I open my eyes and I see blue. I look around to see my room as cluttered as ever, books and clothes and drying canvases covering the floor. Everything around me is submerged in water. The water feels gentle and cool, caressing me out of my slumber. I get up off my bed and float to my window. Hesitantly, I open it and let out a cry of wonderful surprise. I am in an underwater paradise. The sky is adorned by clouds and clouds of exotic fish, like a kaleidoscope in itself, glinting in the amber morning light.
I float out of the room and take in my surroundings. The sea is limitless. I can see a bright sun shining somewhere high above, a gentle reminder or my terrestrial existence. I swim through the enchanting world my town has become. It’s bustling underwater with life. There are more kinds of creatures than I ever dreamt there would be. Corals, Anemones, sponges and what not grow on the compound walls of the neighbourhood houses. Magnificent and graceful creatures of all shapes and sizes swim in and out of this flora. ‘Should’ve paid more attention in biology!’, I say to myself.
I float around for a while, entranced by this new world I find myself in. it feels like I’m in Atlantis, with the streets a flurry of marine life and concrete covered in sand.
Suddenly, a school of little blue fish comes directly at me, with no warning. They swim around me with ease. Then I feel a sudden movement in the water, like a thousand birds are in flight right above my head. I look up and see a huge, no, herculean whale swimming away. Man, they really do downplay their size in the movies.
I swim down to the ground. I can breathe. I can walk. Where is everyone else?!
As if on cue, I spot a boy approaching me. His hair flows with the water, and he moves like this is home, like a merman. He is wearing a white t-shirt and blue shorts. He swims down to where I stand. I recognize him as he comes near. I only spent the entire spring semester staring at him. He is as lovely as ever. I suddenly become aware of my appearance, my pyjamas and my unbrushed hair. This is why you should never buy childish cat printed pyjamas!
He smiles at me and points upwards. I look up to the seemingly infinite sea and to him again. He gently takes my hand, jumps up off the ground and suddenly I am ascending swiftly. We pass the whale and reach amidst a cloud of fish and then further upwards. At one point, a shark comes chasing after us. I gasp in horror but he just smiles. We get faster and faster until we lose it. I laugh, and he laughs along with me. I look around to the serene sea stretching in all directions. We have gained height and I cannot see the city below me. Soon it seems we’re approaching the surface. The water is warmer here. A sensation of unbound joy and freedom fills me as we break through to the sky above.
I wake up with start to find my dog Pluto licking my face. I lift him off my face and sit up. Pluto has a smile on his face that can only be described as manic happiness. I rub his fur and tease him, “Aren’t you excited?!”. I put him down and he rushes out to give the same greeting to my brother. I rush to my study and start writing down every detail of my Azur dream before it vanishes from my head. After I am satisfied that I have written everything, I look at the calendar hanging above. It is the first day of summer, and the adventures are just about to begin.
Written by Mihika Agrawal
