IN HIS SLEEP

He swirled into a particle, moved in time, like a wave, and fell on to the divan cot.

A few days ago, the tiresome exams were winded up, Rahul’s summer vacation has started. He wished to visit his native place Sundarpur where his ancestral home is. So he went there, visited his uncle and aunt had a good talk with them and helped them if they required any help.

While he was helping his uncle in gardening, his uncle asked him to bring the garden fork from the storeroom. He went there, looking for it and by that time, he saw a divan cot with a red velvet sheet with silky golden zari and a golden bolster. It was covered with dust. He cleaned the dust using a piece of cloth, the cot was looking so beautiful. He took the garden fork and went to give it to his uncle. Then he asked his uncle that can he use the cot available in the storeroom. His uncle said that he can use it. In the evening, he came back to the storeroom to see the divan cot. He cleaned it and lifted it to bring it to his room. The divan cot seemed to be divine. He laid his head on the bolster and slept. He woke up and saw that he was standing on a footpath. He didn't know how he ended up there. He saw that site to be very familiar. It was a spot near his school. He saw his deceased younger brother Raju one year ago walking on the footpath and stood there for crossing the road. He remembered that this was the crossroad where his brother's accident has occurred. A truck was coming fast from the other side of the junction, Raju was about to cross the road, Rahul immediately went and stopped him and saved him from the accident. He woke up from the dream and wished that the dream could be true.

 After having breakfast, he received a call from Raju saying that they are going to come to Sundarpur after a couple of days. He was shocked to hear his voice again. He was thinking about whether it is a dream again or not. He said okay and declined the call. He started to think about what has happened. He slowly started to have some memories with his brother over the past year. As his brother is alive, he felt it was not a dream but he traveled back in time to save Raju. That night he didn't sleep on the divan cot since it was the first time he was sleeping on it and had such an encounter.

He asked his uncle about the divan cot. His uncle said that this divan was from the days when his great grandfather was using it. The sheet spread over it was a gift from the monk to a mysterious boy who left it to his great grandfather. He asked him is there anything special about the divan and he said that there's nothing special about it, they were using it, then later they bought a new one which was present in the hall, they placed the old one into the storeroom.

He thought about sleeping on that cot once again since he was curious. He slept on it, he dreamt himself being in a market place, he couldn't identify where he was, the clothing of the people was white cotton dhoti and a turban, all ladies in cotton saris. The market place was looking so pleased with great textiles, stoneware, porcelain, sculptures made of granite and marble. People around him were staring at him with a different eye since he was wearing a hazelnut brown t-shirt with black jeans. Everyone thought that he has come from a different country, might be a visitor.

While he was moving through that area, he saw a suspicious man with a bag in his hand, he appeared to be going to do something wrong. Rahul followed him and reached a temple. He saw him taking a statue of a god that was produced using gleaming gold and gemstones.

He took out his phone and captured the photographs of it. He ran behind him to capture him. By that time, the monk came and saw the statue missing. A person saw him running after the person who stole the statue. He also ran behind him thinking that someone has stolen something. Then the monk complained to the king and all the people were saying that they saw a different, mysterious person walking through the town and said that he might be the culprit. He caught the robber, the man came behind him also helped in tying his hands behind, Rahul took the bag with the statue and left to the king's court.

 By that time, everyone has mistaken Rahul as the culprit and caught him. The man beside him said he is not the culprit but he is the one who caught the actual robber. The robber was handed to the guards, and the statue was handed to the monk. He also showed the pictures captured in his phone to the king that the robber stole it as evidence, everyone was startled to see the gadget which he is holding. By seeing the new gadget, they agreed with the evidence. Everyone felt so gratified about the boy who saved the statue which was unique and precious for that kingdom from the robber. The monk and the king felt very graceful and thought to gift that boy something. They brought a divine red silky fabric with golden fabric which will be helpful only for him in the future in saving and doing good deeds for the people. He received that thankfully and left the court with the other person. He was asked to come to his house before departing.

Rahul went to his home and saw that it was his great grandfather's home which is his ancestral house. He asked his name and he said his name was Shankar. He was his great grandfather. He was initially shocked but later he felt very fortunate to meet him, Rahul was asked to sit on the divan. He went to bring Rahul something to eat but he vanished into thin air, leaving the fabric there. His great grandfather took it and searched for him to give it back, but he couldn't find him so he just laid it over the divan in his home.

Rahul swirled into a particle, moved through time, like a wave, and fell on the divan. He woke up and moved his hands across the silky fabric. He found that this was the fabric that was given by the monk. He was in a state of confusion and astounded about how the future influenced the past.