Bhairava was running as fast as he could.
His breathing was loud and heavy. He kept turning his head to look behind. A police vehicle was chasing him. The sirens were loud, and the lights were flashing. He was scared and trying to escape.
A voice shouted from behind, "Stop, Bhairava! You can't escape!"
He looked back again, saw the vehicle getting closer, and ran even faster. But suddenly, the road ended. He was standing at the edge of a very tall building. Below him was the whole city, full of big buildings and lights.
He quickly turned around, expecting the police to catch him. But there was no one there. No vehicle. No sound. Just silence.
He felt relieved. "Thank goodness… I escaped," he thought.
Still breathing hard, he pinched his hand without thinking. Then he froze. Something strange happened.
He looked at his hand. He was clearly pinching it. But he couldn't feel anything.
His eyes widened. He stopped and looked around. He was standing on top of a tall building. The sky was orange because the sun was setting. Birds were flying in the distance. The view was beautiful.
He felt confused and surprised. "Don't tell me… it finally worked?" he said to himself.
To be sure, he pinched his hand again. Still no feeling.
That's when he understood. He wasn't in the real world. He was dreaming.
"It works," he whispered, smiling. "I'm really dreaming."
He looked around slowly. The sky was glowing orange as the sun began to set. Birds flew across the sky, and from the top of the building, he could see the whole city. Tall buildings, shining windows, and the soft light of evening—it was beautiful.
His heart was beating fast—not from fear, but from happiness. He had finally done it. He was inside a lucid dream.
Even though he knew it was a dream, it still felt unbelievable. He became nervous. "Wow… it finally works," he said again, almost afraid to believe it.
But then, something changed.
The building beneath him started to shake. The sky turned darker, like a storm was coming. He was still thinking about the dream when suddenly
The building began to collapse.
The ground cracked. The walls broke apart. Even the city around him was falling—buildings crashing down, streets disappearing.
Bhairava was shocked. He dropped to the ground in fear.
The part of the building near his legs started to break. He quickly moved backward, trying to stay safe. Pieces of the roof were falling, chasing him as he slid away. He didn't understand what was happening. He placed both hands on the floor and pushed himself back, trying to escape the falling debris.
Then, everything around him collapsed. The city. The building. The sky. All of it disappeared into darkness.
When the dust cleared, Bhairava realized something strange. He was sitting on a tall, narrow pillar. There was nothing around him. No buildings. No sky. Just him, sitting alone on the pillar, surrounded by darkness.
He slowly stood up and bent forward to look down. The pillar was extremely high, and below it was complete darkness. He couldn't see the ground.
Confused and sweating, he wiped his forehead with his right hand. But then he felt something strange. There was something crawling on the back of his hand.
He looked at the back of his hand. His eyes widened in fear.
A scorpion was sitting there.
Terrified, without thinking he shook his hand hard to throw it away. But in the panic, he lost his balance.
He slipped and fell from the pillar.
As he was falling, spinning through the air, something clicked in his mind.
He remembered. The letter A was written on his hand. In the dream, it had turned into the scorpion.
"No… no…" he cried out.
Even though it was a dream, the fear felt real. His brain was reacting. His heart was racing. He was falling from a great height, and it was terrifying.
He was scared—just like anyone would be. He kept shouting, his voice echoing through the empty space.
"Just when it worked… no…!" he shouted.
He was falling upside down, spinning through the air. The wind rushed past him. His mind was full of fear and confusion. Then, below him, a bright white light appeared.
He raised his arms to protect himself, covering his face in a defensive posture. And then he entered the light.
Suddenly, Bhairava jolted awake. He sat up in bed, gasping for breath. His chest was rising quickly, and his whole body was covered in sweat. His heart was pounding like a drum.
He looked around. He was back in his room.
His eyes moved around the room. The curtain swayed gently. The fan spun above him. His desk, his books, the soft light from the window everything was in its place. It was his room. He was safe.
But his heart was still racing. He looked down at his hand, slowly, still shaking with fear. And there it was. The letter 'A', clearly marked on the back of his skin.
He stared at it. Then pinched himself. Hard. He felt it.
It wasn't a dream anymore. It was real.
He reached for the bottle beside his bed and took a few sips of water. The coolness helped. His breathing slowed. His body relaxed.
A small smile appeared on his lips. It came slowly, like a quiet wave of relief.
"Finally," he whispered. "It happened."
He looked at the clock. It was 12:30. "Still midnight?" he thought. It felt like he had been dreaming for hours.
He turned on the light and sat at his desk. He opened his diary and started writing. He wrote everything he could remember - the dream, the strange feeling, the moment he knew he was dreaming. When he finished, he closed the diary and placed it back on the table.
Then he got out of bed and walked to the balcony. He opened the door and stepped outside. The night air was cool and quiet. He looked up at the sky. The stars were shining, and the moon was absent in the sky since it was next day of new moon. Bhairava stood there, smiling. He felt calm, proud, and very happy. Something special had happened. And he knew this was just the beginning.
Meanwhile, under the moonless sky, the road was empty and quiet. A car was speeding down that road, its engine making a loud noise. The car moved quickly, sometimes swerving a little. Inside, the driver was holding the steering wheel with one hand and a phone in the other. His eyes looked tired and unfocused. He had been drinking. He was very drunk.
"I'm on my way," he said, slurring slightly.
A worried voice came through the phone. "You're drunk again?"
"Just a little," he replied, smiling to himself. "I got promoted today. I wanted to celebrate."
"So, you're drinking and driving?" the voice asked, now more anxious.
"Don't worry, I'm almost there. Nothing will happen," he said, laughing softly.
But just as he spoke, a figure suddenly ran across the road right in front of car.
The driver's eyes widened. He didn't have time to react.
The car hit the person with full force. The body flew over the hood, rolled across the roof, and landed behind the car with a sickening thud.
The driver slammed the brakes hard. The tires screeched. His heart jumped.
"Shit!" he shouted.
The voice on the phone panicked. "What happened?!"
He didn't answer. Slowly, with fear in his eyes, he opened the door and stepped out. His hands were shaking. His face was pale. He looked back at the road. The night was silent, except for the sound of his footsteps and the soft hum of the engine.
He walked toward the figure lying on the road. It was a woman. Her body was covered in blood. She was breathing, but barely. Her chest rose and fell weakly.
He stared at her, frozen. His hand went to his head. "Shit… I didn't expect this," he whispered, full of regret.
Her breathing slowed. She was fading.
The man looked around, panicked. He didn't know what to do. His hands were shaking. Then, without another word, he turned and ran back to the car.
He climbed inside, sweating. The voice on the phone was still there. "Hello? What happened? Are you there?"
He swallowed hard. "Yeah… nothing happened. I'm coming home."
He started the car and drove away. As he moved forward, he looked into the side mirror. The woman was still lying on the road. Her body was getting smaller and smaller as the car drove farther away.