The girl who had a dream

THE GIRL WHO HAD A DREAM

Santhosh Gangadharan

Zainab opened her eyes. It was dark all around. How could she expect to see light inside the pond! But she was not wet. She hadn’t drowned.

        She got up from her bed. It was all a weird dream. Now she knew why she had been disturbed for the past many days. The same dream had been following her. She could never recall what she had seen. But now everything became clear to her.

        It was still dark. She looked at the bedside timepiece. It was only three. As usual she had to get up in another hour. She closed her eyes.

        The land around was not familiar to her. It was some place where she had never been to. There were some dilapidated houses built with mud-bricks that reminded her of the old watch tower at the entrance to her village. Must be quite old. There was nobody to be seen around.

        Then she saw the ominous looking pond. It held a vast expanse of water that appeared sea green. Even though the water seemed clear at the surface she could see that the pond was deep and dark.

        She felt the presence of something sinister lurking inside. Suddenly ripples appeared at the surface and the water rose. She tried to move away in a hurry and slipped sliding down into the pond.

        She shuddered and got up from her bed. Thinking of the dream gave her goosebumps. Was it terror or excitement?

        It was only a dream. Her mind told her to think positive and be excited rather than be terrorized by a dream. She should discuss her dream with her brother Nasser. He was the one who always told her to think positive to douse any sparks of negativity in her mind.

        Whenever Zainab felt dull Nasser would tell her about their mother. She had refused to get married again after their father went missing. A brave lady. She sacrificed her enjoyments in life just to ensure her two children grew up well. They knew their mother always hoped that her husband would come back.

        Zainab had never seen her father. He was no more with them by the time she came to this world. The story of her mother always filled her with self-confidence and resolve. If her mother could overcome all the difficulties in her life, why can’t she too become positive like her mother! Nasser too had derived his energy for perseverance from his mother.

        That made Zainab smile. Her mother had taught her to get up in the morning with a smile. A smile always emitted positive vibrations.

        Zainab was from a small village named after the wadi Dab’ayn that used to flow nearby. It was about sixty kilometers from the big city of Suhar. The village had come up in the past while the land was made fertile by the wadi. Even though the wadi had gone dry, borewells provided water for irrigation.

        Nasser spent his spare time in his farm. He grew several vegetables beside banana. He was working as a driver in one of the companies in Suhar. He considered all works divine as was taught by his mother. Spending time in the farm was his way of relaxation.

        It was a holiday for Nasser and he was about to go to his farm when his sweet little sister Zainab approached him. There was an age gap of ten years between them and he adored his sister. He was twenty and his mother was egging him to get married. But he was not ready yet. He would wait until he finds a girl who would love his family as he did.

        “I had a strange dream yesterday.” Zainab told Nasser. “Maybe I should forget it. But I wanted to share with you before I sleep on it.”

        “Dreams will stay as dreams if you don’t pursue them with your heart. Normally every night you may see dreams and by the time you get up, you would have invariably no inkling as to what you saw in your sleep. If you are able to remember a dream, then definitely there should be a purpose behind it.” Nasser always found time to encourage his little sister in becoming practical in her life. That’s what his mother had taught him.

        “Are you in a hurry to go to the farm?”

        “I am never busy when my sweet sister wants something from me. Let us walk to the farm together and on the way, we can discuss your dream in detail. Walking loosens your limbs and makes your brain work in a relaxed way.”

        Zainab called out to her mother to tell that she was going to the farm with Nasser and then they moved ahead.

        “Now tell me, my sweet Zainu.” Nasser held Zainab’s hand as they walked together.

        “I was in a place where I had never been to before. It appeared to be a clearing in the midst of thick forest. There were many broken down mud houses indicating that once there were people living there. Then I saw this pond that was deep down. Though the water was clear at the surface, below it was dark.” Zainab closed her eyes to recall what she had seen in her dream. “Then it happened. The water moved and a gigantic bird-like thing came out. It was black like a raven but had a wing span as wide as the highway to Muscat. Its legs were bony and the beak long and pointed.”

        “Looks like you had seen some movie on prehistoric winged creatures.” Nasser smiled at her.

        “I would have left it there. But the dream didn’t stop with that. As the bird was rising, I slipped and slid towards it. I pushed the bird back into the water and I too drowned along with it. That’s when I woke up in the morning.” Zainab’s face brightened with excitement as she recalled those moments inside the pond as her eyes got attuned to the darkness.

        Nasser knew his sister was not frightened. She was rather brimming with excitement. “Did you see anything inside the water?”

        “That’s what I am coming to. I can’t recall all the details. But I am sure it was an old village still intact buried underwater.” Her voice brimmed with exhilaration.

        “Reminds me of the lost city of Atlanta. I haven’t heard about any lost villages in our country. All though we know that Omani civilization dates back 2000 to 3000 years based on the tombs on the mountains in Liwa or the beehive tombs in Bat and many other sites in Salalah and elsewhere, there were never any mention about a lost village.” Nasser was adept in archaeology which he had picked up just because of his curiosity that later turned to be his passion.

        “I am sure it must be somewhere around. Maybe we never knew about it since none of us was interested to explore nearby areas. We should go around fishing for clues.” Zainab looked at her brother eagerly.

        “Definitely we will go around, Zainu. Have I ever turned down any of your wishes?”

        “I know. That’s why I wanted to explain to you about my dream. There is something more.” Zainab stopped in her track and looked at Nasser’s face to see his response.

        Nasser was surprised. What more to this fantasy that his little sister was weaving up!

        “It is true that I got up from my sleep at the juncture of drowning in the pond. I told you that I had seen this dream many times. Now I do clearly remember that in one of my earlier dreams, I had seen an elderly gentleman among those mud houses in the glade. He was feeding these huge bird-like creatures.” Zainab was ecstatic as she narrated her encounter with the bird man.

        “Who was it? Do you remember his face?”

        “I do vaguely remember his face. I am sure I have seen him somewhere before. I am not able to put my finger on the exact spot. Maybe it will come to me soon.”

        They had reached their farm. The sight of the plants swaying in the breeze made Zainab forget everything else as she ran towards them. She had always loved these plants in her brother’s farm. She enjoyed touching the fruits and talking to them. They were her friends.

        Nasser switched on the borewell pump and water flowed along the narrow channels all around the plantation.

        They had left their house after breakfast. By the time they got back home it was lunch time. After freshening up they sat together with their mother at the dining table. They always made it a point to eat together. For Narghese, her two children were her world.

        While having food, Nasser told his mother about the plants in the farm. Then he looked at Zainab for her permission to talk about the strange dream. Once he got the nod from his sister, he started explaining in detail what they had discussed on the way to the farm.

       Narghese took a deep sigh and looked at Zainab. “You are just like…” Before she could complete Zainab pushed her chair back and got up in a hurry. She ran to the drawing room.

        Nasser was perplexed. What had gone into his sister? It was uncharacteristic of her to rush off from the dining table. He went after Zainab.

        She was staring at the photos hung on the wall of the drawing room.

        “This is the man I had seen at the jungle clearing. He was the one feeding those birds!” She was pointing at the handsome young man standing with Narghese.

        “That’s our father, Zainu!”

        “Yes. I had seen our father in my dream. He was the one with the birds. I am pretty sure about it. He is there in that lost village.” Zainab blabbered.

        Nasser caught hold of Zainab and led her back to the dining room. After pacifying her, they continued with their lunch.

        “Your father was like this. He loved nature. He was against doing anything that will harm our environment. He remained in this verdant village even though he was offered a government job in Muscat.” Narghese looked at her little daughter. Her voice faltered as her mind filled with thoughts of her loving husband. “Nasser, you got the trait of loving our surroundings and spending time with the flora and fauna from your father.”

        “And what did I get from my father?” Zainab asked her mother inquisitively.

        “The art of dreaming,” Narghese was smiling. “Your father used to dream a lot. He travelled around mainly in the forest area where others never ventured to go. But wherever he went, he would come back to me by nightfall. He used to narrate his adventures with the plants, insects, butterflies and animals.”

        “Zainu, tomorrow we will go to see some places where there are similar ponds or wadis that you had seen in your dream. But I don’t think you will ever find the enormous bird anywhere in Oman.” With a hearty laugh Nasser patted his sister’s back.

        “You should start early morning so that you can return home before sunset. Don’t make me tense by being late in the evening. Promise that you will be back before nightfall.” Narghese cautioned her children.

        Zainab got up and hugged her mother. “Mama, how can we sleep without you! And we know that you cannot sleep without us. We have to come back much before sunset.”

        Nasser had thought of exploring Al Zuhaimi village where there was a centuries-old Mashwah tree with a trunk almost ten meters in diameter. There used to be a wadi in front of it. Now it was dry. Little away from that there were some pools of water. But these areas were inhabited by many villagers. Rather than Al Zuhaimi, Bat would be a better bet to match Zainab’s dream. He decided to take her to Bat the next day morning.

        By seven in the morning brother and sister were on their way in Nasser’s pickup to discover the images from Zainab’s dream. Narghese had packed snacks, water and fruit juice besides two packets of aromatic biriyani for lunch. She reminded them to return before sunset.

        Zainab was excited. She was looking forward to finding the lost village of her dream and harbored a faint hope to meet her father. Otherwise, why should he appear in her dream repeatedly?

        “Zainu, we will go to this place called Bat which is about 15 kilometers from here. The road is not so good. It will take about half an hour to reach. Anyway, we need not be in a hurry. There used to be some beautiful pools in that rocky terrain. Let us look at these to understand whether they resemble anything that you had seen in your dream.”

        “I am excited. Let’s see what this place has in store for us. I do remember you talking to me about a place with similar name that was an archaeological site somewhere beyond Ibri.”

        “That’s true. This one is different from that Bat which had become famous due to its ancient beehive tombs. The small village of Bat near us is not known to many. Since it is much inside from the inhabited villages, tourists do not frequent it. It is better that it remains so lest the place gets battered by people who are not bothered about the earth that gives us life.”

        Zainab felt proud that her brother knew so many things besides being concerned about the world they live in.

        Nasser talked about nature and the different types of soil and stones that were seen on their way. Soon they reached a place where the motorable road ended. He parked the vehicle and they got out with their backpacks. Their trekking in pursuit of Zainab’s dream commenced.

        As they walked between stones and bushes, Nasser kept cautioning his little sister to be careful. She was bemused with the abundant beauty of nature that their country was blessed with. They traversed parallel to the dry wadi. Even though the wadi was dry, grass and bushes were aplenty over it due to the recent rains.

        They had walked for about fifteen minutes when they heard the splash of water. Soon they reached the site of the small pools of sea blue water between huge vertical rocks.

        It was mainly rocky terrain with very little vegetation. The pools were not very deep. But it was definitely a scenic picnic spot. If people come to know about this, soon it would be ravaged with hundreds of tourists for sure.

        “Does this area ring any bell in your brain?” Nasser asked his sister.

        “I don’t think this is the pond that I saw. As I said there were tall bushes around that area. It was more of a clearing in the midst of a forest. The pond was not so friendly like these pools.” Zainab recalled the images embedded in her mind.

        “Okay, let us keep walking further inside. The area ahead looks absolutely uninhabited and could bring more excitement to our search for the lost village.” Nasser was jokingly serious. Even though he had a feeling that they were on a wild goose chase, he didn’t want to dishearten his sister. He knew that Zainab firmly believed in her dream and was looking forward to meeting their lost father rather than the village.

        They kept moving ahead. The path had become treacherously dangerous with the small stones strewn around the soil giving way to large boulders. They could no longer see any signs of the wadi. Nasser held Zainab’s hand in fear that she might falter in her steps over the rocks.

        They stopped in between to relax and quench their thirst. They sat on the rock to enjoy the tasty sambusa made by their mother. Once refreshed they resumed their trekking.

        As they moved on, the rocky terrain gave way to plain land with thick vegetation. That’s when Zainab stopped in her track and pointed straight ahead, “That’s almost like what I saw in my dreams. I am sure that the glade must be inside this.”

        “Looks dangerous, Zainu. Going inside this thick vegetation on our own could be foolish. Maybe we should go back and come along with some elders from our village. We could talk to Shaikh Ahmed and he will certainly come with us. He is a man who respects and loves the nature very much.” Nasser was a bit skeptical in going into an unknown territory. If he was alone, he would not have thought twice to venture inside. But he was afraid for his little sister. He didn’t want to put her in danger.

        “No! I don’t want anybody else to come here. Father had told me specifically that we should not show this place to anybody else lest they spoil the plants and capture the animals and birds. Till now they have been living peacefully for centuries and with one stroke we could devastate all that tranquility.” Zainab was almost shouting at Nasser.

        Nasser was astonished by the angry burst from Zainab. He had never encountered so much vehemence from her. “Alright. I agree with you. Let us follow our father’s advice.” He gave in.

        Hand in hand together they walked ahead with firm steps.

        Meanwhile Narghese, after finishing her daily chores, was sitting on the steps in the porch. She had kept the gate open expecting her children to come in at any time. Sitting there her thoughts wandered to that fateful day when her husband went for a trekking never to return.

        Her fear gave way to despair as time ticked away. Then she heard the distant honking of a vehicle. In the rays of the setting sun, her face brightened!