the thunderbolt

it happens that when there is something to happen which is going to affect you, you are prepared by the subconscious for it. this early morning the sound of falling rain has brought me from slumber to trance when i heard a huge rumble in the clouds. i like the sound of the thunder. so much so that when nature is especially angry, i go sit in the balcony to savour that beautiful sound of the trembling rage. but today i was sleeping. and suddenly the thunder continued for couple of seconds more and bolted upon something with such a wondrous thud that it shattered my sleep in the same instant. it made me uncomfortable, for the first time. mom was awake. she said, "kahin giri hai". i was surprised to find myself not at ease. i imagined the spot where it would have fallen, probably not very far away from home.

later while at breakfast mom told me a story of her childhood when it used to rain with much greater fervour. she told me how once the lightning reached for dung cakes inside their storeroom in their town home. how it came inside through the door, reached for those dung-cakes, struck them and escaped puncturing the roof, traveling almost in an inverted arc. the lightning was trying to reach something and attempted multiple times before finally striking. they later found out that it was a big black snake. incredible story that gives you goosebumps if you try to believe it.