This year had been terrible. Just... literally why was I even living this life? Nothing felt right. The year is 2521, so you might be guessing who this frustrated guy is, right?
So, hey, I'm Vyren. I'm a doctor by profession. It's not that I don't like living; it's just that I'm so utterly dissatisfied with what I'm doing. Life is boring. I don't even have time for myself, but not because of the workload. LOL. Here, we have a solution for everything.
We have it all. People from the early 2000s might have thought it impossible, but no, it wasn't. We have robots, flying cars, flying houses, and we can also do Dream Travel.
People adore Dream Travel; it's like their everything. And maybe it's true, because everyone can Dream Travel since the moment they're born. It's not some complicated tech thing; it's just Dream Tier 1 Technology, which is free for everyone.
You just have to sleep, and every single dream you see is automatically saved in your brain's memory. That's it. You can access it, you won't forget the dream, and you can travel to whichever dream you want. There's no time boundary because your dream is, in itself, a different universe or planet, just like our Earth.
But the only thing people forgot in this era was empathy, humanity, and how to socialize.
I don't know why, but I just don't seem to fit into this generation. Why do people use dreams purely as an escaping mechanism? I had this judgmental point of view until yesterday.
So, I went to sleep, frustrated as usual.
The Dream
It was a historical era of my own country, India. I was just wandering around. I was amazed by the natural beauty—there was so much greenery. The sky was a clear, brilliant blue. Flowers were blooming, and birds were singing all around in rhythm. I just can't explain how beautiful that place was.
There, I saw a man. He was probably around my age, maybe 21 or 22. He was wearing a black cloth tied around his eyes; he was probably blind.
I moved further. I hadn't noticed someone was following me from the start.
When I turned back, one of them approached and instantly put a sword to my neck.
"I'll kill you! You're a spy from our enemy kingdom!" he hissed. "Your clothes are too bright. You look like some higher-grade officer."
LOL. They thought my medical belt was some device I had brought to assassinate the king. I can't blame them, I guess. Why am I even thinking this? They have a whole damn sword on my neck, and I'm rambling nonsense here.
"Stop bothering him. Remove the sword."
Wait, someone just gave them an order to remove the sword from my neck and stop bothering me. Who was he? He just rode away on his brown-and-white horse, probably a warrior.
"Hey! Please stop! Hey, you! Listen!" I shouted my lungs out. Was he deaf? He wasn't even turning back.
But I'll catch him anyhow. Vyren started running aggressively, looking like he was going to beat the living daylights out of the man who saved him.
He finally caught up. And then he noticed.
It was the same blind man he had seen earlier.
Suddenly, all his angry mood vanished, replaced by a strange, childlike gratitude that the man had saved him—though not in a literal sense, because the Dream World doesn't affect the Real World. Even if they had killed me here, I would be all fine and alive in my real body.
Vyren stepped slowly toward him, gently moving his hand and tapping the man's shoulder from the back. The man turned toward Vyren. Since he was blind, he couldn't see him.
"I'm thankful that you saved me from them. You're such a nice person. If you don't mind, can I get your name?" Vyren asked.
The man stood silent for a few seconds, then spoke. "It's nothing to be grateful for. I heard the voice of you shouting like a wild crow, and then I did my duty to help you. They were all my friends, not some cops. I'm Chandrel. Happy to help you!"
Vyren was instantly infuriated. How dare he call me a wild crow? He wasn't shouting that loud!
"WTF! I was just asking you sweetly! Why the hell did you compare me to a wild crow? Why are you so rude?"
Chandrel tilted his head. "LOL. I was honest, not going to lie; you were definitely shouting like a wild crow. And why is this rude? Crows, and every bird, animal, and insect out there, are beautiful."
"Umm... yeah, you're right, but a crow?" Vyren let out a sigh. "Leave it. Whatsoever! Yeah, btw, why were they shouting at you? What are you carrying with you? Are you from a different kingdom?"
"Ah, I don't know how to explain it to you, but I'm neither from a different kingdom nor from your world. I'm from Mumbai, India. I've just Dream Traveled into your world. And probably, this is Nagaland, India, and a past historical era is going on."
"So you're saying you are from the future?" Chandrel asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice.
"Nope, not in a literal sense, because this is not time travel. This is a dream travel. I haven't traveled to the past. It's a dream universe created in the past historical era of India. That's it. We're both from the present, just from different universes. I hope you got it?"
"Nah, not at all. Leave it," Chandrel said, a gentle smile touching his lips. "I will just think whatever you're saying is true because you sound like a genuine person."
"Thanks for believing me because it's such a complicated thing to explain and understand. You also sound like a genuine and kind person."
"What do you mean by sound? Don't I look like a genuine person? JK!" Chandrel chuckled.
"How will I know that way you look? I can't see."
Vyren lied to Chandrel, because he didn't want to make it look like he was superior or whatever strange thought came into his brain at that critical point of time.
He felt the heavy, immediate silence of the lie settle between them. He felt relief, yes, but also a deep, sinking unease. He was trapped in his own impromptu decision.
"Well, then we are two of a kind," Chandrel said softly, stepping closer. "Tell me, friend... in this strange universe you've traveled to, what is the loudest color you have ever not seen?"
Vyren blinked, caught completely off guard. That was not a question a simple blind man of the past would ask.
How did he know I lied? Vyren's heart hammered against his ribs. He gripped the teacup, the heat suddenly feeling like a warning.
He didn't have time to answer. A sudden, sharp sound—like ripping silk—came from the woods nearby. Chandrel instantly tensed, his head snapping toward the noise with a disturbing, unnerving accuracy.
"We need to leave. Now," Chandrel whispered, his kindness abruptly gone, replaced by a fierce alertness that made Vyren's blood run cold.
Vyren didn't question it. He only heard the whisper of the lie echoing in his mind: I can't see.
He allowed the blind man to grasp his arm and pull him violently into the dark line of the trees, leaving the clear blue sky behind, unsure if he had stepped into a beautiful dream or a sudden, deadly trap.