Archive for August, 2009

Where the hell am I?

Kevin looked around as he woke up. He wondered whether it was a hospital. But as he looked, he noticed that the room was well furnished like a plush hotel. Everything there had a royal touch!

Yet, there was something strange about that room! It was all painted in white – walls, furniture, doors, bed, shelves and all…

At the back of his head, there was a giant machine of some sort. He studied that for a minute, but couldn’t make heads or tails out of it! Kevin had seen many modern and top class hospitals across the globe… But never had seen such a machine, anywhere, before…

Suddenly the memories of the blast and thick grey smoke flashed through his mind. He shuddered at the thoughts of that huge black man.

Have I seen that big dark man before? He ransacked his memories… but!

No! I don’t think so… Yet something inside him told him that he had seen him before!

Kevin recollected the last thing he had seen… a bullet… it had pierced his forehead and after that there was a sharp pain…

Holy devils! I survived that head shot! I can’t believe that…I must be in some eternal world!

He felt a sudden urge to feel ‘the wound’ on his forehead… As he tried to raise his hand, he realized that something was trying to pull him down… Frantically, Kevin looked down. Many tubes were planted on his arms… Soon he realized that it was not only in his arms, but everywhere.

His eyes searched for the origin of those tubes… It ran down to the bottom of the bed!

As he looked down he let out a muted scream, out of shock! Those tubes ran into different bottles of varying length and size.

Kevin then scanned the bottles carefully… Those were loaded with some kind of colorful liquids!

What are they doing with me!!! Am I being captured?… Where am I?…  How long did I sleep?

Several mysterious questions ripened inside his mind. But he couldn’t find answer to any of those!

Kevin even considered the idea of plucking those tubes away and escaping from there. But he dropped it when he located a pair of ‘alien eyes’ on the wall. They were staring right at him. Is it some sort of surveillance camera? He wondered…

Just then, he heard some foot steps outside. It was closing in! He shut his eyes and pretended sleeping… Two nurses walked in.

***

“He is fine. In a stable condition” A female voice said in a low voice, after checking the reports generated by that giant machine.

“How long would it take before he gains consciousness?”

“Well, Dr. Green mentioned that he would not wake up until the clock ticks 7 or 8 a.m. So 3 more hours, I guess…”

“Oh!” She nodded pensively. “Anyway, who is this guy, Lyn?”

“Ha, you seriously think I know that?” She heaved a sigh. “Everything is supposed to be secret in this damn world…” She paused.

“Sila, for me, he is just a ‘Subject’. That’s it!” Lyn then checked the fluids in the bottles kept below the bed.

“You are right Lyn… Even I am tired of this ‘freakin’ world.” Sila paused abruptly as she caught a ‘surprise’ look on Lyn’s face…

“Hey, don’t give me that look… I know I joined only last month. Still… everything seems so strange and bizarre here. Sometimes it scares the hell out of me! I wish I could break free from this…”

Lyn didn’t allow Sila to complete that. She raised her palm towards Sila’s lips, indicating her to stop that conversation…

“Don’t… They have sensors of all kind everywhere. They might be monitoring us!” She whispered.

“Do you think that those two jerks sitting there would be monitoring the video and sound output? Those are the two laziest bums I have ever seen in my life. And I can bet on this Lyn… they might either be smoking outside or sleeping inside the ‘control room’… and ‘if’ they are not doing any of these, then take my word, Lyn… they are watching porn!”  

“Have you been spying on them, Sila?” Lyn gave her a naughty look.

“Well, you can call it a ‘time pass’… At times I get bored here, especially when it’s night time. Only these kinds of adventures keep me going…”

Lyn smiled at her. She then fixed her eyes on the ‘subject’ and then on the giant machine… Everything is fine. She mused…

“Alright, let’s leave now. I need to submit the reports to Dr. Green.”

“Fine. But where is he now?”

“He said he would sleep for a ‘couple of hours’. But when I went to his room, I saw him snorting like a bull. I don’t think he would get up now!” Lyn chuckled.

“Poor guy… hasn’t slept for two nights…” She heaved a sigh. “Anyway, let’s leave our ‘subject’ to sleep in peace…”

***

But ‘the subject’ had no plans to sleep. He had something else in his mind!

4 a.m. The timepiece in the giant machine displayed.

Smoke removed the tubes attached to his body, one by one…

 

To go back to the main page:

https://lapillus.wordpress.com/the-virtual-marionettes/

To read the previous chapter:

https://lapillus.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/part-1-operation-%e2%80%98black-mamba%e2%80%99%e2%80%a6/

To the next chapter: 

https://lapillus.wordpress.com/2009/09/05/part-3-the-escape%e2%80%a6/

“The ‘subject’ sprang to life 15 hours back. But he is still in that unconscious state, doctor”

“I am aware of that” a hard voice barked. “Now tell me, when are we giving the final dose?”

“In another 15 – 20 minutes, sir”

“Great! After that…” he paused… There was a sign of greed in that man’s voice.

“Do update me with the status regularly, Dr. Green” he pressed.

With that the hard voiced doctor disappeared. Dr. Green looked at Kevin Smoke and then at the monitor. He typed some commands on the system and waited for its response.

A few minutes later…

“Load ‘Black Mamba’” Doctor Green called out…

“‘Black Mamba’ loaded… System ready for the task” The terminal responded.

“Inject ‘Black Mamba’”

The terminal sprang to life in a moment. As he watched, the readometers in the dashboard danced… 

Minutes passed by… The doctor strolled across the room impatiently… He wondered what the results would be!

“Mission accomplished. Subject’s condition stable” The terminal declared after what it seemed like eternity!

Green took a deep breath… It’s over!!!

He parked himself on the couch and laid his head back… After a while, he took his eyeglasses off and kept it lazily on his lap…

It’s a great achievement. It would change my life forever… he thought. A wave of joy and fulfillment washed him…

Slowly he removed the gloves and checked the time… It had been a long day!!!

He hadn’t slept for 32 hours and was completely exhausted by then.

Now it would take at least 14 – 15 hours for the ‘subject’ to regain consciousness… he thought. That’s enough for me! I could go to my chamber and get some sleep.

He turned off the main lights and walked towards the door.

“Operation ‘Black Mamba’ success… Subject’s condition stable, Dr. Moxon” He sent the message to the hard voiced doctor as he walked out of the room.

He had already started dreaming about his days of glory…

 

To go to the main page:

https://lapillus.wordpress.com/the-virtual-marionettes/

To the next chapter:

https://lapillus.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/part-2-the-white-room/

WHY LAST CHAPTER IS TAKING TIME…

Posted: August 21, 2009 in My thoughts
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As I reached the last part of ‘My life at XIME’, I found that my thoughts and words had deserted me ruthlessly… I felt like standing in no man’s land…

I think that I need some more time to craft the last chapter… Besides, some aspects of  it lies with the future… To proceed, even I have to wait… wait for the time to act! 

So I request to my dear readers to understand me and excuse me for the delay… Mean while I am starting a new fiction series and it will be on run from Monday… Hope you would enjoy it…

-Amal.

“Hope I am not disturbing your writing” Pulusan walked into my room on that convocation night.

He had become one of my great friends by then. Also, Pulusan was not a ‘stupid kid’ any more. Two years of MBA life had changed him a lot… He was hired as a Marketing Manager by one of the reputed banks in the country.

“I am leaving tomorrow… I’ll stay with my parents for some days… may be, till the bank sends me the offer letter.” He was sad… he loved hostel life and everyone knew that…

Silence reigned for sometime…

“Abraham is also leaving tomorrow. There won’t be anyone to take care of ‘placements’ after that” he paused.

“You know, you can do something there…” That was the second time he was mentioning that.

“I understand that… But … you know, I am really enjoying this writing. I don’t know whether I can fix my mind on anything else now!” I gave an honest reply.

“Well, maybe then, you can make calls … considering that you have experience in BPO?”

“Er – ” I was hesitant…

“Ya, maybe I can spare one or two hours daily for that” I said, even though I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to do that…

The discussion then drifted to something else… After a while, as he left the room, I returned to my writing…

***

“Oh God… Dude, its 11.30… how can I sleep like this?” Inder said as he woke up. “And you are ready!!!”

We had planned to go to KFC at 11.30 am… Inder and I loved KFC madly. We used to go there on alternative weekends and usually settled for nothing less than a bucket chicken!

This time it was his treat. When he asked where I wanted him to throw a treat, I didn’t even take a moment to think…

KFC … the one and only! I proclaimed…

Inder also got placed in that same bank. The treat was on that joy.

“Come dude, let’s go.” Inder announced, still lying on his bed.

“Dude, don’t you think that you should get ready first… and most importantly, that you should get up from the bed!”

He just smiled. “Twenty minutes champ. I’ll be ready by then”

“Let’s see that then…” I challenged him as I knew that it was the only way to make him get ready in twenty minutes…

“Inder, I’ll be here in the corridor or downstairs. Let me know once you are done.” I told him as I put my camera and wallet in my jeans pocket.

My mind was full of my stories. I had reached 9th chapter by then. I was trying to give it a shape…

Tossing those thoughts deep in my mind, I walked through the corridor…

“Hey Amal…” A familiar sound pulled me back from that magical world…

I looked around to identify the source of that sound. It was Abraham. He was in his room packing his stuff.

Abraham was a part of the committee and was doing a great job. But some personal matters came up in between and it demanded his immediate presence at home…

“Hi…” I greeted. “So leaving today, right?”

“Well, yes…” he nodded.

I looked around. His books, clothes, electronic gadgets, files and bags lie scattered there… Shifting room was always a tedious task. Packing, transporting, unpacking, and finally arranging all those again in a new place… a total headache thing!!! I hated that… like everyone else…

“Hey, there is something you can do!” he gasped as he pulled down something from the cupboard.  

Suddenly I recollected the chat I had with Pulusan last night…

“Ya, I know… yesterday I talked with Pulusan and I think I can take calls for…”

“No, no it’s not about the calls…” He looked at me thoughtfully. “Well, I think you are the right person to handle the BoM”

BoM was coming on 15th to the campus to participate in the campus placements. But Abraham’s words came like a thunderbolt. I never wanted to coordinate that or even go anywhere closer to that…

I was about to say some excuse, but then

“Look, you have to coordinate everything. Also should be in touch with one Mr…” he started explaining.

I thought I would give some excuse once he finished explaining. But… he was giving some details… & I listened…

Minutes passed… After some time,

“Now take down this number ….” He said and I saved that number in my mobile.

“I am sure you will do it well and in case of any clarification, please feel free to call me. And don’t worry; Baby will be there to help you.”

Baby was standing next to Abraham and he nodded his head approvingly…

“Now look, who’s late here! Come on, buddy…  We are already running short of time. Let’s go!” Inder shouted from behind.

“One sec, dude… I’m coming”

I then looked at Abraham.

“Alright… You carry on…” Abraham said. “And do remember the guidelines… Good luck!”

I was baffled!!!

What have I done now? Signed up for something which I had never even thought of getting associated with!

Just then Inder gave me a sharp look while tapping his index finger on his wrist watch.

I bid farewell to Abraham and rushed to Inder…

***

KFC was fun. But the Recession had hit them too! They had reduced the size of the chicken pieces and that greatly did upset me. I wouldn’t have felt that bad if they had increased the price. But reducing the size was not at all acceptable!

I concentrated on the bucket chicken. However my mind was not completely on the crispy chicken pieces. BoM thoughts popped up occasionally and frightened me…. I doubted whether Abraham was making a horrible mistake!

We reached our hostel back by evening. I tossed the same matter, again & again, on my mind. Finally I decided…

“Alright, I’ll do this… and I’ll take this forward and be with them as long as I can…”

That marked the beginning of my role as an unofficial, yet, official ‘placement coordinator’…

 

To go back to the main page:

https://lapillus.wordpress.com/its-my-life/

To read the previous chapter:

https://lapillus.wordpress.com/2009/08/07/part-14-%E2%80%93-the-life-after%E2%80%A6/

To the next chapter:

https://lapillus.wordpress.com/2010/03/01/part-16-%E2%80%93-in-the-shadow-of-light%E2%80%A6/

PART 14 – THE LIFE AFTER…

Posted: August 7, 2009 in My life at xime...
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It had been in my mind since the beginning of the sixth term… I always wanted to start it. Yet I couldn’t…

When my exams got over, I found myself in a different world… like most other students. Uncertainty and fear of unknown orbited around my small world all the time. I wanted to do something in the operations or systems management side, but the markets for both were down. Tension swelled up with each passing day… Many times I felt like compromising on the profile… but something in me gave me the courage… the courage to hold on…  

Days dragged… I felt that I was sailing my ship to nowhere… Pressure for doing something mounted up… At last on 28th April, I convinced myself to start what I wanted to start for a long time. I opened the Microsoft word file & named the first part as ‘The boy who lived the reverse biological cycle”…

That marked the beginning of my ‘writer life’…

Well, the secret to being creative here is simple: Just create your own world and dwell there… and never let anyone smash it…

I did the same. I spend most of the time in my room, either thinking or writing… Again, the best thing about this world is that you can create anything, you want, here… at anytime… It was wonderful. I was enjoying each and every moment of my new role. I almost forgot about everything else in the materialistic world…

***

“dude results are out. Did you check yours?”

Somebody asked me when I was writing in my room…

“Oh! I didn’t know that. Thanks buddy… I’ll check it now…”

But I wasn’t that keen at that time. I continued my work and in the evening I went to college to check the final results. I wondered what my results were… I had already crossed 5 by then. So I wasn’t worried in anyway. Besides, these grades never played much a role when we were out of college. All that the business world cared about was the student’s capability and the potential to be a part of their team…

My memories travelled back to the previous year. I thought about the letter they had sent to my dad… That time I had made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t let my grades fall ever after… and it never did…

It was around 7’o clock in the evening when I reached my college. The college corridor was deserted. Dead silence prevailed there except for the occasional hissing sounds of summer breeze… Once the most happening place… I thought! It used to be the realm of couples in the evenings… always full of life… but today!!! I walked towards the notice board tossing those thoughts in my mind.

But the instant I laid my eyes upon the results, all those nostalgic thoughts vanished to nowhere…  

I was satisfied and pleased to see my GPA. I had hit ‘6’ again…

A GPA of 6… and my CGPA touched a new level: 5.27… The final score…

“The war is over!” I declared to myself like a great commander of ancient Roman Empire…

Yes, it was a great relief…

After a while, I walked back to my hostel… leaving my college to sleep peacefully in that lonely summer night…

***

The days were warmer during those times and the brutal summer sun forced the people to stay inside their artificially cooled rooms… But the nights, on the other hand, were cold and chilly. I guess that was what I wanted!

I locked myself up happily in the dreamland… ‘My life at XIME’ was growing steadily…

One day, a phone call broke my chain of thoughts…

“Hey champ! Whatz up?”… It was Inder…

“Listen buddy, I am coming on this Friday evening. We will have a great time there. Call Vijayanand too. It’s my treat on this Sunday!”

“Oh that’s wonderful, dude. Let’s make the last day memorable” I was so happy that we three were meeting again.

Vijayanand had moved out some days back to a rented house in Bangalore. Also, he had started working with a BPO. I rang him up and communicated the message…

“That’s great. The final get together… Cool man.” He was high on spirits…

***

“Do I look like a bat!” Kadavanthara was bit anxious about his looks.

As a matter of fact, we all looked like that when we wore that convocation gown! It was a thin black open cloth which was thin and fragile… Luckily, it reached, at least, till our upper calves! I thought that we would get full gowns… but never expected handicapped ones like that!!! It was only then I really understood the true feelings of ‘Ron Weasley’, Harry Potter’s best friend, who always ended up wearing some silly old gowns, send by his parents, for important functions!!!

On top of that we had to put a green velvet shawl… just to make sure that no one escaped that ‘buffoon’ look!

“Batman! I thought you looked like a clown….” Pakru scanned Kadavanthara and gave a dirty look!

“Where the hell is the bonnets, by the way?” Kadavanthara asked Pakru, ignoring his comments…

“We don’t have any…”

That was weird… Convocation without bonnets!!! May be, management was afraid that we would hurl it towards them rather than throwing it up!!!

“Come… we’ll take some photos…” I called out.

“Hello, Mr. Batman, come along if you want some of your photos in this fancy dress!” Pakru shouted.

I don’t remember how many snaps we took then! But we went on clicking until dean told us to enter the hall…

“Ready for the show?” Sau asked me while we were standing in the queue outside the hall.

“Well, I guess so” I smiled…

“Now you must be relaxed, right?”

“Ya, I am… no more CGPA threats” I laughed as I said that.

“But Amal, I guess you would miss your favourite sleeping spot!” She was the same… Never missed a chance to pull my legs…

“Ya, same goes to you too, buddy” and we both laughed over it…

“Hello, everybody listen… You may enter the hall now!” Dean announced.

We proceeded slowly to the hall which was well decorated and illuminated… The soft music that was played on the background added charm to the situation… The podium too was beautifully decorated… As we entered the hall the relatives of the students, who were sitting on the left side, rose and applauded.

I looked around… Everyone was beaming at us… The camera men turned their complete focus on us… Lights flashed from all directions…

That was a great moment…

Slowly we occupied our seats and waited for the dignitaries. The hall was silent except for the vague murmurings from here and there…

The dignitaries entered the hall in a while. Our president led our guests to the podium. They were all dressed in charming gowns, like the princes in fairy tales. The shawls they wore were colourful and attractive… They settled down in a while…

Happiness filled the air…

Gradually, the proceedings started…  The chief guest and others addressed the function and wished good luck to us.

When the presidents turn came, he, as usual, boasted about the college and the placements… He even declared that all students would be placed by June or July end… Yet another unfilled promise… as proven by time…

Time passed by …

“Now you may rise …” the chief guest announced! That was the moment… We were honored with the prestigious degree… Camera lights flashed… The cheers and applauses reverberated in the hall…

I looked around… everyone was enjoying that magnificent moment. I waved my hands to Kadavanthara and Pakru…

“Congrats buddy! Finally all our hard work got paid!” That was Singh, who was standing next to me. He winked as he said that!

“Now say good bye to all stupid assignments, seminars and presentations!”

“and exams too” I added & we both laughed.

“Yeah, true… Thanks dude & congrats to you too…” I wished him…

Soon our National Anthem followed…

 

To go back to the main page:

https://lapillus.wordpress.com/its-my-life/

To read the previous chapter:

https://lapillus.wordpress.com/2009/07/28/part-13-%E2%80%93-the-batch-13-farewell-%E2%80%A6/

To the next chapter:

https://lapillus.wordpress.com/2009/08/12/part-15-%e2%80%93-something-comes-my-way/

It wasn’t an unfamiliar place or time for Raghav. Besides, he had been following that same routine for years; to be precise, since he was 16. But that day, it was different. He felt that there was something strange about the day! He walked slowly to the nearby bench and sat there, clutching his hands firmly on the metal bar. He sensed a strange pain inside his body, which was like never before. It felt as if someone invisible was trying to overpower him completely…

Museum Palace is one of the most beautiful and fabulous historical fortresses in the city. Located at the heart of the city, it’s a favorite spot among visitors too. The beautiful garden inside is a wonderful place to hang around… There was one more attraction in there – the zoo, the biggest in the south Kerala.

Inside the palace compound, surrounding the fort is a beautiful garden and a nice pathway. The health conscious people reigned that track during mornings and evenings. Some people jogged, some sprinted and others just did a brisk walk… In a way, it is one of the most happening places in Trivandrum.

It was early morning and Raghav hardly had completed his second round of brisk walk when he suddenly felt a strange pain in his chest and decided to relax for some time. He sat there clutching his left arm on the metal handle and the right one on his chest for some time. He slowly raised his head and looked towards the other people who were engaged in their morning exercises. They were too busy to notice that old man…

Slowly his vision began to blur…

It was 59 years ago when one of his neighbors suggested the idea of ‘jogging’ in the Museum compound. That time Raghav was young and fit and wondered why he should be ‘jogging’. As far as he knew, only old or middle aged people jogged there. Yet, upon his neighbor’s insistence, he decided to try that out. The following day he went with his neighbor and walked a few rounds there…

The morning sun, the fresh air, the beautiful garden and everything… everything there was marvelous … He wondered why he hadn’t started it earlier…

He had met several people and made lots of friends from there… But none of them continued the ‘morning exercises’ for long, not even his neighbor. The reasons were several – getting old, increasing job responsibilities, relocating, health issues… and list goes on… But nothing stopped Raghav… Not even the two mild heart attacks that he had encountered with very recently… 

Life was always fun and mysterious… When he was a teenager he used to chat with his companions about sports and other girls who walked there. As time progressed the topic started circling around their future and job. Then the main topic became the family issues and responsibilities and when he crossed forty, he used to discuss nothing, with his companions, but about his children and their future…  

However, for the last few months he had been more or less alone there. The young had always paired up with the young and it was difficult for Raghav to find people of ‘his age’ there. But occasionally, he had company and their talks mainly circled around their ‘good old days’ and ‘after life’….

It was on a winter morning when he first met Radha… She came there to walk with her dad. Raghav, who was 23 then, was completely charmed by her beauty. But he didn’t have the guts to talk to her then, also it wasn’t a good idea considering the fact that she was with her dad. So he just followed her at a safe distance all the way in that Museum track, just like the Vodaphone dog…

He repeated it for the next 8 days praying to God for a chance to talk with her. But nothing happened; except for his world getting filled with her and her thoughts… soon he realized that he was in love… for the first time in his life.

From the 9th day onwards, he couldn’t find her! However, her father came everyday to continue his routine… Later, through a mutual friend, Raghav came to know that Radha’s father was a government employee and got transferred to Secretariat during that winter. So he shifted to Trivandrum with his family. However, that mutual friend had no clues about Radha. Raghav felt that he couldn’t live even a single moment without seeing her. The pain of not seeing her was growing sturdily with each passing day! He became uneasy and disturbed… Finally he made a plan, to escape from all those pain…

He got acquainted with her dad and started giving him company. Fortunately, her dad found Raghav to be a good kid. Also, his knowledge on politics and current affairs had impressed that government employee immensely…

Gradually, they became companions and during their long jogging sessions, they enjoyed debating over various socio political issues. Soon Radha’s father realized that he had started admiring that gentleman for the deep knowledge he had possessed…

Even though Raghav had started talking with him for a different reason, he realized, with time, that he was enjoying that old man’s company…

Through her father, he came to know that she was his only daughter and she was doing her graduation in another district, the place where he worked previously. During her vacations she came home and stayed with her family. He also told Raghav that she was coming home that summer and would stay with her family for one month…

From that day onwards Raghav felt that he was breathing just to see that summer vacation…

Radha’s father introduced her to Raghav on that summer morning. Radha was 21 then and was slim and tall. She smiled graciously at him. Raghav stood froze in his steps. He had waited all this time just to see her again and now she was standing in front of him with a mesmerizing smile. He felt a chilling breeze passing by… He had just met the most beautiful woman in the planet…

Radha, on the other hand, felt that she had just met a ‘cute stupid’… She noticed the ‘joy’ and sparkle in his eyes.   

Days passed… All three were enjoying each other’s company… especially Raghav!

Raghav soon understood that she had inherited her father’s wisdom and elegance. Radha too, like her father, was quite impressed by the way he talked and behaved. He was no longer a ‘cute stupid’ for her. She understood that he was a little genius. Moreover, her father used to talk highly about him all the time… and gradually, they started sharing a special bond…

They continued to meet every morning in the museum and by the time summer vacation was over, Raghav had completely occupied Radha’s little heart…

It was just a beginning… Inlands soon became an integral part of their life. Initially Radha bought 1 or 2 inlands in a week… but as time passed she felt that she could better start an inland making factory!

Raghav got a job during that time and for him, everything was going well… Radha had accepted his proposal to marry him… His friendship with her dad was growing stronger and deeper… His parents were, then, happy and proud about their son…

Three years later, on a monsoon season, Raghav’s parents went to Radha’s house… Radha’s father was more than happy to give his daughter to Raghav…

After 6 months, they married and started living together. Since then it had been a different world for Raghav… It was beautiful and fascinating. They lived a great life in there… sharing and caring for each other. Their kids were bright and lovely. Raghav always made sure that they were happy and satisfied all the time. Later, when they grew up, they moved to UK and settled there with their families.

Raghav and Radha were leading a perfect retired life. They bought a farmhouse in the country side and spend their leisure time there. Occasionally they went to UK to meet their lovely grandchildren.

Everything was going fine and live was fun and beautiful, as always, to Raghav… One day, when they were planting some vegetables in their garden, Radha fainted all of a sudden… Raghav rushed her to the best hospital in the city… but…

His children flew down immediately. They were shocked to find their father in that devastated state… They insisted on taking him with them… but…

“We lived here from the beginning… we were always together here” tears rolled down through his cheeks… “She still lives here. I can’t go anywhere…”

“I always wanted to be with her… always… no matter where she goes… but…” Raghav sobbed like a 5 year old kid

“…may be God wants her more than I do…”

But HE can’t have her always… she is mine… only mine…

That was 5 months ago… Two weeks after her demise Raghav went to Museum again… He knew that she was walking beside him… He no longer needed any companions… His best friend was with him…  Yet, occasionally, the other old people joined him, to which he had no complaints…

Raghav shuddered abruptly. He can’t bear that pain any longer… The rising summer Sun stared straight at Raghav… He knew that it was the last light he would ever see… slowly, his grip on the metal bar loosened…

Suddenly he saw Radha at a distance… She was walking with her dad on that winter morning… She was hardly 20 years old and looked as beautiful and elegant as usual… Raghav stood up and quietly followed her… at a safe distance…

But this time she turned back and smiled at him… Her eyes were beckoning him dearly…

yes… Gods can’t have her for always…