VISIONS
The Kalindi River was majestic. The sapphire waves rushed and slapped all the structures around him.
He sensed that much time had passed since his last visit to this sacred place.
As he gazed upon the water, Vijay's body felt as if he was floating on air. He looked around to determine if his suspicions were true only to find that he was sitting on a raft. His eyes caught a glimpse of his clothes and he was reminded of garments which had been worn in ancient times.
As he floated up instead of down the river, he saw a bright light emanating out of the water.
Drawn to it, Vijay leaned over the raft to see where it was coming from when something pulled him under.
There she was.
Indie was fixed in one spot.
A bright ball of light held her entranced.
He swam over to her and the moment they locked eyes with one another, their bodies were drawn together.
Reaching out as one, their hands met in the light. A strong surge rushed up each arm swirling itself around each heart. An urge to kiss moved him to her and her to him.
Vijay burned deep inside to taste her lips.
In all his life, he never needed a woman to want him. He could care less if a woman desired him or not, but in that blink of time, he needed her.
A frantic pressure rose in the pit of his stomach and nothing would quiet the pulsing sensation in his body, except her.
When she laced her fingers through his hair and pulled Vijay down to meet her kiss, the two experienced nirvana. With just a touch, an electric shock raced into his soul.
As their lips entangled with one another's the couple was thoroughly consumed by an all-encompassing flame.
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THE LIGHT
Water rushed frantically around her feet even though it lacked the power to move her. Indie's eyes were drawn up to the sky and her heart called out to her that it was the clearest bright cerulean blue she had ever seen.
Crisp air swirled around her as she finally came to see her surroundings. She was standing right in the middle of a creek that flowed directly into a massive river. On one side there was a tiger and on the other bank, stood an elephant. Both animals kneeled down to sit while observing her with curiously wide eyes.
A rush materialized from nowhere sweeping her up in its raging waters. At first, she fought with all her might terrified that she would drown until something hooked onto her ankle dragging her deeper into its tealish murky depths. Indie reasoned with herself that she wasn't drowning despite being submerged in the river.
The strange situation produced no tightness in her chest or a frantic need to breathe. All that stood out to Indie in that moment was a brilliant ball of light singing as it enticed her closer to it.
She glided to the light.
She hovered in front of it.
Though it called out, Indie was still unclear about the reason she found herself in that place.
When she closed her eyes briefly, soon they fluttered open again to witness a man with strong determined strokes heading towards the submerged version of her. His clothes seemed to be garments from a different time. They reminded her of the costumes she adored from the old foreign films she had indulged in with her mother. Once he reached her, she saw it was the same man from the restaurant.
The man who had dropped his wallet managed to also be smack dab in the middle of a river with her.
As if their hands had become magnetized, they joined them together and guided one another until their palms extended to rest on the ball of light at the same time.
Upon joining their hands within the light, Indie and Vijay were instantly swirled around one another in a loving embrace.
They lost themselves in one another as an all-consuming fire blazed around them. She wrapped her hands around his neck as they were encapsulated against the heat leaving the fire itself to also become sealed by the water.
Nothing made sense as they locked themselves together soul to soul.
Wet but dry...
Hot yet cold...
A burst of energy shot up and out from their bodies as the couple was hurled upward out of the river.
Vijay pulled her close not daring to let go as they continued their kiss. In a flash, they were consumed by a bright white light only to be hurled through time and shot into the heavens.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
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Indie opened her heavy eyelids mulling over the fact that she had just experienced the weirdest dream ever. Her entire body completely covered in sweat, she wasn't sure if she had been dreaming until her stupid phone wouldn't stop ringing trying to drive her already fragile mind to the brink of insanity.
"Hello?"
"Hello. Is this Indira?" The familiar tone inquired.
"Yes, may I ask who's calling?" She yawned into the phone.
"Indie, this is Vijay."
"Oh."
Indie stared at her phone only to learn that it was ten minutes after three in the morning. Even though she had just been entangled in a crazy sultry encounter with Vijay in her dreams, she was at a loss for why he should feel the need to call her, for the first time, at such an ungodly hour.
"I sincerely apologize for disturbing you. I felt compelled to call."
The sound of his voice was soft and a bit, gruff yet unsure. After a brief pause, Vijay huffed into the phone leading Indie to wonder about the delay. Her eyelids met as she awaited his purpose for the disturbance.
"I know we are strangers even though it seems that a higher power is determined to bring us into one another's presence." He paused yet again allowing silence to fuel the awkwardness of the moment.
Indie glanced at the time once more as she willed the man to get on with it.
"I am at a loss for words because I have envisioned something I have never seen before. You and I were there in a place I have seen many times, but never quite the way I just dreamt it. I honestly wasn't sure if it was a dream or... no... well, it couldn't have been anything else. But you and I were standing in the middle of a river..." As Vijay continued his rendition, Indie dropped her phone on the floor and scrambled to pick it up. She instantly began freaking out to hear him describe even a small portion of the scene that had unfolded in her dreams only a short while ago.
How was it possible for two complete strangers to share the same dream? Her mind yelled out to her.
"Hello. Hello..." His voice called out to her through the receiver.
"Sorry, I dropped my phone. Look, I don't know what's going on, but this is starting to freak me out. I think we might have shared the same dream."
"I woke up and I was soaking wet from head to toe. At first, I thought I was sweating but when I went back to the bed, everything was wet as if I had been in the swimming pull fully clothed." She could hear a tremor in his voice as he recounted his nearly identical dream. Indie sat at the foot of her bed and listened to his ramblings. She was shocked. Her mind was reeling.
"Indie?"
"Yes?"
"I must meet with you. We need to talk." Vijay spoke with a profound sense of desperation intertwined in his voice.
"Ok. When?"
"I think it should happen right this moment."
"But it's nearly 4 AM." Indie pointed out as her fingers spanned across her face.
"I understand this makes no sense, but I think this is to important not to discuss this."
"Yeah... ok, ok, ok."
"Where do you live?"
"Oh, yeah. I'm texting my address to you now." She yawned again as soon as the information was sent.
"I'll be there shortly."
Indie scooted to the edge of the bed opting to get up and straighten things up a bit before her guest arrived. Once everything was in its place, Indie strolled into the kitchen to turn on the coffee pot before jumping in the shower.
A light blue sundress was the first item that came into view when she opened her closet door. Though it was cool and far from sexy, Indie was mindful that she knew nothing about the man and therefore had no desire to encourage anything sordid between the two of them.
Her blue, green, and yellow rhinestone thong sandals complimented her look. She pulled her massive sandy red afro back into a makeshift bun. Just as she finished drinking her first cup of coffee, Indie overheard a knock at the door.
For a moment, she just stood there staring at him. The man at her door wasn't dressed in a suit or T-shirt and jeans. What draped his body was interesting to a person who lives for artistic expression and culture. The native clothing worn by Vijay touched her with its carefully crafted fit to his athletic frame. Loving the contrast of the satiny fabric against his firm build, Indie was forced to look away as she considered that the traditional garments were different from other East Indians' native garbs.
Because she had never once enjoyed any intimate interactions with them, she never really took notice unless there was a major event and there were large numbers of people dressed pretty much the same way.
As Indie attempted to train her eyes on anything else, she found that they were drawn back to him once again.
Since she considered herself to be a Bollywood aficionado, Vijay's swagger reminded her of Shah Rukh Khan. With his shoulder-length auburn hair and sharp features, the man's aura was so hypnotizing that she felt her mouth water as the breathtaking being held her in a trance.
Girl if you don't stop being rude, get your mind out of the gutter and let this man in, her mind fussed at her for her rudeness.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. Please come in." She stepped away from the door signaling that he should enter.
The gold knee-length silk Kurta, white pants, and gold slippers with green and blue designs on them left her speechless as the beautiful being stepped into her loft in all of his radiant glory.
"Indie, thank you for seeing me at this early hour. I know this must be highly unusual." He spoke as Indie showed him over to the sofa.
"Can I interest you in some coffee or tea?"
"Coffee would be wonderful. Thank you."
"Good, I just made a fresh pot." Indie beamed as she brought him a cup. She grabbed a service set and prepared cream and sugar for him to add to his beverage according to his taste. After the service set was placed before him on the coffee table, Indie sat down in a chair facing him.
"I know I must sound like a madman, but I think you and I are somehow meant to be together." He stated simply.
Indie frowned at him as if he had transformed into a beast as he continued on.
She smiled.
Got up.
And walked over to the door.
Indie opened the door simply standing there with her arms wrapped around herself.
"I think it's time for you to leave, please." She said in a flat emotionless voice.
"Indie, please allow me to explain," He joined her with his hands clasped together as if he was issuing a prayer.
"Look... I don't know you, and worst of all, you don't know me. How could you possibly think that we're supposed to be together after only knowing one another for a few days?"
At that point, Indie had lived in New York for two years. Early in her residency, she had been unfortunate enough to have allowed a sorry sack of crap to con her a couple of times. Had it not been for Scott, she never would have made it in the north. Dallas had its hard elements, including people who were hungry to get whatever they could from a mark. But New York City was more like the granddaddy of rough cities. If a person wasn't careful, bad things would most certainly happen to a newbie.
"Please allow me to explain." He pleaded yet again.
"Ok, go on." She closed the door standing with her back to it just in case she had to kick the man out. Indie stood with her arms crossed over her chest. She was prepared to handle him should he choose to get out of line.
How could a complete and total stranger even think to tell her something like that in the wee hours of the morning? How could they be meant to be together? Indie considered all that had been said in such a short period of time.
They didn't even know each other so everything her guest allowed to slip from his lips sounded like a bunch of BS to her.
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