The Nightmare

"Stop it," I broke out in the middle of my sleep. My heart was beating very fast without a pause. For

the last five days, I could not sleep well. Every time I went to sleep, the terrible words of Babaji

flickered in my mind again and again. I wished I hadn't gone to Babaji with Priya that day, but there

was no point regretting that now.

My watch read 3:45 a.m., and I was reluctant to go back to bed. I fetched myself a glass of water from the kitchen and tried to calm down. However, the words of Babaji kept reverberating again and again- 'YOUR END IS NEAR, SON...YOUR END IS NEAR'

Hi, I am Arjun Kashyap. This name is not that popular among the 131 crore odd people of my country, except my family, neighbours, relatives, and friends- real and virtual. My journey in this world began on 22nd February 1996, and I am surviving since then. Being the lone son in a middle-class family, I had my own advantages, which also made me irresponsible of the two siblings. I am in my twenties, serving as a product manager in Ajanta Pharmaceutical.

I was an atheist by heart but had to succumb to the constant efforts made by Priya to make me believe in God. Ultimately, in the battle of God and science, love took over. And that was the greatest mistake of my life.

A few days back, I had an argument with Priya over the phone as I didn't want to go to Babaji to know about my future which she urged about repeatedly.

"What's the point to know about the future?" I questioned her.

"I have to see how good your future is," she reasoned.

"I don't believe in all these things, my dear."

"You're going or not?" she sounded angry.

"Aah, I don't think so."

"Ok then, I'm going alone. Don't come behind me," Priya shouted over the speaker.

And thus, she won again by her emotional blackmailing! I stopped her, "Fine, let's go together."

"That's so sweet of you. Come to my place in an hour" saying so, she cut the call.

I took a quick shower and put on a white plain T-shirt to match with the blue denim. I got on my Pulsar 220 and reached her place in a short time. She was already ready, waiting for me, which was rare as typically, I would have to wait an eternity for her. She looked very gorgeous in her Maroon salwar-kameez. I took a glance at her from top to bottom and over again.

"What?!" she raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing," I shrugged, "Shall we proceed?"

"Ya, what are we waiting for!"

We reached our destination within an hour. The place was both scary and creepy. If the thick bushes lining the cave way hid the sun rays from entering, the half-fossilized skulls added a fearsome topping. The stairs leading to the temple have also worn out, and I was conscious of every step I took, not to tumble down. Accompanying us were a group of monkeys, shrieking and running all along the way. I wondered how Priya was feeling comfortable there(she would even get frightened

by the sight of a cockroach).

We found Babaji chanting a prayer for the appeasement of 'Manasa Devi', the Goddess of Snakes.

"Pranam Babaji," Priya folded her hands and signalled me to do the same.

"Khush Raho Beti", the Babaji place a hand on her forehead.

"This is Arjun, about whom I talked with you the other day," she pointed at me.

"Come towards me," he asked me to sit on the mat lying beside him.

I hesitated, but Priya pushed me. As soon as I sat down, Babaji took my left hand and started

chanting. He then mingled with my hand for about 5 minutes and left my hand. It felt like an hour for me, and I was secretly praying for this thing to be over soon: claustrophobia was making me

dizzy.

"Ok, you can go now," Babaji told in a nervous state.

I took a sigh of relief and was about to get up when Priya muttered, "But Baba, you didn't predict his future."

Babaji was silent.

"What happened? Say something, please?" Priya asked in anxiety.

"He has no future!" Babaji answered Priya steadily.

I was confused about whether to agree to what I heard or ignore it altogether. Priya started crying.

"Baba, please tell her that you are joking," I urged him.

"I wish I could," Babaji replied, "Your end is near, son ... Your end is near." He then went away, counting his beads.

I looked at Priya, who was still crying. I wiped off her tears from her cheeks which have turned red.

She hugged me tight, "I don't want to lose you, Arjun."

"You won't. Nothing of that sort will happen to me," I tried to counsel her, "let's forget about it now and return home. It's getting late dark".

"But didn't you hear what Babaji said?"

"Yes, I do. But this is an absurd prediction. I don't believe all these."

"I can't think of any moment without you," she started crying again, "Please don't leave me alone."

During our return trip, I didn't speak any word. She was silent too but pinched me at regular intervals in the back to check if I was alive or not. I dropped her and went straight home. I was totally exhausted from the happenings of the day that I fell asleep as soon as I get down on the bed.