Priscilla was simple girl at heart with confident urbane woman in brains. She always dreamed of marrying the Prince, who had heart of gold and brain of grandmaster. Marriage was not on her mind as she loved her independent thought and outlook the most.
She had a shapely figure of a cosmopolitan girl. Her hair was blackberry-black, which over flowed her shoulders and reached her back. Sometimes, she dyed her hair, which looked perfect. She had oval face with honey soft lips. Her fingernails were short, clean and shapely. She wore cosmopolitan attire that was trendy, modern and classy. She always wore chick smile on her smart and sophisticated dresses.
She had a soothing, soft and warm voice. Her vocabulary was elegant and ideas intelligent. She was smooth in her talks and she could easily dominate and manipulate people. Her credentials were well established and her commitment for quality product and service well known. Her humor and confidence gave her great and successful first generation entrepreneurship career.
Priscilla always carried herself nicely and elegantly in large social circles, but still she was very self-contained person. In private, she read widely, watched movies and dined in very close family circles.
Now she was respected and successful businesswomen in her industry. She knew the ins and outs of running a business very well. She was managing her own boutique brand named Neozoic, a successful venture. It was her third business initiative after her consulting and online jewellery startups had failed.
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All was not going well in Priscilla`s personal life after her business had phenomenally succeeded. Her father, her business confidante, died of heart attack six months back, and currently she was going through massive divorce.
Due to it, she was going through tremendous stress and had strange dreams. At daytime, she was careless and often, overslept, Binge ate and over shopped.
She often thought muddily, ``Why strange dreams of desert? Was I oversleeping at morning? Or was it something else like dehydration or vitamin deficit? I think dreams are the shadow of something real, but what is real? Were my dreams traumas of my divorce or sad aggression towards my father for leaving me alone at this moment when I needed him most or it was expectation, pain and pleasure of being a successful businesswoman? What was this dream that was so frequent and repetitive?``
She randomly thought, `Was I turning into most prolific dream writer of the day? Almost 200k words written about my random dreams since birth`` She had started writing her dream journal lately after she received an advice by her therapist. The advice she ritually followed for first time.
It was a recurrent dream; vivid and memorable. It was full of images of golden desert, dark human voices and intense blue emotions. It was not ordinary, but bizarre and surreal. It was sometimes adventurous like desert safari and other times frightening like wild dark forest fire.
In her dreams, she was mostly transferred to Desert of Lost treasure and a ruin.
She thought," It was mostly desert, neither Sea nor Swamps. Perhaps, I was ignoring, rejecting or suppressing something real, but what? What connection golden city and desert land had with me? "
In dreams, sometimes she was immobilized in body by great fall, excited in emotion at sight of great garden or strengthened in resolve to fight the cruel.
She saw she was living in golden walled city of desert, around her were camels and herdsmen and white clad desert men. She often murmured in dreams, ``only herdsmen, no herdswomen?``
Sometimes, she dreamt of her divorced husband blending with her late father. Another time, she saw in her dreams her port city falling and drowning and converting into beautiful Golden city. These people, places and objects were blending and colliding continuously with no end. In sleep, she felt mostly anxious and lonely: sometimes abandoned and angered at both, her lovers and parents. At other times, she got fearful of being Priscilla, a futile woman of substance. Still at other times in sleep, she found herself nursing and mothering twin daughters, who brought her immense joy and happiness.
At morning she often thought, ``who were my twin daughters in last night`s dream? Oh, they were Tigrisha and Euphie .Yes, they were......But..... No, how can I be that sure about the names? I never heard those names before. Am I getting mad? Or Are my dreams revealing me something I ignored for long like my health and wellbeing. No I love my work and my people. They give me so deep meaning.``
It was ok, till substance of dreams had no significant influence on waking actions, but now her daily life was getting affected. She went to many psychic experts and dream interpreters; some called it Déjà vu, nightmares and night terrors. Nobody said it was past life regression, which she actually wanted to hear and believe. She thought Morpheus, God of dreams and sleep wanted to communicate with her.
`No, It was golden sand that were conversing, not mythological God. It was desert city and a beautiful garden. It was daughters, two lovely infants. It was not Morpheus, but someone else. But who, Perhaps a distant land away from earth.` She lamented.
She again and again believed that her dreams were revealing meaningful hidden truths. It was more than unconscious beliefs and desires. Her dreams were external to the business intellect because she never willed a desert land.
It reflected her hidden reality, not expert rhetoric.
Her therapist and friends suggested that she should sell her business and get the divorce papers signed quickly and get away from stress. She was ready to divorce as she found her husband unloving, jealous and disrespectful to her.
About business she had idea of running it more successfully and globally in future. Her consultants were looking suitable buyer for business, but she wanted only partial rights to be sold for handsome royalty. She successfully retained her rights to brand and sold 40% stake to another boutique brand for substantial sum. Everybody admired her negotiations and foresightedness. It was deal for undisclosed sum and every newspaper flashed her story at front page.
Her new business associates appointed her Chairman on board, while brought new professional Managing Director to run the business. It was very wise move as she now could take much needed rest. While corporate life was her first love, still she needed some time off and sort her personal life.
Everything was fine, except she was sad at the sight of her final divorce papers. It was painful necessity for long-term calm and peace.
She took much needed long leave and went to highest mountain ranges in east to learn meditation and yoga. She slept at countless shrines and temples to go deeply into warnings and prophecies narrated to her in her dreams. In search, she slept at coldest of cold icy mountains, but her dreams were always hottest of hot desert. She went to eastern islands, the dampest of damp islands, but her dreams always stayed driest of dry desert.
She was quite upset and thought, ``Where ever I go, the dream remains exactly the same. So far hardly any priest, yogi, saint or lama could interpret my fixed dreams. I must search and find its meaning on my own. My dream journal has started to show me a pattern and traces and I know for sure, it would show something very obvious``
In dreams, though the place was hot and dry, but it was a place of affluence and treasure, a place of royalty and aristocracy. At such land, she was sad and threatened and she was fighting for her dignity and pride.
She often murmured in dreams, ``only men, no women? What they do to women?``
She often thought waking at night,`` Who is the threat? Who are these people? Who is her husband? Who is her father? Who am I? ``
``I am strong women. I never cared about strangers on street. I have left my unfaithful husband. My lovely father is at peace in heaven. I am successful and independent. I live my dreamlike life, but why my dreams are strange?`` She often thought at night.
One morning as she wrote her last night dream, she started reading and highlighting her journal. She got so absorbed in reading her writing that her whole afternoon passed. Finally she smiled confidently and thought, ``I see no women in dreams, only two little infants, who belong to me intimately. I see desert and sand. I also see ruin and drought. The place is abandoned, but highly treasured. I must travel desert. Desert and Desserts are not bad. Oh! I love both. It is obvious and I kept missing the obvious.``
Priscilla decided to travel to Middle east.
Convinced, her dreams had some desert connect, she booked her flight to Middle -East and said, `` Oh Desert, I want to see what you do to your women and daughters? Oh desert, I see no rains and water, also no wives and daughters.``
The moment the plane touched the airstrip at abandoned place, It Started raining. She thought, ``I see rain and water, perhaps I have finally figured out my dreams.``
On visit she went to Middle Eastern desert lands and sanctuaries and slept on special "dream beds". She was confident in hope of receiving advice, comfort, or healing from the unknown powers and gods.
She wanted to make sure whether it was merely her inner desires being manifested in her dreams or Universe communicating through her earthly body.
Next Priscilla took a flight to Cairo and found herself in company of few more solitary tourist on the flight. It was making her both nervous and anxious. The Stewards and hostesses were well mannered and took great care of her. She had planned to visit Egypt, especially the Pyramids. She stayed at best of best hotels at Tahir square. It relaxed her and took her away from her anxious thought and dreams. She was awed by Pyramid at Khufu; they look very monumental and spread.
After travelling far and wide, she returned to her hotel and sat at far end table. She had no further plans to explore and she desperately wanted to get home and work with new associates.
A group of travelers were making travel plans on next table, she overheard animated small talks. They were planning to move to ancient site at Babylon at Iraq.
A man dressed in casuals said, ``I would like to see that land of babble. I love Ishtar, Goddess of love. ``
Another intervened,`` Hanging gardens, The great lion and the walls and the gates.``
The first one said, ``How far away from Cairo?``
``Probably 2000 Km.``
``Now site is in ruins. It is big and I want to go to tower site also.``
``It is no more there, only crumbles.``
They were informed travelers, not green. She made her mind to cross check those places, after all she also loved desert and its air. Cairo was good, but she had some more of days to travel.
At hotel room she surveyed the map of city of Babylon. It was simple: few rivers, canals and villages, besides it were surrounded by outer wall. It was around 200 km from Baghdad.
Next day she landed at Baghdad airstrip, which was very heavily guarded and lonely. She stayed in hotel at Baghdad and then took first bus to the Babylon.
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Babylon is an important historical and archaeological place. It has many ancient temples like The God of God Marduk`s temple, God of storm Adad`s temple, Goddess of love Ishtar`s temple , Nin Makh`s temple and many other temples.
Babylon also had many other monuments and sculptures. The lion sculpture made of black rock and The Ishtar Gate, ornamented by 100 lions and 13 rows of dragons and bulls are great attractions.
Further, the Street of procession, monument of code and fortified high walls are testament of glorious ancient old past.
The City was ruled by many kings: famous two among those were Hammurabi, The great emperor and author of code of common law and Nebuchadnezzar, The king who build the beautiful Hanging gardens for his queen.
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It was once a great city, now collapsed and vandalized and turned into rubble and sand by cruel hands of time. She walked at all the sites and looked curiously at them. She had plenty of imagination and appreciation in her soul. She remembered, `Real treasure is your eye, heart and inside.`
She knew a little about city, but it looked strangely attractive to her. She was impressed by ruin and it`s history. At Babylon, she saw grand lion sculpture and a deep blue Ishtar gate. At night, It was already late for Saddam`s palace, so she rented a space in nearby small well lit motel.
After tiresome walks and splendid night sky viewing, she had dinner and went to sleep.
After few hours of peaceful sleep, she returned to recurrent strange dreams in deep night. Like in past, She was travelling in dreams at a dazzling beautiful city and saw people, their faces. She saw the market bustling in activity.
In her dreams, whole city of Babylon lit before her. It was night with full silvery moon and stars studded all around .The big blue gate and the tower of bable stood before her eyes. She could see the hanging garden and laughter of queen in it. It was a strange dream.
She looked around for women; suddenly she saw beautifully dressed happy women in big courtyard. They were dressed in white robes and heavy jewellery. It looked like marriage palace. She heard a cry and she looked around and saw her daughter Tigrisha and Euphie in tears.
She thought,`` I see water in desert. Alas! It`s in our eyes. Every woman here has tears ``
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She saw in dreams, An image of women walks elegantly to king and queen.
`It is me, Sira. No I am Priscilla ` She murmurs in dream
Sira gifts to king a large blue diamond necklace. The queen looks happily at necklace and the king promises her something.
She hears emperor speaking, `Oh Lady Sira, Ask me anything in return. I shall get it done.``
`The king has promised. `She smiles
The dream was becoming more vivid.
`Oh lord of Babylon , I, Sira, want the soul of free women.`
`Soul. I have heard soul of slave and soul of freeman , what is soul of freewomen?` the king inquires.
`Oh Prudent and Wise king of Babylon! I am Sira, daughter of richest, still I was abandoned and almost killed by my husband alongwith my twins. I, Sira seek my free life.` She says.
The dream fades into oblivion.
Next in dreams, She sees a big square courtyard, where all the nobles are gathering.
` No women here. Where have the women gone?` She murmurs
` I am Sira, daughter of richest, but I cannot follow my father. So was I told, then sold in marriage market, and then got poisoned by my unfaithful man. I want right to be free and follow my father.`
`No, Women is either a wife or a daughter or a mother, or a consort. Look at the top of tower of babble, there lies the consort of god. Women have beauty and youth, she must not look for pleasure in affairs of money, she is entitled to heavenly pleasure. Man is made strong solely for enemies and trade. He is responsible to protect and feed. , Women should be good mother and daughter.` A noble speaks.
The king looks anxious at this conversation. He had given her his words. He couldn`t retract, otherwise God`s wrath would ruin the whole land. King was afraid of the wrath of God Marduk, God Adad, Goddess Ishtar and Nin Makh.
` Love of money is vice. It fails our faith and brings doom. Women has no talent for money.` Another Nobel says.
` I am daughter of richest. The wealth runs in my family. I can save and multiply and make Babylon more abundant by my knowledge and skills of wealth. Women should have soul of free, not soul of slave.` She speaks.
Now the Nobels are angry at this women. They fear that public order would get disturbed and God would be angry. The king is apprehensive. The advisors and counselors wants him to break his promise.
The dream got blurred and lost.
In dreams, she sees .
There was sudden swell in river Tigris and Euphrates.
`No tears. You are my daughters and I am your mother. I won`t let you weep.` She murmured. Next She sees huge deluge engulfed the whole city. The city is drowning and crumbling. People were running and children were crying. It was sad and ruined all around.
She could finally see the river Tigris and Euphrates flowing into Persian gulf. It brings her great despair seeing the city drown. At last she finds peace as God smiles at her.
She sees a scribe and a clay tablet and the code.
She Cries in happiness, `Finally I saw him, I understood and I solved.`
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At morning, She heard a sound of doorbell, It was her host pressing the bell. She had unhooked the phone to get a peaceful sleep. She opened the door and her host stood in traditional robe and brought breakfast on trolley.
The host wished,` Good morning Mrs. Priscilla. I am Dabasir, your host.``
She contemplatively thought, `who am I? Sira or Priscilla.` She wished herself to be Sira, but it was dream.
She said slowly ,`only men, no women? What they do to women? Where are Tigrisha and Euphie? `
Dabasir, the host said, `Oh! I am owner and I manage my place alone. The rivers of Babylon flow and melt in Persian Gulf, the ocean.``
`Oh! I am sorry! It was just a dream.` She said smilingly at the host.
END