On my mind

All of us have these typical assumptions and associations, don't we? We picture the brightly lit Eiffel Tower and the posh French restaurants if we imagine we are in Paris, talking about Seychelles, our perception takes a quick drift to sun-dappled giant boulders, calm turquoise waters, snow white sand, and palm trees for greenery. We all do have a fair idea how Middle-Eastern countries are, even if we have never been to one. 

Our minds are vividly imaginative. 

Well, I am in the middle of one. It is the English countryside this time. My mind tells me I was somewhere around Somerset. Though I have never been there, but isn't that the first name that comes to your mind when you try to think of an English county. Lush green meadows with intermittent gentle slopes, a foggy atmosphere but only because it is still quite early in the morning, you assure yourself that it will clear later in the day. A chilly wind blows now and then....

I am facing an open grave. Strange as it may seem, it is the only grave in this vast green expanse. My mind tells me its a grave, my vision supports my mind. It provides logic to my perception - there is a tombstone, but it is covered by a shroud of mist. I go in closer with curiosity, and peer into the apparently endless depth of the grave. 

There they lie inside, photographs of us, letters - the ones we used to write to give each other strength and morale in times of darkness, memories - the sweet and the bitter ones, each in a highly condensed form. Seemingly ordinary everyday objects, but each one attached with a memory of its own, memories which only the two of us could ever appreciate. I longed for a Pensieve to revisit those moments, begged for one last time.

The grave closed, and the mist over the tombstone cleared.

On it was written "R.I.P. Us"  

But my eyes were looking beyond it. There she was, standing with a smile. She turned round and walked along with the slowly receding blanket of fog and evanesced.

You never seem to remember the beginning of a dream.

I wake up with a jolt, make a dash for the unknown, and suddenly come to a standstill. This had become a rather frequent routine for me. Beads of perspiration had covered my forehead, I could feel my elevated heartbeat. I sat down on my bed, wiping off my sweat. 

Three years have passed since she left me, but still she takes a toll on my mind every other day. She is always on my mind, always...