A reminder

I woke up super early all thanks to a dream.

I dreamt that I was on the way to a tourist village with my mum, aunt and cousin. Our destination was on a cliff and there were basically model mandirs and gompas all over the complex. All of a sudden I spotted mum and aunt sitting next to a pandit and reciting some prayers. Then I remember seeing my elder sister with a senior from school walking towards the monastery. As we turned out attention to the elders, I saw a pair of hands handing out some prasad to us all. These hands belonged to my late maternal grandfather. He looked older, darker but all the more kinder. Standing tall in his mink robes, he didn't utter a word. There is this belief that dead people never speak in dreams, does it hold some truth? He looked at us for a few seconds before disappearing into thin air. Then the pandit asked mum to hand over Ajo's favourite item -- a face towel. She frantically searched for it in her cupboard until she finally found it and passed it on to the holy man. The end.

When I opened my eyes, I rushed to wake up mum. I wanted to narrate the dream before I forgot the details. As I spoke, I felt this sudden rush of emotions and there I sat on the wooden stool crying my heart out simultaneously. I did not realize that a simple dream could have such an impact. Next, I went up to the prayer room, completed the morning rituals and offered the face towel, the same one, at the shrine.

I'm a dreamer, so much so that I can count dreamless nights in my fingers. A lot of my dreams are utter nonsense and cater to the what-you-call wishful thinking category. But there are a few like the one I had last night which leaves me feeling both happy and grateful. This has happened for the second time now. Some six years ago I dreamt of my late Ababomphu (and then too there were no exchange of words!). I howled over the phone as I spoke to my cousin the following day. Now that my morning has begun on a similar note, I am praying for the departed. These dreams help bridge the gap between the living and the long gone. They may have said their goodbyes to us but it is still a reminder that somewhere in our hearts they are still very much around.