The night’s cloak was heavy. It was a deadly quiet, stealth-driven night.
The air was charged with anticipation as if the night itself was holding its breath, a gust of wind wearing foreboding chill; waiting for something to unfold.
Vehicles whizzing past, unaware of the mysticism of this night!
The road stretched endlessly through the darkness, an unchanging witness to countless journeys. It had always been there, a silent observer of the lives that traversed its path.
Tonight, however, its routine was shattered by the roar of a car tearing through the rain-slicked road. The vehicle skidded and veered into the surrounding woods, breaking the thick vegetation along the way.
A jarring crash marked the end of its uncontrollable slide as if to flow into the play of the moment! A sudden, unsettling silence settled over the scene as if the night itself was recoiling from the disturbance.
An eerie calm, an unwelcome quietness took over the sudden chaos that had just occurred!
The rain continued its relentless descent, each drop mingling with the cold, dark earth, completely unaware of what unfolded in the moments, passing through severe judgments of the moment.
In the cold rain and the gathering gloom, the night shivered in its wake to fathom what it was saving itself from!
But the scene was far from over!
A man in his 30s was thrown out of the car with a violent force, tumbling down the embankment into the waiting arms of the slushy mud. The muck clung to him, almost lifeless, each roll a grim reminder of the night's vicious grip.
He lay on the roadside, the quietness pressing heavily on his ears.
Was he alive?
This question screamed inside and his cries for help were swallowed by the void, his voice lost in the unresponsive night. The indifferent and uncaring world continued its mechanical rhythm, with cars speeding past, tyres hissing on the wet road, oblivious to the tragedy just right there and then.
Life seeking itself; exploring the known from the unknown!
His attempts to stop the passing vehicles were futile. The desperation turned into frantic efforts as he ran into the middle of the road, waving his arms and shouting.
But the cars moved through him as if he were a mere figment of the night’s imagination! The night it held its breath!
It was a dark witness to the unfolding drama, offering no comfort or aid. Panic set in as he realised with growing horror that he was not only invisible but intangible!
A wave of horror washed over him as he glanced down. There were no feet!
But just a faint outline of where his body should have been.
The realisation struck him with a chilling finality, he realised he was no longer the body that was witnessing the events of the night; in a fraction of a second, the equation changed till he became an integral part of it all!
In this surreal moment, he saw his physical form lying motionless on the roadside, crumpled and still under the thick bush.
There was Mr. Hemant Nagpal, lying still, starkly lifeless against the dark, on the rain-slicked road!
A financial consultant from Bombay, traveling to Indore to meet his most important client. He was to close the deal that would change his life forever. On the return journey, he would meet his sweetheart and make their final plans for marriage!
While he, or rather his spirit, hovered in the realm between life and death. There was no such hope for his dreams to bloom anymore. He was alone, helpless, hopeless, unsettled in this dilemma, he was losing his bearings!
What was he supposed to do or be?
The scene was both tragic and bewildering, a jarring contrast between the silent witness and the lifeless body on the roadside. Nothing was making any sense.
The contrast was jarring. Struggling to comprehend his new reality, he grappled with the enormity of his situation. The cold rain, the distant hum of vehicles, and the haunting silence of the night framed the scene where he was searching for himself!
The boundary between the living and the dead had blurred!
He reached out instinctively, but his spectral hand passed through the air without effect. Panic surged within as he struggled to reconcile his disconnection with the body!
Despite Hemant’s relentless effort to call out or lift his body and carry it to a safer place, no sound or action emerged from his invisible form. The indifferent rhythm of passing vehicles and distant echoes of life continued unabated.
This being a newfound state of existence, he was blissfully free from the aches and pains of the broken body that had once defined his life!
A profound sense of liberation enveloped him, a feeling so deep and exhilarating that it felt as though he had shed every constraint and burden of this life and many lifetimes.
Suddenly guided by an unseen force, he was drawn into a realm of brilliant light that seemed to embrace him with an overwhelming sense of healing and wholeness.
The light was gentle and warm, suffused with a soothing tranquillity that seemed to dissolve all remnants of discomfort and worry. The air was filled with a sweet fragrance of joy, and he found himself gliding effortlessly through a landscape of boundless beauty and serenity.
Moving through the shimmering radiance, he noticed doors opening before him, leading to a realm that felt both familiar and profoundly new.
As he glided through these humongous doors, he felt a comforting presence beside him!
His grandfather!
With his long white beard and that nurturing smile that had always been a source of solace, his grandfather exuded an aura of deep, unconditional love. Hemant never experienced such a comforting presence earlier.
Communication here was not through words but through a profound exchange of energy.
A vast reservoir of knowledge seemed to flow into him, imparting a sense of intimate connection and boundless understanding of all that is. This was a place where love and freedom were the natural states of being, where he felt unbound and uplifted.
Soon he found himself wandering through this celestial garden, the beauty of the surroundings took his breath away. A grand rose bed stretched out before him, and an enormous evergreen maple tree stood majestically, surrounded by a riot of lilies and daffodils.
The scene was a harmonious blend of nature’s splendour, each element contributing to the overwhelming sense of peace and joy.
An angel seems to direct him to leave and return to his world once again.
Hemant hesitated as it seemed unfair!
The freedom and bliss he experienced here were intoxicating, far removed from the constraints of his former life. The thought of returning to a physical body, especially one in such a state of disarray, seemed unbearable.
The sensation of being bound by physical limitations felt foreign and distressing compared to the boundless joy he now knew.
This is the reality; why would he be thrown back to that painful existence?
His protests and vehement refusals did nothing to influence the laws of this otherworldly realm. The spiritual realm had its own rules and purposes, and whims and desires could not dictate its flow.
Gently but firmly, the angel-like being directed him back, reminding him of the responsibilities and lessons still tied to his earthly existence.
She reassured, “You will be carrying all the knowledge back to the Earth and sharing it with all!
The transition was inevitable, even if it felt profoundly unjust to leave behind such a state of bliss. It was saddening as the relinquishing of freedom and a return to the life he had left behind; seemed very unfair!
Hemant shouted, “This is unfair. You can't do this to me!”
A life that now seemed distant and fraught with struggle compared to the serene liberation he had briefly known; it seemed that the travel back might not be a pleasant one.
Soon the light began to fade and the gentle embrace of the love, joy and peace of the world beyond retreated, he felt himself being pulled back toward his physical form.
Hemant slid into the body!
But strangely he felt suffocated; as if he was packed and made to fit into this little armour; feeling alien in his own body!
He was looking around for some clues to get his answers to what happened while he was out of the body!
There was the click of the doorknob. It was the Doctor and his nurse in their routine checkup to watch over the coma patient.
The Doctor was shell-shocked to see his patient’s detached composure in the face of what should have been excruciating pain, defied all medical logic!
The doctor’s mind raced as he assessed Hemant’s vitals on the monitor. Everything appeared stable, but the discrepancy between the readings and the patient's demeanour was disconcerting.
The young nurse, equally stunned, looked from the doctor to Hemant, her hands trembling slightly as she tried to keep her professional attitude.
“Mr. Hemant,” the doctor began cautiously, “Can you tell me how you’re feeling right now? Are you experiencing any pain or discomfort?”
Hemant’s eyes met the doctor’s with an unsettling clarity. “No pain at all,” he said, his voice steady. “I feel unusually calm. Everything seems too clear. When would you release me from this hospital? I have some urgent work to attend to.”
The doctor’s eyes narrowed in concentration as he reviewed the patient’s chart. Hemant’s injuries were severe, involving multiple fractures, and internal trauma and he was in a coma for the past 2 days. The extent of the damage should have had him incapacitated, if not in a state of shock.
Yet the readings on the monitor suggested stability, almost as if the usual physiological responses to trauma were absent.
The doctor exchanged a perplexed glance with the nurse. “This is unprecedented,” he muttered. “We need to run more tests and consult with specialists. Something is not adding up.”
The nurse nodded, her professionalism masking her concern. “I’ll prepare the additional tests and inform the specialists.”
As the doctor and nurse left the room, the door clicking shut behind them, Hemant was left alone with his thoughts. The sense of calm he felt was odd, almost disconcerting, considering the gravity of his situation. It was as if he was floating above the chaos, observing rather than participating.
He tried to piece together the fragmented memories of how he ended up in this hospital bed. There were flashes…
An accident, it was dark and slushy, biting silence and bizarre noises at times; but they were hazy, like distant echoes. His mind was clear, but the events leading up to this moment remained obscured.
The stillness of the answers, he hoped, was surfacing in spurts.
The room seemed to amplify his inner questions.
Why was he unable to experience any pain?
What had happened to him that defied medical understanding?
And most importantly, what would the specialists find to explain this anomaly?
As he lay there, the hum of medical pieces of equipment provided a strange sort of companionship. Hemant was unconcerned about his health; he felt quite healthy to the confused, perplexed medical faculty.
Soon he had to run several tests to clear the cloud of doubts and confusion growing in the team of Doctors present there. They came in throwing several questions, but nothing seemed to tally with their theories and concepts as experts in their respective fields.
He stared up at the ceiling, his eyes vacant, struggling to make sense of the chaos swirling in his mind!
His grandfather's voice echoed in his thoughts, though no words were spoken.
He carried a weight of cultural expectations and conditioning that had made him feel insignificant. He understood now that he hadn't come into this world to live a small life. The realization of his immense potential struck him like a revelation!
The accident had been a jarring wake-up call!
He was being shaken from a life of self-imposed limitations. He found himself back in his body, grappling with the innate wisdom he had neglected, buried beneath layers of societal pressure and self-doubt.
His mindset had always been a cage, a relentless dichotomy of right and wrong, good and bad. This binary thinking had driven him to perpetually strive for improvement, to correct, reject, and reinvent himself, all under the illusion of needing to be perfect. This mindset not only hindered his growth but also left him feeling perpetually inadequate at all times.
In his professional life, he played this out by making deals with clients, always second-guessing his words, and carefully navigating conversations to avoid conflict.
In his personal life, he walked on eggshells in his relationship; constantly seeking validation and approval. The pressure to conform to expectations, including committing to a marriage date, felt like another box to check off rather than a genuine expression of his true desires.
Was he in love with her?
Now, he saw that he had been choosing convenience over authenticity!
It came as a shock with the clarity that he was following the path laid out by others rather than his own soul's intention. He realized that he was not meant to fit into these constraints, but rather to break free from them and embrace his true self!
A loud shout got him back to the hospital bed; his family was looming large in the room with no space to see where and what was he to do. He felt concerned for them and a deep sense of love embraced him again. In light of this, their words seem to make no sense at all.
They all seemed so worried and anxious looking at his state with medical devices everywhere monitoring his vitals and he seemed quite at ease and uncomplaining!
Just as the medical team they were also confused and wanted to know what had happened. But none bothered to know what exactly he was trying to tell them, about what happened when he went across this physical dimension.
The confusion, what to trust, and questionable responses to the tests happening to prove his bad condition seem to make any sense still.
Hemant's father asked the doctor, “When will Hemantt be released now that the tests prove that he is completely all right?”
Perplexed doctors refused to release him, not accepting the failure of medical sciences to comprehend the cosmic play that magnified the reality unknown!
His eyes looked up at the ceiling.
Blank!
Hemant's return to consciousness was jarring, like being pulled back into a world that had suddenly become alien. It was indeed very suffocating to be in that small outfit, the body!
His family loomed over him, their faces a mix of relief and worry, but their voices seemed to blur into a dissonant hum against the steady beeping of the medical monitors.
Was he in a delusion?
Was he just hallucinating, as one of the doctors stated?
But his experience felt real and meaningful to him, even if it didn't align with the physical reality perceived by others.
Doctors diagnosed him with hallucinations and might be experiencing sensory perceptions that aren't based in reality.
Despite their frantic concern, Hemant felt a profound calm, almost as if he had stepped back into a familiar, comforting space after a strange journey across this realm of existence. He tried to speak, to convey what had transpired during his time away from this physical realm, but his words felt trapped, lost in the fog of confusion that enveloped the room.
The team of doctors, a few specialists, were baffled. Hemant's vital signs were stable, and his tests were inconclusive in any alarming way, yet they were hesitant to let him go. They exchanged glances, their training and knowledge failing to reconcile with the extraordinary experience Hemant seemed to have undergone.
Hemant's father, a pillar of quiet strength, addressed the senior consultant with a mixture of hope and exasperation, “When will Hemant be released now that the tests suggest that he is completely all right?”
Looking over Hemant's charts again, the senior consultant’s mind raced through possibilities that defied medical science. “We can’t release him yet,” he solemnly admitted, his voice tinged with frustration and uncertainty. “There’s something we don’t understand. His condition doesn’t match any known medical anomalies.”
As the family and medical team grappled with the limits of their understanding, the larger mystery of Hemant’s experience remained an enigma!
They were caught between the tangible evidence of his recovery and the intangible, almost cosmic elements of his journey beyond this physical realm. The room, filled with the beeping of monitors and hushed whispers, became a stage where science met the ineffable, and the boundaries of reality were tested.
Amid this confusion, Hemant lay quietly, his thoughts a swirl of what he had seen and felt beyond the physical realm.
He hoped that one day, the mysteries he had encountered might be understood, or at least, that he could find a way to bridge the gap between his extraordinary experience and the world waiting for him outside this hospital room!
Hemant restfully thought out loud, “This storm shall pass too; it has come to clear my path!
Blessing in disguise!”