The First Encounter

Good evening.

The below incident which you are about to read is not a story. But instead it's my very first encounter with the paranormal and an incident which changed my life forever. It was a dream you may say but it shaped my mind into something else. It made me realise that there is a world beyond ours and its inhabitants are very much real.

So, before you begin reading about this world of complete obscurity,  please ask yourself if you are ready to embark on a journey that you are not sure if you can tread carefully. Ask yourself if you want to venture into a path of dark incidents. And if you are sure to embark on this journey then let us begin.

I pen down this incident with great grief because this is related to the demise of someone very close to me - My grandmother. It all began with this and will probably end with another demise - mine. 

It was a very fateful evening of January 2000 when my grandmother breathed her last at our home. She had just completed her dinner and was sitting with us when she suddenly felt an uneasiness and before we could do anything she was gone forever.

I was in fifth standard then and her death shook me pretty badly. For the first time I had lost someone so close. There had been deaths previously in my family but probably this one took away a part of me. Or added a new dimension to me. I was not sure then. 

Days passed and I slowly was beginning to overcome the grief of my grandmother's loss. It had been almost 2 months and I was moving on in my life. Sometimes when I missed her badly, I used to go and sit in her room quietly. For me things had started falling into place.

Since I had morning sessions in school, after returning home i usually had my lunch and then took rest for a couple of hours before starting my home work or going for tuition. That day was no different. I came back from school, had my lunch and lied down in my room for some rest. My mother lied down beside me after finishing her chores.

I was fast asleep when my grandmother visited me in my dream. It was so vivid.

In my dream i was sitting at my desk doing some school exercises when I suddenly got up and went outside my room for a break. As soon as I stepped out, I saw two disembodied Shadows on the floor just outside the room. I was very scared. But suddenly the shadows transfigured into two persons - a male and a female and told me, "Amader dekhey bhoy korchey? Ekdum Bhoy paas na. Tor thamma aschey tor saathey dekha kortey"
("Are you scared? Please don't be scared of us. Your grandmother is coming to see you.")

I ran inside my room and there she was. Standing beside my bed. Smiling right at me. I was overwhelmed with joy. I ran towards her and hugged her. "Tumi Firey esecho thamma?"
("You have come back") I screamed.

"Na dadubhai. Ami chirodiner jonno firtey parbo na r. Kintu majhey majhey ami astey pari ajker moton. Ekhon etai amar ekmatro upaye re tor saathey katha bolar jonno."
("Not really. I can't come back forever anymore but I can come to visit you like today. This is the only now if I want to talk to you"), she said.

My grandmother hugged me and told me that someday I will accomplish all my goals but there will be many obstacles and dangers. But, there will always be someone to help me.
"Jakhon i kono badha pabi ba bipodey porbi ba mone habey kono kichu niye kichu asubidhey hochhey takhon i oder dakbi. Dekhbi ora thik sara deebey. Ora thik sahajyo korbey tokey."
("Whenever you face any challenge or you fear that you are in danger, remember, they will always help you out.")

"Ora Maney?"

("What do you mean by 'they' ?")

"Jader ke ekhuni bairey dekhli ora. Orai to tokey sahajyo korbey re ekhon thekey. Ami oder ke boley diyechi. Ora chirodin tor saathey thakbey. Tor darkarey tokey sahajyo korbey. Ora tokey thik poth dekhabey re. Ora ei baritey amar ghorei thakbey chirodin. Jakhon i darkar habey oder dakbi. Ora sahajyo korbey thik."

("The ones you just saw outside your room. They will help you. I have asked them to be with you for the rest of your life. They will be your guardians. They will always be here in my room. Call them whenever you need them. And they will help you.")

She held me with both hands and said,"Bhalo thakis dadubhai. Amakey ebaar jetey habey re. Ami r parchi na re. Baddo kashto hochhey. Odikey derio hoye jachhey. Jetey habey re."
("Stay well dadubhai. I have to go now. I can't stay anymore. It's very painful for me to stay. I have to go. It's getting late.")

I was crying. How could I let her go again? She consoled me,"Bhoy paas na dadubhai. Ekta samaye asbey dekhbi jakhon tor proyojon habey, ichhey habey takhon i amar saathey dekha kortey, katha boltey parbi. Thik parbi. Dekhey nis."
("Don't worry dadubhai. One day a day will come when you will be able to see me whenever you need.")

"Kintu tomakey choley jetey habey keno? Tumi to thekey jetey paro go amader saathey. Agey jemon chiley"
("I don't understand. Why do you have to go? You can stay with us like before")


"Ami thaktey parbo na re dadubhai. Ami je r ei dunia r angsho noi. Ami ekhon onno ekta duniya te thaki. Jeta anek alada kintu khub shanti re"
("I can't stay because I am not a part of this world anymore. I belong somewhere else now and I have to go.")

At this point I realised that she was not standing on the ground and was floating a few inches above it. She was saying, "Ebaar to amakey jetey habey dadubhai. Bhoy paas na kakhono. Ora roilo tokey sahajyo korbar jonno. Darkar holey dakis oder. Tui khub baro hobi re. Khub. Anek badha asbey. Sabdhaney thakbi. Bhalo thakbi. Asi re. Khub kashto hochhey dadubhai."
("I have to go now. Don't worry. They will be here to help you always. Don't be scared. You will reach all your goals. You will be very successful. But there will be many obstacles and dangers. Tread carefully and stay safe. I have to go. It's very painful dadubhai.")

She was slowly floating away from me while saying all these. And suddenly it all faded away. And I was looking at a cloud formation. A big white cloud. It was something very unearthly, yet very peaceful. An eternal bliss.

The cloud formed near the ceiling of the room and from inside a staircase came down. A White staircase made of cloud but yet very firm. My grandmother was climbing the stairs. Slowly she changed her form into a flame of fire. She was on the last step before entering the cloud formation. Suddenly half of the flame took her form again. She turned towards me and said, "Asi dadubhai. Bhalo thakis. Ora tor Kheyal rakhbey. Bhoy paas na konodin. Tui khub baro hobi re. Darkar holey dakis. Ora thik sahajyo korbey. Ami asi re."
("I have to go now. Stay safe. They will look after you. Don't be afraid. You will be very successful in your life. Call them when you need help. They will be there for you.  I have to go now.")

And she turned into a flame and entered the cloud formation and it closed behind her. The stairs were gone and suddenly the cloud vanished. But before it closed I saw a place I cannot describe in words. Perhaps it was a city or a place unknown to anyone. A city adorned in white. It felt so peaceful. I had never really seen anything like this before. It was so beautiful. So peaceful, so full of grandeur yet so simple.

I suddenly woke up and burst into tears. My mother laid beside me. Seeing me she turned the lights on, and opened all the windows and asked me frantically about what happened. I kept crying and was screaming, "she went away. Grandma went away."

The last light of the day was pouring in through the windows of my room. When I calmed down after a while I told my mother everything and from her only I came to know that I was lying on my side when suddenly I turned and laid on my back for about 15 - 20 minutes and I was looking straight at the ceiling. I did not move at all. I was completely stiff as if I was in a comatose position for the whole time. Then suddenly I sat up and burst into tears. All the while my mother tried waking me up. She pushed me, called me quite a few times but I did not respond. I realised that I was seeing my grandmother while I was lying in this state.

This incident changed a lot of things in my life. I began to sense the other world and I always sensed that someone was looking out for me. Always. There have been a lot of Incidents after this which proved that, that day it was not a dream and that someone really helps me when I need them. I can feel them around me. I am thankful to them for always being there because for them I am still here in this world and am able to pen this down. Or else I might not have lived this long. But that's a completely different story to share.


Explanation: Some people believe that when someone passes away they come to visit their near ones. Some have the ability to see and interact with them or some just feel the deceased one's presence around them but cannot interact. In this case, I went in a comatose state which was almost a near death position. I was travelling between two worlds for a very shirt while while I saw my grandmother and I had this "dream". They believe that we might interpret this experience as a dream, but instead it is something very real. I have asked quite a few experts and understood that this can happen to anyone with high sensitivity towards the other world. Some believe that this state can be self initiated also with proper techniques and training though in this case it was completely natural. But it is to be kept in mind that without proper knowledge this can harm one to a great extent even causing the person to get trapped between worlds. Also, the cloud formation that has been mentioned here is an interpretation of thoughts and it varies from person to person who experiences these kind of situations. It can be interpreted as the vision of a gateway. Different persons have different projections of this gateway. Some see cloud formations, some see a doorway with heavy doors, some see a very large iron gate in front of a garden, etc. It varies since everyone's thought processes are different. For example, a child will be very likely to see a cloud or light source since he is not proficient with a lot of things in the physical world, whereas an aged person is very likely to see a doorway with heavy doors representing the heavy weight of his responsibilities that he has always to take care of. The shadows mentioned here are guardian angels. People interacts with them in different ways most of the time completely being unaware of the interaction. In this case I am completely aware of my interactions with my guardian angels which represents a higher thought process or a different level of breaching into the other world. I will surely discuss these interactions in another article. 

Note: Though I thought this was my first encounter at that age, later on I had realised that there were incidents in my childhood which I had forgotten completely until this happened and when I recollected and analysed them, I understood there was more to my life. More to share.