Nayantara

It was dark, so dark that I couldn't even see anything apart from the large pine trees surrounding me from all sides.

My feet were hurting with every step I took, and I was completely wet from my own sweat.

My throat felt dry like I had not drank water for days, and the cool air was hitting my face as I increased my speed after hearing those heavy sounds of paws behind me.

It was clear that some dangerous animal was chasing me.

I ran and ran without caring where my feet were taking me.

Branches stuck in my elbows and cut through my skin, but I did not feel the pain at that moment because the fear was much bigger than any physical hurt.

Tears appeared in my eyes still I did not slow down even for a second.

The fear of him was running through my body along with my blood, controlling my legs, controlling my breathing, controlling everything inside me.

When I felt that the sound of his paws was no longer there, like he had stopped chasing me, I finally dared to back.

I slowed down a bit but kept looking over my shoulder, trying to see if he was still there in that darkness.

That was when a fallen tree got stuck in my yellow maxi dress and I tripped forward, falling face down into the wet mud.

I breathed hard after cupping my mouth with both hands to control my cry. My whole body was shaking from all that running, and my legs were hurting like a bitch because I had probably gotten a muscle strain from pushing myself too hard.

I gulped down whatever little saliva was left in my mouth and tried to sit up, but when I looked up, I saw them.

Two round burning amber eyes right in front of me.

His eyes were burning like fire coming out from a volcano, ready to burst at any moment.

I froze in my half laid position on that wet mud, not daring to move even one finger. I controlled my breathing as much as I could, and that was when he moved forward.

Finally I was able to make out his shape in the moonlight.

He was large. Larger than any animal I had ever seen in my entire life. And he was black, pure black, completely hidden in the dark night.

I could only make his shape when he moved and that too because of the full moon shining bright above us. Yes, it was a full moon night.

I parted my lips to inhale because I was struggling for breath at this point, and a cold feeling washed over my whole body. It made me so cold that I started to shiver uncontrollably.

Someone shook my body and I opened my eyes in bright light, taking deep breaths like a person who had almost drowned.

Warm hands engulfed me in a tight hug. Someone was rubbing my back while saying the same words again and again. It's okay. I am here. I am here, baby.

I took more and more air from my mouth to fill my lungs because I was not sure if I would be able to take my next breath or not. My whole body was still shaking, and my night clothes were stuck to my skin because of sweat.

"Mom," I whispered, more to myself than to her. I needed to confirm if I was still inside that nightmare or if I had finally woken up.

But hearing my mother's voice cleared all my confusion. "Yeah baby, I am here. Right here, with you."

I gulped down my saliva and finally took a breath of relief before hugging her back as tightly as my weak arms allowed. She rubbed my back and kissed my forehead, before asking me "are you okay baby?"

I simply nodded my head because I was not able to form any words at that moment.

She kissed my forehead again and handed me a glass of water from my bedside table.

I took it with shaking hands and gulped down two sips before looking at my father who was standing at the doorway. His face looked worried in the dim light coming from the hallway.

I kept the glass back on the table as he approached me and sat on the other side of my bed.

He ran his fingers through my hair before kissing my forehead and muttering that everything would be alright. I nodded my head again, and he smiled at me, but his eyes looked sad.

He looked really sad for me, like he wanted to do something about my nightmares but could not do anything at all.

My mom smiled and cupped my cheek before saying, "It is just a nightmare, Tara. You should sleep now. Tomorrow is a big day for you."

I nodded at her, and she covered me with my blanket, tucking the edges under my body like I was still a small child.

My father took the remote of the AC from the nightstand and increased the temperature, scolding me slightly by saying that I would catch a cold if I continued to sleep at such low temperature.

I smiled at that. He was always like that, always protective of me and my brother. My mom shook her head at my father before looking back at me and saying good night. I smiled a bit and wished them good night as well.

They turned off the light when they exited my room, and I closed my eyes to go back to sleep because I had an important day tomorrow.

Tomorrow I was finally going to graduate at the age of twenty two, and I could not afford to have dark circles on my big day.

The thing about these nightmares was that I was used to them since childhood. They came and went like unwanted guests, and I had learned to live with them.

This time the nightmares did not disturb my sleep after that episode, and I woke up fresh when my alarm rang in the morning.

I opened my eyes and looked at the ceiling and my green painted walls before smiling to myself.

I was finally going to receive my degree in media studies, and soon after that I would join a popular news channel in Sydney. Everything was falling into place exactly how I had planned.

I jumped from my bed in excitement and rushed to the bathroom to do my daily routine.

I washed my hair twice and took my time under the warm water, letting the stress of last night wash away from my body. When I finally exited the bathroom, I was wearing my pink robe and feeling much better than I had felt in days.

My mom was already waiting for me in my room. My green graduation gown was already placed on my bed, and she smiled at me as soon as she saw my face.

"Good morning," she said in her warm ,sweet voice.

"Good morning, mom," I replied. "But you did not have to do all this."

I walked in front of my dressing table and started to apply some body lotion while my mom followed me and started searching through my dressing cabinet.

I bit my lip before saying, "Mom, I am not a child going to school for the first time. I am going to receive my degree today."

She turned towards me with the hair dryer in her hand and smiled before saying, "That is exactly why I want to make sure my daughter looks the prettiest girl there."

I rolled my eyes at her, but she did not pay any attention to my protest. She dried my hair with care, section by section, just like she had done when I was a little girl going to school functions.

Then she helped me wear my dress, and after that she put a diamond pendant around my neck and matching earrings on my ears. She applied makeup on my face with the same patience and love, and when I finally looked at myself in the mirror, I could not believe that this person was me.

I looked beautiful. Really, truly beautiful in a way that I had never seen myself before.

My mom smiled from behind me and did that gesture that indian mothers always do to save their child from bad eyes. She moved her hand in a circular motion near my face and then fake spitted on it. I smiled at her reflection in the mirror.

"My daughter looks like an angel who came straight from heaven," she said with an admiration in her gaze.

I rolled my eyes at her again. "Yes, I am looking pretty, but not that pretty. Mom," I said when she started teasing me about how all the boys would only look at me today. "I am not that pretty, okay?"

I said it in a slightly complaining tone, but there was full amusement hidden behind my words. She did not stop. "Look at yourself from my eyes, and you will find yourself as the most beautiful woman in the whole world."

I looked at my image in the mirror and tried to see what she was seeing. I found a petite woman with plain average features, nothing extraordinary at first glance. But something was there, some x factor that made her attractive. I could not pinpoint what it was exactly, but I knew for sure that I was above average.

I looked behind me at my mom who was wearing a blue saree, and I thought about how beautiful she looked. Like some princess from an old fairy tale.

She was tall and fair with sharp features, and even her aura was commanding in a way.

I was nothing like my mother and nothing like my father either. My brother Sam looked somewhat like my mother, but even he did not look much like our father.

Maybe I looked like my grandparents, which could be a possibility, although I had never seen them in my entire life.

My mom turned me around and I came out of my thoughts. She smiled at me and said, "Do not think too much. Your father is waiting for you, and Sam was also asking for you."

I smiled and we went downstairs together. When I reached the last step, I saw my dad in his grey pants and suit, already ready and waiting for me.

He looked at me and smiled, and then he opened his arms wide. I ran straight into his arms without any hesitation, and he kissed my forehead before whispering that he could not believe his daughter had grown into such a beautiful and smart woman.

My mom smiled and said, "Soon she is going to be successful too."

I laughed, but my brother Sam came running and said, "Oh, do not I have grown into a handsome and charming man?"

My dad shook his head before saying, "You are still in highschool barely scoring C grade, and your beard has also come in patches. I do not think these things count for charming and handsome."

I smiled at their banter, and my mom gave a stern stare to my dad when Sam complained, "Yes, you only love your daughter. I have come from dustbin, na?"

My mom shook her head before saying, "No one has come from dustbin. Come and have breakfast, we have to leave for the ceremony before eight. I do not want to be late on my daughter's big day."

Sam groaned before saying in an irritating voice, "Yeah, your daughter and daughter's big day."

I laughed before saying, "Come on Sam, do not act like a jealous side chick."

Sam narrowed his eyes at me. "I am not side chick. You are side chick."

I rolled my eyes. "Mom, dad, who is side chick? I think I came first, so I am impossible. You came after me, so you are the side chick."

My dad laughed and sat on the dining chair, and I followed him, sitting right beside him.

Sam made an annoying face at me, and mom said, "Sam, come here hurry up. No one is side chick because me and Shardul are not cock and hens. We are humans, and you are human kids, not chicks."

Sam smiled and showed me his tongue before sitting beside me and saying, "Look what mom said, idiot."

I made a face at him. "You are the idiot."

He made another face before saying, "Mom, she is calling me idiot."

My mom sighed deeply before saying, "If both of you do not start your breakfast in the next second, then..."

That was enough for all of us to immediately dig into our breakfast without another word.

Some things never changed, and honestly, I would not have wanted them to change even if I had the power to do so.