Story 47

The third base camp was located almost 500 meters away from the war site. The reason for setting it up closer to the border was further justified by the reports of possible attacks from the border route which was considered to be a safe haven for the purchase of illegal ammunitions.

It has been less than a week since George was shifted from the first base camp to the third. On the verge of completing his first year, George was dispatched to the war site as soon as he graduated from high school. Sent as a part of the compulsory two years military program, he was initially apprehensive whether he would be able to deal with the situations which a war site generally offers but then he surprised himself by emerging as one of the most popular military cadets.

But today it felt really different. The usual afternoons spent watching Nicole Kidman films, one of George's favorite actress, did not calm him down. As he tied his shoelaces his heart yearned to see Julia, his little sister who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. He remembered how she smudged herself with her own birthday cake and the laughter which ensued was the purest he had heard till now.  As he walked aimlessly, his compatriots asked him to join for a glass of beer. He somehow managed a no and ran back to his own camp. As tears trickled down his cheeks he remembered the boat trip with Julia. He remembered how she cried when he bade her goodbye. She tried to hold him back for George had always been her companion,savior.

Suddenly the camp speaker churned out, "With immediate effect, the United States of America has decided to withdraw her military force as the war with Iran has been put to an end with mutual consent of both the countries. You will be evacuated from your base camp today."

Story 46

As Rajesh waited at the bus stand he was aware of the long day ahead. By God's grace, he has got a job today and he had to make it count. Over the years farming has become an unreliable option for farmers, especially those whose forefathers did not make it big during their lifetime. This resulted in few of them taking up loans from the rural banks and there were people like Rajesh who had given their land on lease to the government. The government not only provided them with monetary compensation but also assured them of a permanent job. But Bengal with it's continual changing political colors has made it a long and difficult wait for people like Rajesh.

Finding a window seat, Rajesh made himself comfortable. The excitement was palpable. As the bus zoomed passed the small ponds, barren lands, he saw the "trespassing is prohibited" boards all over the place. Like Rajesh, the owners of these lands must also have sold off their properties to the government.

With the bus speeding down the second Hooghly bridge Rajesh was mesmerized by its architectural beauty. Kolkata always amazed him. It's electrifying energy encouraged him to dream. To live.

As he got down at the penultimate bus stoppage he found the huge mall staring at him. He couldn't even believe his luck that this was his workplace! As he entered the mall and introduced himself to the security guards, they escorted him to the administrator's office.

Rajesh put on the Mickey Mouse suit being fully aware that this was his only chance to impress the officials. He was the prime attraction in today's kid carnival and he knew he had to make it count. It was his son's birthday tomorrow and he needed some money desperately.

Story 45

It was just one of those days which Allen always dreaded about. It has been raining for the past few hours and with every hour the intensity of the rain seems to be increasing. As the heat and humidity reached a new high in the last few days, the advent of rain was just a matter of time. Rather than losing out its fizz it has strengthened from time to time thus giving them a chance to beat the heat.

The trees seemed to be having a field day today. Among the millions of living beings present in this world probably they were the only one who never got the due respect of their existence. A certain A.J.C.Bose had proved long back that they too had  a life. And life without emotions is highly impracticable. As they swayed to and fro getting washed down by the rain, it's new leaves breathed a sigh of relief. Those kids were really having a tough time!

Among all these fortunate souls it was only Allen who was cursing the rain. Why won't he? He had a date today at seven and he had promised her to reach on time but in vain. As a sudden lightening made Allen jump out of his skin, the slippery leaves and muddy fields were making it more difficult for him, In addition to all this he had to carefully make his way through for the fear of being tripped or in a worst case scenario, be gravely injured by these human beings who became more careless during such downpours.

The incessant rain could not stop Allen as he finally reached his destination, a mushroom behind the bush, where Anna was patiently waiting for him. As she saw him, her eyes gleamed. These two caterpillars fell in love for the first time in their life.

Story 44

"Given a chance would you have written the story differently?" quipped Brahma sitting in the palace of heaven. "Story? What story?" Mohammad was bewildered. "The story of your belief, your expectations, your ideologies, your experiences" Brahma twitched a bit. Mohammad cracked up. His laughter was infectious. Somehow he managed to control himself and blurted out,"You are talking about the Quran. Aren't you?" Brahma found himself turning red with embarrassment."Yeah. Well, I didn't mean to hurt you." Mohammad, who was still laughing, put his arms around Brahma's shoulder and said "Why bro? Why will I get hurt? We believe in freedom of thought. Don't we?" With a sigh of relief, Brahma turned to Mohammad and said, "What's happening Mohammad? What's wrong with the people? Did we really want this? So much of discrimination, mutual disrespect, war, bloodshed. Where are we heading to?"
Mohammad nodded his head in dismay."Doomsday I guess. People have lost their sense of reasoning. Logic has taken a backseat. All they can think about is religion. Religion has now become the sole identity of human existence, social position and political game plan." "Exactly!" the frustration was evident in Brahma's voice. "Can you believe what they just did?"
"Yeah! They killed a guy just because he was suspected of consuming beef!" "Isn't it hilarious? They die fighting for you and me. They believe that we don't see to eye to eye. Hence anything and everything which we may not have said has also turned against us. What's wrong in consuming what you want? Tell me Mohammad?" "I don't know where are they headed to but one thing is for sure, they do not know the rapport we share." Brahma laughed out,"Imagine they saw us chilling together. Prophet Mohammad and Brahma in one single frame making conversations not war."

Story 43

"Who do you want to be?" asked Rhea. "I haven't thought yet. You?" said Rajiv looking at Rhea. "Well don't you think it's too early for us to decide who do we want to be? I mean, how old are we? Just eight right?" Rhea was staring into Rajiv's drawing. "Exactly my point! That's why I don't think about it much.You can't have any control on your future. Can you? Hey! What exactly are you staring at?" as Rajiv glanced at Rhea. "You draw so well Rajiv. I just can't take my eyes off it. Did anyone teach you the craft?" asked Rhea still staring at Rajiv's drawing.

"Can you guys keep quiet for some time? It's becoming pretty difficult for me to concentrate. If it goes on like this I won't be able to come first, you see?" the irritation was apparent in the voice of their neighbor. He gave them a glaring look and got back to his drawing. Rhea was taken aback. Her face turned red in embarrassment as she started coloring her not-so-beautiful drawing when she heard Rajiv chuckling. Thinking that he was laughing at her, Rhea, who was almost in tears. nudged Rajiv.

"No. You got me wrong. I am not laughing at you. I am laughing at that person sitting right beside you. Struggles are so different for different people. Right? Here is a guy who is struggling to complete his drawing, fearing that he might lose out on winning the first prize.And here I am still trying to adjust myself to the normal course of life. Even today I woke up well past midnight thinking that the earthquake has struck again. The Nepal earthquake has snatched away a lot of things from me, including my parents, but then it has at least defined 'struggle' for me."

Story 42

Suzanne was finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate on her office work today. With every passing second, she was freaking out about the task on hand. Like any other day, the pressure was tremendous in her office and she knew that she had to get her assignments done by the end of the day. But what about Richard? What must he be thinking? She couldn't bear to see his sad face again. She remembered how last year, Richard was waiting for his gift and it never turned up. When Suzanne called the concerned company, they made a lame excuse of miscommunication which made her furious. As the memories of past haunted her, she nervously picked up the phone and called Max. "Yes, Madame! Don't you worry, I will make sure that the parcel reaches on time. Suzanne heaved a sigh of relief.

Max whisked past the signal. He didn't have much time on hand. Plus, the upcoming Halloween night ensured that traffic snarl was at it's best. He had to deliver two other packages before going to Max's. Time was running out and Max knew that something special could only help his cause.

He turned his car and zoomed past the narrow alleys. Managing his way through the crowd, he zoomed past the Fast and Furious hoarding of Vin Diesel standing between the two cars in his trademark stunt. Max smiled to himself. He felt a Disesel himself.

As the doorbell rang, Richard jumped out of his sofa and ran to open the door. "Richard?"asked Max. As little Richard profusely nodded his head, Max brought out the package and said,"Richard this is a gift from your mom. Though she is 300 miles away from you, she loves you. Here is your birthday gift, the Koala styled gummy bears." As Richard jumped in joy, Max smiled and said, "Thank You for your time Richard. We are DHL- the world on time."

Story 41

"How much of the project is left?" barked Mr. Smith. "It will still take two more days Sir" replied Peter meekly. "What's the point of assigning you such an important project if you can't even dedicate yourself completely?" the entire office was looking at Peter who was staring at the floor. "Sir, it's not that I don't try. Every single day, I make an extra effort to ensure that the project is having a considerable progress. It's not always possible to do the entire thing all by myself. It will be really nice if..." Peter's voice faded away. Mr. Smith was furious. "Listen, Peter, if I need to appoint someone for the project, I will do that myself. It will be better if you focus on the job at hand rather than wasting your time, advising me." As Mr. Smith stormed into his own office, Peter slowly sat down.

It was becoming increasingly difficult for Peter to concentrate on his office work. His wife, Rosie, was 6 months pregnant and Peter had to manage everything at home all by himself. Considering the pregnancy, Rosie's doctor had suggested a diet which was essential for the well-being of the baby and every day Peter had to make sure that the food was ready for Rosie. Not only that, Peter had to complete all the household chores and take care of his wife and her tantrums. All this left him with no time for himself. There were days like today when he went without breakfast and lunch. He simply hated the canteen food and his work pressure didn't allow him to go out and grab some food.

Like any other day, it was almost half past 10 at night. The entire office was empty barring that cubicle at the left corner. His stomach was hurting as he had almost spent 14 hours without any food. He had to stay back at the office for another hour to ensure that the project was completed by tomorrow. As he opened his mail, a chef popped out of a pop-up window and grabbed his hand. Peter's heart skipped a beat and as soon as he was about to shout, the chef spoke, "Don't be a fool. Download Swiggy in your android mobile and get the best food of the town delivered to you in a jiffy. Download now!"