Sanjana

I open the door to go out for a run after another oh-so-dreamy morning and immediately bump into someone who was about to knock the door. Their knuckles brush against my nose accidently, nothing to hurt or cause damage, but the brief contact is enough to startle me and let out a shriek.

I'm met with the sight of widened ocean blue eyes, ruffled vanilla blonde hair and a dropped jaw highlighting a very sharp jawline of a handsome, but frozen visitor at my doorstep. I notice a suitcase with a flight tag next to him, and the realization dawns.

"Brandon?" I ask tentatively and that pulls him out of his frozen trance.

"Shit! I'm so sorry, did I hurt you?" His voice is deep, and full of concern, which brings a smile to my face.

"Not at all, I'm Sanjana, welcome to India, Brandon", I introduce myself as I offer my hand, which he shakes firmly, his face still morphed with worry. I usher him inside, and he pulls his suitcase along into the hall.

"Thanks for having me, Sanjana. I'm really sorry about that", he begins but I brush him off immediately.

"Don't be formal, Brandon. You didn't knock me out or anything, though that would've been hilarious. Imagine me falling flat on the floor with your punch!", I giggle at the possibility, and a small smile appears on his handsome face as he considers it.

"I would be a terrible guest, if I hit my host as soon as I meet them."

I shake my head at him, "Let's forget about it? Come, I'll show you to your room, you can freshen up, I'm sure you must be tired from the long flight. I hope you found my driver without any hassle and the drive was alright?"

"Yes, I'm knackered. The drive was fine, thanks for sending him to pick me up."

"Don't mention it. Come on."

I walk him to the guest room on the first floor, which is opposite my own room, and show him around the house on the way. My place in Delhi isn't too extravagant like the exquisite mansion in Mumbai, it's just a cozy home, with three bedrooms and a couple guestrooms. I moved here after high school, while my family still lived back in Mumbai. I could never really muster the courage to move back there after their death, so this is now my place permanently. It already feels empty when the house helpers leave at night, I don't think I can cope in a bigger house anyway.

"The towels and toiletries are in the en suite closet, and I'll send my house help, Mira with some juice and refreshments. Please make yourselves feel at home."

"Thanks Sanjana, I'll freshen up and then see you downstairs in an hour?" Brandon asks tentatively.

"Sure, I was going out for a run anyway. You can rest meanwhile, or feel free to explore the place. It's just us and my house helpers, so if you need anything, shout for Mira or call me up. I'll be back in half an hour max; we can have an elaborate breakfast together after that?"

"Sounds good Sanjana, I'll go take a shower and get some rest then."

"Great, I'll see you soon."

________

I knock at Brandon's room after returning from the run and taking a shower. He doesn't respond, but the door isn't locked, so I knock twice and decide to go inside anyways.

I see Brandon sprawled out on the bed in a black vest and grey shorts, he probably fell asleep immediately after taking a shower. He looks tired, yet peaceful, his young face relaxed and at total ease.

As I mentally debate whether I should just let him sleep or wake him up for breakfast, his face breaks into an adorable sleepy smile. He looks so serene in his sleep; I wonder if his dreams aren't as a awful as mine.

What if his dreams and mine are totally unrelated, and I'm raising my hopes for nothing?

The thought lingers, settling an uneasy feeling in my stomach. I need answers, and though this maybe a desperately hopeless attempt, I want to try anyways. Even if I don't get any answers after this trip, at least he will, so that's some good Karma points in my book that may someday come back to me unexpectedly.

All my speculative thoughts fly out of the window as I watch the smile vanish abruptly from Brandon's face and get replaced by a frown. The worry lines appear on his forehead, the stress on his face increases exponentially by the second, and soon enough, he starts hyperventilating. Damn, did I jinx his peaceful dream? Do I look this distressed too when I see those dreams too?

I hurry towards his bedside and try to wake him up by calling out his name gently. His breathing is shallow and shaky, his forehead is laced with sweat even when air conditioning is blasting the room. I shake his shoulder cautiously, and call out his name repeatedly, but he doesn't wake or even move. His lips move in an inaudible murmur, and his breathing gets more upset by the minute, making me stress out about how the hell should I wake him from this nightmare.

I'm still considering my options, when suddenly he sits up with a bolt and breathes heavily, his head buried in his hands as he tugs those silky blonde strands with force.

"Brandon, here drink some water", I offer him a glass from the bedside and that's when he registers my presence.

He takes in several deep breaths, searches my face for something beyond my understanding, then shuts his eyes. Once his breathing calms down a bit, he opens them again, and there's a turmoil behind the blues of his eyes.

"Thanks, Sanjana", he says tiredly as he finally accepts the glass of water and gulps it quickly. I notice he pronounces my name rather oddly, his accent adding a strange feel to it, but I let it slide considering the circumstances.

I offer him another glassful, and he gulps down the water hastily after offering me a grateful smile.

"Want to talk about it?" I ask gently, trying not to prod if he's not willing to discuss.

He tells me briefly about the palace that he sees in his dream and a woman that promises him to meet, but suddenly vanishes from his embrace into a darkness that gets suffocating to the point that he hyperventilates and passes out. I tell him briefly about my own reoccurring dream and that I'm not sure if they are even related or not, but I'm willing to find out.

"Tell me about this palace that you saw in my sketch on the website", he asks curiously, and I grin at his eagerness.

"How about we go have breakfast first? I have something to show you, I'll get it from my room and meet you downstairs."

His brow furrows but he nods anyways, and we part ways. A few minutes later, I meet him at the breakfast table. I told Mira to prepare a light breakfast today - boiled eggs, bacon, omelet, toast, juice etc. and he seems to be enjoying it thankfully.

"Brandon, how's breakfast? I hope it's to your liking. Please instruct Mira about your preferences, she'll take care of all our food preparations here, and direct our chefs about them later."

"Breakfast's amazing, Sanjana. I'll let her know how I like my food after breakfast. What were you going to show me though?" His curiosity makes a quick comeback and I chuckle as I take out some printouts from the handbag I brought from my room. I offer him the pictures and his eyes widen in excitement and he drops his fork and snatches them from my hand immediately.

"This is exactly the same palace from my dreams. Same color, same architecture. Wow!" He checks out all the pictures with amazement, and I smile at his reaction. I hope when we visit there, I can find some correlations with my dreams too. So far, whatever images of this palace's interiors I found online, they didn't even remotely relate to anything I see in my dreams.

"Sanjana, where is this palace and how soon can we leave to visit it?"

"This is Amer Palace, Brandon. It's a royal fort on the outskirts of Jaipur city in Rajasthan state. It's just a few hours drive from here. My company has an office guest house in Jaipur, so we can comfortably stay there whenever we decide to leave, so no hassle of hotel bookings and all that. I have requested a special cook for you there as well, so your food will be well taken care of."

His face lights up with every piece of information and I feel a strange sense of contentment at being able to help someone with a predicament similar to mine.

"That's awesome, Sanjana, can we leave early tomorrow morning then? I'll explore this city today evening, though it's not too much to my liking so far."

My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. Damn, he is more excited than I anticipated.

"Actually Brandon", I begin with caution, "I have my graduation ceremony tomorrow morning. It was supposed to be yesterday, but they postponed at the last minute due to some administrative issues in the college. I thought you must be jet-lagged, so it won't be problem if we go after lunch but, shit, I'm sorry I should have informed you earlier", I apologize as I watch his face fall with disappointment.

"I understand, it must be a big day for you. And it's not really your fault if they rescheduled at last minute." He offers me a smile, but it doesn't reach his gorgeous eyes.

I reach for his hand on the breakfast table and squeeze reassuringly.

"I know how important this is to you, Brandon. You will finally find answers to questions that have been bugging you for years now and waiting for even a day feels horrible. I honestly feel the same way, and I feel awful that I'm causing this delay in your plans. How about this - you go ahead early morning and start exploring the city, and I'll join you as soon as I can? My driver will take you to the guest house and I'll arrange the cook and we can catch up when we meet-"

He shakes his head dismissively, "No no, it's alright, I just got over excited. I can wait, it's just a few hours difference anyway. I'm here for a whole week, so half a day won't be a problem."

"Are you sure? I really don't mind if you go early."

"No, I'll just rest. I'll be in my room if you need me."

He offers me a kind smile and leaves for his room, and I sit behind at the breakfast table, suddenly feeling gloomy for no apparent reason whatsoever.

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