Story 1

Avera was now wide awake. Her heart was pacing, this was the second time that she had the same exact dream. Was it really a dream? Why did it feel so real? She searched for the bottle of water kept on the night-stand and accidentally hit the glass of water kept next to it which fell with a thud and a smash. Avera was suddenly acutely aware of each and every sound in the room just like she had in the dream. She was a princess in the dream, wasn't she? And wasn't that a sword with blood on it that she was carrying? Whose blood was it? Why was she looking so angry, so focused, so intent on killing? It was almost as if the princess was taking a revenge. Wait, that was it, that look that Avera had in her dream was one of revenge. Avera longed to know what happened, to maybe go back to sleep so she can dream more. 

But the thoughts kept on coming and did not let her blink her eyes. This was fantastical. This does not happen to real people, it only happens in movies, she told herself. But the vividness of her dreams was unusual. She could almost touch them!
The raucous sound of the alarm shook her out of her trance.It was 5.30AM already. She had a full day of work ahead of her, and an early morning meeting with the firm's most important client. She brushed aside the memories of the dream and surrendered to the daily grind.

Avera set out for her daily morning routine. She had her dog marley to walk, get ready and rush to work. As she was getting ready, she thought about all the people at work and the client she was going to meet today. It suddenly felt so futile, so empty. She quickly dismissed the thought and got ready. A beige pencil skirt with a black blouse gave her a business like disposition. On her way to work on the bus, she couldn't strike off the feeling of someone following her, hadn't she seen that old man with crooked gray hat before, it almost felt as if he wanted to tell something. Maybe she was feeling paranoid with the whole princess dream but why did it feel as if the sword fit like a glove? Why was she almost longing for it?

She was thinking about all these things and suddenly she felt the bus being hit by something. People started to scream, she hit her head on the handle bar in front and started bleeding. Suddenly she felt arms around her shoulder, it was the man in gray hat. He whispered: 'we need to get out of here'. Did he mean get of the bus?

"Princess......NOW......!" , the crooked gray hat almost screamed and pulled her with all his might and held her like a baby in his arms. The power in his arms was exceptional for an old man, with such a wrinkled face.He grabbed his hat, muttering something between his lips. and the world around them suddenly went quiet.
It was as if the time had stopped...no, not stopped, slowed down, just for them. Avera was being carried by the old man, outside the bus, across the street. She was about to catch her breath, when the old man jumped, stretched his arms and transporting her through the air, as if they were floating through it.
Avera looked down to see all the people in the bus were frantically running out for their lives. The road in front of the bus had cut open and the bus and the other vehicles were being engulfed into the slit. The old man finally put Avera down on the top floor of one of the neighboring buildings, and sighed, "Here. We are safe now, Princess".
Avera gawked at his face and the words dropped from her mouth...."Who.....Who are you? How did you.....Why did you...What the hell is going on?"
"Forgive me Princess. Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Hanuman, guardian of your family since Treta Yuga, I mean, for last 9 thousand years.", he kneeled down and slowly raised his head to look up to her.

Avera kept gazing at the old man in front of her. How old was he? His face and skin belied the strength in his arms and his piercing gaze was sharper than anything she had ever seen before. Why did he call her princess. Only one person called her by that name, her dad. Why did she need protection though? A seemingly ordinary life of hers was suddenly filled with a million questions. Hanuman sensed her anxiety and said "All in good time princess, I will answer all your questions in good time. First I need to make sure you are alright and there is nobody following us." With that he did something strange, he raised Avera's palm to his face and kissed it almost like in reverence. Then he closed his eyes and appeared to be murmuring a deep prayer, when he opened his eyes his gaze was no ordinary gaze, a beam shot from it and Hanuman made sure to cover the entire area around Avera with that beam. Satisfied with the outcome he took Avera's hand and led her to the a secluded spot. Avera tried to resist but Hanuman was too strong and unrelenting.

Hanuman led Avera to a narrow alley where to Avera's surprise stood a red Audi R8, Avera thought it must be belonging to someone else when couldn't believe it when she saw Hanuman having the key to it. Who is this person? What is he doing with her? Avera wanted answers. She refused to sit in the car. "You cannot make me sit if I dont want to. I need some explanation of what is happening." Hanuman looked at her, there was no anger in his gaze neither was there any dark beam, what was that, exasperation? He spoke with some effort, "I have lost you before, I am not going to lose you again. My duty is to protect you and take you where you belong. Please sit, we need to get out of here first. I will explain."

Daylight was fast receding. Clouds looked like a thousand ships had set sail in the blue azure sky which was slowly turning different shades of dark. Avera had to make up her mind and quick.To step into the unknown would bring with it risky adventures, but should she believe this strange man standing in front of her ?
The Audi R8 was hurtling down narrow alleyways and Avera felt a sense of calm. Now there was no turning back. She averted her gaze towards this hulk of a man who suddenly barely looked human. As the sun dipped below the horizon, she could just watch the outline of his jaw as it moved. Her thoughts and the roar of the moving machine she was enclosed in drowned everything Hanuman was saying. Avera touched his arm slightly and asked him to stop, only that he was not listening. At all.
After what seemed like an eon, they came to a halt in front of a huge mansion. A palace of sorts. Avera was surprised with the size of the house in the middle of what she thought was her own city. Her own city which she knew like the back of her hand. But she was not surprised anymore. She was tired. All she wanted to do was to sleep. "Yes, you will rest here for a bit" said Hanuman. 

And that is when they heard a loud explosion. The bed shook violently and Avera leapt straight into Hanuman's arms. She quickly looked back at him for a reaction, but Hanuman had a look of understanding on his face, like he was in on why the explosion occurred. After all that happened that day, Avera wondered if she should be concerned for her life, but before she knew it, she was flying out the door with Hanuman. They ran for what seemed like forever and stopped abruptly in the middle of a small unlit alley. Even though Avera was grateful for the breath she could catch, she felt helpless and exasperated at the same time.

"Well.." Avera considered Hanuman's look of concern. " I have no idea who you are, and there's nothing in my past experience I can use to understand what exactly is going on with us...and between us. This seems all too unreal, like am in a dream....although the appropriate word would be .. a nightmare. You did say you would keep me safe right ?"
" Yes. Always."
" In that case, please find me a safe place to sleep for now....without interruptions. Am exhausted."
" Yes, m'am!"

Newly energized, Hanuman led her to a block of stairs that opened up into a small room. It wasn't the most expansive space, but looked beautiful in the yellow fluorescent light. It had a comfortable looking bed, a matte black nightstand and a gorgeous grey arm-chair. In fact, the room looked straight out of a magazine. "You sleep here, while I rest on the chair" said Hanuman pointing to the bed. As Avera climbed into bed and snuggled under the comforter, she heard him say "The explosion we heard was the Audi R8. They blew it."

That's the last thing she heard before she felt herself falling asleep like she was gliding down a long slide.