Kid,Peter,Sheela,Mom and I

I came home from school and looked around for Kid."Kid?.........Kid..? Where are you?" I looked under the dining table, my bed, my grandmother's bed. My Grandmother's bed is made of boxes filled with antediluvian thinga-ma-jigs."Those boxes have my old saris,photographs,my drawings, your grandfather's clothes and books and everything else that make up your grandfather's life and mine." she said when I asked her what was there in the boxes. There were three rows of boxes with two boxes in each row.That's only six boxes that contain the whole life of two people.Between the first and second row of boxes is a gap which forms a cozy niche just large enough for a baby goat. Kid goes and hides there sometimes when he's scared, which is all the time. Kid is scared of loud trucks, buses,cars,bikes, cockroaches,lizards,rats,my grandmother's sneeze, when the anchor on the television yells,"Congratulations Mr. Warner! You have won a million dollars!" and vampires. There's probably more that he's afraid of. "One can never know everything about someone" is what my mom always used to say.She doesn't say much these days.

Kid was hiding in his niche again.He doesn't come out of there till you put a plate of warm and delicious bread in front of him He comes out slowly to the odour that seeps out from the warmth and hides in my lap first and then starts eating. I think he feels protected when he hides in my lap cause I'm bigger and older than him.Then, out of nowhere, Sheela came out and Kid went back to hide."They let you come out today....", I cried with joy. She said,"Sssh... I sneaked out from the window. Peter stole the key from the nurse when she was serving me breakfast." "But how did you know how to get here?" I asked in a whisper that came out rather hoarse as I tried to keep my voice down in all the excitement."You told me it was the house next to the rich man's library, remember? So, I asked around for the rich man's library and found it."

Next to my house is a medium-sized library owned by a wealthy man.My grandmother says he's not really rich.He only looks rich because he always dresses up in a clean, neatly pressed suit and a hat that matches his coat.But, I like Mr. Kohli.He has a very interesting collection of books which he lends to me for free. He also likes vampires which is good because I could take Sheela to the library along with Peter. Peter is a vampire. But, only Sheela can see him. Nobody else can. Sheela used to say that Peter is not one of those horrible and frightening vampires like in the hoary myths we read. He is a vampire of Indian origin who happens to like anthropomorphic beings. He tells the most fascinating and incredible stories. He says that some of his stories are true and from a very long time ago. Peter is much older than he looks because vampires don't age.One of his stories was about a witch Carolina who found the home of God. She and God had a bet that they would both fight each other and if the witch won, then she would win a chance to create three new beings on the Earth with God's creational powers.The witch out-smarted God in that battle by using a mirror against God's spell in the very last-minute. Peter said that what the witch did was very smart because everyone always uses a mirror to defeat a witch and hence, God did not expect the witch to use a mirror on him. Peter said that the witch created vampires, werewolves and fireflies in the world. Vampires and werewolves you don't meet very often, but fireflies are all around like a flotilla of moving stars between leaves, or hovering over rocks. Sometimes, they even come into the house through the window.When the power goes out, I like to lie down on my bed and watch those myriad neon lights flying in circles, higher and higher casting a hypnotic spell that mesmerises me into a dream far away.Reality becomes too distant to come back to and a kind of happiness surrounds me like a warm blanket in the coldness of the dark...

I took Sheela and Peter to the library and I must say that Mr.Kohli rather enjoyed their company.Peter told us all about the Valley of Light, a place at the end of the ocean where all light is created. It has blue elephants and pink monkeys and everybody can see vampires,werewolves and ghosts because of all the light.We wanted to see the Valley of Light,so we went to the cliffs in the evening and sat at the very edge of it so that we could see as far as our eyes could.The wind howled and roared about us and threatened to push us over the edge, but I enjoyed sitting at the edge even more because of that, almost hoping that the strong zephyrs would carry me away,over the frighteningly deep ocean, into the Valley of Light... I met Sheela on the first day I went to visit my mother in the hospital.It had been a month since I had seen my mother.The hospital did not let anybody visit her for a month because she was very sick. I remember how I found her sitting in a corner with her arms wrapped around her legs, hugging herself tightly, talking to someone I couldn't see, with bleeding hands and bruises all over her back. She didn't let anyone come near her except for Kid who sat on her lap and cried with her. My grandmother called the hospital and she's been there ever since. It's strange how Kid was not afraid of that person she was talking to on that day. Normally, he starts shivering when that man is around. But,that day he didn't... Everyday in the hospital I would sit with Sheela and Peter and listen to stories that Peter had to tell.I would bring her books from the library and she would read all of them and return them to me the next day.We spent one evening sticking glow stars that Mr.Kohli gave to me, all over the walls in her room. And at the end of the day, I went to my mother's room and told her everything Sheela,Peter and I did. She seemed to like listening to me, but she never said anything.

The sky roared with a stentorian voice that shook the inside of my heart that started to race as I came back from an intense period of wool-gathering to a terrifying storm."Oh no! We must go back home quickly! Come!" I told Sheela as she held my hand and said,"You go back home.I must go back also." "But, how will you go back in this rain?" I asked."Don't worry. I know my way and Peter is there with me." she said smiling back at me. I quickly nodded and started running back home.That was the last I ever saw of Sheela..

The next morning, I went to the hospital to meet her, and found an empty room.Only the glow of the stars remained.The nurse said that Sheela isn't here anymore. I wondered where she had gone to as my throat started to burn strongly and my head started to feel heavy as a brimful of thoughts started to settle in. I couldn't think and I started to walk quickly to my mother's room. Tears started to run down my cheeks and as I entered the room, I screamed"Sheela's gone! I don't know where she is... We were at the beach yesterday and...." ,I started to tell her everything as she sat and listened to me. I yelled,"What?Say something!" and I started to cry even more.I wanted her to say something, anything! I wanted my mother... She spoke softly,"She went to the Valley of Light.I forgot to tell you earlier." And I looked up at her and ran to her arms and held on to her as tightly as I could.There was silence in the room and I wanted to stay there forever in the silence within her arms.

Untitled 3

The environment changed to that of a lake. The old man and Blue were sitting in the middle of it under a tree filled with pink blossoms.
They looked at their reflection in the lake.

"What do you see?" asked blue.

"Regret" replied the old man. "What do you see?" he asked.

"I see the pain of regret" she said.
"How do you feel?" she asked slowly.

He looked up into her genuinely concerned eyes and sighed."I feel like a fool. I feel like I've betrayed and humiliated myself. I loathe myself more than anyone in this universe. I despise myself." His voice had become bitter and his reflection became older. More wrinkles appeared on his face and the rings around his eyes seemed to become more hollow.

"I made the wrong choice. I'm sure of it now for I am unable to live with myself. Do I want to be alone? No. Do I want to be with someone? No. Do I want to be with friends? what friends? I let them all down. Do I want to laugh? Bitterly. Do I want to cry? I wish i didn't want to. Do I want to move on with my life? No. Do I want to stand still? Desperately..."

Suddenly, the lake disappeared and they were back in the dark room.
Blue found herself trapped in a cage. She shook the bars of the cage in a desperate attempt to break out.

The old man found himself surrounded by all the people he ever cared about. A stentorian voice spoke in the darkness from above. The room started to spin around them and the candle fell and set the table on fire.

"YOU LET EVERYONE DOWN! NOW YOU AND YOU ALONE HAVE TO PAY THE PRICE. YOU WILL GROW OLDER AND MORE DECREPIT, BUT YOU WILL NEVER DIE! YOU WILL NEVER DIE!"

"Stop it! PLease!" screamed Blue back at the unknown voice.

But the voice did not stop. The flames roared around them. The old man fell on his knees as tears broke out of his eyes. In a soft voice he spoke. "I'm so sorry......I'm so so sorry."

A gallant knight broke open the door and said,"I'm going in."
He jumped straight into the fire fearing nothing. He broke open the cage and carried Blue out of the fire and then went back in for the old man.

Blue found herself back at the lake. She looked at her reflection in the water. Tears streamed down her face in silence.

Untitled 2

The old man and Blue had entered a dark room that contained a single table with a single candle that was lit. They sat on opposite sides of the flame and looked into each others eyes.

"So, that is your definition of love" said the old man.

"The most honest one that I can provide" replied Blue with a look of self confidence.

"There are those who believe that you care for a time about those around you only because you need them to care about you at that time."

"They will discover the truth when they find that they are unable to not care."

"Tell me, have you ever been in a situation where you had to risk your life in order to save the people you care about? A choice between saving yourself or....."

"sacrificing yourself... No" answered Blue looking quite startled at the question.

"They say that the true personality of a human being is revealed in that moment of decision."

"All human beings are true. What matters is whether they are being true to themselves.
However, the implied meaning behind that statement is based on an assumption that life is better than death."

"There you are wrong. It is based on the fact that we do not know what death is like, but we do know what life is like and what it can be like."

"Have you ever been in that situation?"

"Yes....once... quite a long time ago."

"What did you choose?" asked Blue with a look of interest and anxiety of a magnitude that surpassed any other moment in her life.

This time, the old man did not answer.

The flame rose into the air for an instant and waned as if it were threatening to burn the place down.

Untitled

" Can you create love? Human beings will probably never be able to understand each other. Perhaps if someone took the effort to follow and understand a person every step of the way, sacrificing his own individual identity, it might be possible for one person to truly understand another. But, will there be any use of that? But, love - love does not need understanding. So, can you create love?" he asked the young girl walking beside him.

Blue looked at him with an amused smile and said, "Just because this world is more peaceful than yours, does not mean that there is no pain here. Even I know that love cannot be created. it just exists."

The old man understood. The pain of loss is found in all worlds.

"Do you see that man there? He lost his daughter to an incurable disease and now he has shut himself from the rest of the world. I cannot feel his emotions. I cannot feel his pain anymore."

He looked at the man sitting motionless on a chair with an impassive face that did not betray even the slightest sign of emotion.

"But, why?", he thought to himself.

She answered as if he had said it out aloud.
"I don't know exactly. Maybe because his pain was so great that he did not want consolation.
Maybe because the first sign of emotion that the world showed him was not that of understanding, but that of pity at his fate.
Maybe because he did not want to show his vulnerability - the "immaturity" in his view, of not being able to accept the ways of life and the ways of this world.
We are proud beings and nothing can change that. Pride gives us the will to achieve and can also be our greatest downfall. It will never allow us to give up our individuality."

"So,how do you know so much?" he asked inquisitively with an intrigued look on his face.

"Because among a flood of others who showed pity, I found another who showed understanding when I needed it."

"So the question returns. Is understanding the only way for human beings to truly co-exist?"

Blue looked far away into the distance and sighed.
"Maybe, if I had found someone who cared about what I did with my life and tried to understand what I felt, I may have found myself here, having more or less the same conversation with you, only I could've told you for sure" she said smiling at him.

A letter to the man at the north edge of the universe

Dear man at the North Edge of the universe

I do not know your name. So please excuse me for calling you man at the north edge of the universe. They say that you have the answers to all the questions in the universe. I hope you do, cause I have a ton of questions to ask you.

Firstly, Why has this universe been created? for what purpose? Why do I exist? Why do you exist or anyone else exist? Why is there life? Is there a God who created us? If so, does God pay attention to what we do and what we don't? Does God listen to prayer? Is there a difference between good and bad?
Why do we feel happy? why do we feel sad? Why do we feel anger? why do we love? why do we hate? why do we find things funny and laugh? Is the universe really infinite? Does time really exist? Is the lifespan of the universe going to end someday? How did the universe begin? why is there gravity and electromagnetic and nuclear force? Why is the universe the way it is? Can a universe exist with different patterns from this one? Is the answer to all theses questions within the patterns that make up our universe or outside it? Are you really the only living soul inhabiting the North Edge?

I kindly request you to answer these questions. It is crucial that you do, as these are very important questions that I ponder over everyday and are taking up a lot of my time. Please give me lucid explanations to avoid any misinterpretations on my part.
Thank You

Yours curiously
Ishnaa


The Man at the North edge replied :

Dear Ishnaa

If I tell you the answers to those questions, I'd have to kill you.
However,thank you for writing to me. I was beginning to think that people have forgotten about me.

Yours sincerely
George

Around the universe for eternity

Jib Joy was a being who was happy all the time, until that fateful day. Nobody knows what exactly happened. Some say that the love of his life left him for another man. Some say that his brother killed the love of his life. Some say that the brother was the other man. Some say that the love of his life killed his brother. The stories keep coming. But, what that day left him with was an inextinguishable anger. In his boiling rage,he sat in his space craft and went on a journey around the entire universe. And yet, even after such a long and tedious journey(infinite), his anger hadn't waned. So he took another trip around the universe only to find that his anger had subsided only by a tiny bit. So Jib Joy spent many many eternities traveling around an infinite universe many many times until the end of his life. He never found peace.

I take my time for this kinda stuff!

This was an intense adventure for me. How did it begin?
It all started with Slick coming over to my house one night. He said "I have nothing to do and I'm getting extremely bored...." and I said "ok.Come on in." But,Slick didn't want to. He wanted to do something exciting and dangerous. So he took me on his spaceship to an ocean on a planet called Gol.This particular ocean had the most dangerous and gigantic waves and only the best surfers in the universe came and surfed there.
Slick wanted to surf on these waves at night!
I said "No way are you going into those waves!"
But, he ignored me and vanished into the waves.
I quickly took the ship out and started monitoring him from the ship.(just incase!)
But, in one split second he was engulfed by an giant wave and eaten by a whale.
I was shocked. Shocked at having lost my friend.
But, before my shock lessend,the ship happened to pass through a crab hole.
What is a crab hole? Well, I call it that cause not only does it take you to a different place, it also takes you to a different time.
Luckily for me, it took me to the place I was a split second ago and a time split second ago! What a coincidence!
Here was my chance to save Slick!
But the split second was over.
I went through the crab hole again.
Okay what do I do to save him?
Another split second gone by.
The teleportation beam of course!
Another split second gone by.
Okay where exactly is he?
Split second over.
There he is. Co-ordinates are....
split second.
Got it. "Computer.."
split second.
"Activate teleportation beam"
Many Many split seconds went by while I said this.
One more split second.
The teleportation beam picked up Slick just on time.
Split second over.
Slick said "woah...."
split second over.
He saw himself drown.
After many many many split seconds he figured out what happened.
We needed to get out of this loop in less than a split second.
So, Slick braked through the split seconds till the ship stopped and we were in the correct place at the time just after.
"Phew! that was close!" I said.
And that ends this particular adventure.