The dream of an insomniac.

That was the day they said that the big sleep began. It might have been the end or the beginning of a civilization. Through reason and logic, fear and punishment and threats and promises, they cajoled everyone into a deep sleep. The lullaby was a chant of progress and dreams, brewed into a potent solution of forty winks.
It may have been another century or another cosmos, but whatever had happened had passed on from star to star. And I heard about it last night from the lonely star outside my window. The story isn't a new one; he just said that it was a true story. ..

“What keeps you awake?” The star said, with one foot in my room and another in a distant galaxy. “Looking out for the ghosts in your room that may have escaped to the moon.”
I snickered “ A star that speaks. How weird? Tell me, what do you know of ghosts?”
“ Hmmm… I don’t know any ghost stories but I do know a strange one.”
“Ah, a strange story from a strange star. Tell me.”
"Well, this is the strange story of a strange strange land .The people were of a strange kind, with a strange king. They existed to take one breath after another. The insurance of that was life. Or so they believed." said the star..
" But is that what a life is? The insurance of existence..?"
" I don't have an answer to that. Infact, I don't have any answers at all. I only have a story.” The star sighed.." The king was a symbol .A gesture. Maybe a reminder of their last tribute to the wise. But he was only an echo of a time that was. An echo screeching towards oblivion .He had seen enough civilizations to know what the word meant. He was old, but not wise. In, fact his only real duty was to sit on the throne. It was a blissful existence rooted in ignorance. A piercing cry, heard once in many light years, broke the stillness. But that cry grew faint, consumed by the numbness of a million heads. "
"But one day, the cry grew to a scream and the scream to a wail and the wail to an anthem. It was the first revolution they said."
"Who said??"
" The stars .The stars said so. And the wave slipped past the palace walls and surrounded the king and his throne.
' Listen, my lord, and see what's around you. We are not like the past, for we are messengers of the future. Join us and the throne will be yours. Resist us..and the wave will take you with it.' "

" The King was only a gesture and gestures have no spine. He tugged on his great white beard and gave the wisest look he could. ‘You are my subjects, and the king is only a servant. What you say must be the will of the people. And it is my moral duty to obey. This throne, my crown and my will, is yours. Do as you shall with it.' He gave a thin smile and clutched his crown. The revolutionaries nodded and vanished.’ “

“ Yes, that was the day that big sleep began. “
“ They chuckled ‘ O king …you might have heard of people walking in their sleep, but have you seen anything like this? They will work, talk and walk in their sleep..and in their dreams they will think that they have thought. They will just turn over in their sleep and dream up an entire life … ooh have you seen anything like this?!!’
They called magicians from the land of deceit, and spun exquisite webs of illusion. Dreams so sweet that you would cry to dream again. Their lullaby, like the manna the populace so desperately needed. The magic was working. and the people slaved and lingered on in slumber.”

“If someone woke up, the magicians were beckoned again. With their magic wands and their ‘bewitching’ lullaby, all notions of space and time were destroyed. ‘Anything’ that defined reality was supplanted. Pictures of quick solutions were painted, like a dusty reproduction of the industrial revolution, feigning the texture of prosperity and happiness. And then they were sold. “

“The people snored away in synthetic ecstasy. “

“The days passed by in the shadow of dreams.’ One day they will come true.’ they would mumble. Their slumberous existence was seeped in the memories of the past and the hopes for the future. The pain of the present was tolerated with the chant “ This too shall pass”. This is what patience and perseverance had grown to mean: live a dream and forget reality. And with time lumbering on, what remained of reality actually was a mystery. A forgotten mystery.”

The star twinkled “ Then, he came. A witness to the land of slumber. The magicians moved around him like vultures, serenading him with their dust, their wands and their songs. But he walked on … the magic falling like a castle of cards. The magicians persisted like jilted lovers who hold on to their love like a favorite pair of jeans. It was after consistent failure that they pressed the panic button. They fled with their robes torn to shreds… to report this anomaly. They had to know more about the strange creature.

“But alas, no one knew anything about the stranger, or where he came from. He was only a journeyman, and journeymen have no identity, no destination, and no search. Like an arrow flying without a target. Free. Lost. ”

“He watched in horror as the bizarre spectacles around him unfolded. The world was surreal web of confusion. People spoke all at once, not caring if they were heard or not. It was the monologue paradise, he thought, with no one listening. The jumble of voices soon turned into a unified noise:

My son has just passed his exams, and now he must look for a job and earn a living. He must [make money]. The industrial revolution will make us all rich! So what if we must remove the forests to set up a factory ? Double your sales" punch line headlines. We will all be rich! I don’t want to stay in this village …I want to go to the city!! Yeh dil maange more LONG LIVE THE KING!!!With the advent of science, our life will change. Money…money...! I need more money!! I think, therefore IBM You don’t love me as much as the neighbor loves his wife…he even bought her a new jewelry set!. Made For Each Other.Daddy ..I want more...I want more…. Kill him...We will wage war on terror …Our future is very bright..Tomorrow there should be food in the house. Always Coca Cola…”


“ ‘What is this world that I have stumbled on..?”, the journeyman cried,” With people either sad or anxious. They either live in the past or the future, but what about today? Living in monetary amnesia, they skip this moment in the chain of time. But how is it a life if we don’t live in this moment.’ He saw hordes of people walking, with faces like an empty house. Apart from their appearances, nothing else suggested that they were humans. It was as if he were the only one alive in this land of talking mannequins.”

The star stopped .He looked around to see if there was anyone watching, and then whispered in my ears “ I think the journeyman is cursed. Cursed not to fall asleep. If he could only sleep, then the tussle in and around him would cease. Normalcy would be achieved. The anomaly wouldn’t exist. But ahhh…I wish it was a story I could have written. “ He went on “ The awareness that something was wrong didn’t allow the journeyman to sleep. He could see, couldn’t pretend to be blind, and couldn’t feign ignorance. He couldn’t even pretend that he was incapable. He had to act .He had to do something.”

“ Along the way he bumped into one of the sleepwalkers,’ Good afternoon. Lovely weather, isn’t it? Tell me, have you seen a land as peaceful as ours, as blissful? But hey ..didn’t I see you in the market ..screaming in an outrage… Why my good man? Are you jealous? Do people in your land not live in such peace?’”

“ This pushed the journeyman, already in contempt of the people, to the brink. Something in him broke away, maybe it was fear.’ You fool, this is not peace…its ignorance. A deep slumber.’ He thundered on, ‘I have come to wake you up... to make you see!! I am your savior!! Your savior!!’”

“ Huh ..wait a minute.” I said, “ He turned into a messiah? Just like that? A savior? Lonely star… this is a strange story!!”

“ Ahhh yes. It is a strange story, isn’t it? Someone who till a moment ago was only an unknown journeyman, was now the savior. Maybe he came in search of something that would amuse him. Maybe he was just bored with life...Ha, I even think that he always fancied himself as a hero..a savior. And today this common journeyman was shrieking at the top of his voice that he was their ‘savior’ ... eh, but this is what I was told.”

The star stopped to collect his breath …he was still chuckling when he said “ So the self-appointed savior went on his self-appointed mission to wake the people up...he would run up and down the streets shaking the dozing masses ‘ Wake up.‘ he would say ‘You called me, you called out my name and here I am to save you...your savior.’ ”

“ Perhaps delusion is the only curse of heroism. Or the only saving grace. Anyways, the savior went on, ‘Why do you act with such ignorance? What is this attachment to things gone or that have yet to come? Don’t you see that we can’t control either the past or the future. And yet you chase after them, losing sight of the only thing that is yours. The present. This moment. Now. The strongest link in the chain of time. Don’t you see how your blindness creates your misery? What is this illusion under whose fictitious grandeur you live? Wake up and seize the moment...this is your only real wealth, your only real wealth, your only true hope. The only dream that you can realize. Wake up..!!’ “

“ The disease spread like fire, waking millions of people up. This malady of consciousness was an epidemic of catastrophic proportions. The magicians were called for, what was at that point called ‘damage control ‘ .It was all fruitless though … the magic, the soothing songs of sleep, the pretty pictures of dreams. And soon, the entire populace was awake.

But what was unleashed with this awakening was nothing short of the demons inside the Pandora’s box. Some who woke up could not walk; the ones who could didn’t know where to go. There were many who ran around stark raving mad. People looted and killed. Chaos beamed a majestic smile. The king sighed. “

“And the journeyman just looked on. He only did what he thought was right… thinking that waking them up would be the end of their troubles. He wanted to give them freedom of choice … but to choose from what? ‘Freedom’, he went on ‘.. Is it a load so heavy that a normal man welts under its burden? Is happiness the price we pay for freedom? Today is a day to celebrate!! But then why does it look like the beginning of the great depression? Maybe because now they can’t hold the ‘other’ responsible for their misery. Today for the first time they see that they are responsible for their lives- and they writhe in pain for it.’ He felt a hollow pit growing in his stomach, like the beginnings of a panic attack. It was clear to him what would happen next… they would blame him. They had to. It was the easiest way out. Responsibility was so difficult to learn.”

“ He made up his mind to leave the town and went towards the highway. As he was crossing the highway intersection, the oldest and saddest woman in the world called out to him.’ Oh…you must be the savior that woke us up.. Ahhh good that I have found you now. You know when I was asleep it was so beautiful. I touched the tip of the earth and danced with the sun with the waterfalls gushing down on my throat.’ A frayed smile cut across the lines of her face ‘ We rode on the backs of butterflies…what beautiful butterflies they were.. ahhh..’ Her eyes had the momentary twinkle of the sunset ..but then darkness fell ’And now I wake up to this ..This sugar coated deluge of concrete and bricks. Where have all the butterflies gone? You will take me to them, won’t you savior.. tell me you’ll take me far-far away’”

“The journeyman sighed and told her that his only responsibility was to wake her up. He couldn’t show her the way. He was just a journeyman who knew no destination. Now that she was awake she could go on her own journey. The woman looked on helplessly. Her dreams were as real to her as the reality the journeyman spoke about. For in truth, who’s to say what’s real and what’s not. Struggling to hold back her tears she said, ‘But then why did you wake me up..? You must have had some reasons, a plan maybe.. Some sense of responsibility, when you took the comforts of my dreams away?’

‘ No, no.. ... My only purpose was to make you see. Now it is your life. Choose which way you’d want to go. Don’t depend on me. Don’t you want to be free? Free from all your illusions?’

‘ FREE!!! FREE FROM THE ILLUSIONS!! Do you know how old I am … the life that I have seen? My child, whatever those illusions are...they are MY illusions. What right did you have to take them away from me?!! How easily you say this after committing such an enormous mistake. Who’s to answer for all this pandemonium …all this pain.. Tell me..Tell me!’

‘You have to find your answers. I am not responsible for your misery. You are. People have to understand and accept their true nature. Their reality. Don’t be a coward and blame me for your blindness.. don’t run away from the truth...’

‘The truth ..ha, . that uproots all happiness and bliss from our existence. What happens to those who are stuck in the middle of a dream that they don’t want to leave and a reality, which they have to accept? This chaos is of your creation. . and you claim to have saved us..?? . What destination or path do you think these people seek? These images will haunt you for the rest of your life… the echo of our curse wont leave you.’ “

“This is a sad story you tell me, O star …the journeyman only did what he thought was right…he only wanted to change things?”

“Change things, eh.. You know, most of the times when we try and change things we end up making a bigger mess. We should leave things the way they are. Look at us stars, we have remained unchanged through aeons .’

“But if you feel that something is going wrong, you must act. I would’ve probably done the same thing … “

“ Done the same, eh … ??” The star said with a twinkle in his eyes “Is that the reason why you lie looking outside your window? Why sleep won’t come? A testimonial of all the unrest your will to change things has brought? Aren’t these the ghosts that have run away to the moon?”

“Me …hahaha no I am no messiah. The ghosts that haunt me .are not crying for a need to change things...I think there are no ghosts that haunt me. None on the moon at least!! Anyways.. go on...what happened to the messiah ??”

“ The messiah was crushed under the weight of the accusations. The remnants of a conscience didn’t let him rest in peace. Strange voices walked in the dark corridors of his mind ‘They don’t say for nothing that this world is an illusion ..You are responsible for us after waking us up. Show us the way or give our dreams back . .I was so happy...how dare you...How dare you..!!’ He tore into his hair and tried to drive the voices away …he said he was sorry… they could go to sleep now…he will go away . But the voices screeched back. ‘ You cant run like this forever. you have interrupted our sleep, our dreams, our life ..you wont be forgiven. You have to pay. You can’t run away.. either cure us or writhe with us in agony .You can’t run away ..we wont let you !!’

The birds began chirping outside. Dawn was about to break.

“ So was the Messiah captured and killed ..or did he just run away? What did the people do …and what of the magicians ..didn’t they strike back?? This story cant end like this.. look star ..the first rays of the sun are touching the horizon ..The end must be near. What happened next ?”

The star yawned, “ Be patient my child…this story does end and end soon .You ask me about the magicians…yes they did re-group. But they had no idea about the recent change of events. They had no idea that the journeyman was hiding from the very people that he had woken up. They still saw him as a threat. They went straight to the king and held him by his crown ,

‘ This must be your doing you stupid king ..didn’t we warn you ?! ‘

‘ Huh …umm warn me …warn me ..yes you did ..but what happened ..what did I do?’

‘You sent that stranger…you must’ve sent him to get control …to fight us. Render our magic useless..’ The King was shivering now , his old wrinkly hands unable to stay steady… his face was pale and in a fumbling voice he said…‘No..no..how could I do something like this .I am only a servant ..only a servant. There is no need to be unreasonable here ..I’m sure we can work this out… What has happened though.?’”

“The magicians told him about the stranger who could not be lulled to sleep , and had broken their charm and woken everyone up. The king scratched his beard and with a smile, said, ‘ The solution is simple . Kill him. ‘

‘ Shut up you senile old man…we cant have him killed !! He has woken everyone up , he has the support of the masses , we cant do something so foolish. If we kill him, all of us will be engulfed in the deluge of the public rage . Even your throne .’

‘ Oh…no,no,no..we cant kill him ..but then what do we do ??’

‘We had a suggestion My lord . Why not call this ‘messiah’ to the royal court .Treat him with utmost respect. Then we entice him with the lure of the throne. I say we crown him king. Then we don’t need to worry about the public outrage, and once he is the king.. he …he..he .my lord once he is on that throne, we can take care of him.’

‘This throne.. my throne. No..no..I will not give my crown away. No ..there must be some other way..?? Not my crown ..not my throne !!’
‘But , my king ..this is the only way. You must give the throne up ..its for the people…their dreams. You must serve them ..you must ..’ And the magicians threw the king away into the farthest tower. They say that his beard grew longer than Raphunzels hair and was always hanging out of the window. I wonder who he thought would rescue him. But this story is not the King’s. Its about the journeyman.”

“Meanwhile, the journeyman was hiding behind the tea stall on highway number 89. The magicians found him there and with tender courtesy and respect they invited him to come the Kings court. The journeyman, too tired to protest, simply followed. A band party was called and the procession made their way to the royal palace. The people snarled at the magician as he made his way, but with the magicians surrounding they wouldn’t dare make a move. On reaching the palace he was given a royal reception. ’We hear that you call yourself the messiah. That you have woken the entire populace…what a commendable achievement!!’ said the magicians, ‘ Kindly accept our hearty congratulations. All of us here have decided to decorate you for this honorable act. We have decided to make you the king.’ They put the crown on his head and put him on the throne. But what was this …the journeyman’s head slumped down…his arms went limp and he fell to the ground. The magicians stood there bewildered, and then they finally heard it. A snore. The snore.”
“ ‘The Messiah is asleep!! The Messiah is asleep!!’”

“Soon the world was in order again. The dreams were supplanted. Normal life was resumed. Each day was like the other, another chapter in the eternal book of forty winks. And he slept soundly on the throne… “

“That is the story my dear boy…the story of this strange land. Don’t ask me what it means or the moral. Stars don’t have opinions, only information.”
With this, the star melted away into the rising sun. I turned by back to the light and went to sleep.