(a small story about a boy )The darkness is trying to engulf me. Fear creeped up my legs. I didn’t know the freakiness of blackness until that time. Because I haven’t experienced it before. Instead of being placid, my conscience was screaming inside for help. My eyes searching, even for the tiniest bit of light out of this irkiness.. Then suddenly my eyes caught sight of a human like figure. It was a man at end of the darkness like the ray of hope, like a light at the end of tunnel. I walked towards that hope. Though I didn’t know was it someone I can term as hope, from this darkness. Still some part of my heart guided me to that man without my realization. As I neared him the darkness wandered off and suddenly my feet felt cold, then i noticed the water. There was only half a foot of water initially and the place was….. I didn’t recognize it correctly, maybe a pool, or a river, or a flood, but then the water got deeper as i walked, i felt like drowning, water flooding, me lost to the strength of the water. The water took me inside it, but then suddenly a hand grabbed me and pulled me out, as i gasped for air, i noticed the person to whom the hand belongs. And my brain started recognizing the face. A feeling of delight blossomed inside me.

Who is this person?
Who is this person making me feel so happy?

That’s when i noticed that that person looked like me. No, to be exact i looked more like him. My mouth blurted out ‘daddy’, and i lunged out to him putting my arms around him. Holding him tight i felt secure and happy. Smiling with joy I wanted to stay that way,

but then a voice brought my eyes open. I searched around and there was nothing, no water, no darkness, no daddy. Just the sunlight through the drapes and my wife calling me to wake up. She was staring at me curiously, because i appeared bewildered. Then i told her that i saw my dad in my dreams. She grew worried thinking i saw something disturbing because she knew i missed my dad still since he left us, leaving me alone in this world to strive without he being beside me motivating me. Yesterday I had a lot in my mind before i came home and she thought that triggered something disturbing in my sleep. But i assured her i was fine. Actually the dream was a message from my dad, which he taught me when i was little. He was teaching me swimming nearby in a pond one day and when i missed the stroke i almost drowned. And that’s when he helped me out. He taught me a lesson that day and I never knew he was actually referring to life itself. He told me to try my best to get my head up the water when i felt like drowning, though the water is shallow or deep, put your best.
Today when i am facing a difficult time in my business he came to remind me that lesson through my dreams. Now with the hint of his message my smile grew bigger and my wife smiled back and hugged me knowing i am okay. But she forgot to notice that a few tears had leaked out my eyes. Because with happiness of seeing my dad and tracing the memories we had in my childhood, I felt the emptiness too. I missed him. I missed my swimming lessons.