New York, USA
Office, Head of the Natural Life Science Department,
Life & You Ltd.
“Daisy, did we receive the submissions for this month’s projects?” John asked his assistant in a stern tone that he usually used. He was immaculately dressed in a white doctor's coat over a blue full-sleeved shirt, and black trousers to go with.
He would sit in his office every evening to review the project applications needing his attention, approval, funding from the science department to work on them, and final approval from him to begin the experiments. These projects were from young and eager scientists who wanted to prove themselves in their work. John liked them. “I see myself in them,” He thought.
“Yes, Doctor, they are all here, in this file.”
Daisy, his assistant, got out of his cabin quickly before John could ask anything else. She hated him. He hated her. The feeling was mutual.
John headed the Natural Life Science department at Life & You Ltd. He had joined as a young researcher and was now promoted as the head of the Natural Life Science department. He was pushing 35, was in good health, had no girlfriends to distract him, and earned well. It was all his hard work for which he was appreciated. It was his strict discipline and a thirst for fame for which he was feared.
He picked up the file and started to read through the initial applications. Nothing caught his attention. Irritated, he threw the file back on the table. He wanted something new, something that could catch the attention of this busy world. He wanted something big that he could turn gigantic with his added expertise.
His dream was to become the only scientist with a record-breaking invention that a human mind could never think of.
He remembered his days as a researcher. He experimented a lot in his young days. He loved that about himself. He would pick up a topic and give his soul to it. Work on it day and night, until he would get a breakthrough and run to his mentor to show what he found.
As he was about to leave, the assistant juggled her way in with papers in her hand.
“Sir, these are just in. I could not file them as they were late.”
John looked at her in disdain.
“I hate latecomers. Throw those in the dustbin.” John growled.
“You could take a look at them, Sir. There could be something important in there. An invention waiting to happen.”
The assistant knew she had spoken a bit too much. She blushed and went on packing for the evening. Just before flying out of the cabin, she put all the papers on his table.
As he sat on his chair, John saw the name on the very first paper thrown over by the assistant. Madhu Dixit, it said.
“Madhu?”
“Madhu Dixit, from India?”
"Am I reading it correctly?" He thought to himself.
He read through some more. He couldn't believe his eyes. It was Madhu, of course. The project paper had an application for something called the ‘Dream Space’. The subject line said - “Dream Space, Make Your Dreams Come True.
“Interesting”. John thought.
The door to his office opened a little. It was a junior researcher checking up on him to see if he was available for some guidance. John drove him off. They did this from time to time. John failed to understand the reason why people failed to knock. As the door opened, the aroma of fresh, warm coffee brew drifted inside. This took him back to India. Two years back. Back to ‘The Kerala Kapee Shop.’
2 Years Earlier
Kerala, India
“Have you tried this filter coffee, John?” Madhu asked while tugging on his arm, sitting at ‘The Kerala Kapee Shop.’ She took him everywhere in Kerala. She had taken up the task of being John’s travel guide, assistant, and secretary. This put her in charge of making John's itinerary while he was in Kerala.
Madhu was a bright girl with an extraordinary intellect. Simple yet someone with big dreams. She had her roots in a remote village in Kerala. Her father had sent her to the city to fulfil her and his own dreams of becoming a renowned scientist in India. She was currently working as an assistant researcher and helping scientists and professors with their work. She dreamt of being known as a scientist with a groundbreaking invention. She would turn up every day at John’s cabin and force him to take a break.
She showed him the backwaters, took him on a boat, and showed him the beaches. They ate on banana leaves, something John had never tried before. John found it amazing that she could name one hundred dishes that she could make out of a banana plant. They discussed scientific research, new inventions, and gossiped about other scientists.
As days passed, Madhu fell in love. Those beautiful feelings of love made her smile to herself, but she was also scared of those feelings. Madhu was an average-looking girl, not beautiful like the others who surrounded John. His other friends were all foreigners. Came from different countries. John knew them all. He was different when he was with them, Madhu noticed. He was very comfortable. He spoke freely, moved freely.
With her, he was not that free, not that comfortable. Is it my dark colour? Is it my language? Is it the way I walk? Is it the way I talk? Many questions haunted her.
One evening, with all her courage, she opened up to him. It was at an office get-together at the ‘The Kerala Kapee Shop’ that she spoke the words with confidence but with a deep, calm voice.
“John, I love you. I really do.”
John was silent for a while. Then he burst out laughing. He laughed so hard and so loud that his face turned pink. Everyone at the party turned to see what was happening.
Madhu waited for him to stop.
“What is it? Why did you laugh like that?”.
“It was a good joke, by the way, Madhu. Never in my dreams would I even think of liking you, forget falling in love. Have you seen yourself?”
He walked away.
Madhu was shocked by his answer. She stood frozen, unable to move. The insult was too much to take. The shock was so much that she couldn't even cry. Shivering, with a dark cloud hanging over her face, ashamed of herself, vulnerable, she just stood there, Frozen!
Somehow, she got back home. Locked herself in a room. Stood in front of a mirror. She kept looking at herself in the mirror for a while.
She saw a girl, not as fair as the others.
She saw a girl with average features.
She saw a girl with a slight gap in her front teeth, which showed when she smiled.
She saw a village girl with clothes not as modern as others.
She also saw a village girl dreaming big, dreaming huge, dreaming about something out of her reach.
She did not come out for her dinner. This got her friends worried, but they left her to herself. She usually missed her dinners, so they didn't care to disturb her. No one knew of the incident at the party.
John was to leave the next day for the US. Everyone was there for his farewell. A big party was planned. He did not even notice that Madhu was missing from the party.
That day, a mistake was made by someone. While someone’s dream changed forever!
Present Day
New York, USA.
As John sat in his living room, reminiscing about his visit to India two years back, he thought of Madhu. She never did contact him after his return. John had not thought much about it. It was common, he thought.
His friends had told him about such incidents where the ladies would fall for the scientists, so much so that they wanted to marry them. They had warned John to be careful. ‘Be strict with them, shout if needed, scold and ask them to back off’ was the advice he was given when he was on his way to India.
He had her project papers in his hands. He had gone through them. The project idea was brilliant. It spoke about research on a piece of equipment that could be created only after extensive experiments. This equipment would record the dreams that people have. These dreams could then be studied and worked upon, but it was a preliminary stage, she had noted.
He knew Madhu was brilliant, but he also knew he had broken her heart. He thought this could be a good opportunity to reconcile with her. He asked his assistant to place a call and fix up a meeting with Madhu to discuss more details on her project.
One morning, as John entered his office, Daisy notified him that Madhu was waiting for him inside his cabin. With mixed feelings of guilt, excitement, and horror of seeing a person whom he had so badly offended, he entered the cabin.
“Hello, Madhu”
To John’s surprise, Madhu had changed.
They sat in his cabin. John was surprised to see a confident, beautiful woman sitting in front. She was explaining to him the project. She looked all excited, eager to explain the concept, while John was admiring her beauty.
“Where were you on my farewell day?"
“That was two years back, Sir.”
“Look, Madhu, I was in a bad mood that day. You suddenly came up to me. I had no choice.”
“Sir, this concept is unique. The Dream Space. If it hits the market, people are gonna go crazy.”
John smiled.
“Ok, then. Let’s start with the work.” They shook hands, signifying the approval of the project.
All the formalities were complete. They soon began their work. They rented a big lab that was old and abandoned for years. John and Madhu would be more in the lab and less outside. Daisy would give them a shout-out for lunch, dinner and coffee breaks. They both worked on, experimented, discussed and noted the results. John dictated the results of the experiment on the ‘Dream Space’ as Madhu had named the project, and Madhu would note down every word.
After six months of hard work, planning, documenting, experimenting and secrecy, they finally reached the breakthrough. The Dream Space Capsule was ready for human experimentation.
It was an average-sized glass capsule. It had wires going in. A recorder that was plugged into a big monitor. A lot of oxygen cylinders, masks and other medical equipment were fitted to the capsule.
As they sat together on a break, Madhu slowly asked.
“John, did you realise we haven't hired anyone? It’s just us two. Who will go into the Dream Space Capsule? Remember, we need to record the dreams while the subject sleeps.”
John nodded thoughtfully.
“Should we ask Daisy to volunteer? I am sure she wouldn't say no. And we will get to know her dreams too. Maybe there is a Mr. Daisy somewhere in there.”
They both had a hearty laugh, but then John got serious.
“No, I wouldn't do that. Daisy has a loud mouth. Our project will no longer be a secret then. Let us give her a break. I will volunteer. You can take over the administration and research work.”
The moment Madhu was waiting for. A cunning smile spread across her lips. She knew John would not share his fame with anyone.
“Are you sure?”
“Very.”
The date and time were decided. Madhu was to send out invites to the other scientists, and the who’s who of Life & You Ltd. were to be present to watch, but John declined.
“Let’s make history first, then show them.”
Madhu had anticipated this too. She readily agreed. It was going to be just the two.
It was soon the first trial day. Daisy was given an off day. John took an off from work. Madhu was ready with the checklist, ticking them off one by one as they cleared all the final checks.
As John went inside the capsule, Madhu closed the door. She gave a soft smile and a thumbs-up. It was going to take a while till the sleep caught up. He opened his eyes when he felt slightly uncomfortable. He felt dizzy, his throat all dried up, and he couldn’t even speak.
“What was it?”
Maybe the machine was starting to work. Their subjects in the experiments had reported slight discomfort.
"Yeah, only if guinea pigs could speak." He thought.
John tried to smile at this thought, but couldn't. He started feeling sleepy. His eyelids were heavy, and John was suddenly floating on clouds.
“John, I love you. I really do.”
John woke up with a start. Madhu was in front of him. The same Madhu, whom he had rejected. It was the same Kapee Shop in Kerala. Confused and unable to move, John felt helpless.
“Am I dreaming?”
“Why am I here? Madhu, what is going on? Get me out of here.”
“No, John, you are going to be stuck here, in this very moment, where my dreams died. There is no place out of here for people like you. It is in here that you have to bear this helpless feeling.”
“Every moment of your life will end slowly here. No help, no friend, nothing will help you out of here. This is my project, John. I captured this moment and sent you here.”
There was a loud laugh as if coming out of a thousand speakers playing all together. It was John laughing at Madhu as she stood ashamed two years back. John closed his ears.
“Madhu, get me out of here. This is not a joke.”
Madhu smiled in a very fake smile as if she was teasing John.
“Sorry, John. My project is imperfect. Just as I was then. It is still in progress, you know. I haven't yet decided what happens to the subject once the initial phase wears off.”
She threw a bottle with a silvery liquid inside as John watched helplessly. The tiny bottle fell at his feet.
“Here, John, this is the only antidote I am giving you. Again, it is still under trial. Use it cleverly.
…and yes, never mess with a woman’s dream, if you find one inside.”
“Sweet dreams, John.”
A report was submitted the next day. The project was imperfect. Dr. John had made an unfortunate mistake in undergoing the trial himself without any official consultation.
A missing report was filed for Dr. John at the nearest police station. He was reported to be last seen in his office a few days back by his assistant. His assistant confirmed he was working on some experiments. Alone.
6 Months Later
New York, USA
Office, Head of the Natural Life Science Department, Life & You Ltd.
“Daisy, did we receive the submissions for this month’s projects?”
“Yes, Ma'am. I have filed them here for your reference. Should I send in some coffee for you?”
“Thank Daisy, that is so sweet of you.”
Madhu winked as Daisy kept the files on her desk. Their eyes met with a twinkle as if they both had a perfect secret buried deep in their hearts.