True interpretations

Suddenly Catherine sat upright in her bed. She was perspiring profusely in darkness of her bedroom. Her trembling hand fumbled for the light switch. She succeeded in switching on the table lamp next to her bed. Her eyes wandered all over the room quickly. She was alone on the bed. Her heart bet fast. 

Next morning she said to her neighbour and friend Sally, "Sally, I had the same nightmare again. It is getting on my nerves. I don't know what to do".

"Catherine, seeing a dream more than once is not a strange thing", said Sally, "but if you are feeling anxious then I suggest you meet the interpreter".

"Who is interpreter?" asked Catherine with wide eyes.

"Interpreter of dreams is an old man in the western part of the city. He interprets dreams. He can tell you what your dreams mean".

"Do dreams mean anything?" asked Catherine. She was surprised.

"Most of the time they do. Sometimes they even portend some future events".

Catherine parked her car and walked a kilometre through the winding narrow roads in the western part of the city. It was a highly congested area. Large shabby apartment buildings stood on both sides of filthy streets. Catherine could not believe a person with special powers could reside in such a place. Once more she looked at the address of the interpreter. "Door number 3, third floor..."

In a dimly lit room the old man's left hand passed over his thick long beard as he waved his right hand to offer her a chair. "Tell me about your worst nightmares".

Catherine too didn't want to waste time. "I see myself", she started describing her nightmare to the interpreter, "walking alone on a long straight road at night. I feel frightened. The narrow road is endless. It is passing through a dense jungle. The full moon is shining overhead. With a fast beating heart I start walking faster and faster to cover the distance as quickly as possible. But I don't know where I am going. At least I don't remember now. But because of my fear and walking fast l become breathless. I start sweating in cold air. I start breathing through my mouth but I don't slow down. Suddenly the moon goes behind tall trees. It is pitch dark everywhere. Suddenly I hear a wolf howling. Now I stand fixed on a spot unable to move. More wolves join in and the air is filled with the howling. My jaws are closed tight against my will. I close my ears with my hands but I cannot shut out the howling. I close my eyes but I cannot shut out the darkness. Then I wake up perspiring on my bed".

"What do you mean by "wake up on the bed"? asked the old interpreter.

Catherine took a moment to understand the question. Then she said, "I see this dream again and again".

"How often do you see this dream?" asked the interpreter. "When was the first time you saw this dream?"

Catherine had the answers ready. She knew anybody would ask those questions. "First time it was when my husband left for three weeks training program arranged by his office in the city which is five hundred kilometres from here. I had the dream on the first night I was alone in the house. Then I think once more after two or three days, then twice the next week and thrice the this week"

"Did you have contact with your husband in any manner during these days?" asked the interpreter.

"I talk to him every night on phone", Catherine said, but I did not tell him about the dream".

The interpreter nodded. Your dreams speak about fears crawling in your subconscious. You are concerned about your husband. It would be a great loss for you if you lose him". Catherine shuddered on hearing these words.

Controlling her anxiety, Catherine asked "so these are only fears, nothing more?"

The interpreter understood what she meant. "Fear would create different fearful dreams. When a dream is repeated, it portends something".

Catherine held her breath. Did he mean her husband would come to harm?

"You are going to receive a bad news, a very bad news", said the interpreter moving his hand over his beard. Catherine sat silently. The interpreter sat thinking with his eyes closed. "One year ago", he continued, "another woman came to me with the same dream occuring frequently. Only she heard wild dogs crying instead of the wolves of your dream. Her husband was a travelling salesman. Later he met with a horrible accident. He was paralyzed for a long time." Immediately Catherine remembered her sister Jane. Her sister's husband was a salesman who met with an accident. But Jane had not said anything about her dreams or her visit to the interpreter. The interpreter pulled out an old book from a book shelf and opened it. "See?" he said pointing to an illustration, "if such a dream occurs repeatedly then...", he felt silent. Catherine looked at the picture. It had an uncanny resemblance to her dream. In the picture a full moon was shining on a narrow road. On both sides of the road there were tall trees. Only the outlines of the trees were illuminated by the moonlight. Everything else, including the sky was dark. No stars twinkled.

Catherine was convinced about the interpreter's skill by his past record. Now she wanted a solution to her problem. "What can I do about it?" she asked.

The interpreter thought for a second and smiled. "We don't know what that news is going to be". Catherine looked puzzled. "It could be about your husband, or about your sister, brother, parents or about any near and dear ones. Even about your own health".

Catherine become more tense. In fact she was waiting for her medical report. She regularly did her medical checkup and kept the reports in an order. Till now every report turned out to be normal. But will the latest report also be good? You can never be sure. Then she thought about her mother. She always had some complaints about her health. "Old age" was the rationalization she heard about her ailments. Then Catherine thought about her brother. He loved adventure sports. Everyone in the family had tried to dissuade him from persuing such a dangerous hobby. But he won't listen.

Catherine hid her face in her palms.

"Tell me", said the interpreter of dreams, "did you have any other dreams? Do you remember any of your recent dreams?"

Catherine was not prepared for this question. She sat silently thinking about what other dreams she had seen. "Once I saw a strange creature. It was a dog with two heads. I mean it had heads on both ends of its body instead of having a head and a tail."

"Interesting", said the interpreter.

Catherine again sat silently staring at the book shelf behind the interpreter. Then she said, "I once saw a crow eating a fish near a pond while a crane was eating a rotting carcass of a dead bull".

The interpreter sat thinking for a few moments, then he asked "when did you see these dreams?"

"These all occurred after my husband left", said Catherine with fear in her voice.

"Hmm...", said the interpreter, "give me two days time". Catherine left immediately.

For two days Catherine prayed for the wellbeing of her husband. She also prayed for her mother and her brother. Then she spent a few minutes praying for herself. She received her medical report with great anxiety. It turned out to be normal.

After two days she met the interpreter of dreams again at the same place.

In complete silence the interpreter of dreams took his seat. Catherine felt very uncomfortable by the silence. She sat on her chair staring at him. For two long minutes the interpreter sat with his eyes closed. Then with closed eyes he asked "are you ready for the bad news?"

Catherine shuddered. She held her breath and nodded. The interpreter opened his eyes. Catherine nodded again.

"Your husband", said the interpreter and looked at Catherine. She was on the verge of crying. The interpreter gave a sigh and said hurriedly, "Your husband is all right".

Catherine felt better. Then again negative thoughts arose in her mind. "Is the interpreter hiding something? Is he afraid of giving bad news?"

The interpreter took a long pause and said "Your married life is in danger". What did he mean by that?

The interpreter continued slowly, "Your walk in the jungle speaks about your fear of loneliness. You are afraid you are going to experience most depressing loneliness. You are afraid of the impending fear of helplessness. It is a fear of experiencing fear, loneliness, helplessness and so on". Catherine sat silently. She wanted to hear about troubles in her marriage.

"The dog with two heads tells about your husband. He speeks nicely to you and at the same time he speeks nicely to some other person also." Catherine's mind burnt with jealousy. 

"The crow is the other person. A mean character. Enjoying good things in life. Even the things belonging to others." Catherine clenched her fists. "The crane is you. Making compromises. Even though you deserve a lot better". She felt her mussels relax in resignation.

They both sat silently for some time. Then the interpreter said, "don't misunderstand." Was there anything left to misunderstand? "This is not what is happening, but it is what is going to happen. Your dreams are signals of things that will happen in future. Maybe you husband has not met anyone yet. You have a chance to save your marriage".

"Are you sure it is going to happen?" asked Catherine.

The interpreter thought for a few seconds. Then without lifting his eyes he said "My interpretations never go wrong". Catherine left.

In the afternoon the same day, Catherine took a taxi and reached the city where her husband Tom was receiving training. She reached the city early morning and stayed in a hotel. After taking rest she reached Tom's training center. As she reached close to the centre she saw Tom walking away on the road. She was going to call him when she noticed that Tom was not alone. A woman accompanied him. Jealousy shot through Catherine's head. She quietly walked closer to the couple. The woman was familiar. She was her sister.

In a state of shock Catherine stood in the same place far a while. Then she returned home without meeting anyone.

When her husband returned home, she did her best to act normal all day. At night, she went with him on the rooftop of their building for fresh air and suddenly pushed him down. Tom died on the spot.

Her sister came to the funeral.

"I don't believe he could fall that way", said Jane, "He was a careful person".

"I know how careful both of you were", replied Catherine.

Jane understood that Catherine suspected she had a relationship with Tom. "Rediculas", she said, "I met Tom only once near his training center. I had gone to the city for buying medicines for my bedridden husband. It would have seemed rude to leave the city without meeting Tom".

"That I understand", said Catherine, "but such relations grow ugly, Jane"

"I repeat", said Jane, "I met him only once. What you are saying is insulting for me, but sister you can verify the truth of my whereabouts from my office colleagues and attendence records".

"I know you met Tom with a pure heart", said Catherine, "but you don't know how your relationship would have changed in a year or two."

"I am not a child", replied Jane angrily.

"I know the truth", said Catherine, and left her sister wondering about the truth that never happened.