Harvey tossed and turned in his bed as he tried to fall asleep but restlessly struggled with his sheets, trying to fall asleep. He felt warm, perhaps because it was the beginning of the semester, still basically summer, and there was no air conditioning in his dorm. He tried to focus on anything but the damn heat, trying to shut his mind off, but something was keeping him on the edge of alertness. Eventually, his body started to demand sleep, and Harvey was lying in his bed just on the edge of consciousness. He could feel some sort of sensation throughout his body, almost like he weighed a thousand pounds. Perhaps it was him trying to fall asleep? Whatever it was, it was uncomfortable.
He tried to force himself to stand, but felt like he couldn't control his own body in this restful state. It was like he was made of steel. He kept trying to pull up with his knees, to no avail. He kept trying to move, frantically, as he grew increasingly frightened of his sleep-paralyzed state. He suddenly felt his body jerk up, standing as he found himself suddenly able to control his body again. He frantically looked around, trying to make place of his surroundings. Wherever he was, was clearly not his room.
He felt a small shove from behind, and suddenly moved forward. He was in a crowd, of sorts. He could feel the carpet below his feet. He looked down to see that he was indeed shoeless and sockless. That made sense to Harvey, but he also saw that he was wearing jeans, which he certainly didn't go to bed in. But why would he be here if he had just went to bed? He looked at his arms and down his shirt and saw that he was wearing a simple long sleeved button up shirt as well. The crowd of people, moving forward, were similarly dressed, and they were all wearing some kind of head covering. Instinctively, Harvey reached up to his head and felt the familiar patka wrapped around his hair. He sighed in relief, not wanting to stick out among the crowd.
Seemingly suddenly, because Harvey wasn't paying a lot of attention, the people in front of him started to sit down on the carpet in almost a wave. As people near the front sat down, Harvey could see a grandiose setup at the front of the room, where a very large book sat under a shimmering gold canopy. "The Adi Granth" came to the forefront of his mind, identifying the book. Three elder Sikh men sat around the canopy, observing the crowd. Harvey sat down, putting his bare feet together and knees outwards, placing his hands in front of him.
After a few minutes as the crowd sat down and settled, one of the Sikh men started speaking. "Ga-orhee sukhmanee mehlaa 5. Salok. Ik-on
kaar satgur parsaad." Harvey had no idea what he was saying, but glanced around the room subtly. Everyone was taking in what the elder was saying and bowing their heads to the floor. Harvey quickly followed suit, not wanting to commit a faux pas. The script continued as he tried to make sense of what was happening. "Parabh kai simran dusman tarai. Parabh simrat kachh bighan na laagai. Parabh kai simran an-din jaagai."
Whatever this prayer was, Harvey could feel its energy flowing through him. Maybe it was partially the atmosphere of the room, but he felt at peace, surrounded by this homely crowd in front of the elders and the Adi Granth. As the prayer continued, he started to speak the words under his breath. "Parabh kai simran sufal falaa. Say simrahi jin aap simraa-ay. Naanak taa kai laaga-o paa-ay." As he looked down at the ground, he could feel something in addition to the peaceful atmosphere, almost like there was a growing weight on his head. He opened his eyes, and saw some hairs at the bottom of his peripheral vision. It shocked him out of the peaceful place as he clued in that something wasn't right. He didn't have a beard, and this wasn't somewhere he'd ever go. What the hell was go-
Harvey jolted awake at the sound of his alarm clock. He stretched, and reached over to turn it off. He felt extremely tired still, blaming it on the restless sleep he'd had overnight. He remembered that his dream was strange, but couldn't for the life of him remember what it was about. He quickly threw on a muscle shirt that was sitting on his desk and made his way to the bathroom. Thankfully, his first class started at an odd time, so he didn't have to share the bathroom with many people. He went about his usual morning routine, brushing his teeth, and then looked in the mirror to see if anything was stuck in them.
When he saw himself he did a double take. He knew he'd looked stubbly last night, but there was no way that what he was sporting would be described as anything short of a beard now. It wasn't long, but it was thick and looked well maintained. He took one of his hands and started rubbing his fingers through the bristles, feeling his face. As he did, he pondered on whether or not he actually wanted to shave. He had to admit to himself, he looked damn good. He made a couple of faces in the mirror, and made the decision that he was going to keep the hair, and then walked back to his dorm.