Writers Jam

**

Naina was in her thirties, living alone in a city far from her family. Life had settled into a quiet rhythm - wake up, cook, head to work, return, cook again, wash the dishes, and sleep. Day after day, the same cycle.

Over the years, the routine had become her reality.

Lately, she had been struggling with headaches and couldn’t sleep well. Most nights, she would fall asleep only around 2:00 a.m.

One random night, she had a strange dream. She found herself in her Grandma’s backyard, standing near the old mango tree. She tilted her head, looked up at the tree… 

and that was it. Assuming it was just a regular dream, Naina forgot about it in the morning. 

She worked on fixing her sleep schedule, going to bed by 10:00 p.m., eating well, and taking better care of herself.

One day, however, sleep didn’t come easy. She finally drifted off around 2:00 a.m. The next morning, as her alarm rang and she sipped her morning chai, something struck her -

she had the same dream again. Same backyard, same mango tree.

It felt odd.

The next day, she had to travel for some official reasons. She returned home late and fell asleep again around 2:00 a.m. When she woke up, she realized she had the same dream again. 

Same backyard, same tree.

Sipping her tea in the morning, her mind was spinning.
“Why the same dream?” she wondered.
“And why only on the days I fall asleep at 2:00 a.m.?”

Her inner voice whispered, “Kaash main himmat karke kabhi uss ped par chadh paati… uss ped par chadhkar aam todna ek sapna hi reh gaya tha.”

And then it hit her — maybe that was the reason. Maybe she had to climb that tree.

That morning, Naina made sure to fell asleep at exactly 2:00 a.m., just to revisit that dream.

And sure enough, she found herself back in the backyard!

But this time, it felt real.
She could sense the cool breeze brushing her face, smell the ripeness of mangoes hanging above.

Slowly, she leaned toward the tree and tried to climb it - carefully, step by step. After a couple of failed attempts, she made it to a branch heavy with mangoes. She felt accomplished.

She plucked a few mangoes, then jumped off the tree. Her knees absorbed the fall. She had scraped herself a little, but didn’t care. All she could see were the mangoes in her hand. It felt like a reward - her own kind of salary.

The alarm rang. She woke up.
And smiled.

She had done it.
She felt happy, lighter, relaxed and free.

But as she got ready for work, something caught her eye.
There it was - a reflection of an old wound on her right knee. Exactly where it had hurt in the dream.

A wound that had never been there before.

“Did I really time travel?” she wondered.

**