In the quaint town of Vidisha, where the ancient Udayagiri Caves stood as silent witnesses to countless tales of yore, Arjun walked the familiar streets with a heart full of longing. It had been years since he last saw Maya, his college sweetheart, whose laughter was like the monsoon rains—refreshing and life-giving.

One balmy night, as the stars played hide and seek behind the monsoon clouds, Arjun found himself at the threshold of sleep, where reality blurred into the realm of dreams. In this twilight of consciousness, he saw her—Maya, as radiant as the day they first met, standing at the edge of the Betwa River, her eyes reflecting the moonlight.

"Maya?" Arjun called out, his voice a mix of disbelief and yearning.

She turned, her smile blooming like the night-blooming jasmine that perfumed the air. "Arjun," she said, her voice a melody that filled the spaces in his heart he didn't know were empty.

They spoke of everything and nothing, of dreams woven and unwoven, of days drenched in the golden hues of nostalgia. The world around them faded into a canvas of their memories, painted with the brushstrokes of their shared past.

As dawn approached, with the first light casting a soft glow on the horizon, Maya's figure began to shimmer, like a mirage on a summer day. Panic gripped Arjun's heart. "Don't go," he pleaded, reaching out to her.

"It's time to wake up, Arjun," she whispered, her form dissolving into the morning mist.

Arjun awoke with a start, the remnants of the dream clinging to him like the aftertaste of sweet chai. It took him a moment to realize it was just a dream—a beautiful, ephemeral dream. Yet, in his heart, the reunion felt as real as the tears that now streaked his cheeks.

And somewhere, in the depths of his soul, he knew that Maya, his eternal monsoon, would always be there, in the world of dreams, waiting for him at the edge of the river, under the moonlit sky.
© #N.A. Shah