The Sun Rose In My Dreams

My first attempt at fiction.

It is early morning and I have come out of my hotel room to view the Sun rise. I had heard on numerous occasions that it is an amazing sight. This was going to be my very first experience. And I was excited. I was up early even before the breaking of dawn as I did not want to miss a single moment of such breathtaking beauty of nature. I had imagined lying on my bed the previous night the entire drama that nature was going to play at dawn. The black sky would start getting lighter in the shades of grey and blue, the birds would come out of their nests and fly in circles just above the Sea. It would be a restless wait and then the first sight of the orange Sun, blushing like a bride dressed in her saffron coloured bridal wear.

How the birds would fly towards the Sun to greet her in a V-formation. Their silhouettes visible against the huge red ball of fire. The fishermen unfolding their fishing nets, checking the oars, the bottom of their chariot- the boat, their personal belongings etc. Thereby preparing for a long and eventful day at the Sea. I would sit there watching them manoeuvre their boats skilfully through the lashing waves and further into the Sea towards the horizon and then fade away slowly. The Sun would now turn white and bright and make the atmosphere humid forcing me to hit the waters. Jump, swim, play....

A loud splash suddenly woke me up. I was in my bed and it was still dark outside. I had been dreaming !! I searched for my cell phone on the bed side table to see the time. It was 4.00 AM. I thought of drifting back to sleep but the fear of missing the Sun rise was too much to push me out of bed instantly. I freshened up and was craving for a cup of tea when I realised that it was a hotel after all and sadly, it has its own rules. I grabbed my camera and my newly bought binoculars and set out for the beach.

It was abandoned at that hour of the day. Well, it was day for me while for the rest of the world, it was still mid-night I guessed. “Lazy people” I cursed. Had they come here to witness the beauty of nature or to just sleep like dead ?? i felt pity for them for probably they would not be witnessing what I was going to. I was the chosen one. I smiled proudly. I searched for a proper place to sit from where I could witness the entire drama which was about to get started in the theatre of the sky. The waves were touching gently at my feet which made me aware that they were a little beyond the shore line. I felt a tinge of excitement within myself. As if nature too wanted the moment to be the most wonderful experience of my life and was treating me as its most esteemed audience and was busy organising the play just for me.

I almost got lost into the vastness of the Sea when I thought I saw a white lining somewhere in the middle of the Sea. It was gone as soon as it appeared and I thought to myself “It is only an illusion” !! I continued watching the Sea silently and eagerly waiting for the Sun to rise. Barely a few seconds had passed when I realised that my feet were now completely soaked in the salty water of the Sea. The shore line had vanished. I could see the water swelling constantly. That was when I realised that something was wrong. I immediately took out my binoculars and placed them on to try and figure out what was it that was causing the water to rise. I was terrified at what I saw. There were waves, huge waves right in the middle of the Sea. I put down my binoculars and thought “it was not an illusion when I saw this thing with my naked eyes a few minutes back” !! The danger was right there staring at me in my eyes before I could even sense it. The waves lashed against each other in mid-Sea and created waves that were higher than a ten storied building, if not more. It was a Tsunami. I had read about it on the internet during my college days. Huge waves are created in the Sea as a result of some seismic activity underneath. A catastrophe is approaching the main land. I jumped to my feet and started running away from the shore. I was shouting “tsunami ! Tsunami !!” and the few people who were lying on the streets woke up to my shout and began following me spontaneously without actually knowing what it was or how far. But I was glad that they too were running. They began shouting “ Get out of your homes..Run..Run everybody..Run faster!! “ I knew only running will not be safe as the water would catch up very soon. I saw a tall building at the corner of the street and rushed inside and then upward all in one breath. After reaching the terrace I didn’t know where to go or what to do next. The building would collapse in a second. I saw a coconut tree at one of its sides. I don’t know how I did it, but the next moment I was hanging from the tree. I put in all my effort to climb to the top of the tree but couldn’t move after climbing a few inches. So I stayed there, clinging on to the tree like a child clings on to his mother when he is scared. “ I could be dead the next moment. The waves will not spare anything that comes in its way.” I thought as I shut my eyes tightly for I did not want to witness my cruel death. The tree swung obediently in the direction of the wind and I wished it were not so obedient !! I Held on to it more tightly as if holding on to the last few seconds of my life. All this went on for several hours before the winds stopped blowing. The waves also receded. I opened my eyes and thanked the tree to have not dropped me. I looked around and it was only water, water everywhere. And floating on it were thatches, wires, wooden planks and corpses. It was so fearful I didn’t want to look down at it again. I just wanted to be rescued from that place before the waves plan a retreat. And I knew this was going to have to wait for some time because outside help could reach the place at least a couple of days later considering the amount of destruction caused in that area. It was getting dark. “An entire day had passed and there was no trace of the Sun anywhere in the sky” I thought to myself. My entire body was aching and I had to put in all the determination I ever had in order to hold on to that tree. The next morning I was woken up by strange noises coming from below. I opened my eyes and looked down at the foot of the tree. I could hardly believe my eyes. There was a canoe and a few men on it. They had come to rescue me. This ordeal was about to end. A young man got up from the canoe and swiftly climbed the tree to reach me. A rope was tied at his waist. He tied the same rope around my waist and safely brought me down. I saw a few more survivors cuddled inside the tiny boat. I knew that they too were saved by these noble men. One of the men offered me some food and water and asked my name. But all I could do was cry. They were villagers, they were poor people but they had a heart of gold. They too have gone through this devastation and probably have lost all their belongings, may be even their near and dear ones. But instead of counting and grieving upon their loss, they are here to help the needful in whichever way possible. They are not just truly Human Beings, but God for me. I thanked them in my own dialect which probably they understood and smiled back at me. They canoed us to the foot of a hill and showed us the way to the top. I followed in the direction as I was told along with the others. After a couple of hours and a series of tumbles, I finally managed to reach the top. We were told that help would arrive there shortly. I was not sure how long we had to wait for the help to arrive but it seemed like an endless wait. I remembered how I was waiting for the sun to rise at the beach. It was almost a similar kind of endless wait, save the excitement and fun at the beach which was missing today. Suddenly I was startled by the sound of the chopper. Help had arrived finally. The sun never did!! It hovered above us just the same way as the birds were hovering above the sea in circles in my dream that night. I struggled to stay awake. I did not want to have any more dreams. They lowered a ladder made of rope and we started climbing on it one-by-one. We were pulled inside the chopper and it began to move away. I turned to look at the Sea one last time and thought “Will the Sun ever rise from this horizon again?”

Reviews

[Marie]

This is very exciting. The part about where the narratoris rescued by the villagers is good; shows how people help people.
There is hope that someday the sun will rise again.

[Ranjita Ghosh Dasgupta]

thanx Marie