Dusk Part I

 Evening had just set in and I was sitting in my hostel room, just doing some stuff on the internet when i heard a knock on the door. My roomie, Gaurav, and I, wondered who would be that,at such an odd hour, since we were new to the hostel, and that too, in a different state, with no knowledge of either the people or their language.

Without any reply to our knock, the person came inside and we recognized him as the mess bhaiyya who used to serve food. We demanded an answer from him, “YES?” since neither he understood my language nor I understood a word of what he said. He took my hands and started putting my hands on his own, as such he had some kind of attachment to me. His voice seemed to be pleading in nature, and as though he was asking for something.  Gaurav, who seemed to know a bit of Malayalam, translated that he needed 10 rupees very urgently, and that he will return it next day itself. I thought that he was a good man and served nicely, and it was just a matter of 10 rupees, so I gave him that.

After he left the room giving me blessings and all for the money, Gaurav asked me what I thought he needed the money so desperately for? I said that might be for something he longed for, or he might just  have the requisite for the money. He started laughing at my conjecture. After being normal, he told that he needed the money for his daily dose of alcohol. At this point, it also struck me that why would a person in such a desperate need of money not specify the cause, or nevertheless, what could he possibly do with a paltry sum of just 10 rupees. Then he told that he went around the rooms every evening just like he did and someone or the other would give him. Now this is where he got the money from. So that was his neat super game. Hmm!!!

Nevertheless, I thought what would happen even if someone took away some money for enjoyment. It was true that alcohol consumption was injurious to health but there was nothing I could do about it at that time. Although I had thought of giving him a nice lecture on the ill effects next time he paid me a visit. That’s the least I could do, I thought. But I still had some surprise pack left for me.

Staring at infinity PART III

Her mom literally shouted, “Maya, get off at once and go to your room”. It was all the more puzzling for Maya. It was a long day already for her with too much surprise. She was not ready for more. Obeying her mom, she went to her room. She heard a few loud shouts from both father and mother, probably for the stranger, but she was not able to make out what it was all for. All she saw in the end was the stranger walking towards the car, finally looking towards the house as if he wanted one last glimpse of her cute little Maya. He had the longing in his eyes, just one last time.

The epilogue of the story was revealed to Maya two weeks later when she was having dinner with her parents. They had a letter in hand, in fact, two. One was already opened and the other was not opened. The unopened was let out to Maya. She gave a petrified look, as she had not revealed her exam marks to her parents.  She had a feeling that it contained the description of the same. But then mom came to the rescue. She asked, ”Maya, do you know who the stranger was with whom you came home that day?”. “No mommy”, was her reply. Her mom handed her the letter and told her to read it. She should read it aloud, asked her mother.

So began Maya, reading out the letter aloud,

Dear Maya,

I know this letter may surprise you but, trust me, there was no other option left. From the day you started going school right from grade 1, I used to keep track of you wherever you went alone. I followed you to the park you went to play, went to the music classes, the dance classes and everywhere else you went. In short, I followed you like a shadow.

I always made sure neither your father nor your mother saw me following you, because of some reason I would leave up to your parents to decide whether to tell you or not. That all said and done, in the process of doing so, one day I saw my little princess roaming around with no one, going to places. Initially, I thought it would be nothing to worry about, but then when you were in no mood to return home until dusk, I was worried. I was even more worried when you took shelter in a park bench. I knew something was fishy. So I went up to you, and talked to you. I knew what you were up to and then whatever followed, I did what I thought it best to do as a well wisher of yours. Eventually, I put you back where you belonged to.

And do try to forgive me for all the sufferings I made you suffer through.

Your park friend,

XYZ

Obviously, little Maya was curious to know the identity of the stranger.

Her mother then went out to share what the opened letter contained. It stated that now he(the stranger)  was a reformed man and that he had left all his vices. It was nearly six years since he left his company of those scoundrels.  How he longed everyday that he would return home one day. How he saw Maya every other day on the sly and how he also evaded their vision.

 Her mother told that he was her father’s younger brother. In other words, the stranger was her uncle. It all made sense to Maya then.

How her uncle approached her only when it was night,  sitting on the park bench, all alone. How he took her to his home. How he tried to be a little rough on the front but always gave her the best food and at the right time. The amount of effort he put through, to care her. How he had not taken her to any other room, as all others were filled with her photographs from childhood.

And why was she put through so much sufferings after all? This question haunted Maya for a very long time.

 Then she reflected!! Oh!

He wanted her to learn a lesson in life, that whatever be it, she should never ever hurt her parents. She should always wait for the right time for everything.  And above all, she should never disobey her parents since they are the ONLY ONES who actually think and care for us. Since they sacrificed their small small desires to fulfill her desires,so was it not her duty to reciprocate?

Yes, she definitely will, thought our little Maya.

Staring at Infinity PART II

The small opening cover was lifted and the man was staring at her. She looked up meekily, as it was already lunchtime. She was expecting another meal. Instead, the man opened the door, and went upto her. This time, she could see tears welled up in his eyes. He took her and tightly embraced her, just  like a father does to his child. He started crying and poor Maya was too confused on how she should react. Should she take advantage of the situation, and run away, or should she just sit there and be in the company of the sudden change towards fatherly love.

Then the man came to the rescue. He said, “Slap me. Slap me as hard as you can. I won’t be able to forgive myself  ever for the atrocities i have put you through.”. And without uttering another word, he straightaway took her in his arms and went downstairs. She was completely bewildered, not having the slightest idea what was happening. He went to his car and carefully placed the little princess on the front seat with utmost care. It was the type of care a newborn is subjected to. So gentle, so softly.

 Then he took the driver’s seat and drove Maya straight to her home. She could’nt believe her eyes. She was right in front of her home. Maya didn’t have the slightest idea what was happening.

The stranger again with the same tenderness lifted her and taking her like a doll in his arms, headed to the main entrance. Her parents were in the hall, their eyes swollen. Maya gave a cry, ”MOMMY”. Suddenly the swollen eyes seemed to glitter and they turned around just to confirm what they heard was true with their eyes.

Their joy knew no bounds when they saw their daughter. But their joy turned to scorn no sooner did they see whose arms she was into.

Staring at infinity PART I

                                              

It had been three days since Maya was lying in the dusty room, incessantly staring at the blank window that overlooked the adjoining street. This was just the place to hide people, once and forever. Maya is a 9 year old girl, who attends school, albeit not for a past couple of days. She went missing  from her home on one fine Saturday  morning, leaving behind her parents, or so called, VENTURED, on her journey to discover far off places. She yearned to see places she had seen only in movies, on the internet or read in books. Her parents always insisted that she should grow up a little bit more to be eligible to see places on her own, be it with them, or without them.

But Maya was not ready to accept the universal fact that everything in this world has been DESTINED TO HAPPEN AT THE RIGHT TIME. She wanted it NOW. 

So off she went on her own to see the world. She started from her home, and straightaway went to GAFUR, her favourite restaurant  right from childhood, with a handful of money she was able to grab from her dad’s wallet, which were supposed to last for the coming days. She was quite confident with the money she had at hand  that it would last for the rest of the journey, which comprised a return trip from Spain, her most yearned place, from the time she first heard of it.

From GAFUR, she headed to the fun park in the city, TICKIELAND. She had often heard of this place from her friends, and how majestic all the rides were in the park! Her joy knew no bounds when she saw in bold words, TICKIELAND, right in front of her eyes. She bought a ticket straight off and thus began her VENTURE.

She went on the roller coaster and the spin turn, the swishbunckle the splash bucket and hell yeah, a couple of more rides, until her spirits gave a mood swing. Then she chose the chillout cafe as her next stop. She ate to her heart’s content all those, which would not be available otherwise, had her parents been around. She popped all the junkies, pizza and a burger and also the roadside golgappas (a round crunchy salty stuff),jilebi and poori, which were home to a wide range of deadly diseases.       

     Now dusk was beginning to set. And our little Maya had only a FEW notes of small denominations left, from her FUND, which actually consisted of the same denominations, which seemed too many at the beginning of the day.

Worried, seeing her plans being shattered, Maya took refuge in a park bench nearby to figure out what she should do next. Would it be heading back to home, or in pursuit of money to someone. Muddled with these thoughts, little did Maya notice a man coming and sitting beside her. It was only when the man introduced himself as “HELLO”, did she give a start and  a shy reply,”HI”.

It was already night now and the stranger and Maya started conversing. He told how he also had a daughter who was an exact replica of Maya. How he visualized her own daughter in her. Now Maya thought, YES, this seems like a probable solution. She said that she also wanted shelter and some money, so she was willing to go with the stranger.

The stranger’s house was not that posh as Maya had planned it to be, judging him by his clothes. Nevertheless, she thought, she didn’t have to live there for more than a day.

She entered the house, and there was nobody except the two. She asked him about other members of the house and he grumbled that there were only two of them in the house. Saying this, he asked her to follow him.  After a fleet of stairs, and a row of rooms passing by, he abruptly stopped in front of a gloomy looking room. He pushed her into the room, although our poor Maya was not ready to spend the night in the shabbily furnitured room. The room had only one bare single bed, which itself comprised the furniture of the room.

She banged furiously on the door in vain attempts to force the door open. But the stranger had appropriate arrangements for her already. The door was a thick 10 inch wood covered with tin sheets, making it almost impermeable to even a bullet. So here was our little Maya, trapped in this cage., crying bitterly why she left her home. She began picturing her parents in their worried state.

Now it was three days since she was in this hell of a place. Except for the exceptional nice food, chocolates on every snack time, there was nothing she could cherish about. Although, these were also served just the way prisoners were served. She would hear the jolting of the bolt and in a flash, a plate would slide upto her, and lo!! The gate would again be shut uptil the next  time.

How she longed to be out in the open air, whenever she saw the blank window. How she yearned to play with her friends in the park. And moreover, how she wanted to be in her mother’s arm, her father’s lap. Oh! Only if she would not have left her home.

Knock, knock!!

DISASTER'S STORY CHANGED

This story is set in the city of Chicago.

                                                It was a beautiful city with people rushing from home to office,office to home,just to defeat the clock in a race against time.Children grudgingly went to school,pestered by their parents to do so.

                   Life was going on easy until one day,the era of terrorists dawned on the major cities of the world.Chicago,being amongst the busiest cities round the world was not an exception.And it became one of the soft targets of  men with the opposite brains.

                                                       But if the disaster is known beforehand,much can be done to revert the situation.The place of disaster was the famous port of Chicago, Illinois International Port District.

                                                                                          People were busy with their work when all of a sudden,a blast took place inside the water near the harbour. It was a warning.Immediately,another bomb followed suite right on the deck of a posh ship.In no less than two minutes,twelve serial bomb blasts took place.
 You can imagine the scenario if you've ever encountered such a situation otherwise it's out of the question for you to imagine. People were running helter - skelter, unaware of the direction whether they were running away from danger or towards it.  It was one hell of a place with carcass everywhere and you, walking like an alien, sometimes getting frightened, sometimes sympathy and sometimes feel like crying over the ruins of the place and the people.
After every such verdict , the police investigates the matter and this case was no exception.
                                                                                                               Though nothing good is in progress to introduce myself, but still, I should introduce myself. I am one of the officials deputed to investigate the case, with my efficient team. For the next few days, my team and I will be completely engrossed in solving the mystery and the forces behind it.
To begin with, I am the chief software engineer of the FBI in my state and I started relating the case with technology. Maybe I would be lucky enough in finding a clue.
I checked the phone records of all the people in the city for the last few days. MIGHTY TEDIOUS, you may think. But on giving a little thought , I concluded that the culprits must have talked in low voices, FEAR FACTOR being the reason.
So I checked all of the phone records from the previous week of the verdict whose voice level was less than 30 dB, the normal range of talking being 50-70 dB. In this way, I caught hold of nearly 700,000 people's record.
Better still, I checked which phone calls attended conference calls, thinking that the terrorists must be talking in groups. This reduced the results to a drastic number of nearly 1,200 calls.
To make matters more easy, I searched the cell phones users using conference call and talking in low voices by users who were quite confined to the same area, i.e. the distance from the verdict to the surrounding area distance of about 200 meters. I realized that the bad guys, to accomplish the mission, must be in a close area of the spot of the blasts. After this search, the results were quite satisfying reduced to a mere 432 users.
To make matters easier still, I thought about the use of headphones. The guys would have been in public places, so it became quite inevitable for them to use headphones while communicating in public areas to avoid any suspicion. It's quite obvious that the conversations done with headphones are much clear as compared to one without them. So I checked the frequency of voice range between 1500-2200 Hz, the one without headphones being 1000-1200 Hz.
Now I was left with only 88 users to check. I further did not apply any brain and scrutinized all the voice calls patiently.
Between the 25-29th calls (being conference calls), I found, on keener inspection that I was successful in catching their audio call records. I quickly searched their details and tried to contact the persons both , via telephone as well as their address, but in vain. All my theories had been futile.
Disappointed, I started back for my home, thinking for some alternative. On the subway, I found a child reading the famous book 'THE TIME MACHINE'. It reminded me of my creation similar to the so-called imaginary machine. It's unpopularity was particularly due to it's partial calculations and incomplete structure. And of course it had drawbacks such as it could have been used only once, it could only go in the past and once the clock was set for a particular time, it could not be made to go forward or backward, and only one person was allowed in the machine. And above all, the major drawback was that it was never ever used.
                                     But it was like a jackpot for me. Who knew what wonders it might do? Maybe, it held the key to our mystery. And the good thing about the machine was that it was designed in such a way that once the clock of the machine was running, with the help of it, you could monitor, in the present, the activities of the past which took place in any corner of the world from any angle you liked. Not only this, you could also change the past, which had already happened! So I decided to take the calculated risk, risking my life to save the innocent lives of many if I could.
                                          In the meantime, I forgot to mention my gorgeous teammate Sara, who was going to be part of history. She was a unique combination of being a talented woman and a beautiful lady at the same time. No wonder, she was working with the FBI! She was the help I ought to sought who would handle, command and lead  technological advances in my absence.
                               
Now let me tell you a bit of this machine, how it works and all. The crampit is the only thing of the machine. It is like an aircraft or a caravan, having everything inside itself, just a lot more sophisticated. This crampit has the appropriate technology to monitor each and every activity related to the crampit and the Srigwatch (the entrance, of course). The crampit in itself is like a mini hypothetical world, with which you can even reverse the time of the whole outside world, while you and the contents of the crampit remain of the same age, through a very complicated process called the SAMAYGENESIS, which made the process of reversal of time altogether possible.
                                            Now was the time for action. I entered the vault of srigwatch and bade goodbye to all my trusted teammates.With all the warm wishes, Sara bade me good luck  as i entered the srigwatch. It was one hell of a frenzied moment for all of us. The vault was closed behind me and a series of tubelights switched on. I began to feel drowsy and finally fell into a deep sleep.
       It must have been ages (or i might have felt so) when i woke up. I found myself in a dusty vault, with cobwebs hanging from here and there. I felt bewildered, not having the slightest idea where actually i was, and a bit frightened at the same time. It took a while for me to realize where i was and what was i doing there. There must have been some kind of imbalance in my body due to sudden change in time. I then saw my watch and visualized that i had two calibrations on my watch and saw that it had two labels indicating two dates and time. Then i realized what it all was about. I came out of Srigwatch and then out of the crampit. I also saw the watch on Michigan Avenue street and found that it exactly coincided with the other  time showing on my watch. This meant that Professor Tacklow's formula had correctly worked and that meant that one hurdle was over.
                                                                    Then i took out a note paper lying in my pocket and scrutinized the to-do list scribbled on it. I straightaway headed to the Illinois International Port District, where the incident had occurred. The blast was due to occur in 38 hours from then, which meant that i had roughly a bit less than 2 days. On reaching there, i straightaway barged into the Chief's room, as time was of the essence. I showed him my Id and asked him that due to some Intel, he was supposed to be overcautious for the next 2 days. He looked puzzled since we were the FBI and it took me some time to convince him to be careful, citing some confidential information that could not be disclosed. He then assured me to relax and immediately deputed some of his men.
                  Another difficulty was overcome.  But the real problem still persisted. And that was to find out the roots from where these notorious people came. For this, i first scanned around the whole perimeter of the port, both the land and the sea. It was not an easy task since it was of nearly 15 km, that too on foot. There wasn't a single clue awaiting me there. Dejected, i starting to figure out the possible places for finding these people. I saw a beautiful lady coming out of the Sheraton hotel and it was like i was struck by lightning. 'THE HOTELS' How could I forget them? I immediately started with the Navy Pier, the most accessible hotel near the sea. I was in search of people checking in for 2 days, and the number of people would be definitely more than 5. The next few hours went by in searching each and every hotel of the Ohio, Grand, the adjoining Illinois streets and even the inner lined Ontario streets. After 10 hours of incessant toil, i realized that it would be futile to go any deeper into the lands. It was nearly 9 o'clock in the night.  I decided to have a break and went to a nearby restaurant. How famished I was! In the middle of my dinner, I saw a well built man, with bloodshot eyes walk in and seated himself just behind me. Something was weird about him. With such a physique, he had a fear in his eyes, his body language being loose and lacking confidence. Even while giving his orders, he lacked the conviction, though he looked to be posh enough for a first time visitor. I overheard him talking over the phone that he was very dejected because no hotel was admitting him. They demanded an ID proof, he repeatedly told the other person over the phone.
Yeah, that was the rule, I reflected. Then he pleaded them to abandon that nefarious task. Finally I thought that I had landed in the correct restaurant. Then I was like, 'Man, I'm all ears'. The man was really annoyed with the conversation over the phone because he left the place at once with a grunt.
 I decided to follow him, I myself didn't know why. He crossed the street, or rather,we crossed the street. He went inside a building which was under construction. I picked a site in front of the building in a position so  as to have an eye on him. He chatted briefly with another person and the person handed him a backpack.Taking the backpack, my suspect(oh yes, i already put him in the category!!)headed back to his hotel room. I followed suite, although maintaining a safe distance at all points. He went inside a posh hotel, and i thought to wait a while. I passed some time and then went to the lobby and enquired upon the man, taking help of my identity.  The man was a local who had a wife and two children, i learnt. And was curious at the same time to find the real motive of why he took such a path despite having a humble background. I jotted down the address and instructed the receptionist to keep an eye on him and inform me once he again came out of his room. Meanwhile, i went on the address i had in my hand. He lived in a decent locality. But his house was locked when i reached there. On enquiring with a neighbour, i learnt that his wife was diagnosed with a rare kind of tumour and was battling for life in a hospital and nobody had heared of their father for a while. His kids were in the neighbour's home only. How carefree they were, oblivious to the grave situation their parents were in?
Now i was somewhat able to draw a picture of the whole situation. Mother in hospital, father was out in search of quick money, must have met someone to make quick money, landed himself in such a situation. All pieces were now coming together.
I went straight to the hotel as now the clock was ticking. I learnt that the man was still in his room. I went up to his room. Knock, knock! The man was standing right in front of me. I asked permission to have a chat with him. He was obviously uncomfortable on learning my identity. Nevertheless, i had planned everything accordingly. I directly offered him $10,000, which were my savings over the last couple of months for my dream project,and incidentally,which was a little more than what was needed for his wife and said that it was all his, provided he answered some of my questions. He gave me a bewildered look. I explained that it was for his wife and that i knew his actual conditions.
I even added that i knew what his plans were to make up quick money.
Tears welled up in his eyes. He cried like a baby and narrated the whole incident how he accidently came across a man one day in search of some quick fix job. The man promised ample amount of money for a trifle. My pal already knew that the work was some militant and terrorist related works.
Stll, with a heavy heart, he took all the bags from the source, which were on the outskirts of the city. He pointed to 12 bags kept in the corner of the room, and eventually burst out,crying incessantly. I pacified him, and then advised him to take the money to his wife and treat her well.
Meanwhile, i set out to find the rest of the people, who were actually behind the whole picture. I went to the place on the outskirts of the city. It was the address of a factory which manufactured crackers. On closer inspection, the security guard told me that a fire broke out a few days ago, and which engulfed 12 men, inside the factory. They were neither factory workers, nor were their identity revealed uptil then. However from preliminary observations, it came to light that the fire was not accidental, and was in fact, deliberate.
That was enough for me. All pieces fell into the right place and everything turned out to be happening as i had expected it to happen.
My work was over for the time being and i was scheduled to reach my crampit in about two hours. I comfortably climbed inside the crampit to get back in the original time, reflecting how long and thrilling my experience was. At the same time, i felt sick at the thought process of some people of our very same world.
These people came from some far off place and shared the common ideology of spreading hatred, violence and contempt.They took advantage of the situation of my poor friend in distress and used him to spread the same message of violence. Eventually they also killed themselves. Why are these people wasting such a life which god gave all of  us for betterment of all, to spread more love and promote peace and harmony?
Meanwhile, i emerged a hero on the other side of the crampit being welcomed by an arousing crowd, consisting of my beautiful colleague, Sara, among other wonderful people, who incessantly worked on the other side too, to ensure the success of the mission.
I still had to track down the origin of these thoughts and eradicate these once and for all, but then, my friends, that is an altogether different story.