Story 29

"How do you manage the kid?" Apurva asked Nilima as she took a spoonful of rice. "It some how falls into place. Definitely it's difficult but there is no other alternative," replied Nilima as she opened her tiffin box. "Rakesh doesn't even bother. Does he?" asked Apurva looking straight into Nilima's eyes. "He never did. The separation has just given him an excuse to justify his nature," Nilima replied. "This is why I am never getting married. I can never possibly trust a guy with my well being. And those reasons which your parents put forward about requiring some company at an older age - I will simply pack my bag, sell my flat and live in an old age home," Apurva ran out of breath. "And probably hope to find Mr. Perfect then," Nilima winked and burst into laughter as Apurva joined in. "These things are always unplanned Apurva. The best you can do is go with the flow," said Nilima. "And then end up being like you! How is the kid doing?" asked Apurva. "He is fine. I have decided upon his nickname," the excitement was evident Nilima's voice. "And," urged Apurva. "I will call him Tintin," Nilima smiled mischievously. "So you are relying on your fictional school crush to do wonders, right?" asked Apurva. Nilima nodded. "He simply adores your cell phone designed feeding bottle. He  really thinks it to be my cell phone and he always clings onto it while watching Cartoon Network," smiled Nilima. "He is such a cutie!" smiled Apurva. As Nilima went back to to her cubicle and sat, she put on her earphones, connected it to her cell phone and dialed 'Home'. The maid picked up the call and the portable blue-tooth on Tintin's ear became green, "Do you want to her the story of the Red Indians and the magic lorry, Tintin?"

Story 28

"Checkmate!" smiled Adrian. Rob looked devastated. "How could you manage such a move?" Rob's eyes almost popped out. "You have to think Rob. Everything can't always be according to the set of rules. You have to break them and design your own moves. Creativity is an absolute necessity in any form of sports," replied Adrian with a twinkle in his eyes. "You will go a long way Adrian. I have a good feeling about this," said Rob with a smile. "Have you seen that old guy selling watermelons over there?" asked Rob who was peeping out of his hotel window. "Yeah. I have never seen any shop stocked up with so many watermelons!" chuckled Adrian. "Really! Let's go out. We need to check the schedule of our match against Albania tomorrow," said Rob as he got ready. "The youth chess championship is finally here!" the excitement was evident in Adrian's voice as he threw the pillows on the bed. "Let's go!" said Adrian, as they left the room and locked it. They walked down the sideways and reached the old guy selling the watermelon. "How much?" Rob asked. The old guy looked at them and replied, in proper english "One for fifteen rupees". Adrian signaled "two" with his fingers. As the old guy started peeling off the skin, he asked them, "You British?" Rob smiled and replied, "Yes". The old guy smiled and asked "You see this road?" They both needed. "58 years ago this road used to take people like me from Mumbai to Karachi. It was a one night journey. I was born in Karachi. I studied there. But then you people came and said that Hindus and Muslims can't live together. My family, Hindu's,  got scared and settled here. I never had a home since then," said he, serving them the watermelons. The pangs of immigration struck a chord with them.

Story 27

"Did you see that? What a goal from Messi!" Rehan jumped up from the sofa. "There is no one who can dribble like him. No matter how much dad tries to convince me, Ronaldo doesn't stand a chance in front of Lionel Messi," said Rehan as he paused to catch some breath. "Have you packed your bag?" asked Ziba, his mother, as she frantically looked around to check whether any more of the household items could be accommodated. "You didn't listen to anything I said? Did you?" Rehan asked his mother, visibly upset. "I will listen to everything later.Because at any moment now Abba will come and tell us to leave," replied Ziba as she tried to shut the overloaded suitcase. "Come down and sit on it Rehan. Help me to zip it," asked Ziba as Rehan ran and sat on it while his mother zipped it. The door opened as Asif came in, "Let's go! The bus leaves in ten minutes." "Yes. We are ready," said Ziba as she looked around. They knew nothing more could be taken as Ziba's eyes became moist. "Do you think it will stay like this till we come back?" she asked Asif. "If we ever came back to Syria!" replied Asif as Rehan wrapped his arms, around his Abba's neck. "Did you take the gold bars?" asked Asif as he locked the door. "Yes," replied Ziba. "No matter where we land up, we need to sell it and get some money," said Asif as he looked at their home for the last time. "Abba, are we going to Barcelona?" asked Rehan. "Anywhere you want to go," chuckled Rehan. As they boarded the overcrowded bus, Rehan smiled. Finally he is going to get the best birthday gift ever - he is going to see Messi play.

Story 26

"So this is the reason you are giving me?" Jacob was fuming. He could not believe what was happening and he hoped, just like the other days things will fall into place. "What were you expecting? I would go through that pain all over again? Am I a robot?" Sarah shot back. Pouring some water into the glass and spilling the most, she gulped it at one go. As she kept the glass with a thud, she turned to Jacob "Don't you think that I want it too?" Don't you think that I also had the same dream as your's? Just like any other girl....." "Yes. I know that. Probably that is the reason I am telling you to give it another shot. I have a feeling, things will fall into place this time" interrupted Jacob. Sarah banged the table, "Every single time you tell me this. Your intuitions are nothing but your desires! You now that very well. And if it is not so, forgive me. I am not believing your intuitions again." Stifling a cry, Sarah sat down on the chair.

Jacob knew that this was not going to end well. It's not that he never considered the pain Sarah went through but he had hoped things would be different. As he took a chair and sat down Sarah muffled "I am not a baby producing machine Jacob. I had given birth to two dead babies and every single time I think about them, I feel like I am a murderer. I am cursed and I know that I will never get to hold a baby in my arm and hear the word 'mommy'. I don't want to kill another a child Jacob."

The two shattered souls broke down crying.

Story 25

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 Richard'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 24

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 seemed to be increasing. As the heat and humidity reached a new high in the last few days, the advent of such a rain was just a matter of time. Fortunately for the millions of living beings rain has been very kind today. Rather then losing out it's 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 23

"How long does it take?" Sarika asked Zeeshan as he started rowing. "Not much. Around 3 hours or so" replied Zeeshan. "Can't this time be cut down a little bit?" asked Fatima, the tension evident in her voice. Zeeshan smirked "Only if you can lend me a hand" "Stop crying Begum! Will you? You are getting on my nerves now!" Fatima shouted at her younger sister. "If we lose hope like this, do you think we can ever make it to the other side?" Zeeshan had already started rowing by then. "Can I have the other oar?" Sarika asked as Zeeshan handed her one. "Are you sure about this?" Zeeshan's query was put to rest by a strong "Yes!".

Sarika was the eldest of the three sisters. All her life she had struggled to support her family which was left shattered by the early demise of her parents. Though her decision to 'leave studies early and join a job' was met with few raised eyebrows, she knew there was no other option. Fatima and Begum were very young and she didn't want them to end up in an orphanage. She wanted them to study and to make it big someday. "Give it to me. I will row now" Fatima told Sarika, who looked at her and smiled. As she handed over the oars and sat down beside Begum, whose tear soaked red eyes looked tired, she noticed how beautiful has Fatima grown up to be. That little girl was now a doctor and she knew one day her Fatima will make her proud in the field of medicine.


Since yesterday things have looked different for Sarika and her family. The crisis surrounding the refugees was given a fresh lease of life as Britain opened their gates for them. The European powerhouses who were playing it tough, citing various socio-economic-political  factors as reasons for not allowing the refugees any access to their country, were forced to change their stance. With Britain opening their gates, Germany and France soon followed. As Sarika looked up at the sky and thanked the little Allah whose death changed everything for them tears rolled down her cheeks. She kissed Begum's hand and thanked Aylan Kurdi for giving them a new chance to live. Their little Allah.