I saw a picture on the wall.It was that boy in my dream.I asked the caretaker about him and he described the accident that caused his death.It was almost the same as I saw in my dream sometimes ago.That boy,named Ashok died saving my life a few years ago and the caretaker is his dad.I slept well that night.

When I woke up,I found myself sleeping on the bench of the bus stop and some villagers were talking to one another.I asked them how I managed to come here and I told them to tell my grand-mom and her caretaker about me.They couldn't understand the matter and took me to the head of the village.He recognized from the pictures of my family.He told me that my grandmother died a few days back and the exact date of death was 23.06.1998.I was shocked and couldn't believe because I got a telephone call on that day and my grandmother asked me to come to see her.But one thing that I now can understand she said"For the last time".That word was echoing on my ears.And then what I heard was something more unbelievable. He said that the caretaker died on the cremation ground by jumping into the fire of my grandmother's dead body.He was everything to my grand-mom and my grand-mom was like world to him.I have no idea still about this incident and my parents denied all my dreamy coincidences as my crime and horror story reading side-effects.But I know in my deep that I was not wrong on my part.However,God knows what exactly happened.

Maybe She wanted to see me for the last time or try to reveal some truths.I never go there after that summer.And I never had that dream after that day.