She dreamed ...

A beautiful village in full celebration, colourful flags whipping in the wind, lots of food & drink, song & dance, laughter & story telling. Friends calling out to me to sing and dance for it is my turn. I sing and dance finishing to much applause and laughter.

I go to the gate where my teacher wishes to enter & share in the celebration.

He is stopped by a group of guards.

He calls out, "Let me in I want to dance, sing and enjoy the revelries with all of you."

"You can't enter," they pronounce, "you are dead!"

I am shocked. I can't believe it. I am absolutely stunned. I want them to let him in. They refuse. I want to contact him and the guards let me out. I can get out but they won't let him in.

There, in front of the gate, sits my teacher singing. The moment he starts singing the whole village turns black & white as if his exquisite lament expressing his sorrow evaporates the colours around us and a grey fog descends down on the whole village.

All the faces of the people become expressionless & emotionless. Only I am animated and I turn to my teacher who continues to sing and I listen to the words.

Life is like the wind / Yesterday joy/ Today gone/ The wind that stops in the night/ Life is like the wind/ Coming & going / Nothing remains forever.

He gets up and turns to walk away down the path to another gate. Even though the path is full of people, all in black & white, he makes no effort to talk to anyone. His family and all the people he knew walk by him as he gently blows by them like a sorrowful wind.

He enters another gate to perform the ritual of leave taking. I couldn't accept his going so I tried to give him the song of life but I can't sing. All that comes out of my mouth is a loud scream.

The emperor of the dead watches over him smiling and my teacher turns with tears in his eyes and with all his anger shouts out, "I didn’t have a chance to say goodbye! You didn't even give me five minutes to say goodbye. This is so unfair. Please, I am not dead. I need time to finish what I have started an people to see and this is all too sudden. Give me another chance."

The emperor replied, "You can't go back. Life & Death is not like that. You have to prepare before not after. You are now in this world."

"Please just one more minute."

"No!"

I heard all this and I tried to say goodbye but all that came out was a scream.

My teacher cried out with regret and anger; "Life is meaningless. What have I done. I don't want to die like this but what can i do! So many mistakes." and he continued on towards the final gate where a gathering of black & white people waited for him embracing him singing and dancing.

I tried to join them but knew i couldn't for that was the place of the dead. I watched from outside the gate .

... That was the dream.

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