Even though she was standing in a serene environment, Arya was bubbling with emotions inside. Having been caught in a tug-of-war between sorrow and madness, she exclaimed her heart’s desire. “I want to see him.”
A voice shot out of the enveloping darkness to answer her, “I am afraid you can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because you are still alive and he is not.”
Those words echoed painfully in her heart, “Why? Why him?”
When she received no answers, she continued haranguing.
“Please tell me why,” she sobbed. “What was his fault? What did he do to deserve this untimely death?”
“Nothing ever is untimely. Everyone must one day come back home. Someday you too will return home.”
Arya was, however, relentless, “No, no, no. I want my Sameer back. He belongs with me, not here. I am his world and he is mine. He is everything to me and I cannot imagine a single moment without him. What have I done to deserve something so terrible as losing that one person I love the most?
“How am I supposed to live now without him? Why did you not take me away too? He was everything to me, he was a meaning to my life, he was a part of me and now he has gone away. A part of me has died, a part of me that will never be recovered, a part of me that will never be the same again.
“We had dreams, we had plans, we had time; now all that is left is a fleeting memory. What am I to do with it? Why don’t you take me away too? Without him I see no purpose in living. In an instant, I have lost my world. In an instant, my dreams are shattered. Say something. What do I do now?”
The voice instructed her to take a few steps forward. When she did, she sensed a creature standing not too far away from her. Slowly the creature opened its wings and revealed itself to be a bright and massive butterfly. Its wings were adorned with blazing stars and its eyes were as dark as a hole. Though the brightness was overpowering, Arya was not blinded by it; instead she felt a sense of calm surge through her veins.
The butterfly shrinked down to Arya’s frame and asked her, “What is it that you want?”
“All I want,” exclaimed Arya, “is a chance to say goodbye to him. I want to spend more time with him. I want to be with him in his final moments. Is it too much to ask for?”
“No,” came the answer, “what you are asking for is too little. Very well, you shall have your wish. I won’t drink his nectar all at once but drop by drop. Please close your eyes and take a deep breath.”
With a speed greater than the speed of light, Arya was teleported from an unworldly realm to a bright sunny Friday morning in the comforts of her bed. Next to her was Sameer and he was snoring loudly.
Frank Solanki 