She was a mere mortal on the firmament
On the astral plane she was divine
If the gods so wish to make it permanent
Her beauty in the heavens be enshrined
Suddenly, the transforming mist stops in front of me and Airawat kneels down in front of me. To my utter disbelief, he then proceeds to lift me up with his trunk and puts me on his back. Its a rollicking ride and a majestic one as airawat towers above everything. We pass the nymphs by the stream and again the sound of divine music surrounds me completely. This time around the nymphs approach us and surround us in a ring and we head together in the direction of the stream behind a hill that seems to suddenly appear out of nowhere. Airawat seems to trudge up the hill with such ease that it makes me wonder if he is an elephant at all. We pass grazing animals on the hillside, and hear bovine moos and equine neighs echoing through the hills. Suddenly, an eerie music fills the whole surrounding and a magical cloud appears as we seem to be now approaching the top of the hill. The cloud which is part charcoal dark and part snow white, has a cupid shaped rainbow streaming right through it, and seems to envelop the grasslands and the top of the hill completely. The nymphs now depart and alight on top of the rainbow and add to the eerie music which seems to be coming right from the center of the cloud.
We approach a ridge, both sides of which are surrounded by a magnificent valley of flowers, the likes of which I have never seen before. They are fragrant, an aroma that fills the air with such sweetness that it makes me heady and almost makes me fall off Airawat. The color is such a brilliant hue that it makes the eyes moist and one cannot take their eyes off them. I pray to the Gods that Airawat does not make the mistake of taking his eyes off the ridge and keeps his eyes on the ridge instead. We are approaching the edge of the ridge when suddenly Airawat stops, and kneels down. I take it this means we are at the end of our journey, so I get down from Airawat. I see a path leading to some hutments and a flowing stream. I proceed down the path and what lies waiting for me there takes my breath away. I see the most beautiful women dressed in wonderfully beautiful garments and brilliant gems dancing and playing in what seems like paradise. I am thirsty, so I take a sip of the water from the running stream and find it so sweet that I proceed to drown my head in the stream and gulp the sweetness in hungry mouthfuls. There is a garden amongst the hutments and I can smell sweet nectar emanating from the fruits ripening on the trees. I lunge at a fruit which looks like a rose apple in the orchard and take a bite. The flesh of the fruit is so tender it melts in my mouth and the taste is unlike anything I have ever tasted before. Its bitter, sweet, astringent, and sour all at the same time.
I hear a voice calling me, "Come along, Estrella. I have been waiting for you.". I see a god-like figure sitting on a throne, made of the most exquisite wood and ivory embellishments, in a regal posture. He beckons the women to him and they all run towards him, throwing themselves lasciviously at him.
I bow my head and speak, "My Lord, where am I? And Who are you and all these people?"
The god-head replies in a authoritative tone, "I am Indra, the ruler of Indralok and these are my consorts, Menaka, Urvashi and Ritambhara. You must be curious as to why you are here. You are here, for you have been chosen to become an Apsara, to be elevated above the trivial pursuit that is human existence on Prithvi Lok. But, since we must not intervene with free will, you will be given the choice to decide. Once you decide to become an Apsara, all the heavenly delights of Indra Lok will be at your beck and call. "
"But, I ....", and then I woke up, my breathing fast and my forehead drenched in sweat. It must have been a dream, I thought to myself, but it seemed so real. I tossed and turned all night and could not get much sleep. I woke up early morning with my mind still engrossed in the heavenly sights of Indralok. I wanted badly to share my experience with someone and waited until I got to school. I found Maria during recess and took her into confidence.
"Maria. You won't laugh at me if I were to tell you something really strange, would you".
"I don't know. How strange is it. I guess, I will try to keep a straight face".
I recounted my experience to her and watched her expression change from an eager look to one of bewilderment.
"So, what are you going to do. What if the same dream happens again. Is it a dream or is it real"?
"I don't know. To be very honest, I am a bit scared, because I am pretty convinced it was real and that it will happen again. Can you sleep with me tonight? It will calm me down knowing that there is someone I can always wake up to".
"Well, I have no issues with staying at your place. I have to check with my parents though. I have an idea, why don't we keep a belonging of yours like a bracelet by your bed that you can carry with you to Indralok, and when the dream sequence begins, just drop the bracelet there. In case we find it missing in the morning, we will know for sure that the dream is real".
"Ok. It sounds great. I will see you at my home in the evening then".
"Bye, estrella, don't worry, we will see this through together".
Evening came and with that Estrella started feeling nervous and wanted dearly for Maria to come home. She had not shared her experience with her parents fearing that they would think she was sick and take her to the doctor, because she hated pills and injections. She heard the door-bell ring and much to her relief it was Maria carrying a bag waiting at the front door. With a sigh, she let her in and gave her a tight hug.
"I was worried you would not show up", I said.
"I would never let down a friend like you Estrella now, would I"?
"Have you had dinner, because I just want to go to sleep and wake up in the morning with no dreams and you by my side".
"Yes, I had dinner before I left, so shall we hit the bed dear".
"Yes, lets".
We tucked ourselves into bed, and I flipped open a book hoping to get my mind away from the heavenly dream. I had tucked a bracelet right beside me as we had decided to leave in Indra's heavenly abode and I was all waiting with baited breath for my dream to begin. The book I was ready was a fairy tale about a prince who has to rescue a princess from the clutches of an evil wizard who has a dragon as an accomplice and I turned a few pages before I found myself dozing away.
The next morning, Maria rubbed her eyes, but before opening her eyes, she started feeling for Estrella next to her. When the reality dawned on her, she woke up shocked for Estrella was nowhere to be found, and the bracelet was missing as well.
On the astral plane she was divine
If the gods so wish to make it permanent
Her beauty in the heavens be enshrined
There is a bright light, almost blinding suddenly drenching me and I am rising up through the air as if lifted by the spirits themselves. I hear divine music and voices calling my name, "Come, Estrella, come with us far above where you belong". As I rise up, I feel the wind in my face, and I am swirling in whisps of cotton candy floss clouds that seem to dance around me in a vortex swallowing me at will and then spitting me out with equal vehemence.
The clouds keep parting as I ascend higher, revealing shooting stars, the clear night sky and way beyong I see a distant twinkling flotsam that seems to be getting closer. As I get closer, the shimmering haze becomes clear and materializes into some sort of a pagan paradise full of green patches of grasslands and pastures, idyllic streams and waterfalls and spectacular catacomb like dwellings. I descend on to the pastoral grasslands and as if moved by some kind of supernatural medium I am able to glide effortlessly on the land which seems soft like its been knitted together with satin, angora wool and fine linen.
The clouds keep parting as I ascend higher, revealing shooting stars, the clear night sky and way beyong I see a distant twinkling flotsam that seems to be getting closer. As I get closer, the shimmering haze becomes clear and materializes into some sort of a pagan paradise full of green patches of grasslands and pastures, idyllic streams and waterfalls and spectacular catacomb like dwellings. I descend on to the pastoral grasslands and as if moved by some kind of supernatural medium I am able to glide effortlessly on the land which seems soft like its been knitted together with satin, angora wool and fine linen.
The place is beyond what an ordinary mind can describe, for it holds heavenly delights wherever I pass. Out by the streams nymphs playing games and making music on the harp. The waterfalls makes a thunderous sound as they descend from what seems like nowhere and crash with a resounding might onto the granite floor, making a mist that seems to look like its alive, changing shapes from one time to the another, resembling a temple at times, and then a shrine and then suddenly morphing into mythological creatures like Airawat, Indra's white elephant.
Suddenly, the transforming mist stops in front of me and Airawat kneels down in front of me. To my utter disbelief, he then proceeds to lift me up with his trunk and puts me on his back. Its a rollicking ride and a majestic one as airawat towers above everything. We pass the nymphs by the stream and again the sound of divine music surrounds me completely. This time around the nymphs approach us and surround us in a ring and we head together in the direction of the stream behind a hill that seems to suddenly appear out of nowhere. Airawat seems to trudge up the hill with such ease that it makes me wonder if he is an elephant at all. We pass grazing animals on the hillside, and hear bovine moos and equine neighs echoing through the hills. Suddenly, an eerie music fills the whole surrounding and a magical cloud appears as we seem to be now approaching the top of the hill. The cloud which is part charcoal dark and part snow white, has a cupid shaped rainbow streaming right through it, and seems to envelop the grasslands and the top of the hill completely. The nymphs now depart and alight on top of the rainbow and add to the eerie music which seems to be coming right from the center of the cloud.
We approach a ridge, both sides of which are surrounded by a magnificent valley of flowers, the likes of which I have never seen before. They are fragrant, an aroma that fills the air with such sweetness that it makes me heady and almost makes me fall off Airawat. The color is such a brilliant hue that it makes the eyes moist and one cannot take their eyes off them. I pray to the Gods that Airawat does not make the mistake of taking his eyes off the ridge and keeps his eyes on the ridge instead. We are approaching the edge of the ridge when suddenly Airawat stops, and kneels down. I take it this means we are at the end of our journey, so I get down from Airawat. I see a path leading to some hutments and a flowing stream. I proceed down the path and what lies waiting for me there takes my breath away. I see the most beautiful women dressed in wonderfully beautiful garments and brilliant gems dancing and playing in what seems like paradise. I am thirsty, so I take a sip of the water from the running stream and find it so sweet that I proceed to drown my head in the stream and gulp the sweetness in hungry mouthfuls. There is a garden amongst the hutments and I can smell sweet nectar emanating from the fruits ripening on the trees. I lunge at a fruit which looks like a rose apple in the orchard and take a bite. The flesh of the fruit is so tender it melts in my mouth and the taste is unlike anything I have ever tasted before. Its bitter, sweet, astringent, and sour all at the same time.
I hear a voice calling me, "Come along, Estrella. I have been waiting for you.". I see a god-like figure sitting on a throne, made of the most exquisite wood and ivory embellishments, in a regal posture. He beckons the women to him and they all run towards him, throwing themselves lasciviously at him.
I bow my head and speak, "My Lord, where am I? And Who are you and all these people?"
The god-head replies in a authoritative tone, "I am Indra, the ruler of Indralok and these are my consorts, Menaka, Urvashi and Ritambhara. You must be curious as to why you are here. You are here, for you have been chosen to become an Apsara, to be elevated above the trivial pursuit that is human existence on Prithvi Lok. But, since we must not intervene with free will, you will be given the choice to decide. Once you decide to become an Apsara, all the heavenly delights of Indra Lok will be at your beck and call. "
"But, I ....", and then I woke up, my breathing fast and my forehead drenched in sweat. It must have been a dream, I thought to myself, but it seemed so real. I tossed and turned all night and could not get much sleep. I woke up early morning with my mind still engrossed in the heavenly sights of Indralok. I wanted badly to share my experience with someone and waited until I got to school. I found Maria during recess and took her into confidence.
"Maria. You won't laugh at me if I were to tell you something really strange, would you".
"I don't know. How strange is it. I guess, I will try to keep a straight face".
I recounted my experience to her and watched her expression change from an eager look to one of bewilderment.
"So, what are you going to do. What if the same dream happens again. Is it a dream or is it real"?
"I don't know. To be very honest, I am a bit scared, because I am pretty convinced it was real and that it will happen again. Can you sleep with me tonight? It will calm me down knowing that there is someone I can always wake up to".
"Well, I have no issues with staying at your place. I have to check with my parents though. I have an idea, why don't we keep a belonging of yours like a bracelet by your bed that you can carry with you to Indralok, and when the dream sequence begins, just drop the bracelet there. In case we find it missing in the morning, we will know for sure that the dream is real".
"Ok. It sounds great. I will see you at my home in the evening then".
"Bye, estrella, don't worry, we will see this through together".
Evening came and with that Estrella started feeling nervous and wanted dearly for Maria to come home. She had not shared her experience with her parents fearing that they would think she was sick and take her to the doctor, because she hated pills and injections. She heard the door-bell ring and much to her relief it was Maria carrying a bag waiting at the front door. With a sigh, she let her in and gave her a tight hug.
"I was worried you would not show up", I said.
"I would never let down a friend like you Estrella now, would I"?
"Have you had dinner, because I just want to go to sleep and wake up in the morning with no dreams and you by my side".
"Yes, I had dinner before I left, so shall we hit the bed dear".
"Yes, lets".
We tucked ourselves into bed, and I flipped open a book hoping to get my mind away from the heavenly dream. I had tucked a bracelet right beside me as we had decided to leave in Indra's heavenly abode and I was all waiting with baited breath for my dream to begin. The book I was ready was a fairy tale about a prince who has to rescue a princess from the clutches of an evil wizard who has a dragon as an accomplice and I turned a few pages before I found myself dozing away.
The next morning, Maria rubbed her eyes, but before opening her eyes, she started feeling for Estrella next to her. When the reality dawned on her, she woke up shocked for Estrella was nowhere to be found, and the bracelet was missing as well.
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