“We are paying a price in this crazy war, and nobody in the civilized world cares”

Entirely a piece of fiction… the emotion attached to it is of course very much real…

Hasan Jaber, Palestinian journalist

“We are paying a price in this crazy war, and nobody in the civilized world cares”

It wasn’t the flesh or the blood that scared him. Nor did the guts ripped apart by bombs, strewn on the streets, tingle his nerve. If there was one thing that made his hair stand up on the end, it had to be the deadly silence that filled the air in the aftermath.

For Tariq, his green eyes were a source of astonishment in his community which was filled with black eyes. But the eight year old now realized that it didn’t matter anymore because never again in his entire life would his people squeak in delight and say, ‘Look, there’s the boy with colored eyes’. He had lost one eye in the war, he wasn’t sure if it was the bomb that ripped apart his leg or if it was the one that killed his infant sister whom he had been trying to protect. Of his kin, he could only find the ones that were now dead, the alive ones were either prisoners or were indeed dead, only he wasn’t aware of it.

Tariq was too young to understand that his world had literally collapsed around him and that the world that still existed wasn’t his at all. But he knew one thing, he had lost a lot and there was no place else to go.

He went back to his house. He knew it would be empty but it still had the belongings of his family. He wanted to weep but something inside him had died. Years later, when he would be a different man, he said, “That afternoon I died. I couldn’t feel anything inside me. They had taken all I ever knew to be my own. I wanted to be bitter, grief stricken and cry for my loss. But it didn’t work that way. They just made me immune.”

For me this story ends here. But it doesn’t for Tariq. War is indeed an ugly thing. I have never been in the midst of it, so I don’t know the terror, the pain, the anger or the multitude of emotions that go with it. But I read about it. I hear about it. Sadly it is now such an everyday, everywhere thing that it has stopped even registering in the minds and souls of people. War has ugly connotations, unless it strikes close to our homes, it doesn’t strike close to our hearts.

The Nameplate

Argh!!

 

I don’t understand. What is all this? Ok, so someone has tied up my hands and feet and has gagged my mouth too. And whoever has done this, has also bound me too tightly to something. What is it? Is it a bench? I can’t figure out because I’m lying atop it and I can’t move at all. I can’t even turn my head. Oh God!

 

Ok, so I have been abducted and for certain, drugged. I can actually smell something extremely funny. Yes! I have been drugged for sure. But who has done this to me? How long have I been here?

 

I roll my eyes to one side and I can see the sun is high up, so perhaps it is mid-day. Now let me recall. The last thing I did was feed my cat, and I do that the first thing I get up, right after sun-rise. So it’s been about six hours, more or less, since that activity. But… six hours of today or six hours since yesterday… or six hours since… how many days?

 

A shudder runs up my spine. I begin to observe my surroundings. Something is amiss here. Wait a sec! Is that glass? Hell, yes it is! Hang on… I’m inside a glass chamber!!!

 

Ok, ok breathe easily. But… if I’m inside this chamber, where is the air circulating in from? No, don’t jump to conclusions yet… certainly there is some inlet, some provision for air, else how would you be breathing right now?

 

But why the hell am I in this chamber? I try to scream but not a single syllable escapes my lips. Hey! There is a boy peering at me through the glass. Sonny! Help me. I’m trapped, I’ve been abducted. Ok, I know he can’t hear me. Hell! What do I do?

 

Ok, I’m going to use telepathy. I don’t know if it works but I’m going to try anyways. ‘Kid, please help me. Get some help. Get me out of here! Please!’

 

Yes! He’s responding… but wait… why is he knocking on the glass? ‘No, boy, that’ll not help. You need to break the glass. Knocking won’t break it.’

 

“Hush Paul. What you doing?”, a lady asks the boy.

“Mom, why is she lying like that? Doesn’t she move?”

“No son. She doesn’t. Can you see that nameplate? Read what it says.”

 

Nameplate? I roll my eyes in the direction the lady is pointing towards. A gold embossed plate is perched at the end. It reads:

 

“Mummy from Egypt. Mummified approx. 1000 BC. Excavated 1972.”

 

The lady spoke again. “See baby. She has been dead for over 3000 years.”

 

… Huh???!!!

Love Solutions

Another piece of fiction…

 

‘Hi honey, how about a movie today… during lunchtime?’

‘Today??’, asked a puzzled Nina.

‘Yeah, well… I was thinking… like you said last night, our marriage is losing all the fun. I know my work really irritates you, working ten hours a day like this. So I thought we could catch a movie in the afternoon, just like in our college days. What say?’, said Rex with a hint of mischief in his voice.

‘Are you sure? I mean how are you going to get out of office?’, asked Nina

‘Well, don’t you worry about it. I’ve already told my secretary that I have an appointment with the dentist’, replied Rex.

Nina laughed. ‘What if your ever-suspicious boss calls up the dentist to find out?’.

Rex thought for a moment. ‘You want me to call up at the dentists’, explain our marital problems & plead for an alibi?’

 

Nina laughed again. ‘Fine. Let’s go for it’

‘Great!’, said Rex. ‘I’ll see you in an hour at the theatre. Get one of those lounge seats, the ‘exclusively-meant for couple’ ones. And hey! Wear that white dress. You look hot in it’, said Rex with a grin.

Nina blushed. ‘Yeah, sure…bye’.

They hung up.

 

Nina walked over to the mirror and looked at herself. ‘Didn’t I say, it always helps to talk. Now you were having doubts and you spoke to Rex. And look! He’s taking you out!’. She jumped in excitement.

 

She took over half an hour to get ready. The white dress looked gorgeous on her, but she couldn’t get her hair done right. It took even longer to put on the make-up. But at the end she was a sight. ‘Maybe you won’t get back to work. Maybe I’ll be too difficult to resist’, Nina thought dreamily.

 

She walked over to the theatre and got two tickets for a movie called, “Love Solutions”. Rex had called her up to tell her that he was going to be a little late. He asked Nina to get inside, he would join her soon. ‘Honey, it’s Screen 2… seat no 2A’.

Rex promised to hurry up & be there in ten minutes, latest.

 

Nina went inside. The theatre was packed. She liked the lounge seats, complete privacy for couples. ‘I will kill you if you ditch me Rex.’ she thought to herself.

 

The movie started and was 5 minutes into screening, when she heard him.

‘Sorry honey. The seats are perfect’.

Nina turned to face Rex. He had comfortably seated himself and had his hand wrapped around her shoulder. She smiled.

‘The dress is stunning. Sleek white, will look better with a bit of red though’, said Rex.

‘Red?’. Nina was puzzled.

‘Yeah’, said Rex. He brought a hand to her cleavage. ‘See?’

Nina looked down. Something red was seeping into her dress. She felt a sharp pain in her ribs. Then she looked at Rex’s hand. He was holding a revolver.

 

Rex smiled as Nina continued to stare at him and then her eyes went blank.

Rex walked out of the screen. He turned to an attendant. ‘Excuse me, where is Screen 3?’.

‘Over there, sir’, replied the attendant.

‘Oh, I got inside the wrong Audi. Thanks man’, said Rex.

The attendant smiled to suggest that this happened all the time.

‘Enjoy your movie sir.’

 

Rex got in Screen 3. He sat down in the seat his ticket said was meant for him. The lady seated next to him, turned to face him. ‘It’s over’, he said, ‘She won’t trouble us anymore. I’m all yours now’. The lady smiled and rested her head on his shoulder.

 

‘How about this dentist check your mouth now, since you had an appointment with me?’

Rex laughed. He brought his face down and they kissed.

Gratitude

A piece of fiction… This one turned out quite different from what I had intended…

 

There was a madness in the crowd… ‘Kill him, kill him’

My heart cringed. ‘No, please! Don’t! He’s done nothing’.

‘Lady, you ok?’

 

I looked at the man talking to me. I suddenly realized that it was merely my imagination. The market was bustling, but no one was shouting, no one was even looking at me.

‘Yes, I’m… I’m fine’, I replied.

 

I began walking again. I crossed the fruits and vegetable sellers, walked on & on, till I saw the familiar bridge.

 

I began to walk faster, too fast perhaps, for I was now attracting attention. But I couldn’t slow down. Any minute could be the dreaded one. The bridge loomed nearer. Right underneath it, was what I was looking for. The ticket counter.

 

‘A ticket to Dehradun please.’

The man at the counter looked at me and smiled through his crooked teeth. ‘Travelling alone Miss?’ His bloody lustful smile! If I had the time I would have given him a piece of my mind. But I couldn’t attract attention, not now.

 

‘Yes, can you hurry up?’ I replied, trying not to sound irritated. He handed me the ticket.

I checked the time on the ticket. It said 11.40. I checked my watch..it said 11.30.

10 mins! Please God…please…let these 10 mins go by real quick.

 

I walked to the platform where the train was already awaiting the passengers. People were rushing about in a frenzy. I turned to the little boy standing beside me.

 

‘Yuvak, whatever happens, remember you’ve never seen me before. You don’t know who I am or where I live. Get on this train and get down at Dehradun. Forget everything, ok?’

He nodded in agreement. I handed the ticket to him.

He turned to leave.

‘Yuvak!’, I called back.

He turned.

‘Thank you’.

He smiled… the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. And then with a wave, he boarded the train. A few seconds later, the engine began to hum, a whistle sounded and the train began to move out of the station. I sat down on a bench.

 

Even before I had a chance to gather my thoughts, someone spoke up.

‘Excuse me, are you Ms Skanda?’

‘Yes?’, I replied. How did this guy know my name? And then it hit me. The game was up.

‘We need to interrogate you Miss. Perhaps we can walk over to your apartment and discuss matters?’

 

Post Script:

 

I didn’t know much about Yuvak… not then, not now. All I know is that he worked as a small time help in several places and managed to gather food for sustenance. That day, as I walked back to my flat after my shopping, Yuvak was helping me carry my shopping bags. On reaching home I asked him to wait, I was about to wrap up some excess food I had lying in my fridge and give it to him. But when I walked in, there was my drunken brother… too drunk to make head or toe of me. But he didn’t forget his purpose of being in my flat. Money.

 

It started with pleading, then blackmailing and then finally it turned violent. I was being repeatedly struck. A silent spectator was witnessing all of it. But silent, not for long. With my hand being twisted and my face being struck, I couldn’t gather much strength to stop the outburst. And then I heard it. Metal meeting bone. The clang of metal and the crack of the skull. And when I turned around, there was the vase, lying innocently on the floor and Yuvak standing beside it with an assuring, comforting smile.

 

And the rest… is story.