Reunion - A Short Story

Gopi’s taste for beauty can never be questioned. He knew the extent to which extravagance was needed to make something beautiful. It could've been an innate quality or something that a civil engineering background could've taught him. He wasn't sure. But he was pretty sure about another dream of his; that was to get closer to his family. Something he wanted very badly.

His kin had always been extremely kind and adoring to his parents until their marriage, after which things hadn't been the same. So reconciliation was the primary task. His father’s last words echoed inside his head, “I've made many mistakes in life, son. The mistakes that I've regretted for, since the day your mother died.” he had said taking in a deep breath struggling to exhale, “You must never repeat those mistakes.” And with that his father had taken that dreaded final breath. I promise you Father! I won’t repeat those mistakes.

After his father’s funeral he started the work. His only regret was that the reunion could've happened a lot earlier had his father confided with him his wish of seeing the family together. It was never late.

Gopi’s paternal side did not have anyone alive but his maternal side had an envious habit of living well into the nineties. His mother’s grandparents lived the life to the fullest until ninety seven and unfortunately had to die, three short of a century. His maternal grandfather too remained very much alive, on the verge of eighties. Sadly his mother and grandmother weren't blessed with the immortality that the lineage had. His mother was the last of the three children to have come out of his grandmother and the only female species among the trio. Gopi didn't want to meet his grandfather first. So he took the bottom up approach. Better to meet the cub than the lion.

The first cub he met was Mr. Sivaraman, the youngest son to his grandfather and the owner of a textile mill. A man nearing his fifties, he was, but the affluence meant that a reduction in age was visible on his face.

“I can never forget the day you mother died.” with sadness evident in his voice and face he said, “I feel very sorry for you!” His wife, who sat next to him, echoed his sympathy for Gopi. There were rumours that it was she, who was the real power center and his uncle was just a robot, playing to her music.

“Father used to say that you were a very kind man”. His uncle’s face stiffened the moment Gopi mentioned his father. But that stiffness had eased very quickly.

“Yes! Yes! Amazing person he was until...” he stopped the sentence abruptly.

“I know, Uncle! I can never correct the sins committed by my parents but I'm not them” he said earnestly. He went on one knee, in front of them and held their hands for a while. He then looked into their eyes and said, “All I have left in this world is my mother’s family. I don’t want to lose all of you”. His voice cracked a little during that moment.

The last sentence had melted Sivaraman and all he saw in that instant was his young sister, whose eyes were about to shed a tear. That was too much to bear for him.

“You’re not you father. You’re more like her, isn't he?” he turned to his wife for approval. She approved it with a nod of head. When he put forward the invitation to dine with him to mark the reunion, his uncle gleefully accepted it, of course after a gaze at his power center, who gave her approval with the same nod of head.

Unlike Sivaraman, the older sibling was more hesitant to accept the olive branch that he was offering. A broad shouldered man, Mr.Nagarajan was, with a crooked nose, flowing hair and a dark complexion. Despite the darkness, the physicality and the height gave a chivalrous feel to him.

"Your mother left all of us for your father!" he could be a bit candid at times but this time the candor was too blunt.

"Yes. She did" he said looking down. "It was a mistake and she got punished for it!"

"She put all the honour, respect that this family had, to shame" chided his better half.

"I'm not denying any of it!" He said, with his gaze, still at the floor. Then Gopi slowly lifted his head and with his blue eyes, passed onto him by his mother, who had got it from her mother, looked at his uncle, "If she had come back to you on the night she eloped with father, begged for your forgiveness, wouldn't you have accepted her back?"

That got the elder cub thinking. If the younger one's family had a matriarch rule, the situation in the elder's family was patriarchy. Gopi had witnessed that when his aunt replied to his rhetorical question with a shake of her head. But the riposte she received was a stare from her husband and she didn't open her mouth for the rest of his stay in their house.

"I loved her more than anything in this world" opened up his uncle. "She disappointed me when she married that filthy bastard, your father". Time mends a lot of things but it didn’t heal the wound left by his sister.

"I understand uncle, but my father, who was responsible for all this mess, is dead".

His uncle stared at his nephew for a while in total silence. Gopi stepped forward, emboldened by the silence and hugged his uncle. "I can never bring your sister back to you but I can be how you wanted her to be and more importantly,” he dropped a tear and said, “I'll never disappoint you, uncle!".  

That was the clincher. Like the younger cub, the elder’s heart melted at that and for a moment he couldn't differentiate who was within his arms, his litter sister or her son.

“How different things could've been had she said these words?” said a teary eyed uncle. “I'm sorry! I'm very sorry!“ he started sobbing. “I… I.. I... should’ve stopped it”. This time the sob had become an uncontrollable cry. At that moment in his uncle, all the knightly qualities had vanished and all that remained was the ordinary human repenting his sins.

“No point in reminiscing the bad memories” he patted his uncle. He too was very much welcome to the idea of a family reunion. When Gopi told him about his intention of talking to the Grandfather, Nagarajan took the onus on himself to bring his father. “He’s not like us! Old men like him don’t forget things! But don’t worry I’ll bring him” he said wiping the tears flowing from his eyes.

The day finally arrived and from the morning Gopi felt too numb and restless. First, he decided to arrange the dining table. So he moved the rectangular mahogany table to the middle of the hall and placed the chairs around it. It accommodated a chair at either side and two chairs along the length of the table at each side. He marvelled at the glowing exterior of the table. They must never forget this day.

With the feast due to start around noon, he went about with the cooking. “This is the most important day of my life” he told himself. Keeping in mind the age of the guests, he made sure that the food was easily digestible. The last thing he wanted was the guests to remember this day not so fondly, if at all they remember it the next day.

His elder uncle called to confirm the address and the route to his house. He gave a tiding that the lion doesn't know the exact details of the feast. "That's alright, Uncle" he had said. "Let me be the one to break the truth". He then neatly arranged the vessels on the table and placed five banana leaves in each place along the table where the guests will be seated.

The guests arrived in a sedan, driven by his youngest uncle, with the lion taking the front and the remaining members occupying the rear. His grandfather had been told that the luncheon was to discuss some new business partnership. Gopi was seeing his grandfather up close for the first time. He had heard from his father that the handlebar moustache of the great lion was so intimidating that people seldom looked at him while conversing with him. He couldn't help but wonder how his father got the nerve to fall in love this lion’s daughter.

When the fake introductions were done and dusted, Gopi took his guests to the dining table to begin the feast. Both the couples sat opposite to each other allowing his grandfather to be seated at the head of the table.

“You don’t employ any servants?” enquired his grandfather. The voice had an iron feel to it. Is he really an octogenarian?

“No gra.. Sir. I feel it’s my duty to serve my guests. A servant can never understand the importance of a guest”

“Ummm. Very interesting!” he smiled at Gopi. “You live alone in this house?” he asked looking around.

“Yes sir. My mother passed away when I was a kid and recently it was my father’s turn”.

“I'm extremely sorry. How cruel!” empathized the old lion.

And like that the guests had chatted and simultaneously filled their tummies to the fullest extent possible. When the feast had come to an end, Gopi sat opposite to his grandfather, who was stuffing a betel leaf inside his mouth. His uncles were busy discussing the suicide of a father, whose daughter had eloped with her lover. Her lover had been from the supposed lower strata of the society.

“How stupid of him to commit suicide!” barked his grandfather. “He should’ve killed her!” he laughed boisterously.

“Is that what you did to your daughter?” asked Gopi creating an unsettling silence in the room.

His grandfather had not heard him properly. “What?” he stammered a bit.

“I asked, Is that what you did to your daughter? Or I’ll rephrase it. Is that what you did to my mother?” Gopi asked this with a stoic face, staring straight into the eyes of his grandfather.

“What’s happening here? Who are you?” with a panic stricken face he asked his sons, “Who the hell is he?”

Several things happened at once. The moment Nagarajan tried to stand, Gopi’s hand took out the object kept inside the compartment hidden under the table and fired a shot at his uncle, whose brains exploded and fell on his wife, seated next to him. Now both the women have started screaming their lungs out.

“SHUT YOUR MOUTH!” he screamed at all of them pointing the object in his hand. Like a slave fearing the whip, the object had the desired effect on them.

He looked at the corpse of his uncle, “You were right Uncle! You should’ve stopped your father then”.

“Now! Where were we?” he looked around the remaining occupants of the table.

“You said you wanted reunion!” cried his youngest uncle, with his voice trembling with fear.

Gopi nodded. “Yes I did! But please don’t distract me with your sermons since I've some unfinished business with Grandfather”. Then he looked at his grandfather, “You still haven’t answered my question?”

“I… I… you… you are her son?” he was weeping.

Gopi could smell the urine excreting itself from the eighty year old man. Is that the old man, whom the people feared? For Gopi, all he saw was another corpse that was alive, face full of fear, struggling to comprehend the situation.

Gopi’s mind went back to the day his father had revealed that secret that he had kept hidden till that time. His father’s mouth had struggled to reveal everything. When he uttered that she was burnt alive by her own father, Gopi had sworn to wipe out the entire family. His father had chosen the final day of his life to tell him everything. If not, you could have seen the entire family dropping dead like flies, father.

When he closed his eyes for a second, he was able to visualize his mother burning in the pyre alive. That thought drove him into a murderous rage that ended in a killing spree, “Your lot has to be taught a lesson!”

Thus revenge was served cold as deserts to the guests.

The neighbours who couldn't grasp that the sound was indeed a gunshot initially, realized it after four continuous shots were heard and called the police. But before the arrival of the cops they heard a solitary sound of a bullet escaping a gun and shattering whatever was in front.

Yennai Arindhal - Review

When I watched Thadaiyara Thaakka in YouTube, I thought to myself, “What more can this guy do to get the well deserved break?” Well the answer has come today – Play the role of an antagonist! He did it amazingly good and he’s the man to have scored many brownie points than anyone else in Yennai Arindhal. I seldom thought that his introduction on screen would create loud cheers and applause but it did and that’s a testimony to how much the people want him to succeed. Now I’ll move on to the actual review of the movie.

This statement could be harsh on Gautham Vasudev Menon but he seems to have exhausted all the tricks up his sleeve. A feel good love story or a Hollywood inspired (Trust me! I’m giving him the benefit of doubt) cop thrillers or a mix of both seems to be there up his sleeve. There’s nothing wrong in making movies in genre that you’re comfortable with but the essence of film-making lies in exploring things you have never touched before. So if my prediction is accurate, then the next movie of Gautham will show whether my assumption of his repertoire is accurate or not.

Now what is the significance of the above paragraph with respect to this movie? It’s the feel of Yennai Arindhal, in which every scene gives the impression that you’ve seen it all before (I don’t want to use the clichéd word Cliché). Like the dialogue in the movie, there’s a thin line between giving the impression of Cliché and calling it director’s touch. The amount of novelty that a director instills into the script will ultimately decide which side of the thin line the movie will be traversing. Unfortunately here there is more cliché than novelty.

Every movie (barring some) is a battle between Good and Evil. This movie is no different but it’s the individuals representing the two sides make the difference. Before coming to the most important person in the movie, I’ll touch a little on Ajith. This definitely deserves a place among the ones with very good performance from Ajith. One scene that comes to my mind is the one towards the end, when Ajith’s delivery starts in a mocking tone, changes to caution the next minute and finally to panic. The change of emotions was handled superbly by him. Overall he has given his usual good performance.

As mentioned in the first paragraph itself, the exciting component of the movie is definitely Arun Vijay. In all Good vs Evil stories, the better the villain, more interesting the movie becomes. The last thing we want to see is the villains like Ashish Vidyarthy (He has a cameo in this too). The best of Arun Vijay was in the same scene mentioned in the previous paragraph where both the actors talk to each other on phone. The evilness was very evident in his expressions but it’s hard to say that he outscored Ajith in that scene. I saw a video of Arun Vijay in tears after fans mobbed him. Although I’m not a big fan of such things, it was heartening to see him happy. Let him enjoy the stardom and his time in the limelight.

I don’t have anything specific to say about the other cast. They have done their part quite well. Since the simple costumes, beautiful locations, gorgeous heroine have all become part of Gautham’s film-making style it’s not really needed to talk in detail about them. But a special mention for Trisha for doing a commendable job. She’s beautiful as always. Vivek’s portions are very minimal, much to the happiness of everyone and he does make us laugh whenever he comes on screen.

Overall, a definitely one time watchable movie for the gorgeous artists on screen and Arun Vijay. This movie (if things go well) will be remembered for the rise of Arun Vijay. I was thinking of settling for 6/10 rating but Arun Vijay’s performance deserves another point making it a 7/10.

The Imitation Game - Review

The Imitation Game is one movie that I didn't want to miss. Its not just about Benedict Cumberbatch or Kiera Knightly. It was more to do with Alan Turing. Its always fun to watch or read about eccentric, reclusive & brilliant men. A Computer Science background too played a huge part in convincing me that this is something that I shouldn't miss. I watched it in PVR Cinemas and I'd say this is on par with A Beautiful Mind(a movie about another eccentric mathematician John Nash). 

The entire movie seemed like a novel to me, with the life of the protagonist getting unveiled chapter by chapter although in a non-linear way. It seemed like Alan Turing was narrating to me directly from scene one. It seemed like Turing was setting the tone for the story when we hear his voice  saying "Are you paying attention? Good. If you are not listening carefully, you will miss things. Important things." and then when he says "What I will need from you now is a commitment. You will listen closely, and you will not judge me until I am finished. If you cannot commit to this, then please leave the room", the message is loud and clear to the audience.  So as an obedient audience, I did what he told me to, "Listened Carefully". Actually I needed to because there weren't any subtitles.

Its an exceedingly well written script that shows us again and again how we treat eccentric men. Unfortunately all these intelligent individuals are celebrated, not during their prime but years later when the world realizes their intelligence and showers them with posthumous recognition. I came to know only from the end credits that the movie was based on the book Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges. I should give the book a try sometime.

One problem I faced was to shake off from my mind the other famous characters portrayed by these actors. For example, in one of the scenes where Benedict Cumberbatch is crouched on the floor collecting samples, more than Alan Turing it was Sherlock Holmes, Charles Dance was more Tywin Lannister and Mark Strong looked more like Lord Blackwood. Thank goodness, Kiera Knightly did not evoke any of her famous characters. That problem was totally mine and If you've not watched the Sherlock Homes movie, Sherlock TV series or Game of Thrones series, then the above problem is totally irrelevant. A glaring glitch was the over makeup to the actors. The makeup was very obvious in a particular scene towards the end for both Kiera Knightly and Benedict Cumberbatch. But really such details will definitely get lost if you're immersed into the movie. 

I've to stand and applaud the performance of Benedict Cumberbatch as the tricky part in such scripts is that, you've to carry the entire movie on your shoulders, which he did brilliantly. It just shows what a good actor he is. All the other artists too have done their part well.
  
I've intentionally not talked about the plot details. I feel everyone must watch this movie without knowing any of the plot details. I'll complete this post with the quote that keeps on lingering in my mind, "Sometimes it is the people no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine."

I'd give a 9/10 rating and a good luck to the crew for the Oscars(It has been nominated in 8 categories). 

Rain - A new Short Story

The incessant rain washed out a cricket match, rendered people homeless and caused countless hardships to everyone. But amidst all these distress, there was a couple who were thrilled to see the raindrops. Her outstretched soft hands accumulated water from the pouring rain and threw it at the creature standing next to her. That creature holding the umbrella for the both of them was excited by this Water splashing game and did the honor of splashing back the water caught with his rough hands. A smiling Sandy, looked into his eyes with a deluge of love in her own eyes in the form of tears and said, “I would want to die this moment!”

Aravind put his arms around her and squeezed her shoulder, a squeeze that conveyed his ability to protect her, to be with her, to love her and most of all how much he cared for her, “I cannot live without you! Never could I imagine a day without holding you in my arms!”

Sandy wiped the tears and wrapped her hands around his waist. “We should marry soon”, she exclaimed. “And we shouldn’t stop with one kid. Two should make life interesting. After that,” She paused and said “We should adopt a child. You’re ready for adoption, isn’t?”

“Of course, why would I say no!”

Sandy has a dream. Well, a plurality to the noun would be good. Yes, she has dreams but they change intermittently. Some grownups never wish to grow, thinking that childhood gives them the right to remain stupid. Sandy was no different from that bunch that never grew in their head. Even if they did, they never wanted to show it outside. She always had an innocent face and in her own words a child’s heart. But they never realize that children are the most abused in this world. Now, keeping aside her innocuous mentality, it’s wise to plunge into her world of dreams. It ranges from becoming a pilot to becoming a writer one day, going up the corporate ladder to becoming an educational activist the next day, becoming an entrepreneur to becoming a musician the day after that. The latest addition to that illustrious list is adoption. None of the other dreams got any importance from her and the latest addition will be no different. The good thing about a dream is it never bothers about conversion rate (how many dreams came to fruition).

They would’ve walked a few feet when she turned to him with a concerned look on her face, “Will your mother like me? She might think that I’m no match for you!”

“Why would she think like that! She’ll like you. Never worry about that.”

This is the answer for which Aravind has to lie from the bottom of his heart. Of course his mother will never like Sandy. Even if his mother likes, his sister will ensure that the validity of the above statement is protected. But Aravind knows very well that liking and accepting are two different things. Only concern will be his sister belittling his choice of women. He mentally pictured his sister showing a grotesque face with those magical words, “So, this is the girl huh! I expected something better!” But these worries can be parked for a different day. He didn’t want to waste this glorious day thinking about things that are outside his circle of influence.

“My parents will definitely like you. I’m not sure about my father but my mother will!” said she suddenly with a bright face. “She’ll adore you”, she continued “And if they ask whether you believe in god, please say yes and don’t open your mouth about Marx, Engels etc. They neither understand communism nor approve atheism.”

He nodded with a stern face.

And the conversation continued for few more feet with the downpour not showing any sign of slowing down like Sandy’s rhetoric. She exclaimed, “I’ve a plan” and outlined the plan for taking forward their marriage related discussion.

Finally before bidding good bye, she kissed him on the cheek and said “Tell this to your parents and bring them to my house!”

……

The round table discussion resembled a G-8 summit but the participants weren’t discussing the trivial matters like world economy plunging into chaos, recent terrorist attacks in Peshawar or the tragic death of Phil Hughes. They were into more serious things like marriage, love and a combination of both that youngsters love to explore but the elders dread in this part of the world.

“So, what do you say?” said Aravind breaking the silence that had engulfed all of them, right from the moment he started talking about Sandy.

His parents were too shocked to open their mouth. So his lovely sister paraphrased it for the benefit of all the four of them.

“You’re in love with a girl named Sandy, originally named Sandhya, 6 months younger to you, a class mate of yours in college, someone you never knew existed then but fell head over heels with her these past 6 months.” She looked around for an acknowledgement but received none.

“Now you’re ready to marry her and you want Ma & Pa to meet her parents, talk about your marriage” she paused, “But”, again a pause, “she’ll act as if she doesn’t know anything about this relationship? Did I get that part correct?”

“Yes” responded Aravind with clenched teeth.

The facial reactions of both his parents were absolutely stoical. He was unable to comprehend what exactly was going on inside them. Perhaps he should’ve thought something better than this idiotic plan. He knew very well that his parents will never heed to this, which he guessed will result in some embarrassing moments for all of them. But this seemed the most plausible way to show to Sandy’s parents that their child did not fall in love with a guy but a guy who likes her wants to marry her. This seemed like a good plan then since it involved Sandy keeping her mouth shut. But not anymore when he thought the ordeal his parents have to go through.

“Since I know you well enough, I’m sure you’re not capable of such dumb ideas. Was this her idea?” said his sister without any hint of mockery in her voice.

“Yes”. This affirmative reply embarrassed him. He shouldn’t have said that this dumb plan was hers. After all he must defend her!

“I don’t see this happening without embarrassment for all of us” - This was his sister to their parents.

The time had come for the tacit parents to express their opinion and put a formal full stop to the affair. Both his’ and his sister’s eyes were on their parents expecting their verdict.

It was his father who said it first. It was a surprise to everyone, “No Problem!” he smiled, “We’ll meet them and talk”.

…….

Sandy never expected this process to go smooth. One of the reasons, in fact the only reason, is her father – He simply didn’t trust her. Now everything was happening how she wanted it to happen. She was sitting in front of Aravind’s parents with butterflies circling her stomach. She was waiting for Aravind’s father to open the conversation. And he did.

“What kind of a parent are you?”

Now this was not in the script. What is he talking?

“Perhaps, you should’ve brought her up in a better way!”

That was the moment when she experienced a bomb blast within her. All she could hear was the static keen sound and not the sound of words flowing from Aravind’s dad. She couldn’t bring herself to look at her parents. Her hands began the nervous shake at that moment. She didn’t want to believe that the time for nervousness was over and things have gone to an incorrigible level.

Did Aravind know everything? Is that why he didn’t accompany them? No, never! He wouldn’t have allowed them to talk like this. But was he stupid to allow them here alone to talk? Didn’t he think of this possibility? What sort of a child is he, if he cannot anticipate his parents’?

Ah! She questions his anticipatory skills! Could she have done it perfectly? If so, knowing her parents, she shouldn’t have got into this relationship in the first place. The truth is she didn’t know how her parents would react to it just like Aravind wouldn’t have expected this tirade from his father. But what she had was an apprehension towards her father, which pushed her towards this stupid plan. Had she opened it, it could’ve ended with a slap. But now that day was well and truly over. What remains to be seen is how much damage it is going to cause!

What’s next for her? The smooth sailing days are over and she could sense a new winter settling on their relationship. This cold was developing inside her too. Perhaps she should wait till she explains everything to Aravind! But will it help? No way. He might suggest eloping. But her dumbstruck parents shouldn’t suffer more. The apprehension for her father was slowly getting replaced by melancholy. Did she notice the tears in his eyes? What else should he go through for her? This is enough!

To stop the thoughts and the irritation it was causing, she slapped herself hard enough that forced everyone to look at her.

With eyes full of tears, not from love, but out of sympathy for herself, her family and the guy whom she loved, the guy who might or might not get to know what happened here, she looked at Aravind’s parents and said “That’s the way you entered the house”, with her index finger pointing the door, “and Please never come…..!”

Her voice trailed off. None disturbed her for a while, not her father, definitely not her mother, surprisingly not even her mobile phone. She was desperate for someone to wake her from this limbo and thunder obliged first followed by heavy showers. She looked at the rain and all the unforgettable nostalgia associated with the rain. She felt like strangling it for creating some beautiful memories for her through a relationship and for reminding her, the destruction of that same relationship.

Espionage - A Short Story

I

4:30 PM, in front of Hotel Highway Inn

She inhaled the smell of the tobacco leaves stuffed inside the Gold flake kings cigarette before lighting it. The aroma of it induced variegated sensations and feelings which she felt could not be matched by anything else. She held the cigarette in between the index and middle finger with the former over the tipping paper that covered the filter and the latter underneath the rolling paper in such a way that both the fingers were bent downwards. The way she held it gave a real masculine feeling to her. She lit it, threw the disposable lighter into a bin, sucked in the smoke and filled her lungs with it, then exhaled. It felt heavenly.

“We got to discuss about your smoking!” blurted Shameel much to the chagrin of Nikita. “Do you have any idea where this would lead to? Death darling! This is nothing but suicide”.

Nikita looked into his eyes with the same mischievous look that made and will make him fall for her again and again, “I like the smell of it, Honey! I feel myself while smoking”, a pause to continue the pleasurable inhaling and exhaling and then she continued, “I feel like a man. I should’ve been born a male. Guess the chromosomes messed up big time”.

“You’re impossible! Your specimen has to be kept in a laboratory!” retorted Shameel.

This dialogue is not new to either of them. But he never understood the meaning of “I feel like a man”. Does she really mean it? ”Of course you’re not a man. You can never be one! You want to believe that you’ve all the qualities of man but the truth, my dear, is crap”. He brought his face near her and uttered the sentence that was going to have repercussions that he would regret until he lived.

“You’re just women, a weak creature. You cannot become a man just because you smoke and consume alcohol.”

She looked up at him with a reaction that asked “You really think so?” That was the moment when Shameel regretted saying that sentence. He anticipated the next to be “I’ll do it today!” As if reading his mind, she repeated it. ”I’ll do it today”.

 “No no. Please! Nooooooo”

Before he could finish the dissent, she picked up the gun from the holster and walked right into the restaurant. She moved swiftly to the fourth table, where three guys were sitting in a circular table sipping the beverage from the tin.

“Mr. Pradeep?”

The tallest of the 3 looked up. She pulled a paper out of her pant pocket and read it aloud.

“Abhinav thinks that you don’t deserve to live in this word. For someone like you who loves adventures, death will be another beautiful adventure.”

She stopped and looked at him with a cheeky face, “I think he’s a Harry Potter fan. Dumbledore says a similar sentence at the end of the first book”. Before Pradeep could comprehend what was happening, she pulled out the gun with the swiftness that trademarks an assassin and pointed it at Pradeep.

BOOM… BOOM… BOOM

II

4:15 PM, inside Hotel Highway Inn

Deepak circled the curls in his handle bar moustache and rested his folded arms on the circular table. He looked at Pradeep and then at his watch. “Why is he late always?”

“Says who?” countered Pradeep and Deepak fell silent at that remark. Just a minute or two would’ve passed when Ashwin joined them. A garrulous individual, Ashwin is and it didn’t take more time to show that off.

“I love these round tables. These create more intimacy than square tables. I read today morning that Louis Van Gaal has ordered all square tables to be replaced by circular ones.”

Deepak interjected. “You’re a big Show-Off. Please stop it Ash. I don’t care whether your Manchester United players eat in round or square tables.” He stopped to register his irritation and continued, “We’ve got a serious problem!” He looked at Pradeep as if to say go ahead.

Pradeep looked at Ashwin with a gaze that tacitly said those two magical words “I’m screwed”. He finally opened his mouth to reveal it.

“Abhinav knows everything!”

OOPS. Ashwin’s comprehension was wrong earlier. He wasn’t screwed, he was dead.

III

6:30 AM, Lake View Road

Mradula was sleeping peacefully. The cold temperature outside coupled with the air conditioning inside the room caused a shudder within her naked body. She pulled the blanket tight over her and when it didn’t provide the desired results, she pulled herself closer and tighter to the heat source lying next to her.

Pradeep pulled her into his blanket and caressed her hair. “How beautiful she is!” thought Pradeep. “None can give her this happiness other than me! I can’t imagine her being so happy with anyone else!”

He planted a kiss on her forehead and delve deep into an array of thought process that were self-appreciating, slightly narcissistic of having saved the girl from some unknown demon. At that moment when the thought process turned towards end result, the dreaded face of Abhinav came into his mind.

“How long can this go on without him finding out? I shouldn’t be surprised even if he had setup a spy camera here.” Listening and Reasoning are virtues that Abhinav likes a lot but never follows. He prefers virtues like killing and abusing more. Pradeep thought of all the murders that Abhinav had committed in the name of protecting his sister.

“Am I just hallucinating that I’m screwed or am I really screwed?”

The tension increased his urge for smoking. He turned back to fetch the cigarette case on the top of the closed compartment on the head of the bed and lit it. The puffs reduced the anxiety and helped him channel his thought process.

But before he could think of something productive, Mradula awoke screaming, then looked at him and burst into tears.

Pradeep caressed her neck and hugged her, “Hey baby! What’s up? Any bad dream?”

Mradula hugged him tight and kissed his chest. “Yeah” said she, looking at him with eyes full of tears. “Someone was shooting at you. There was blood, brains…” she paused to control her tears but when she couldn’t she burst out again, “Oh Pradeep! I love you! I cannot lose you”.

To lighten her, he produced a fake smile and said “You got to stop reading all those books dear, that would reduce these dreams!” She was in no mood for stupid jokes.

Pradeep pulled her even more close to him and patted her back, caressed her hair, kissed her forehead to make her feel normal and to assure her that nothing was wrong. But he knew that it wasn’t long before everything could turn mental and the dream could become real.

IV

11:45 AM, inside the Mahindra Bolero standing near Lake View Road

Eyes staring straight ahead, with gritted teeth and a face that resembled a wild animal, he uttered his favorite phrase. “I want him killed”

Although it’s hardly new to him, this day was different, the stake holders are different. This is personal, something close to his heart. There’s no room for tolerance.

“We shouldn’t be hasty, Boss” responded his aide.

He turned his head to look at his aide, the boiling face was slowly returning to his usual self. A sarcastic smile cropped up between his lips.

“I shouldn’t be hasty, right?” He laughed a bit and continued, “He comes every night to meet her and you’re using the word hasty.”

His voice was raising, “You want me to shut up and witness that bas….”, he stopped, “He deserves to get killed. Call Shameel! NOW”

V

4:30 PM, inside Hotel Highway Inn

Ashwin stared bleakly at the stoic Pradeep who was walking till now on the thinnest rope possible, is about to fall into the abyss.

“How did…..” Words failed to come out of his mouth for the first time. Garrulous or not, fear has this extraordinary power to suppress the words out of even talkative individuals. He cleared his throat. “How did he come to know about this?”

“I saw his car when I walked out of her house. That moment I knew he knows everything. The worst part, I guess is that he wants me to know that he knows everything”.

“WHAT!?” interjected Ashwin. There was genuine confusion on his face.

“Wait! Wait! What exactly does he know?”

“I’m guessing everything about myself and Mradula”

Just that, right?

VI

4:45 PM, inside Hotel Highway Inn

The manager of the hotel heard three shots being fired. There was some gap between the first and the next two shots.  He rushed to the source of the sound and it was none other than the fourth table.

Before he could comprehend the situation, a tough young masculine hand whisked him away from the scene. There were many such “tough” young men swarming the place. They were escorting another trio from the crime scene.

When outside, couple of not so tough young men were clearing another dead body. The Hotel Manager cursed the 2 dead for creating this mess. His cursing didn’t leave out their family members too. Crap! It’s going to take a lot of time to come out of this mess.

He heard sound of approaching sirens. Looks like a lot of Vehicles. All the people in the vicinity of the scene were being escorted to safety by those tough young men.

A muscular young man, with an imperial moustache and a small wart above the moustache approached the hotel manager and shook hands. Before he could talk, his walkie-talkie buzzed with some disturbance. He moved away to attend.

A minute or two would’ve passed when he came back smiling. “I’m Vincent from Special Task Forces. We’re sealing the hotel and the whole place will be sealed until our investigations are over.” Now the hotel manager understood what was happening. Why did the two idiots come to this place to get killed? Damn them!

VII

For Pradeep, everything was like walking in a dream. Right from the moment the female showed the gun at him till the moment when her head exploded. The sniper was spot on.

He shuddered to think of the flip side. Had he missed the target? Well, Mradula might’ve to start looking for another boyfriend.

Both Ashwin and Deepak were in a state of trance, not knowing what the heck was happening. Was he right in bringing them into this and jeopardizing their lives too? Well, he can argue that he didn’t know that it would turn out this way.

He along with his friends, too were escorted to safety by the forces. There wasn’t any sign of the media yet. They’d want to clear the mess before that. Pradeep saw Vincent talking to someone. Vincent looked at him and smiled. Does it mean that Abhinav has been taken care? That’d be amazing!

Suddenly Vincent’s walkie-talkie exploded into life. The color on his face was draining slowly. Had the devil escaped?

He looked at Pradeep again and shook his head this time. It meant you’re on your own now. Mission Failed.

Brrrrr…. Brrrr…. Brrrr…. Pradeep mobile was vibrating announcing the arrival of a message.

 He opened it with trembling hands. The message read: “This is what happens when you mess with something you don’t have any idea about, spion, spiare or spy”.

He was shell shocked to see the sender. When he looked up, he knew what was going to happen next. The sniper was there, he knew who was behind that.

It all made sense to him now.

“She has played with me from the beginning.”

“Did she know how to use a gun?”

“What all does she know?”

“All she portrayed to him was a façade, deep down she was something else. “

“That harry Potter like quote, I should’ve guessed it”.

“How stupid I was.”

He laughed at the irony of getting shot by the same woman who shared her bed with him the previous night.

This time 3 shots weren’t needed. BOOM

Ashwin was right in the beginning. He wasn’t screwed he was dead. That too, this time for real.

Wild Fire - A Short Story

I

South Asian Games Federation (SAF) village, built to accommodate the athletes participating in the South Asian Games, now houses the most powerful bureaucrats of the city. None becomes powerful without garnering few-to-many enemies along the line. So for the sake of guarding them, there’s always a police patrol in and around the area. At the entrance of the campus, a small police booth was setup, where there’ll be always a police man during the time when those powerful folks pass the gates. Now just near that booth, stood Preethi, waiting for a car sent by her friend to pick her.

She gazed at the busy 100 feet road, taking in the busy traffic that could culminate into pure chaos and pandemonium in a while. It was 8:50 AM. On a different day, she would've been staring at the Oracle E-Business Suite Application, trying to decipher why the Automatic Receipts Generation Program failed for a specific invoice for the umpteenth time. But this was a unique day. When she thought about it, she felt the butterflies flying all around her stomach.

He had messaged the previous night that his chauffeur will pick her at 9 AM sharp. SAF was well known in the city and should be known to most drivers, so she gave that as the pickup point. She came early to the rendezvous so that her garrulous mother doesn't notice the extra excitement in her face. A sudden thought came to her, “What will she think if she finds out? She’ll first inform dad and then a mini mourn session will be orchestrated by her. She’ll tell her usual nonsense about honor, tradition and how my shameful act of giving myself to the guy I like the most has tarnished everything. Crap. Thank god I didn't have to hear her sermons again”. She smiled to herself. She can handle her mother. One problem could be the extreme scenario.

Preethi, at the disastrous age of 23, stood a 5 ft 7 inches, with a round face featuring grey eyes that radiates sensuousness, lips that are pinkish and that when parted displays perfectly arranged teeth. Life was extraordinarily smooth for her with a under graduate degree, a well-paid (She would say that it’s just a perception) job and this latest addition – A guy who’s jobless (He uses a much more euphemistic term called Entrepreneur) but has plenty of the piece of paper that matters the most in life due to a rich grandfather and a ridiculously rich father. Now this new addition is also at a disastrous age of 24.

At 9 AM, an Audi A4 came to a halt in front of her. The chauffeur, a traditional cinematic type, wearing all white uniform, adorned a white cap too, took something from his shirt pocket and looked at it for a second or two. Then his eyes moved around, searching for something, finally settling the gaze upon Preethi. He moved towards her and asked in perfect English, “Are you Ms.Preethi?”

For Preethi, this was the moment when she has to unshackle all her fears and nod her head. What if anyone she knows, sees her getting into an Audi A4? In a cosmopolitan, it won’t set the tongues rolling but one of the many relative setting their gaze on this very much conspicuous Audi A4 is more than enough to pay attention to who gets into it. She knows she’s thinking too much. He used to say that all the time, “Honey, You've got lot many assets from head to toe but thinking is not one of them. So don’t bother doing it”. As if someone gave her a kick to come back from the reverie, she came back to her senses and looked at the driver, nodding her head, said “Of course, I’m Preethi. Shall we get moving? ”

II

The ride to the farm house was majestic to her. She felt like a queen travelling in a chariot to King’s chamber to offer herself. This royal thought sent shivers down her whole body. It’s always better when the human mind behaves like a horse with a blinder. In those cases, what matters, is the destination and not the external factors. In her case, the blinders were sporadic.

It all started going haywire 15 days back. What started as a simple whatsapp chat session, went little complex. It was during that chat, the conversation became so intimate that it ended in a peculiar request from her. “Can you send your picture? I mean I want to see you without clothes”

The next 15 days felt like an eternity. She was enjoying each and every moment of it. He brought out all her hidden fantasies, suppressed feelings. He made her long for him; He made her think only about him; In Short she was completely possessed of his thoughts.

And suddenly her phone sung his favorite song “In the merry month of May”, from the album “Rocky road to Dublin”.

It was her brother.

Again she felt the nervousness. “Did he see me anywhere? Otherwise why will he call now?” She followed the usual routine of disconnecting the call and was thinking whether to dial back or not. 

“If he had seen me, the first thing he’s going to do is call mom and innocently ask about my whereabouts. He’s a momma boy, who is more than candid to her. I don’t understand how he shares everything with her when I don’t share anything. He thinks mom understands him very well but mom can never understand me. For her I’m always an imperfection, a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. If he had called her, then I would've got a call from either mom or dad. So it must be something else“.

She dialed his number.

“Hey Arun”

“Hey. Where are you?”

Don’t think. Just be spontaneous when not speaking the truth.

“I… I… am on the way to office.” She stammered but completed the sentence and waited for the reaction from the other side and then continued “Why? Is there a problem?”

“No. Don’t forget to recharge for my number.”

Phew. She can breathe easy now.

Now the smile was back on her face. She must go easy on her imaginations.

“Sure. I’ll” and she cut the call. She hadn't confided to Arun about her relationship. She wasn't sure whether he would understand it. Arun was extreme right and orthodox inside the house and the opposite outside. She wasn't sure which part was the true Arun or did he have anything individual? I can never share anything with him until he has a stable ideology and thought process.

Does she have an ideology? A stable thought process? If she had, would she be ready to bunk office to go to that guy’s farm house? This is all because of the sporadic blinder. She never thought about anything when she decided to spend time with him but from the morning she felt like the blinders were off and she could feel the pressure of the external factors.

III

The car took a left turn on the East Coast Road into a deserted street. Preethi was astonished at the sheer size of the bungalows on both sides of the street. The astonishment was slowly turning to fear the moment she realized the kind of society she has to deal with in case the relationship progresses into a marriage.

“Stop thinking about your future and be in the romantic mood, please” she told herself.

The car stopped in front of the wrought iron gates, which were taller than her. As if sensing the car, the gate swung open automatically to reveal the bungalow inside. She felt like a student entering the examination hall.

The chauffeur stopped the car in front of the double mahogany doors.

“You can go inside, madam” said the Chauffeur, pointing his right hand towards the door.

“Am I really doing this? Having progressive thoughts on virginity is one thing but all those hold true only till the moment when a decision has to be made. How easy it would be if I didn't have to think about this? What if he starts hating me after this? He might think that I’m desperate for this. He was desperate too. But the guys are always afforded the luxury of passing the buck to the girl. But I don’t have that luxury.”

Preethi dialed his number. The familiar voice of him soothed all her apprehensions.

“Hi”

“Hey Preethi. Have you reached?”

“Yes. Are you inside the house?”

“No. I had to check on an important work in office. My work will complete in another 10 minutes. I’ll come after that. I've informed my assistants there. They’ll take good care of you until I come”

“OK. Come soon”

The moment she hung up, she saw a couple come from inside, welcoming her to the house. “Are these two the assistants he was talking about?”

They led her to the spacious hall which had sofas, arranged in an L shape, with one sofa placed adjacent to a staircase and another close to the wall. The cost of each sofa, she guessed, might be her six months’ salary. A glass teapoy had been placed in front of the sofas. She sat in one of the sofa.

“Boss told us that you’re a very special guest. Please tell me anything you want. I’ll get it for you” said the guy and he also introduced the woman as his wife. They both were the caretakers of this farmhouse.

“No. Thank you. Now, I know whom to ask if I need something!”

The last sentence brought a sheepish grin on the assistant’s face. “You can look around the house until boss comes”.

Once they left to look after their errands, Preethi started looking around the bungalow, where she might be living if things fell smooth into place. The grandeur of that hall fascinated her. Coming from a modest background where the home’s roof is touchable with a single jump, the high ceiling, the ceiling fans with lights at the bottom was new and beautiful for her.

“Mom and dad will be astonished to see this house. Mom will be talking about this to all her friends. How big and beautiful the house was and she will talk about this for years to come”

“Once I’m married, I should bring them here often. They’ll have the most unforgettable time of their life living in a bungalow near the beach. We can never buy such a house in our lifetime. Once they come here, they’ll want to come here again and again.”

A sudden unwanted thought came to her. Wait              

IV

“Will Dad and Mum want to come here again and again? How comfortable will they feel in this world? For them, the happiness is being content with what they have. Despite mom’s astonishing remarks about the upper class, she can never mingle with them. Of course dad too feels uncomfortable with upper class society.”

One incident stuck her sharply. When Preethi had invited her friend’s family to her house, her friend’s father took out his Business Card and gave it to her father. He didn't know the etiquette of Business Card exchange. He happily smiled at the card, caressed and felt the material, inhaled the aroma of the card and thrust it into his shirt pocket. Preethi can never forget the disappointment exhibited by her friend’s father. That guy went a notch higher and asked if Preethi’s father possessed any card. Without any embarrassment, her father replied “No. I don’t like using these cards.” That guy looked at her father for a while and left the house. Preethi stopped bringing her friends altogether to her home.

“What if my would-be- father-in-law pulls a business card out of his wallet and look down upon my father because he doesn't have one? How bad of me to put my father in such an embarrassing position”

Economics of the family and the way one person is brought up defines their thoughts, actions, decision making etc. With more sophistication comes the need for more luxury. Preethi, despite a high paying job, belongs to the class that looks at sophistication as a destructive thing in life. She could feel the blinders getting thrown away and all the thoughts collide with each other inside her head. Her head was trying to find its own “God Particle”, not to determine the origin of thoughts but to see if a clear decision making thought was plausible.

Her mind was racing now. “What the hell is happening to me? It’s like a dream; I don’t know where this thought process started but it has pushed me to a confused status. Yes, I was thinking how nice it’ll be for Mom and dad to live here but I know it’s not possible”

“Love, marriage and economic state are interlinked. How much ever he likes me, deep down, he can never understand my thinking. It’s the same for me.”

Her mind was getting some clarity and she felt her mind moving towards a decision.

“It’s easy to sleep with him today but at some point, I've to take a decision; whether he’s the right man for me or not.”

“Until then let’s hold these thoughts; keep them aside; be good friends.”

“I shouldn't drag this. I should call him and inform him that I cannot do it today.”

At that very moment, she heard the sound of a car followed by footsteps and the handsome figure of Harish entered the house. He came straight to her and hugged her with all the comfort he can offer.

“Sorry Honey. I made you wait for a long time, is it? I’m extremely sorry”. And he planted a peck on her cheek. “Shall we go upstairs? I've got to show a lot of things to you”

With all those earlier thoughts taking a back seat, she followed him upstairs. Again the horse blinder analogy came to her mind. She felt the blinders too. With each footstep, she forgot all fears, complications and problems. Now all she had was anticipation and desire to give him the best possible love. He was her jockey; she trusted him to drive her.

The complicated feelings, she had earlier were replaced by pure burning fire inside her. A wildfire. The fire that pushed her to travel to his farm house overtook all the other emotions. She just hoped that she doesn't regret her decision.

She hugged him from behind and went close to his ears and murmured sensuously “I’m all yours!”