Beyond the Boundaries | Chapter-1 The Warning

"Wake up, Anay! We have to go to the temple today!"

The voice echoes from the village chief's house. Today is Maha Shivratri - the Great Night of Lord Shiva and everyone must prepare offerings of milk for the deity.

Anay stirs awake but remains in bed, his eyes fixed on a corner of his room where a ball and a brick sit together. He's caught in that strange space between dream and reality. You know that feeling when you're drifting into sleep? The heaviness pulling at your eyelids, the shift in your breathing, the fog that fills your mind, and that tiny rush of comfort. That's what Anay is fighting against, and these sensations are hard to resist unless you have something exciting waiting for you.

He manages to pull himself up, not because he wants to, but because he knows what comes next if he doesn't listen to his mother. It's not excitement that moves him it's the fear of his mother.

He rushes through his morning routine, moving faster than usual. He could always move at this speed, finish everything at the same time each day, but that would feel forced. This unfamiliar pace feels strange to him. He prefers the slow, gentle rhythm of his mornings.

While getting ready, fragments of his dream float back to him. He remembers sitting beside a banyan tree, talking to someone. Just remembering it brings him joy, though he can't recall anything else. Whatever happened it must have made him happy in his dreams because even though his conscious mind has forgotten, his body still remembers that feeling.

Anay walks to the temple with his mother and father. Everyone they pass greets them with respect. They are an important family in the village.

Anay's mother was the first female village chief. His grandfather had been chief before her, but when Anay's father married his mother, the grandfather chose his daughter-in-law as the next chief instead of his own son. He saw more potential in her, and Anay's father accepted his father's decision without question.

As chief, Anay's mother built many temples throughout the village. Scheduled regular community meals for the poor and helped everyone in need. Her judgments in the people's court were respected by all. When villagers faced difficult decisions, they came to her for guidance.

They stand in line, waiting their turn to enter the temple.

"We can just go in," Anay's father says. "Our people will understand. They know you have other matters to attend to you shouldn't be wasting your precious time in a queue."

"I can't let my people suffer because of my poor time management," his mother replies. "Their time is as precious as mine."

Anay has always been fascinated by his mother. He looks up to her more than anyone. He's never met someone so untangled and certain about their opinions and thoughts. If he could, he'd want to find and marry someone just like her. He wants to have the same deep conversations, full of wisdom and insight, that he shares with his mother.

But then again, every boy's first idea of love comes from his mother, so perhaps he's biased.

Anay brought flowers from work yesterday to offer to Lord Shiva along with the milk. Their village is famous for its flowers. People travel from far away to buy them. After finishing his studies at the gurukul, Anay is now waiting for his turn to become village chief. In the meantime, his mother asked him to gain hands-on experience with how the village works, so he chose to work at a flower farm.

Everyone in the queue holds flowers of different varieties. Each type is priced differently, which makes Anay wonder: Does Lord Shiva know about these price differences? Does he measure the truth of someone's devotion based on it? Does he notice the quality and size of each flower and use that as a measure of faith? Some people spend a long time selecting and arranging the best flowers, so maybe it does matter.

While standing in line, Anay looks into the distance and spots a hut and a banyan tree. A tree he has never noticed before but one that looks remarkably like the one from his dream. He thinks he sees someone sitting behind the tree. With each gust of wind, he notices something moving in the distance, though it could just be the branches swaying so, he doesn't pay much attention to it.

They enter the temple, offer the milk and flowers, say their prayers, complete the rituals, and leave. On their way home, someone stops his mother to ask for help. She tells Anay and his father to go ahead while she assists them.

The next day arrives. Anay wakes and gets ready for work. He can't remember last night's dream at all, but he keeps getting flashbacks from his yesterday's dream, the banyan tree, the hut, him sitting and talking to someone. Why is this memory so exciting? Why does it make his body and mind feel so happy? He wonders.

He goes to the field and begins working as instructed by the farm owner. They're never too hard on Anay if anything they feel honored that the chief's only son works for them, even for modest wages.

He tells his coworkers about the banyan tree dream and how it makes him feel. They start teasing him, calling him different names, trying to get a reaction to see if he's interested in someone or talking to a girl. But there's nothing like that.

Then one of them mentions the witch.

The witch who was cast out of the village long ago, after she tried to use her magic on Anay's father.

Anay's grandfather had banished her. His mother had never met the witch or questioned this decision. It all happened way before she was married into the family. But she'd told Anay stories about how dangerous the witch was. How she eats young boys to stay young. How she can bewitch anyone into doing whatever she wants. She described the witch's scary teeth, long horns, and sharp nails that could kill anyone. She warned Anay that if he ever saw her, he would be scarred for life.

"Her house also has a banyan tree, right?" says the same coworker who mentioned the witch.

"You know where she lives? You have seen her house?" Anay asks. "I thought that was a secret."

"Yes, your mother, the village chief, has tried her best to keep it secret so no one finds out or goes there. But some people in the village think it's better to know the location, so no one stumbles upon it by accident."

They all start thinking about Anay's dream. What could it mean? Could the witch be trying to cast a spell on him? Or is it just a coincidence? The dream happened the night before Shivratri. What could it mean? Is it a sign from God, a warning or an invitation? They all wonder.

Anay feels scared now. He doesn't show it to the others, but this conversation has made him deeply uncomfortable. The dream and the flashbacks that once made him happy have now turned frightening. He wonders what the witch could want from him. Could it be a curse that passes through generations, first his father, now him? Is the witch targeting him?

But he doesn't want to discuss this at home. He's too afraid to mention the witch there.

He returns home from work after a long, tiring day. It's time for dinner. He cleans up and sits with his mother and father. He can tell from her expression that she's had a long day too. She looks tired, but whenever she glances at him, she smiles with such joy that it reminds him how strong and loving his mother truly is. Looking at her, he even forgets about his own difficult day.

Another night passes. Another dream comes.

This time he remembers it more clearly. Someone combing their hair, giggling while Anay is sitting down and talking to them. He can't see anyone in the dream, but somehow he knows they were combing their hair, and he remembers the sound of that giggle perfectly. He can replay that giggle in his mind over and over, and it brings him joy.

He also remembers being scared in the dream to go near the banyan tree, thinking about his mother's description of the witch. But today's dream has brought back even more joy, it has removed the fright brought by yesterday's discussion in the field. The memory of sitting beside the banyan tree, talking to someone while they comb their hair and giggle.

He wonders what that person's smile must look like if just the sound of their laughter and the simple act of combing their hair brings him such happiness.

He goes to work and asks one of his coworkers where the witch lives.

They all look confused and frightened. Why does Anay want to know?

Anay explains that if the witch is casting magic on him, he should at least know where she lives so he can protect himself. They nod among themselves and assure him they'll take him there after work today.

Anay works through the whole day. Finally, it's time to leave for the witch's house. He glances at his coworkers. They understand immediately, and together they set off toward the witch's home.

On his way there, Anay picks up a flower and hides it in his pocket.

The path to her house leads through a thick jungle. At night, it feels truly spooky. Anay has never done anything like this before. He's always lived within the boundaries set by his parents and teachers at the gurukul. After returning to the village, this is his first time exploring it like this.

His heart pounds with every rustling bush, every sound of the forest. He feels more scared with each step and questions whether he should really go. What if a monster with horns and long teeth comes after them? But he thinks it's too late to turn back now. It's better to go and see for himself, so that maybe the dreams will stop if they're connected to this place.

They finally reach the location. There is indeed a very old banyan tree with a small hut nearby. The tree is surrounded by a stone structure where people can sit beneath it.

It looks a lot like his dream, but at the same time, it's much duller and quieter. It doesn't have the joy and brightness of his dreams. He tries to recall his dreams for even more clues, but he can't think of anything. He keeps staring at the house and the tree trying to absorb every single detail to recall even the slightest.

His colleagues urge him not to stay too long. The witch is nowhere to be seen right now, but she could return at any moment. Now that he's seen the location, they should head back.

This makes Anay wonder if it's the witch's absence that makes this place feel so dull. Is she the reason this place is so bright in his dreams? Or is something else different?

As his friends rush him to leave, Anay manages to leave the flower he brought at the entrance without anyone noticing. Then they all hurry out of the jungle.

Anay reaches home. His mother asks why he's late, and he brushes it off, saying he had a lot of work. He cleans up, changes, and they all sit for dinner.

While eating, he stares at the table, his mind elsewhere. Did the witch receive the flower? Does she know he left it? What will she do now? Who is the witch, really?

He's also scared that he might have done something wrong. He had thought that if he offer her the flower, she might stop appearing in his dreams—if it is indeed her in his dreams. Or maybe she would decide not to cast magic on him.

He finishes dinner and goes to sleep, strangely excited. He wonders if the dreams will stop now or if she'll reveal herself more clearly.

In all of this, he hasn't asked himself the one question that matters most: Does he really want the dreams to stop?

He simply did what felt right and now waits to see what the future holds.

End