The Powers

As the day unfolds, All four of them were trying to do their work, but that dream had distracted them. Sriha was sincere and the only one who was able to concentrate on her studies. However, Ashmi and Sarath never liked studying, so they had a great excuse to not complete their work. Aravir was very good at studies but was easily distracted by outside things and he would put in all his strength to understand the history and mystery about it. Their entire day passed like this. “It was a very long day. Finally, as the Sun sets and the Moon rises, we will head to our rooms and call it a night and continue with our mysterious dream. I was waiting for it!” Aravir mumbled and chuckled in excitement. He was not scared at all. In fact, he was enjoying each and every bit of this journey of dreams. The situation of the others was also the same, but they had no idea what was going to happen with them. The secret of their entire life was hidden in these dreams. All four went to their bed and slept. As they fell into a deep sleep, their dream started flashing. And as Sarath said, this time they actually saw something new. In the last dream they had, they saw foggy weather and blurred vision of a man and a woman whining. From here their actual journey was going to start. This time the fog was slowly moving aside and their way ahead was looking clear. All four were astonished to see the view. At that moment, they were alone at different places. Sriha stepped forward to witness the beauty of nature. As she moved ahead, she felt that the speed of the wind was gradually increasing. Initially she was loving the cool breeze, but the increase in wind flow was bothering her as it was getting more dangerous. She felt that something was not right but she could not do anything about it. Soon the wind turned into a terrible tornado, which swept Sriha along with it. She got scared, but then when she was flying in the middle of the whirlwind, suddenly her fear faded away and she closed her eyes and raised her hands up. Then she was slowly lowering her hands. As if she knew how to calm down the tornado. As soon as she lowered her hands, the tornado calmed down. And she landed smoothly on the ground. After landing on the ground, she opened her eyes and realised that she could control the wind. This was a very shicking incident for her. On the other hand, Anishiv was standing on the seashore. The gurgling sound of water was soothing his heart. He was feeling a different kind of peace there. But suddenly, a huge tide came towards him. Anishiv was shocked, he could not even move back due to the shock. And in a blink of an eye, the water engulfed him completely. As if the sea was trying to swallow him. Anishiv closed his eyes in fear. When he opened his eyes after a while, he was still surrounded by water but surprisingly water didn't harm him. He was stunned to see this. He could not understand what was happening to him. So, he tried to touch the water. As soon as his finger touched the water, the water started to receded. And he reached the seashore safely. He got confused and shocked at the same time. That incident left him dumbstruck. Like Sriha and Anishiv, Sarath also went through a similar situation. He was in the palace and was strolling there. The palace was very beautiful. While he was strolling, he felt as if something was burning. He then looking around. Then his eyes fell on a burning curtains which was caused by a lamp kept near the window. Due to the wind, a curtain moved into the lamp and caught fire. Slowly the fire increased and spread throughout the palace. He started looking for a way out of the palace, but meanwhile a burning pillar fell on him. Sarath thought that he would die today, but nothing happened to him. Half of his body was covered with fire, but still he was not feeling any burning sensation. Somehow he removed the pillar from above him and he stood up. Then he realised that fire cannot burn him. He wasn't sure, so to confirm he touched the burning pillar again and the fire suddenly disappeared. He was shocked and still in disbelief, so he placed his hand on the curtain again. As soon as he touched the curtain, the fire flared up. He was terrified, so he placed his hand on the curtain again, then the fire disappeared. He repeated this action two more times. “I can generate and blow fire! This is amazing!” He started jumping with joy. Now it was Ashmi's turn. As she was standing on the top of the mountain watching the beautiful sunset, she felt the ground beneath her feet shaking. When she looked down, she found that the mountain she was standing on was about to fall. Pieces of the mountain were already falling down. And in a second, she also fell down too. As she was falling down, she saw a huge boulder coming towards her. She got scared and extended her hand towards the boulder to protect herself. As she extended her hand, the boulder broke into pieces. When that boulder broke down, she realised something was different. After that, she saw one more boulder coming towards her while falling down. Ashmi again did the same, she extended her hand towards the stone and this time kept her eyes open. Boulder broke just like before. She started looking at her hands. This made her realise that she could break anything. All four were having wonderful dreams, but the night was over, so their dreams broke and they woke up. They immediately got up from the bed and went to their college after completing their daily routine. They gathered under the Banyan tree and started telling about their dreams. “I was caught in a tornado, but I don't know how, I controlled the wind. Did you all have the same dream last night?" Asked Sriha. "No, I was caught in a fire. But I was able to extinguish the fire. The whole palace was burning, but when I touched the fire with my hands, I was able to put out the fire! Isn't that amazing?" Said Sarath in wonder. “This is nothing compared to my dream. I was caught in a very big wave. The wave almost drowned me, but nothing happened to me. As soon as I touched the surface of the water, the high waves receded.” Anishiv said. “What was your condition, Ashmi?” Asked Sriha. “I was in a very bad condition! I was about to die. I was falling down from the mountain and was injured. Then I saw a huge boulder was coming to me. But when I extended my hand towards that boulder, it broke into pieces.” Ashmi shared her dream. “But why did we have this kind of dream? What does it mean?” Ashmi wondered. No one had the answer to any of their question. But such dreams were related to their lives. They were able to control different things in last night's dream. This was giving them a big hint about themselves. But they were curious at that time and thought maybe it was natural. As whatever was happening to them was very surprising and new to them. They spent most of the day thinking about their dreams. They were all waiting for the night to continue their dream and see what is next in line. As the night arrived, they had dinner and immediately went to bed. This time, they were at a different location. That place was covered with greenery and had colourful flowers, that were dancing due to the soft cool breeze. There was a walking path which was beautifully created with stones, fruits were hanging on the trees, squirrels were playing around. That place was magical. Sriha started walking on the way. As she moved ahead, somebody came from behind and frightened her by screaming in her ear. She got scared and tried hiding her face, for a while her heartbeat fastened. Then she gently moved her finger from her eyes to see the person who scared her. When she saw that person, she removed her hands in a jolt and said with a grimace, “You! What are you doing in my dream?” The person burst out laughing, “Just look at your face, how scared you are!" So that person was none other than her friend Aravir. “I was scared, but now I’m angry. Why aren’t you in your dream?” Sriha got irritated. “Oh come on Sriha! We all are seeing the same dream and we are in the same place as well. So obviously that we will be in each other’s dreams!” “Oh is it like that?” “Of course!” After that little conversation, Aravir got silent, because he had realised something. He was thinking about that. “What happened? Is something wrong?” Sriha asked. “It's strange! Usually people don't realise that they are dreaming. But we know that we are living in a dream right now.” “You're right! But whatever is happening with us is already weird. So, don't think too much about it. Let the chips fall where they may.” Said Sriha. “By the way, it looks like a beautiful dream rather than a nightmare.” Aravir mumbled while looking at the atmosphere around him. “So, Sarath and Ashmi should also be around here.” Sriha said by moving her eyes around in search of them. “Yaa, they should be, but they are not to be found anywhere.” He also looked around him. “Let it be, If they find us then they will come to us.” “By the way, Sriha, you're looking so beautiful! Just like a princess! All our attries are different from real life.” He adored her. “Oh! I didn't even realise it. I'm looking wonderful! My attention did not go towards my clothes.” Sriha also adored herself. When her gaze shifted from herself to him, she said, “Just look at your attire Aravir. Your attire is also like a prince.” “I know that! How can I forget to look at myself?” “Yes, of course! Self obsessed boy! Now let's go.” Afterwards, they both moved ahead. They were walking through the beautiful scenery, it was no less than any enchanted place. Both of them were experiencing immense peace and happiness at this picturesque place. “I don't think this kind of beauty exists in today's world. Modernization has taken away the real beauty of nature.” Said Sriha. While walking, both of them were enjoying the view, it seemed as if they were absorbing the beauty of nature within themselves. They were enjoying that time to the fullest. Then suddenly the shine caught their attention, they saw that the shine was coming from behind the mountain. Both Aravir and Sriha looked at each other excitedly. As soon as they moved forward, suddenly Sriha stopped. She was unable to move forward, as if her feet were frozen and she also heard the sound of something. “What happened? Let’s go. What are you waiting for?” Aravir asked. “Aravir, can you hear something ringing? I think it’s the sound of a bell.” Sriha was wondering where the sound was coming from. “Bell!” he was confused. “I’m not hearing any kind of sound. Come on, Sriha, We have more stuff to explore.” He said and started walking ahead. But he felt no movement behind him. So he turned around and saw that Sriha was still standing at the same place. “Why aren't you coming with me? What's wrong? Are you okay?” “I can't walk, Aravir! It feels like my feet are frozen.” “What? Let me check!” As soon as Aravir walked towards her, Sriha suddenly disappeared. He was startled. He started looking around him, but she was nowhere. However, what actually happened was that she disappeared because her alarm was ringing and that’s why she woke up. Sriha sighed and thought that perhaps Aravir might be looking for her. On the other hand, In Aravir's dream he was searching for Sriha. But all of a sudden, he felt as if the ground beneath his feet was shaking. When he looked down, he realised that an earthquake had occurred. He got really scared and started screaming. Later, he also woke up with a jerk. His heartbeat increased. He saw that his mom was dragging a heavy table. Then he realised that the sound of that drag caused an earthquake in his dream. He breathed a sigh of relief. His mom saw him awake and said, “Oh! I'm so sorry, I disturbed your sleep. I needed this table urgently. Therefore, I came.” “It's okay mom! Let me help you.” After that he got ready and went to college. As usual they met on the college ground, under the wide tree. That was their favourite spot. They used to spend a lot of time under that wide Banyan tree. It was a second home for them. Even when there was a holiday in college, they used to jump over the wall and go under the Banyan tree. They all gathered there. “So what’s the news, guys?” Sarath asked while sitting under the shadow of the Banyan tree. “I and Aravir met in the dream. But I disappeared from our dream because my alarm was ringing. I thought you might be looking for me.” Said Sriha. “After you left, an earthquake occurred in my dream.” Said Aravir. “What?” “My mom was dragging a table, so it felt like a massive earthquake in my dream. Dreams always seem like reality. I was about to die. But later my eyes opened.” That earthquake incident made them all laugh. “Where were you both?” Sriha asked. “I was also dreaming and exploring new places.” Sarath answered with a smiling face. “Oh shut up! You were busy eating fruits which were hanging on the tree.” Said Ashmi. Suddenly the smile faded away from Sarath’s face and he said, “Yaa, just like you were busy collecting those colourful flowers, right?” he smirked. Ashmi looked down and started rolling her eyeballs. Aravir and Sriha were shocked to hear this. They both looked towards each other. “Are you serious guys? We are trying to crack this mystery and you both were having fun there!” Aravir snarled. “But we can't control our dreams, it will come the way it would be. We can’t do anything!” Sarath said, raising his shoulders. “Yes you’re right, we can’t control our dreams, but we can control our thoughts. If you focus on the main destination, you won’t be distracted by the other things.” Sriha made them understand politely. They both remained silent for a few moments. Later, they said together, “I’m sorry!” “By the way, if you both wouldn’t have been distracted by the other things, you both would have seen what we had seen.” Aravir said. “What have you seen?” Ashmi asked. “We couldn’t see much, because our dream was broken. But we saw something shining behind the mountain.” Sriha answered. “We have not seen anything like that yet.” Said Sarath. “Okay guys, so we will meet at one spot and then we’ll move ahead. Aravir, please you won't go ahead leaving us behind.” Ashmi said. “It's not in my hands to wait for you both!” “But why?” “Just as Sarath said, we don't have control over our dreams. We can’t meet unless the time of our meeting comes. We have the sense to understand that we are dreaming, that doesn't mean we can control our dreams.” Aravir answered. “But you and Sriha met each other in both your dreams respectively!” Ashmi said. “Yes, because there may be a reason behind it. That's why we met. When your time would come, you will also meet us.” Aravir said. “So that means, we were not having fun there, we were collecting flowers and fruits because we had been dragged by an invisible force! I was right, we can't control our dreams.” Sarath said by raising his eyebrows. Sriha rolled her eyes and said, “Okay fine! Now let’s go home. Another night is about to come. Today we have spent a lot of time together overhear.” They all went home and as usual after finishing their daily routine they went to bed. They all fell into deep sleep. Their dream continued where it had been left from. Sarath was eating fruits, Ashmi was collecting flowers, Aravir and Sriha reached the place where they had spotted something shining. While Sarath was eating fruits, he suddenly remembered that he was here for a mission. On the other hand, Ashmi was ready to go ahead, she was thinking what to do with the flowers which she had collected. Then she got an idea and took a flower and placed it on her braided hair. She was looking pretty. They both were also in royal attires. After all those things Sarath and Ashmi moved ahead. As they both were coming from opposite sides, unknowingly they bumped to each other. “Ouch! I’m sorry!” Ashmi said while rubbing her head. “Ashmi!” Sarath was happy to see her. “Oh! So finally we both met.” “It’s good! I think we have been divided into teams. You and I, Aravir and Sriha.” Ashmi said. “Yaa, it could be!” “But it is strange, we don't have control on our dreams, but we remember what we were discussing about our dreams when we're awake.” Sarath wondered. “I don't know. It all is a game of destiny.” On the other hand, Aravir and Sriha stepped forward to see where the shine was coming from. But they had to climb a mountain to find out what that thing was. Because whatever that was, it was situated behind the mountain. They started climbing the mountain, which was difficult to climb. While tracking on the mountain, they faced some difficulties while climbing the mountain and were taking its steps forward. Later, they headed towards their destination carefully. After a few moments, they reached the top and finally that moment came when they had the first glimpse of the source from where the shine was coming. It was not an ordinary object or thing, instead it was a huge royal palace situated in the middle of a lake. Its shine was making it shine like a diamond. There was only a sailboat with oars floating in the sea. They both were astonished to see the palace. The whole palace was made of glass. The Sun's rays were making its shine even more beautiful. "Wow," Aravir said in hushed amazement with a wide open mouth. “This is so beautiful! I’ve seen palaces in fairy tale books only, but those palaces are nothing in front of this palace.” Sriha was amazed. “Sarath and Ashmi must have seen this?” She asked. “I don’t know. We still haven’t met them both. But why?” Aravir was wondering. “Maybe, there would be a reason behind it.” She thought. Here on the other side, Sarath and Ashmi reached the mountain which was located at the opposite side of the mountain where Sriha and Aravir were standing. While Sarath and Ashmi were climbing the mountain, they found a little treasure box which was locked and there was no key around. They searched for the key here and there but failed to find it anywhere around. So, Sarath put that treasure box in his pocket and they went ahead. When they both reached the top of the mountain they saw the backside of the Glass Palace. They were also amazed to see the palace. "It's magnificent!" Sarath said in wonder. The reflection of the Glass Palace was shining in their eyes. They were excited to go inside, But they weren't able to take their eyes off the palace. Four of them stood, slack-jawed and in awe at the tremendous size of the palace. While they were busy adoring the beauty of the Glass Palace, they didn't realise when the Sun rose and their dream broke. It was time for them to go to college. That day they all were excited to go to college and meet each other. Because they had a lot of dreamy things to share. After that as usual they gathered at their favourite place. “You won’t believe guys, what we saw yesterday night!” Sarath exclaimed in excitement, as he didn’t know that Sriha and Aravir had already seen everything. “We saw a huge royal Glass Palace from the top of the mountain.” Ashmi said in wonder. Sriha and Aravir looked at each other surprisingly. “Have both of you also seen the palace? Sriha asked. When they heard Sriha’s words, they understood that they all had seen the palace. “It means we all have witnessed the beauty of the palace. Nice! Then there is nothing to discuss.” Said Aravir. “But we didn’t see you both anywhere on the mountain.” Sriha asked by narrowing her eyes. “We also didn’t see you both!” Ashmi asked the same. “Maybe, we were on another mountain. There were so many mountains situated around the palace.” Said Sarath. “But we haven’t seen any way to go to the palace, there was nothing like a bridge or a boat.” Sarath said by scratching his head. “But we saw a boat floating on the water.” Sriha hurriedly said. “Good! Now I don’t know how we will find the way?” Ashmi said and gasped. “We have found one thing.” Sarath said. “What?” Aravir and Sriha said together. “One small treasure box and it was locked.” Ashmi said. “Where did you put that box?” Sriha asked. “In my pocket.” Sarath replied. “Good! Anyway, Let’s see what happens today.” Sriha said and they all went to their respective homes. Again another night came and they all went to sleep. All of their parents were wondering, why did their kids sleep early these days? Day by day they were getting excited to know more. They were getting eager for this night because they were hoping to go into the palace. All four were standing on the mountain. Sriha-Aravir on one mountain and Ashmi-Sarath on the other mountain. Just like their last night's dream, they were lost seeing the palace’s beauty. Sriha was not even blinking her eyes. Then all of a sudden Sarath’s gaze fell on the other mountain which was exactly opposite to the mountain they were standing on. He found two people standing there, to recognize them he narrowed his eyes. When he finally recognised those two people, he tapped on Ashmi's shoulder. “Look there, Ashmi.” He pointed out his finger towards the people standing on the mountain. “If I’m not wrong, they both are Sriha and Aravir.” Ashmi looked there carefully. When she also recognised them, she said in excitement, “Of course they are Sriha and Aravir, You’re right!” Ashmi took their names out loud, “Sriha…! Aravir…! Can both of you hear me?” Her voice was resonating everywhere. Sriha and Aravir heard the voice and they started looking around them, but they found no one. “Voice seems familiar, as if Ashmi called us.” Aravir wondered. Then this time Sarath called them loudly, “Don’t search around you, just look straight, we are exactly in the opposite direction of both of you.” Sriha and Aravir looked there and got happy to see them standing on the mountain. “Hey Ashmi! Now let’s get into the palace” Sriha said, gesturing with her hand. “But how will we get into the palace, there is no way.” Sarath yelled. “We can see a boat here. Both of you come closer to the palace and wait for us at the lakeshore.” Aravir retaliated. “Okay, we’ll wait for you. Come fast!” Ashmi shouted. Four of them walked ahead to their ways. Sriha and Aravir descended from the mountain and reached the lakeshore of their side. They saw a boat from a little distance. Boat was attached to a nearby tree by a rope. “If the boat is here, then someone must be here too.” Aravir said while searching around him. “I don't think there will be anyone here. I haven't seen anybody since we came here. We're alone!” “Maybe you're right! Let's untie the rope and steer the boat ourselves. Oars are also there.” After that, they both were going to untie the knot, but all of a sudden, they heard a sound of someone yawning. When they turned around to see, they saw an old man, who slowly stood up from the boat and stretched his hands. The man was facing the palace and his back was towards Sriha and Aravir. He was sleeping on the boat, therefore they couldn't see him. The old man placed both of his hands on his waist and with hopeful eyes he looked towards the palace. “I don’t know how much I have to wait for them? The palace is already shining, but when will the real shine of the palace come?” He murmured and sighed. Sriha and Aravir were looking at him and wondering what he was talking about? “Excuse me!” Sriha shouted a little to call that old man. As the man was busy looking at the palace with compassionate eyes, he couldn't even think that someone would call him in this empty place. Albeit, as soon as the man heard the voice, he moved his head a little in a jerk towards the direction where the voice was coming from. The man didn't turn his head completely, because he was still wondering, did he hear someone’s voice? As it was next to impossible for him to find someone there. He even thought that he may be hallucinating, so he shook his head gently to shake off his thought from his mind and continued looking at the palace. Sriha thought he might not have heard, therefore, she called him again, “Excuse me, Sir!” Then Again he jerked his head a little. His heartbeat increased. After thinking for a while. He still could not believe that someone was calling him. However, the old man built up some courage to face the reality, he slowly turned around. The man had a long white beard with brown eyes and was in his most sober attire. When he saw two people standing in front of him, he couldn't believe his eyes. He rubbed his eyes and looked at both of them again. When he realised that they were actually standing there, the old man became extremely happy. His eyes became moist. He slightly smiled and blinked his eyes once. “Hello sir! Will you please help us reach the palace?” Aravir asked politely. An old man was lost in them, but hearing Aravir's voice he jolted and said, “Sorry! I didn’t hear. What did you say?” “It’s okay! Will you please help us to reach the palace?” Sriha asked. “Of course! I’m here only to help you.” He offered them to sit. “Only to help us! What do you mean?” Aravir asked. “A…Nothing! Just let's go. Come sit.” “Yaa but before we have to go to get our friends from the lakeshore.” Aravir pointed his finger towards the lakeshore where Ashmi and Sarath were supposed to wait for them. “Sure! We’ll pick them up from the lakeshore.” They both smiled and sat on the boat. The old man started steering the boat with the help of oars.