The Broken Wavelength

By Akhil E

We are surrounded by sounds all throughout our lifetimes. A melody, lullaby, tree rustling or river moving, all these sounds are what makes our home, home. But sometimes these sounds carry emotions with them that are perceived by only a select few. Up, above the skies are stars that lay dormant. These stars come together to breathe life into themselves and create constellations. These sentient constellations dance in the sky, singing their songs to convey to the heavens that life is good and content. Each constellation has a core star, the heart. Emotions are gathered and spread across the infinite void by a unique wavelength. All constellations conversed to each other using this wavelength to show their emotions. Amid the countless songs and dances, there was a region in space devoid of any dance or song. It was the home of the constellation ‘Dreamcatcher’. He felt the songs and enjoyed the dance, but he could not sing or dance himself. His core star died as soon as Dreamcatcher was born. He did not have an understandable wavelength. Without the heart, he was invisible to other constellations. Initially he sang, then he screamed but his wavelengths were broken and faded into obscurity. No one heard his song. Others moved as they danced, momentarily passing through Dreamcatcher’s domain. They felt his presence but could not feel his emotions. He flickered his stars and sang in his broken song to seek attention from others. His song was an abomination without the heart which caused great pain to others listening to it. Others ran away leaving him alone. For thousands of years he sang his song for others, causing pain, but he sang it nonetheless, all to converse with someone. His domain became a feared region as it caused agony. Dreamcatcher gave up on his dreams and remained alone. Eventually he stopped singing. He would not move and remain still even if some oblivious constellation passed him. His stars began to fade and his region became cold and desolate. He would sleep for years, occasionally rising to hear the song of his fellow kind. Their dance and their song made him happy in his final moments. Dreamcatcher made his preparations for his one final song and then would merge into the void. He sang his broken song. His stars began to flicker and he awaited his merging with the great beyond. He laid thinking about the songs and dances he had witnessed. His domain started shrinking and faint. A voice appeared out of nowhere straight into his domain “Who are you? Why do you cry?”. Dreamcatcher woke up to look for the source and yet he did not find it. “Who are you and why are you in grief?” again said the voice. His stars began to shine again with hope. He refrained at the start, but He sang his song denoting “I am Here”. He waited and waited, as the last embers of his hope waned, he heard the song again. “I am not able to Understand, but I feel your emotions. You are alone and in pain. I want to help.”

Dreamcatcher burned with passion and hope. He let out song after song to this unknown voice in the hopes of conversing like others. The voice knew that its actions made Dreamcatcher happy but it could not understand the song. Dreamcatcher learned that the voice came from a distant galaxy. “What is Your name?” asked the voice. With all his energy he screamed “DREAMCATCHER”. Voice did not understand, " Catches Dreams? Someone who catches Dreams?". Voice figured his name and proclaimed "Dreamcatcher". For the first time, the cold and dark domain overflowed with joy and optimism. Thousands of years, he remained alone, his stars became dull. All that changed because of an unknown voice coming from a distant galaxy. Dreamcatcher sang his broken song countless times to convey his emotions. Voice heard it all and understood the intent behind it and sang its own song. Various songs were sung between them, half broken and half beautiful. Dreamcatcher's domain was burning with happiness and for the first time in a long time, he was not cold. Each song relayed so much emotion than the entire lifetime of Dreamcatcher. With each song, he was getting at ease. Voice asked, “What are your Dreams?”. He thought for a time and sang that he did not have any dreams. A new song came which was fast paced which denoted slight anger. “If you don’t have any dreams, why are you called Dreamcatcher? You should have dreams!” At that moment he knew exactly what he wanted, what were his dreams. “I want to Dance with you!”.

“You have to come to my Galaxy then, at the other side of the universe”. Dreamcatcher did not say about his voyage he was readying himself for. Without thinking, his stars began to move seeking the source. He knew it would take time; it was something his body moved on its own. While singing to each other, Dreamcatcher started his migration. With the absence of heart, he could only move slowly. For the first 100 years, his journey was enjoyable as he had company from beyond. Voice did not know Dreamcatcher was coming but it did sense some oddities. One day, the song stopped from Voice. Dreamcatcher waited a week, a month, a year, then a decade. He was worried, he tried to increase his Pace, but his stars were not giving in. He passed through many galaxies avoiding other constellations. Other constellations ran away from him to escape agony from his words. His song brought forth pain to other constellations. Shunned and ridiculed he always traveled at the edge of the universe where none traveled. He experienced many wonders. He saw the Pillars of creation and a planet made of Diamond. He saw the biggest star and also the smallest one. Along his travels he found an intriguing planet, it was a blue one, which supported life. When he passed through this planet, he could feel the emotions coming from the beings. These life forms celebrated Dreamcatcher’s arrival and looked at him in awe and joy. Dreamcatcher felt good as none had admired him. These life forms were microscopic compared to him, but their emotions were big. He sang his song to them as gratitude. After hearing his song, the whole planet went silent. He could feel fear and uneasiness from these life forms. His broken wavelength affected them. He paced through them. After nearly 400 years, he reached his destination, it was a region full of constellations. Anxiety and dread flooded in him; he was worried for the voice. It has been centuries since they conversed. He was alone again, but this time he had hope with him, which made him travel all those centuries. He could not ask anyone. Other constellations tried to force him out, but he remained. Only one constellation helped him, it was ‘Quantum’. He had 3 broken stars and lived alone with a smaller constellation named Sweetrock. He took pity on Dreamcatcher. He provided sanctum to Dreamcatcher. He could not understand him, but he understood that he was on a quest to find someone. They roamed around finding the voice. Dreamcatcher felt restless and was on the verge of giving up, when Quantum encouraged him to pursue his dreams.

One night, Dreamcatcher heard the same voice. He followed it along with Quantum. Song grew louder and clearer. He moved swiftly. At long last, he saw the source of the voice. She was there singing with another constellation. She was all Dreamcatcher has imagined, and more. She sang beautifully and danced gracefully. She was with another constellation who sang with her. Their songs complemented each other and it was the most beautiful song Dreamcatcher has ever heard. It was full of good emotions. Dreamcatcher was overwhelmed, without his knowledge he started singing with them. Everyone suffered by his broken song, yet he continued his song. Whole region wailed, which stopped all performances. Quantum understood who Dreamcatcher wanted to find. "She is known as Dreamworld, and the one beside her is her other half, Sunrise". Upon hearing this Dreamcatcher's stars rapidly shrunk and began fading. Two of his Stars completely vanished. Quantum was worried, yet he could not understand Dreamcatcher. Quantum tried his best to console him. Amid all the chaos, Dreamworld recognized Dreamcatcher and immediately moved towards him. Her stars were very bright and lit up with a bluish hue. They looked at each other and began singing to each other, - their broken beautiful Song. Both the singers became overwhelmed, but the same thing could not be said for the spectators. Sunrise urged Dreamworld to leave the outsider as he gave out cold wavelengths. Dreamworld started arguing with Sunrise. Dreamcatcher instinctively knew what he had to do. He quietly began his return journey. Quantum followed and tried to tell him, " No one will ever understand you, except her! You have traveled a great distance for her, do not let it go in vain. Will you be fine living alone, no one to talk to, no one to laugh with, no one to stay at the end of times? She can give you everything you need and deserve. Please do not let it turn out like this, you and her could have been more, she is Perfect for your song. Do not leave,” cried Quantum. Dreamcatcher flickered his stars to thank him and left on his journey back home. He knew that he was not the dream of his dream. Dreamworld was perfect for Dreamcatcher but it cannot be said the other way round. Dreamcatcher journeyed his way back, without singing or without thinking. He saw stars, planets, civilizations, but they all seemed bleak. He reached his home after another 500 years. All this time he did not think of anything. He anchored himself to his domain never leaving again. Many new stars and planets he met on his journey settled near Dreamcatcher to save him from solitude. He did not want to forget his memories, so he sang his broken song once a year. If you ever hear a broken song and feel sudden uneasiness, just look at the sky to hear Dreamcatcher singing " I am here". If possible, reply to him " I hear you". He will surely understand your emotions, he is Afterall, The Dreamcatcher.

By Akhil E