The story of Fall colors.

The warmth of summer is almost gone.  It is getting cooler but the chill of winter yet not in sight. It is Fall, one of the best times of the year. It is a time when mother nature uses "greens" to paint a beautiful picture, having a wide range of colors. It looks like a fair, where trees and plants of all kind are aptly decorated.

It was a warm day during the peak of Fall colors, I was out for a stroll in the park. A kid, 4-5 years of age was sitting with his grandfather. I took a bench next to them, and started reading a book, soon their conversation caught my attention.

"Everyone is waiting for you to cut the cake, why are you sitting here?"

"I do not want to cut the cake"

"It is your favorite cake, there are gifts waiting for you, why dont you want to cut the cake?"

"I do not like this party. All my friends have nice theme parties. There were clowns, super heroes, harry  potter, princess at their parties. I do not have any of them."

"It also would have cost a fortune kid!!!", I thought to myself, but the old man smiled patiently.

"This is also a theme party, look at all the trees. They are all dressed up. Did any of your friends have such colorful tree for their party?"

"I do not want this stupid-tree-theme party."

I was sure the boy would start throwing tantrums, which I did not wish to witness. I was about to leave when the old man said -
"Alright I will not ask you to cut the cake, but let me tell you a story. A very real story."

'Why read a story when i can listen to one' I thought and kept my book down.

"This is a story of a boy who lived near the old forest. He would spend hours in the forest, picking up varieties of fruits and berries, and talking to the Old Maple tree - the king of all the trees in the forest. "

"This is not a true story grandpa, how can a tree talk?"

"It really is a true story. There was a time when trees could talk. Back then the trees always remained green, they never lost leaves, not even during the harshest winter. So back to our story. The Maple tree was very fond the boy because he was very kind to all the trees. He would bring them water during summer, talk to them and never hurt them. As time passed, the boy grew up to be fine man, married the farmer's daughter and was blessed with a boy and a girl. He would take his family to the forest and his children would spend hours with the trees. The Maple tree grew fond of the children too.

One year a severe drought hit the surrounding villages.  The storage was almost empty in most of the houses. People were forced to live with one meal per day. Our "boy" was in the woods with his family one day, and the Maple tree noticed that he was upset. When asked why he said 'It is my children's birthday tomorrow. Every year for their birthday I invite the entire village for a treat, but this year I can barely feed my children twice a day.' Feeling pity for this old friend, the Maple tree said, 'We will have your children's treat here, I will arrange for it. Invite the entire village here tomorrow'.

And so he invited the entire village to forest the next day. He had hoped to find some fruits and berries but when he approached the forest he could not believe his own eyes. The tree were no longer green, They were all colored, to celebrate his children's birthday. There was food, lot of it, enough to keep the entire village from going hungry for a month. People danced with joy and sang to the Maple king. And that night it rained and broke the drought spell. Surrounding farms were all green once again and before winter the villagers had enough food for the season.

However, few days after the celebration when he went back to the forest to thank the Maple king, our "boy" noticed that the tree had still not turned green. Most of them were shedding leaves, and some had no leaves left to shed. The Maple king was no different. He had very few leaves left on him. The boy asked what had happened to the trees and when they would all turn green again the Maple King said -

'When this forest was created, we were given magic to stay ever-green. We had to use all of that magic to color ourselves and get food for the village. So we have wait until spring for new leaves to come out.'

The boy was very moved by sacrifice made by all the trees. So he promised that every year he would celebrate his children's birthdays in the forest to honor the trees. And so every year from that day he would celebrate his children's birthday with the trees in the forest, and the trees would turn their leaves from green to different colors. And then they shed the leaves for the winter. So by celebrating your birthday here you will be honoring the trees and the Maple king."

The boy was not yet convinced, he thought for a while and said "Then why dont my friends celebrate their birthdays here?"

The old man smiled and said "Let me tell you a secret. The "boy" in story was my great great great grandfather. The trees had been coloring their leaves for me, and now they do it only for you."

Looking at the shine in the boy's eyes I knew that I would find him here for his next birthday too.

Serendipity?

I have always believed that Mr. Fate plays funny games. And once again he proved me right. For more than two years we worked at the same office, traveled by the same train to our hometown for holidays, every time I would wish for us to travel together, but not one time had that happened. And today after having spent many years of not seeing her, she walks in and sits right in front of me. My brain did a good search of my memories and brought in front of me few of the her best images that it could find. She looked the same to me. Her big dreamy eyes which had hypnotized me on several occasions, the mild and fresh fragrance of her perfume which would make me turn towards her even mid-conversation, the music of her anklets which my ears yearned to hear - a flood of these memories rushed to my brain.

It took me few seconds to get back to the present and realize that she was still sitting opposite to me. By the expression on her face I felt that I had made her uncomfortable by staring into "nothing-ness". I gave her a big smile and she replied with a short "courtesy" smile.

"Hi Piyu. How are you doing?", I asked, expecting a reply something like "who on earth are you? and how do you know my name?"

After an initial look of surprise her reaction changed. "We worked at the same place. Didn't we?", she asked. I gave her a nod and was about to introduce myself when she stopped me "No, no, do not tell me your name. I remember you well, your name starts with 'N'... Wait, wait give me a second, hmmmm Na... Na... ni... Nayan? Narayan? No got it. 'Naman'. Right?"

I was surprised that she remembered me working in the same office, her remembering my name shocked me. My smile told her that my name was really Naman, and she had recognized me right.

"Piyu, it has been such a long time!! You have not changed a bit."

"Yes it has been a long time, 10 years? or may be more. I have changed a lot, I have aged, and the 10-year-younger-me definitely looked better."

"You look as great now too. But I was really surprised that you remembered me."

"Oh come on Naman, you had helped everyone in my project although you were not involved in it. All of us admired you. We learnt a lot from you. I could not recognize you initially, looks like you have put-on some weight. You look much healthy and fit now. But your face has not changed."

I did not have any reply so I changed the topic. "So are you still working at the same place?"

"No I quit few months after you did. I am working at a museum now."

"Oh great, you always liked arts, history, temples and other historic monuments, didn't you? I remember reading about them in your blogs."

"You used to read my blog? I thought no one knew about those articles."

"No I used to like your articles. I have visited may places after reading about them in your blog. There was something in your articles which made me visit those places and enjoy the creativity of our ancestors" I said although I knew that I visited those places only because she had been there and liked them.

"Thank you, it is always good to meet a fan. I send out these articles to few magazines. You can read them even now, if you are interested that is." She sounded like a kid waiting for her teacher to ask for her homework and then appreciate the good work. And I sure did not want to disappoint her. She gave me couple of magazines from her bag. She had definitely improved a lot. Her blogs were nothing compared to these articles. She wrote in great details about the architecture of a temple she had visited recently. She was very happy to know that I liked it and was even more happy when I told her that my next trip would be this place.

"What about you? What are you upto these days? I have had no news about you from the day you quit the company."

"I traveled a lot. I worked in many countries. Came back about a year ago, and now I am here for good."

"So where do you work now?"

"It is funny that you ask this question now. Do see that farm over there?" I asked her pointing outside the farm our train was crossing. "I work there."

She looked offended. "Are you making fun of me?" she asked

"No I am serious. That s my coconut farm. I work in my coconut farm. That is what I do for a living now."

"Oh wow that is great. How does it feel to work in your own farm? Sounds fun to me."

"It is not as fun as it sounds. There is lot of work involved. And lot of stress too. But I like it"

"Yes I know that. Everything depends on rain....."

Ten hours passed like ten minutes. My station was about to come. I have always liked traveling, but after such a long journey I would generally start missing the comforts of my home, but this time I felt like.... something different. 10 years ago if I had a list of things to do during my lifetime, this might have been one of them. And today when I got off the train I was happy that the "kid" within me could strike down one of his to-do lists.

Disha

Nischay knew what he had to say. He had rehearsed it several times for the past few days. But now words were failing to form. He knew that if he failed now he would never be able to do what he had planned to do. The train was about to leave. He went inside the train and kept his bag on his berth. His friends were all there at the platform to see him off. He made up his mind now, and rehearsed everything again. Looking through the window from his seat he saw his friends chatting amongst themselves. Slowly he got down from the train and steadily approached them. He was now completely focused.

Like the rest of Nischay s friends, Disha was sad deep within, but did a good job of hiding it bravely with a smile. Nischay approached them, with his eyes set on Disha.

“It is almost time for the train to leave Nischay, you better board the train” said one of his friends. But Nischay was deaf to everyone else.

“Disha, can I talk to you?”

“Now? The train is about to leave Nischay.”

“There is something you need to know. I don’t care if the train starts. I wont leave before I am done. Please don’t stop me. You don’t have to say anything. Please hear me out till I am done.”

Disha was confused, and Nischay took her silence for a “Yes”

“Disha you have been a very good to me from the time we got to know each other. You have always been a good friend to all of us. But to me you have become special. I do not know how things changed, or when things changed, but you definitely are more than just a friend. It is true that there are things about me which you do not like, some of which you might even despise, but then it is also true that I have tried to change myself lately; only for you. And no one is perfect. All of us are bound to have some flaws. Please do not judge me by my flaws.” Nischay gave a pause.

The signal changed from red to green. People started getting into the train. Whistles could be heard. The train started with a small jerk.

“Disha I am in love with you. Not because you are beautiful, not because you are smart and fun to be with, not because you are flawless, but because you are you. If there is someone with whom I have to spend my life with, I wish it to be you.”
The train was slowly increasing its speed now.

“You do not have to say anything. I just wanted you to know this. I am not sure if I would ever get another chance to say what I feel about you. I am sorry if I brought it up in the wrong situation. Take care of yourself Disha. Love you. Take care guys. Hope to see you all again….. soon.”

Nischay had to run at his full speed to catch the train. Standing by the door he could see Disha’s still body. After waiving to them until they were out of sight, he went back to his seat.

Nischay’s friends let Disha take her sweet time come back from where ever she was now. “Disha, he has gone, no more in sight. It is time for us go too.” said one of them and took her out of the railway station.

Few weeks later Nischay found an envelope with his name on it. He did not have to see the return address to know who it was from. He knew Disha’s handwriting very well. For the first time in weeks his hands were trembling. Had any of his room mates seen his state, they would die of the shock. Who would believe that a brave soldier, who had no second thoughts even when outnumbered one to five by the enemy soldiers, would not be able to handle a single letter? Yes brave soldier he was, yet he had the same heart that all humans have, and it was in love with someone. He knew that Disha’s answer would be in that letter. After staring at the envelope for a long time he decided to rip it open and started reading the letter.

“Mr Nischay!! How insensitive of you to propose to a girl and leave her in a state of shock and not even try to find out how she is getting along. You better think of another way of doing this all over again, and this time be more sensitive. If you do so, I might consider your proposal.

Ha Ha. Shocked? Well you deserve it. I too love you Nischay. It is true that I keep pointing out your mistakes. But how did you come to the conclusion that I judge you by your flaws? You are worth much more than what you think you are. I will be waiting for you. You better come back soon. If you do something to yourself during this war I will never forgive you, I will never let you rest in peace. I will hunt you down even if you are in hell, get you back here, beat you for leaving me alone and the send you back to hell.
P.S: I love you too. Not for what I want you to be like, but for whatever you are.”

Few weeks later…

There was a letter folded neatly on the table, addressed to Nischay by the same neat handwriting as the previous one.

“Nischay, I hope it is you who is reading this letter, which means you have returned from the war and are fit, at least fit to read this. Many times in life you have to make certain promises which you really want to fulfill but you are sure you will not be able to fulfill. My previous promise to you was one such. I am sorry that I could not wait for you. Believe me, when I say this - if I had a magic lamp with a genie to grant me 3 wishes, I would plead for just one wish, and that would be to be with you for the rest of my life. But this is real life, and I do not have a genie to grant me my wish. If you are reading this letter instead of me reading it to you, it means that I am no more. You were the best thing to happen in my life and good things do not last forever. In the short time that I got to spend in this life, I wish I had a longer time to spend with you. I am sorry if I gave you a false hope. But I did not have a choice. I wanted you to fight and come back for a better life. Make a promise that you will get over me. Wish you a very happy life ahead.

P.S: I still love you, and will always be around you.”

Next to the letter was a body wrapped in the Tricolor. The body had once been handsome, strong and lively Nischay, now inflicted with bullet and other wound, laying still, with a peaceful expression on the face…

The end…

This might not be a true story, but I am sure many brave soldiers have similar stories. It may be true that it is every soldier’s dream to be at a warfront, but no one wishes to have a war. Yet they go to war hoping that their loved ones are safe. It is unfair that these men, The Men of Honor, sacrifice their lives due to some maniac, who has the power to decide that killing brings more power, and killing is the aim of their life. At the same time, it is also true that life is not fair. We just have to do our part to make it a bit more fair.

As time passes by, memories fade, but some things and some people are never to be forgotten. July 26th 1999 is such a day. This story is dedicated to the men who guard us, to the men who sacrificed their lives to guard us. This story is in remembrance of the soldiers who lost their lives in 1999 Kargil War, this story is to celebrate Kargil Vijay Diwas, 26th July.

Today is not a day to discuss about war or peace. Today is a day to remember the brave men who sacrificed their lives to restore crown of our motherland, today is a day to honor our brave men.

Village

Tushar, Sinchana, and Suditi were at Ketan s ancient village house , far away from modern cities, not just geographically but in terms of civilization as well. There was no other family living close by, except for the old caretaker of the house and his family. From the front porch green fields were to be seen as far as sight goes, with a pond in the field to provide fresh water to the house as well as the field. They have had a great day going through the fields and playing in the pond the whole day. Now was the time to relax. They were in front of the house around the camp fire eating fresh fruits after an early tasty dinner. Ketan was telling them stories about their village.

“Ketan this is getting boring. Why don’t you tell the girls the story that you told me few days ago.” said Tushar.

“Which story?” asked Ketan.

“Inchara’s story. That would make the night interesting.” said Tushar with a wicked grin.

Ketan had a ‘lost’ look on his face for sometime but then he realized that Tushar was up to some prank now, and he did not wish to miss the fun so he said “you know the whole story and you are a better narrator than I am, so why don’t you go ahead and tell them the story? But please don’t scare them. It remains very silent here during the nights and any small hustle here will scare the girls after you are done with the story.”

“Hey we are not scared ok!! And I don’t believe in ghosts. So you can carry on with your story even it has something with ghosts.” said Sinchana although Suditi was appeared to be a bit scared she did not want to make it public, so she nodded in assertion with Sinchana.

“Don’t worry it is not exactly a scary story. It is a love story. It is a story about Inchara and Ninaad.” said Tushar.

“wow nice name. Inchara and Ninaad. Both were made for each other.” This pacified Suditi a bit. And then Tushar started his animated narration of the story

“This is a story of two simple people, Inchara and Ninaad and their extra ordinary love. There is no rich-poor, higher cast- lower cast, black-white problem in this story. Also there is no sadistic villains in this story trying to rip the two lovers apart. This is but just a simple story of two simple and “meant to be together” people. It is hard to believe that lovers like them existed when there were no ‘sms’, ‘emal’ or messenger services available. They knew each other so well that they actually did not require any such service. Since the time they fell in love, (that would be since the time they met each other) this village had not seen a day when the two lovers did not meet each other. Their story was a secret, but the whole village knew it! There was no man (boy actually) as brave and as patriotic as Ninaad. And of course to Ninaad no one was as charming and as natural as Inchara. Ninaad was not from this village. He was from the neighboring village. His father was a vaidya(doctor) and Ninaad collected medicinal plants and roots from him, from the nearby forest, everyday.”

“The forest… house to so many beautiful and deadly animals, and thus attracting many poachers. The villagers did not approve this. For years they had lived in harmony with the forest, their forest, and now when some strangers were trying to disturb this balance just for money. They started laying traps to catch the poachers and kick them out of their peaceful home. One day Inchara ventured into the forest with her friends to collect some fruits and flowers. She was lost and beauty of the forest, and it was very late when she realized that she was really lost and away from her friends, and the next thing she knew was that the trap laid for the poacher s found her.”

“This is where our story really starts. Inchara was fit for her name. Her voice was indeed sweet. Nothing more is required to attract the attention of a young man who has been roaming in the forest the whole day. Ninaad!! He found her and released her from the trap, and explained her who the trap was meant for. Since she did not know the way back he offered to escort her back to her village (of course he just wanted to spend more time with her, and since he had a good reason he knew she would not reject his offer). From that day onwards they started meeting each other every day.”

“Everything was going on well. Both were happy with each other. But…. (there always has to be a “but”). Ninaad was very patriotic. And it was time for him to do something. Ninaad decided to get himself involved into the “Quit India Movement”. He would be away for days. Ninaad had warned Inchara about this day and had prepared her well for the day. Yet when the day came there were tears in her eyes. So Ninaad said ‘I will definitely come back for you. I will never leave this world until I come back here and see you again. Now send me with a smile and wish me good luck.’ and left with her memories”

“Days passed by and Inchara heard very little from Ninaad. And when his news came to the village Inchara was only a “portrait with garland”, hanging on the wall of her house. She died of a disease which the local doctor could not find a cure in time. But the news about Ninaad was not a happy one either. He was cruelly killed by the English in a protest. Thus his promise remained unfulfilled. But Ninaad had always been a man of his words. He is still keeping up his promise. He has still not left this earth although his body no longer exists. He still moves around the places where the two young lovers used to spend their time. To this day, after more than 50 years, he can be seen sometimes. In the forest by the poachers, who are scared to death of him. Innocent kids who get lost venturing into the forest tell that he led them out.”

Now came the wicked grin on Tushar s face “Many people have spotted him. And if you are lucky you will be able to spot him.”
Now Suditi was scared, and if Sinchana was scared she was doing a very act of well hiding it.

It was midnight now. The days adventure, roaming about, playing in the field had made the 4 friends tired. They were in their bed, and had called the day off couple of hours ago. But Suditi was still awake, unable to sleep. Ninaad s thoughts were tormenting her mind. And to make things worse she was sleeping next to the window. The moon light was playing on field and the pond was trying to spread moon light by reflecting it. There was a trace of mist over the pond. A deer stood by the pond.

“Oh no it is not a deer it is a dog.” Every flutter of leaves could be distinctly heard. In this pleasant, peaceful night only Suditi s mind had not been at peace. And in all the years that they knew each other, the boys never missed an opportunity to scare her. But after looking outside for quite some time her heart rate was back to normal, and she went back to sleep.

There was a gust of wind and suddenly a dog started barking. It was like pebble dropped on a calm water surface. From within moments everything changed. Dogs which until now never appeared to be existent started baking. They appeared to have some unknown sense of signal, on receiving which every dog starts barking. It was like a chain reaction. Although it was not much noise it was sufficient to put Suditi in an upright position next to the window. When she peeped outside the view of the pond was blurred by the mist. Next moment she noticed someone sitting next to the pond. And his head slowly turned towards her. This pressed the panic button of Suditi s system. She woke Sinchana up and took her to the window. Sinchana saw the figure walk towards them. She could not see the face properly. Only the outline could be seen. It took few steps, the mist intensified and then suddenly the figure was nowhere to be seen. Sinchana had a very tough time convincing Suditi that it might just be someone taking care of the farm. Suditi was bent on believing that it was Ninaad. But finally Sinchana succeeded to pacify Suditi and made her go back to sleep.

In the morning Suditi s face clearly said her last night s sleepless story. Sinchana was in a better state compared to Suditi but even from her had a similar story to tell. They told the boys their last night s experience. Sinchana noticed expression on Tushar s face and guessed that he was up to some prank and did not want to spoil it. She thought of playing along with the boys.

“Suditi you must really have seen Ninaad. You are so lucky to see a real patriot and a real lover. But such a shame that he left before you could take his autograph!!” said Tushar.

Suditi s face was worth watching. “Suditi why are you so much upset? After all Ninaad has not harmed anyone in the village. Calm down. I don’t believe in ghosts. But even if the story was indeed true we are not yet sure if that was indeed Ninaad, it might have been just another worker guarding the field.” Said Sinchana trying her best to comfort her poor friend who looked like a poor kitten confronted by a dog for the first time in its life.

“Or may be that was indeed Ninaad, and may be he was coming towards you because you are Inchara reborn.” said Tushar.

“Oh stop it Tushar. Give her a break. Calm down Suditi. I don’t believe in the story either. It might really be just a worker.” said Ketan, knowing that she was waiting for him to say that.

Tushar was about to say something, but after the glaring look that Sinchana gave him he didn’t dare to give voice to his thoughts.

By evening last night’s event was forgotten. They were again tired of the day s adventure and were dizzy after a good night s dinner. The weather had been pleasant that day. And now mist was getting thicker. The night was quiet as the last one. Suditi was not completely at rest. Sinchana took Suditi’s place next to the window hoping that it would help her sleep better. She knew that the last night s events might repeat and wanted to dig into it.

At around midnight only fluttering of the leaves could be heard. And the same events repeated - A dog barking and few other dogs catching up. Sinchana woke up and peeped outside the window. And saw a figure sit near the pond…

She stormed out of her room to the front yard to see who that really was. The figure was now facing her. It was slowly coming towards her. She could make out the features more clearly now. It was quite weird since “he” did not appear to walk. He was more like drifting towards her. Now Suditi was standing few feet behind her. Suddenly the figure stopped, tilted its head, took its hand up slowly. Suditi was tensed now. Sinchana too was stiffening up. Then the figure waived its hands in a way to say good bye and disappeared into thin air.

Suditi gave a scream. Sinchana now had lost her patience. She ran towards the place where the figure stood before.

“Stop it guys, come out I know you both are behind this. There s a limit for everything. One night is fine. It was kind of fun to scare someone but repeating the samething again is not fun. It is disgusting. Come out. Suditi is really upset. I expected Tushar to do something like this, but never expected this from you Ketan. Come out and show yourselves."

There was no movement or sound. Sinchana was scared by a gentle tap on her shoulder. She turned back to find Tushar, Ketan and Suditi.

“you were in the field, how did you get behind me?” asked Sinchana.

“We were at home, and came running when you started shouting. What s wrong? What happened?” asked Ketan.

“Stop it Ketan!! I know it was you guys. It was like last night s events being repeated all over again, except for that drifting part. Confess it.”

“Ok Sinchana, like you said, last night it was us. But I don’t know what you are talking about today. We were deep asleep when we heard you shout. Everyone woke up. We just convinced them that it s just a dream. It might be a dream after all!! You were tired, may be you imagined someone today.” Said Tushar.

“No guys, even I saw it. He was floating, Ninaad. And then he stood there and waived his hands, kind of good bye and vanished.” said Suditi.

“Ok. This is it. If you girls are trying to play our own trick on us, it s not going to work, ok? There is no Ninaad. Tushar made it all up. Just to have some fun. So you can stop this nonsense and come back home and sleep. I am really tired today.” said Ketan.

“What!!! You made up the whole story? Why did you do that? Then who did we see today?” asked Suditi, with a mixture a of fear and anger.
Ketan was about to open his mouth in protest when Sinchana cut him out.

“No Ketan. I am really serious. I saw him. If you really made up this story then who was that?”asked Sinchana.

“I don’t know and I don’t care. I am sleepy now. I want to sleep. Please get inside. We can discuss this tomorrow. I will talk to the Muniyappa, he has been here for ages, he stays awake during nights and might have seen what really happened. But for now let us get in please. Else everyone at home will worry.” said Ketan and forced them all back home.

Next morning they went to Muniyappa s shed, told him about the last night s incident and asked him if he knew anything about who was in the field last night.
He took a deep breath and said “It must be Ninaad” and narrated the exact story that was told by Tushar.

Sinchana hit Tushar hard in the ribs and indicated him to come out of the shed with her. “Now have you included the old man into your prank? Stop it Tushar. I know it s you guys. I do not know how you managed to do that gliding thing last night, but this is no more funny. Poor Suditi, she is really scared now. I was partially able to see the face last night, I recognized you last night. Now stop this game.”
Tushar was awestruck. “You are partially right Sinchana. First time it was me. I just walked for a while and when mist increased a bit I jumped into a small ditch. That s how it appeared to you both that I disappeared. But last night it really was neither me nor Ketan. All this while when the old man was narrating the story I thought you pulled him into this, make him tell our own story and scare us, since we know that I made up that story, and even now I suspect you to have done that.”
By the time they were all coming out of his shed, sinchana said “Oh I see. We will find out about it tonight. I guess we will see him tonight as well.”

“No you wont see him tonight, or any night actually. No one will ever see him again. He had promised Inchara that he would not leave this world until he sees her again. And tonight he saw her. The promise is fulfilled. You look like Inchara”, the old man said looking at Sinchana. Everything came to quiet stop.



P.S: Thanks to Shinu for the name "Ninaad". I always keep bothering him for names

Destiny

They were reading the last entry from Anush s diary -
Funny thing this destiny is. Many times we think that we are destined to something but most of the times it turns out that we were destined to think that we were destined to do something, but we actually are destined to do something totally different. Incidents over the last few months have made me feel that I am destined to help others out of grave danger, but now I realize that I was destined for something else.….

They flip the dairy to entry made two months ago –
We were all waiting for Namana. She had been getting ready for the past few hours now. The movie was about to start in few minutes. But as always she took her sweet time getting ready.

“Namana!! Be quick. Are you waiting for some cosmetic which is yet to be delivered to you?” said Sanath.

“Sanath I think it is entirely your fault. You must have told her the movie is tomorrow. She ll definitely be ready for tomorrow s show”

“Shut up Anush. I am almost done.” Came a voice from her behind the closed door of her room. Yup that s me, Anush.

“Namana we are going for a movie, it will be pitch dark inside the theater, and no one will be able to notice how you look. So please don’t waste your time. Make it quick we will be waiting outside. Please do not take another hour to select your shoe for the night.”

“Thanks for being so patient and supportive Abhinav. I will be out soon.” Replied Namana.

At last the wait is over. She came out where we were all waiting and asked “hey guys, how do I look?”

“There s something wrong.” I said

“I knew there was something wrong!! I guess my ear rings are not matching, are they?”

"Dude!!! Did you have to say that??"

“No. not that, there s something wrong here about this place, this time.” I said and I suddenly got hold of her hand and pulled her towards me, she was in my arms. No one knew what was happening, they were all shocked by what I did, but what happened next was something no one had expected. Moments after I pulled her, a huge branch came down and landed at the spot where she previously stood. It looked like someone had aimed it right at her head.

Entry made a month ago –
We were on a trek. It was night and we were camping midway to the peak. The forest guard had asked us not to use our tent. They had a small room here, just 4 walls a window and a door, nothing other than that. They had permitted us to use this room for the night, asked us not to venture out during night, and go out only in group if required. I was tired and fast asleep. Sanath and abhinav were talking. Namana was well inside her sleeping bag, trying to sleep.

We had a small fire in the chimney to keep us warm.

Something made me get up. With my eyes still closed I said “Sanath do not open the door. There are some wild boars outside”

And when I opened my eyes, in the dim light of the supposed to be “camp-fire” I could see Sanath petrified at the door, with one hand on the latch and another on the handle. Namana too was up and staring at me.

“How do you know? You must have had a dream Anush.” Said abhinav. But by their looks I could tell that somewhere deep within them they knew that I must be right.
Right then we heard a “thud”. Nothing was visible from the window. Peeping through the slit in the door sanath said there were 2 wild boars fighting outside, and going by the noise there was a chance of a third one being somewhere close by.

Nothing was said. Everyone looked at me, and stayed where they were without making any noise. I do not think they were able to sleep that night.

Entry 15 days ago-
We were on our way back from the trip. Sanath was driving the car. We were about the pass the deadly yet beautiful pincurves of the western ghats. Music was on. Namana was looking through out trip pictures. Abhinav was almost asleep. I was lost in my own world of thoughts. The most beautiful and deadly part of the ghat was to begin in about a kilometer. We were still on plain straight road. Suddenly I said “stop the car”. I am not sure what made me say this. It was just an impulse.

Sanath immediately applied breaks but the car did not stop as expected. It was not like in the movie where the car’s breaks fail and the car start moving faster and faster. In our case, the car did come to a halt but took lot more time than normally. And when it stopped they were all looking at me. I knew what was going on in their mind. Had this happened on the curves of the ghat we might have ended up in as bodies (if we were lucky, else in pieces) down somewhere in the valley.

“Anush you really scare me now. This is all happening like that movie Final Destination, where initially a bunch of friends are saved because someone has 6th sense and then each of them dies a painful death. I don’t want to end up like that.”

“Oh!! Don’t be ridiculous Namana. I do not have any 6th sense. It is just that at some point of time all my senses become powerful. I am not very much conscious about that. I had read an article about conscious and subconscious minds. It is always our conscious mind that is active. But certain thing are controlled without you knowing about it. for example hypnotism. Subconscious mind can work wonders. And I think I sense these when my subconscious mind is very active. At that time all my senses are at its peak. For example when that branch fell down, probably my subconscious mind heard the sound of the branch cracking down. I can never explain how I did that but I really do not think it was 6th sense. And why don’t you think about it the other way? I was with you guys because you were destined not to meet these accidents. That day when the branch fell, you guys were supposed to meet me at the theater, but I happened to come by your place, because you were not destined to be under that branch. About that trip, I was supposed to be at home but decided to come last moment, may be to alert you about the boars. You guys are destined to live a long life, probably that is the reason why I end up with you guys.”

Back to the last entry again–
To this day I do not know why I sense what might happen. I do not know if I sense them, or if I really see them happen and then prevent them. That day in the car when I told Namana that I do not have 6th sense, I was not confident of what I was telling. Deep within me I always thought that it was 6th sense. But I was never able to decide on it. All those events, I might have sensed them or seen flashes of what could have happened, and then I did something to prevent it from happening each time. For all those times I do not remember seeing any flash. But this one I am very sure. This time I did see flashes of what might happen in sometime, and I think it is going to happen.

Namana would soon get into the river. She is a good swimmer. But swimming in the pools is different than in rivers. Unknown waters are always dangerous. Something happens and she starts to sink.

(Sometime later)
I warned her not to get into the river, but she did not heed to my warnings. There is still some time left, for it to happen. She has not yet started swimming.
Funny thing this destiny is. Many times we think that we are destined to something but most of the times it turns out that we were destined to think that we were destined to do something, but we actually are destined to do something totally different. Incidents over the last few months have made me feel that I am destined to help others out of grave danger, but now I realize that I was destined for something else. But if this is the last thing I am destined to do, then so be it….”

About the flashes, I don’t know why I remember them very well this time. When she sinks and cries for help I dive in. Then she is sitting on a rock, panting. Right now sitting here I know which that rock is. I try to climb it, lose my balance, slip into the water and get carried by the fast current, and then I saw me getting hit to some rocks. And then there is blood all over.

To think of it now, I guess what Namana said makes sense. This is all happening like Final Destination. No one can beat death. The day when the branch fell down, I was standing at that spot moments before namana arrived. Which means that branch was meant to target my head and not her’s. They say that the universe has its own way of course correction. I was destined to meet death that day but I managed an escape. By doing so I dragged my friends in my mess, the boar and car thing. I guess there is no escape. I prevent her from entering the river today, tomorrow something else would turn up. So if this is how I am going to end, so be it. Good bye all….

Shocked to the core they put aside the diary. “He knew all this would happen and yet he dived in?” asked sanatha.

“He knew all this is going to happen and yet he let me get into the river?”

“We have one crazy friend here” said Sanath.

“My leg hurts. What happened? Why am I not able to move it?”

“Dude you better not move it. I think we have a broken leg here.”

“What happened? How did this happen?”

“I got stuck in some water weeds and was sinking low, all of you dived in for me. Before you could reach me I got my legs free and managed to climb the nearby rock. You helped me climb it, then when you tried to come up, you slipped and got carried away by the current, I guess you became unconscious after you smashed yourself to the rock. Luckily your leg got hit first and then, then your body was bruised by the rock, you have cuts all over your body. Abhinav was close by, he got hold of you soon and brought you to the shore. We have given you first aid, tied sticks around your leg, so you wont be able to bend it. We have given you some pain killers, and are on the way to hospital. You will be alright soon.” said Namana.

“Anush, you were right. We are destined to think that we are destined to do something, but our final destiny might be something else.”

The pub

This place has been my Friday hangout for ages now. That table over there is where my friends have partied with me since then. Wondering why I am not sitting there with my friends? Well today is Saturday, so none of my friends are here.

(some group of friends talking at that at table)
“Hey guys enjoy its on me today. I am very happy. Hey why are you drinking soda? When did you quit alcohol?”
“I have not quit. Who will drive you guys back if all of us are drunk? Today is dry day for me.”
“Good thinking. May you always get such good thoughts.”

I have been going through a really tough time. To make things worse, I had a fight with her last week. Fights are not unusual between us, we keep fighting on a daily basis. But the bottom line is that we both love each other. It was hard for our friends to believe it initially since we both have pretty much nothing in common. She was a topper in college, and my name would be in top only if the list was alphabetic in order. She is hardly interested in sports, I have spent most of my life playing. She likes eating in classy place but as for me there is nothing to beat road side chats and darshinis. For her trip is a well planned and organized stay at some resort, I go to the bus stand, catch the first bus out and make a trip. She loathes alcohol, and me, well I have already told you that this pub is my favourite hang out. I was allowed only one cocktail a month during our dinners, and she chose the ones with minimum percentage of alcohol. But why else was the concept of ‘tips’ introduced? A good tip to a friendly waiter can easily change your drink, unnoticed by your partner. I loved pranks and she was the serious one. She was beautiful, and me, handsome or not, she was with me and I care for nothing else… I can go on and on about this for hours. But let me not deviate. The point is that in spite of all our differences we were together. Because that is where love comes into picture. Neither of us are perfect, we have to make each other’s lives perfect.
Now, where was I? oh yes, the tough time and the fight. Let me get back there…. The fight. She wanted us to get married as soon as possible. And I did not have the courage and heart to tell her about my bank balance, which had been null for months now. Null is still better, but off-late it has been in negatives. And so she came to a “no-talk, no meet until you take the big decision” stance with me.

But sometimes in life right when you feel that the tunnel is endless, you come across a small opening. Right when we thought that were fighting a hopeless battle to strike some major deal for our company, one of my friend was successful in getting a deal. Finally the ship which was meant to sail got a chance to experience the deep waters. I was eager to meet her and tell her the good news and also tell her my “big decision”. But it was a Friday. And as usual we were here.

Sometimes in life when happiness comes your way, you do something foolish and drive it away…. That s what I did that gloomy day….

Hmmmm. You know what? This is a really lucky bunch of friends. They have at least one guy responsible enough to think about driving everyone back home safely. I have no rights to blame my friends as I myself did not take that initiative. “If”… it is just a 2 lettered word, “but” a 3 lettered word, and our life is full of “if”s and “but”s. ‘If’ I had someone responsible enough to stay dry that night, I would not here telling you this story. I would have been with her having dinner at a place of her choice and fighting over some trivial stuff. ‘If’…. If I somehow get a chance to go back in time, same place, that ominous day, I would not even touch alcohol. Not just alcohol, I am indeed ready to do anything to go back in time and undo what have done. I am even ready to do anything to get a chance meet her one last time. Look at her, feel her. Anything….

Yeah that’s right. I guess the alcohol level in my blood was more than what my body permitted me to have such that it still performed close to normal. That night I thought that I would be lucky if I do not get caught by police. But now to think about it, I think I ran out of luck that night, and did not get caught by police.
I was high, the happiness made me more high. To add to it I was talking over the cell phone while I was driving. I had almost reached her house. It happened within a flash. It was over before I even realized what was happening. When I cut the call and looked back at the road I noticed that there was a female, a couple of meters ahead of my car and suddenly I lost control. I tried to avoid her. I did my best to avoid her. And a bang!!! Later at the hospital I came to know that the female was her, and that I can never tell her my “big decision”.

It all feels like a dream now. I wish I could wake up and get out of the dream. But I know that it is not a dream I know that it has really happened, and I am happy that it happened. I know that it is not a dream because in our world we do not dream, we do not sleep. I hit head-on to an oncoming heavy vehicle while trying to avoid her and was gone on the spot…

sometimes in life

Sometimes in life… distress fares,
Then at each step it is fear that your mind bears
It is then that hope fights a graving battle
The uncertainty of the battle is what fear banks on
Smile, happiness, joy, memories, relations, is what hope relies on
The battle might last long, but hope is the one that stand all along
And when love is at its side, hope becomes even strong
So strong that fear stands no chance….

Sometimes in life when darkness is all around,
Moments of bliss is all what I think about
It kindles a light to find peace when darkness is at sight
Then when I think of you, all of you, who have been for me at my fight
The tiny flame comes to its might and fights all the darkness to a flight

Farmhouse part 6

“oh thank God. I was expecting you suspect me. No Janvi, I do not think it was you. You said he was still there when you left. So I could easily ask him and find out if what you told was a lie. No Janvi, it was not you. I was thinking what made her go there? It might have been an accident, but getting electrocuted by a fence… it is fishy. And looking at the other 3 unnatural deaths, I think someone is behind this. One death being an accident is acceptable, but now 3 in a row, there is something really wrong. As you said we shall get out of this place as soon as possible. You don’t worry, I will be with you. We should be very alert now.”
What was to be done was done. They were to leave in sometime. Chetan was at the dinner table, eating apple. Janvi was in the room behind him, packing her stuff and getting ready to leave. She could only see his back. There was perfect silence. No one would believe there were 2 people inside the house. And no one would believe that they had come here for a celebration. And then Janvi heard someone speak, it was very feeble initially, she could not clearly distinguish the voices. Who was Chetan talking to? she thought to herself. Slowly she came out of the room, the voice was now clear.
“Saakshi, you were so scared. Your condition after Sanju s death was pathetic. It is good that you died. Now you can be with your Sanju forever. It is alright saakshi, you do not have to thank me. I am your friend, I did my best to see to it that you stay happy. Funny thing electricity is. It turns on a light, but it turned off your light. And such an easy job for me it was. And about sanju, you were right, it was one of us who killed him, but the person whom you suspected was innocent. It was me. Again!!! He was an easy target. He was near the lake, so drunk that I challenged him to stay under water for 5 minutes and he went, and I saw to it that I never came out alive. He died in waist deep water. And Jatin, I just had to persuade him to eat the cake first. And that was not a difficult thing to do. I just told him that I was his last birthday as a bachelor, Janvi s interests would come before his once they got married, hence this is the last time he can have his cake first… And he fell for him.” There was laughter now. Chetan was laughing.
“but they were my friends. I should not have done that to them. I have spent so many years with them. I miss them already.” He said and began to cry.
“Yes they were my friends, but they had no right to laugh at me, make fun of me, and humiliate me. They have been doing it since school. It is not my fault that I am short. Why did they have to make fun of me? Everyone who makes fun of me will have the same end. Only Janvi was sensitive to understand me. Only she is my friend. She might miss Jatin, but she will find someone else, she deserves someone better.” he said, this time with an angry voice.

“oh come on Kaalu!! How can someone kill 3 of his good friends just for making fun of him?”
“Dude, this is just a story. But if you do not mind your tongue and do not stop calling me names, this will become your true story!!!” there was determination in his voice.

Farmhouse part 5

Chetan was in the kitchen preparing coffee and something to eat when he heard someone coming. It was Janvi.
“what happened? Why did you return? Where is Saakashi?” asked Chetan.
“I had to freshen up. Saakshi told she would be alright. And I thought she would like to be alone for some while. And do not worry that old caretaker is harmless.”
“I don’t know. He sounded a bit creepy. Talking about ghosts.”
“Are you scared of ghosts chetan?”
“No, but Saakshi is scared. That s the reason I wanted you to be with her.”
“Oh. Ok then, I ll get the coffee, you go join her…”
Chetan left Janvi alone in the house. It was all like a bad dream. 12 hours ago they were preparing a birthday party for their best friend, her “should have been” life partner, the atmosphere was full of joy they were supposed to spend the 2 days, as the best days of their life. So much had changed in the past few hours. It was very hard to believe it. she was hoping to get up from her dream anytime and give Jatin a tight hug, and probably beat him up for leaving her alone in her dream. But it did not happen. She had did not feel like eating anything. But she was taking it good. And Saakshi was exact opposite. She looked pathetic. Life would never be the same, but we have to live, we have to continue explained Janvi to Saakshi.
Saakshi still had a feeling that it was one them who was responsible for the killings, and saakshi s behavior made her feelings even strong. Chetan was still strong, it was understandable, the deceased ones were just his friends. But Janu… she was about to marry Jatin, and her reaction bothered Saakshi.
Janvi was about to get out of the kitchen when Chetan rushed in, he was panting. By his looks anyone could tell have understood that there was something wrong. Something terribly wrong. After a moment of pause, still panting he said “Janvi, Saakshi is missing. She was not near the lake where we were sitting, I searched around but could not find her. The old man was missing too.”
This was a good enough to explain his expression. Janvi was now terrified. They quickly set out. They searched for her like a hungry dog searching for a hidden prey. Five minutes of unsuccessful search and running, no food for almost 12hrs had exhausted them. They were sitting under the tree when they saw the same old caretaker coming towards them. His face almost reflected their terror.
“Sir” he said softly “you have another sad news. The girl…….”
This was something they half expected to hear, but they genuinely prayed that he had some other news.
“Please come sir” he said taking them to place very hear by. It was a field, sunflowers turning towards east. They were happy to see nothing as they had expected. The old man had brought them to a beautiful place. They stopped. They did not know why he had brought them here. It hardly took few seconds for them to find out. Saakshi was on the ground, holding the fence, electrocuted to death. The fence was ideally should not have killed. There was something fishy about this.
Janvi could take no more. This was it. “Chetan please take me out of here. I do not want to stay here.” She said hardly being able to control herself. They asked the old man to call the police again. He left.
Chetan gave her a scary look. He did not move. He did not talk. “Chetan why are you looking at me like that? I am getting scared.”
He did not move, he did not answer. He kept looking at her.
“Please Chetan, tell me that you do not think that killed Saakshi and came to the farm house.” said Janvi almost in tears.


To be continued...

Farmhouse part 4

It was Jatin s birthday. He along with his friends Sanjay ,Chetan, Janvi, Saakshi were at Sanjay s farm house to celebrate his birthday.
“Chootu. You fool!! You brought the wrong cake. This one has no name written on it.”
“Why are you blaming me? You too were with me Chetan. And Saakshi had asked you to get it, and be careful. Not me. But it looks more tasty.”
“Stop it you two. Do not fight. He ll be here anytime. What can we do now? There s no way to get the cake that we had ordered for and we do not have any cream to write his name.” said Janvi.
“I have an idea.” Said Sanjay.
“no thanks Sanjay. We know what you mean when you have that evil smile on your face. We are happy without your ideas. Keep them for yourself”, said saakshi with a “strict no” expression on her face.
Janvi added “yeah we know what your plan is. Let me guess. Tooth paste?”
“Tooth paste is a good idea. But come on Jatin is my friend too. I would not used tooth paste to write his name on his 25th birthday cake. I would use cream. Jatin always gives us so small piece of cake. I ll write his name with cream, shaving cream and make him eat the whole cake” said Sanjay with wink and a smile but everything faded away when 3 angry faces glared at him, and he decided not to meddle with them.
“Relax guys. It is us that matters not this silly cake. With or without his name, it still is his birthday cake. And like you said Chetan, this looks more tasty. And Sanjay stop calling him Chootu. We are all adults not. How would he feel if tomorrow you call him chootu in front of his girlfriend?” said Janvi
Chetan could not stop blushing. The farm house was about 100km from the city. The city in which they all spent their childhood. The city in which they were educated. It all started from their school days. Chetan was the shortest of them all and hence named chootu, initially to tease and make fun of him and later on… well it became his pet name. Janvi was the only sensible, sensitive person in the group. It was during these days that they had decided that they would spend a couple of days each year at this farm house. The location was very good. It was peaceful. There was a lake nearby where they could swim, and go boating. And it would be a good break from the busy, hectic and tensed city life. And this time they had a reason to celebrate.
Jatin was not upset when he saw the cake. He was in fact happy with the cake. And so at 12 they lit the candles. Janvi was always against blowing out candles. “light represents life. It should always be on. Blowing it off according to me is taking out life from someone”, she always said. They usually listened to Janvi. But this time they were not in total control of their mind. Alcohol too had a say and jatin blew off the candles. Chetan could sense disappointment in janvi s face.
“I am sorry Janvi. I could not resist this time. Here… you have the first piece of cake....” said jatin taking a piece of cake towards her. But when the cake was about to touch her lips he said “ Sorry jaan, the cake looks toooo tasty. Guys everything but this cake is yours.” And swallowed the chunk of cake that was supposed to be for janvi.
Before they realized what was going on, Jatin was on the floor fighting for breath, face turning blue. And before they rushed him to the village s government, Jatin was no more.
Part 2.
FIR was filed. When Jatin s parents called to wish him on his 25th birthday they expected the happy voice of their son which the most pleasant to them, but instead were answered by the mournful voices of his friends. The news shattered them. The light of their life was blown off by some evil force. And Janvi of course was the most affected. They had dreamt a life together. She was hit very hard and dragged out of her dream, their dream, back to the cruel world.
They had decided to wait there, at the farm house. Wait until Jatin s parents could finish the formalities and get Jatin s body. When they reached the farmhouse it was past 3 am. Their eyes were burning. But sleep was something which would not come close to them tonight. Janvi had taken it well tonight. They had not spoken a word to each other since they left the hospital. Janvi was the first to speak. “Sanju, who takes care of this farmhouse when we are gone? We have never seen anyone around, but the place looks clean and well kept always.”
“We have a servant. He takes care of this place. He does not stay here though. We do not like anyone to interfere when we are here. So we have given him a place to stay. It is close by. Why did you ask that?”
“Well, if there is no one else in this farmhouse, and if you servant did not come here before Jatin had the cake then one of us must have mixed the poison in the cake.”
“Sanju please tell me that you did not poison him because of that stupid fight of yours last week, just because he hit you” said Saakshi with fear in her face.
“what are you talking about? I am a sensible person ok? We keep fighting always. That s how it has been since we met. Why would I kill him for a stupid fight? He is….” His voice faded away. And then after a moment regained his tone “He was a very good friend of mine. I would never have wanted this to happen to him.”
There was silence again.
And this time it was sanju who spoke, with a very thoughtful tone “wait a minute. The cake was with chootu all the time. And even when we came here, when we were decorating the hall he was missing for a long time. He had all the time he wanted. He could have easily mixed the poison.”
Chetan s expressions did not change. “I knew this would come up. The blaming game. We can keep blaming each other for hours, for any number of reasons. I can continue the game if you want to. If it were one of us then it could have easily been Saakshi. I am not a chemistry person. I do not know what crocin has. Whereas Saakshi knows a lot about it. She has specialized in pharmacy. Right now she could easily give us a list of chemicals which can easily kill a person. But apply your brains. Sanju, suppose that this was your birthday party. Out of us 5 who would have tasted the cake first?”
“well I would cut the cake and let saakshi have a bit, then may be you guys, and then I would have, or rather you people would stuff it into my mouth.”
“Exactly!! That s what each one of us would do. I mean, cut let everyone have a bite and then get it stuffed in our mouth. Janvi has Jatin ever not let you eat the cake frist?”
“No that has not happened. In our group it has always been me to eat his birthday cake first.”
“So….”
“So you mean to say that I poisoned the cake and hence did not eat the cake first?” asked Janvi in a shock
“No!! I didn’t mean that. We were blaming each other thinking that one of us was planning to kill Jatin. But all of us know that you would taste the cake first, so we would not have added something to it to kill Jatin. We would have added something, hoping to kill you!!!”
Part 3
“So someone is trying to kill me?”
“You are not getting the point. We are blaming each other. But neglecting a very important point. The cake which we brought was not meant for Jatin. It was meant for someone else. And so may be the poison was for that person too.”
This was something they had not given a thought about. If what Chetan said was true then someone s had been saved, but that person was still in grave danger. So they immediately told this to the police. The next day was supposed to be a very eventful day. They had loads of plans which now would never be done. There were bottles of alcohol to be emptied in 2 days, “to Jatin” they would have happily said. They had planned to drink for his happiness. And now it could never happen. But Sanju decided to drink cause he was sad. He would still say “to Jathin” but would also add “who was such a good friend, who will always stay in our hearts.” Tonight he would not just drink. Tonight he would get drunk.
After the talk with police they did not have anything to discuss. Sanju had a very hard job ahead. “bottoms up”, as many bottoms he could. Janvi was on the couch lost in thoughts, Chetan and Saakshi s comforting talks going unheard. Saakshi was kneeling down on the floor next to Janvi persuading her to sleep, but getting no answer back. After sometime, and a few failed attempts to persuade janvi to sleep Saakshi drowsed there sitting on the floor with her head on the couch. Chetan was sitting on the couch next to Janvi he did not have any words to comfort her. He did not know how to comfort her. All he could do was wait patiently for her to open up. And it took a lot of time for her to do so.
“It is so dark Chetan.”
“Just wait, I will light some candles for you.”
“candles… are supposed to be lit. candle is of no use if there is no flame. The candle that has blown off can not be lit again Chetan. It is beyond your capacity to light it. It will always be dark now. Always…”
“Janvi. This was not supposed to have happened. But there is something called fate, over which we do not have control.”
“Do you know Chetan? He was to leave to Australia by the end of this year. On our way here he had told me that this could be the last visit to the farmhouse. He had planned that we would get married by the end of the year and leave together…..”
There was lot to say. But he could not. It was always the other way round. Chetan, who was not very smart, looks as well as brains, always needed comforting. And Janvi was always there for him. Always comforting him. Where as the others made fun of him although they were his friends. He was never humiliated by their pranks or mockery, he knew that they were his friends. But he knew that Janvi was the only one who could empathies him, and guide him. And now was the time for him to support her. And he was with her all that night. And that meant more to her too.
Sanju was drunk by now. He was mourning. And drank more to mourn more. He kept murmuring to himself, laughing, imagining Jatin to be sharing his drinks, and then cry realizing that he was hallucinating.
Sun was up now. The hall was filled with light. They were all where they had settled after coming from the hospital. Saakshi on the floor, Chetan and Janvi on the couch. But Sanju was missing. Janvi and Chetan were awake, Saakshi was still sleeping. Janvi s eyes had swollen, and were red.
Then there was someone at the door. There was no knock, no door bell. The lock clicked open. And someone entered.
“sorry to intrude sir. I am the caretaker of this place. And there is something you need to see.” Saakshi was awakened by his entry. There was something in his voice that scared them. They rushed behind him.
They were near the lake. Couple of empty beer bottles lay on the edge, along with Sanjay s jacket, and shoes. And a body floating in the lake. Sanju had drunk his way to death…

Part 4
“I will call the police said the caretaker and left the 3 friends.
Saakshi could not bear it. Jatin was a good friend but. Sanju was everything.
“It is a murder. Someone has killed him too. He was a very good swimmer. He could not have died in this shallow lake. Someone dragged him down under water and choked him to death. Why did you do this Janvi? What had he done? He was a good friend of ours.”
Janvi was speechless.
“Shut up Saakshi. Why would Janvi do it? And look at him. How huge he is. It is physically impossible for Janvi to drag him down. Besides Janvi was with us all the time last night. It s not difficult to guess what happened. Look at the number of bottles he has emptied. I don’t know what he had planned to do here. Or why he had come here, o how he died. We ll have to wait for the reports to come.” Said Chetan.
“Janvi killed him because she suspected that Sanju killed Jatin. She had hatred last night in her eyes. I observed it. Besides I was awake at around 6 Sanju was missing and Janvi just entered the hall and sat back on the couch. That explains it all. They both left for a walk, she killed him and came back hoping that Chootu and me would not notice it. but you are caught Janvi.”
“Oh shut up Saakshi. You just saw me entering, but did you not notice that I entered the hall from the kitchen? I was thirsty and there was not water on the table so I had been to kitchen. And please stop calling him chootu. I am not some psycho, Saakshi. If it was indeed Sanju who had killed Jatin then I would have seen to it that he gets punished by law. Killing him is not giving justice Jatin. This is not some school prank or fight where tit for tat is the verdict. This is real life.”
Chetan was about to tell something, but kept quite as he saw the caretaker standing nearby, next to a tree.
Since they had already noticed him, he came forward and said “I am sorry sir, I did not want to disturb you, I have called the police they should be here somewhere. I have also informed my masters in city. You had already informed about the other boy s death and I thought it would be very difficult to do that again.”
“thank you” said chetan.
“No problem sir. It is my duty. Sir, I heard you conversation. Please do not mind me sir. But I do not think it is any one of you sir.”
“Why? Is there something you know? Is there someone who didn’t like Sanjay here? Did you see something last night?” asked Janvi, anxiously.
“Sanjay sir came here very rarely. He did not disturb anyone. He does not have any enemy here in the village. You might not believe what I say. But I think it is true. His enemy is also dead. The other boy who died last night, his ghost killed Sanjay sir. According to me, he might have thought that it was Sanju sir who killed him. So his ghost has avenged his death. Now it rests in peace. But Sanju sir does not rest in peace.” he said, with an evil grin.
“Oh, stop the nonsense. It was not jatin s ghost that killed Sanju, it is alcohol s ghost that killed him. When will the police arrive?” asked chetan.
“they will take some time sir. The inspector has gone to an accident site. It might take a couple of hours. I shall stay here and look after the body.”
“I am having head ache. Will have something and come” said Janvi.
“Janvi you stay here. I will go and get something to eat. And tablets if you want. Saakshi needs you” said Chetan. And then whispered to her “I do not like the way that caretaker was spying us. Be careful. Keep an eye on him”.



to be continued....

Farmhouse part 3

“So someone is trying to kill me?”
“You are not getting the point. We are blaming each other. But neglecting a very important point. The cake which we brought was not meant for Jatin. It was meant for someone else. And so may be the poison was for that person too.”
This was something they had not given a thought about. If what Chetan said was true then someone s had been saved, but that person was still in grave danger. So they immediately told this to the police. The next day was supposed to be a very eventful day. They had loads of plans which now would never be done. There were bottles of alcohol to be emptied in 2 days, “to Jatin” they would have happily said. They had planned to drink for his happiness. And now it could never happen. But Sanju decided to drink cause he was sad. He would still say “to Jathin” but would also add “who was such a good friend, who will always stay in our hearts.” Tonight he would not just drink. Tonight he would get drunk.
After the talk with police they did not have anything to discuss. Sanju had a very hard job ahead. “bottoms up”, as many bottoms he could. Janvi was on the couch lost in thoughts, Chetan and Saakshi s comforting talks going unheard. Saakshi was kneeling down on the floor next to Janvi persuading her to sleep, but getting no answer back. After sometime, and a few failed attempts to persuade janvi to sleep Saakshi drowsed there sitting on the floor with her head on the couch. Chetan was sitting on the couch next to Janvi he did not have any words to comfort her. He did not know how to comfort her. All he could do was wait patiently for her to open up. And it took a lot of time for her to do so.
“It is so dark Chetan.”
“Just wait, I will light some candles for you.”
“candles… are supposed to be lit. candle is of no use if there is no flame. The candle that has blown off can not be lit again Chetan. It is beyond your capacity to light it. It will always be dark now. Always…”
“Janvi. This was not supposed to have happened. But there is something called fate, over which we do not have control.”
“Do you know Chetan? He was to leave to Australia by the end of this year. On our way here he had told me that this could be the last visit to the farmhouse. He had planned that we would get married by the end of the year and leave together…..”
There was lot to say. But he could not. It was always the other way round. Chetan, who was not very smart, looks as well as brains, always needed comforting. And Janvi was always there for him. Always comforting him. Where as the others made fun of him although they were his friends. He was never humiliated by their pranks or mockery, he knew that they were his friends. But he knew that Janvi was the only one who could empathies him, and guide him. And now was the time for him to support her. And he was with her all that night. And that meant more to her too.
Sanju was drunk by now. He was mourning. And drank more to mourn more. He kept murmuring to himself, laughing, imagining Jatin to be sharing his drinks, and then cry realizing that he was hallucinating.
Sun was up now. The hall was filled with light. They were all where they had settled after coming from the hospital. Saakshi on the floor, Chetan and Janvi on the couch. But Sanju was missing. Janvi and Chetan were awake, Saakshi was still sleeping. Janvi s eyes had swollen, and were red.
Then there was someone at the door. There was no knock, no door bell. The lock clicked open. And someone entered.
“sorry to intrude sir. I am the caretaker of this place. And there is something you need to see.” Saakshi was awakened by his entry. There was something in his voice that scared them. They rushed behind him.
They were near the lake. Couple of empty beer bottles lay on the edge, along with Sanjay s jacket, and shoes. And a body floating in the lake. Sanju had drunk his way to death…

to be continued...

Farmhouse part 2

FIR was filed. When Jatin s parents called to wish him on his 25th birthday they expected the happy voice of their son which the most pleasant to them, but instead were answered by the mournful voices of his friends. The news shattered them. The light of their life was blown off by some evil force. And Janvi of course was the most affected. They had dreamt a life together. She was hit very hard and dragged out of her dream, their dream, back to the cruel world.
They had decided to wait there, at the farm house. Wait until Jatin s parents could finish the formalities and get Jatin s body. When they reached the farmhouse it was past 3 am. Their eyes were burning. But sleep was something which would not come close to them tonight. Janvi had taken it well tonight. They had not spoken a word to each other since they left the hospital. Janvi was the first to speak. “Sanju, who takes care of this farmhouse when we are gone? We have never seen anyone around, but the place looks clean and well kept always.”
“We have a servant. He takes care of this place. He does not stay here though. We do not like anyone to interfere when we are here. So we have given him a place to stay. It is close by. Why did you ask that?”
“Well, if there is no one else in this farmhouse, and if you servant did not come here before Jatin had the cake then one of us must have mixed the poison in the cake.”
“Sanju please tell me that you did not poison him because of that stupid fight of yours last week, just because he hit you” said Saakshi with fear in her face.
“what are you talking about? I am a sensible person ok? We keep fighting always. That s how it has been since we met. Why would I kill him for a stupid fight? He is….” His voice faded away. And then after a moment regained his tone “He was a very good friend of mine. I would never have wanted this to happen to him.”
There was silence again.
And this time it was sanju who spoke, with a very thoughtful tone “wait a minute. The cake was with chootu all the time. And even when we came here, when we were decorating the hall he was missing for a long time. He had all the time he wanted. He could have easily mixed the poison.”
Chetan s expressions did not change. “I knew this would come up. The blaming game. We can keep blaming each other for hours, for any number of reasons. I can continue the game if you want to. If it were one of us then it could have easily been Saakshi. I am not a chemistry person. I do not know what crocin has. Whereas Saakshi knows a lot about it. She has specialized in pharmacy. Right now she could easily give us a list of chemicals which can easily kill a person. But apply your brains. Sanju, suppose that this was your birthday party. Out of us 5 who would have tasted the cake first?”
“well I would cut the cake and let saakshi have a bit, then may be you guys, and then I would have, or rather you people would stuff it into my mouth.”
“Exactly!! That s what each one of us would do. I mean, cut let everyone have a bite and then get it stuffed in our mouth. Janvi has Jatin ever not let you eat the cake frist?”
“No that has not happened. In our group it has always been me to eat his birthday cake first.”
“So….”
“So you mean to say that I poisoned the cake and hence did not eat the cake first?” asked Janvi in a shock.

“No!! I didn’t mean that. We were blaming each other thinking that one of us was planning to kill Jatin. But all of us know that you would taste the cake first, so we would not have added something to it to kill Jatin. We would have added something, hoping to kill you!!!”

to be continued.....

Farmhouse (part1)

It was Jatin s birthday. He along with his friends Sanjay ,Chetan, Janvi, Saakshi were at Sanjay s farm house to celebrate his birthday.

“Chootu. You fool!! You brought the wrong cake. This one has no name written on it.”

“Why are you blaming me? You too were with me Chetan. And Saakshi had asked you to get it, and be careful. Not me. But it looks more tasty.”

“Stop it you two. Do not fight. He ll be here anytime. What can we do now? There s no way to get the cake that we had ordered for and we do not have any cream to write his name.” said Janvi.

“I have an idea.” Said Sanjay.

“no thanks Sanjay. We know what you mean when you have that evil smile on your face. We are happy without your ideas. Keep them for yourself”, said saakshi with a “strict no” expression on her face.

Janvi added “yeah we know what your plan is. Let me guess. Tooth paste?”

“Tooth paste is a good idea. But come on Jatin is my friend too. I would not used tooth paste to write his name on his 25^th birthday cake. I would use cream. Jatin always gives us so small piece of cake. I ll write his name with cream, shaving cream and make him eat the whole cake” said Sanjay with wink and a smile but everything faded away when 3 angry faces glared at him, and he decided not to meddle with them.

“Relax guys. It is us that matters not this silly cake. With or without his name, it still is his birthday cake. And like you said Chetan, this looks more tasty. And Sanjay stop calling him Chootu. We are all adults not. How would he feel if tomorrow you call him chootu in front of his girlfriend?” said Janvi

Chetan could not stop blushing. The farm house was about 100km from the city. The city in which they all spent their childhood. The city in which they were educated. It all started from their school days. Chetan was the shortest of them all and hence named chootu, initially to tease and make fun of him and later on… well it became his pet name. Janvi was the only sensible, sensitive person in the group. It was during these days that they had decided that they would spend a couple of days each year at this farm house. The location was very good. It was peaceful. There was a lake nearby where they could swim, and go boating. And it would be a good break from the busy, hectic and tensed city life. And this time they had a reason to celebrate.

Jatin was not upset when he saw the cake. He was in fact happy with the cake. And so at 12 they lit the candles. Janvi was always against blowing out candles. “light represents life. It should always be on. Blowing it off according to me is taking out life from someone”, she always said. They usually listened to Janvi. But this time they were not in total control of their mind. Alcohol too had a say and jatin blew off the candles. Chetan could sense disappointment in janvi s face.

“I am sorry Janvi. I could not resist this time. Here… you have the first piece of cake....” said jatin taking a piece of cake towards her. But when the cake was about to touch her lips he said “ Sorry jaan, the cake looks toooo tasty. Guys everything but this cake is yours.” And swallowed the chunk of cake that was supposed to be for janvi.

Before they realized what was going on, Jatin was on the floor fighting for breath, face turning blue. And before they rushed him to the village s government, Jatin was no more.