Story 33

"What is the issue you are facing?" asked Dr. Derek staring at his new patient. "I have been having dreams..weird ones..." replied John. He was thin, clean shaven,his eyes were red from lack of sleep and he sounded a tad bit disoriented. "So what have you been dreaming John?" the doctor asked, toning down his voice. "They still visit me in my dreams" John murmured. "Can I have  a glass of water?" he asked looking around. "Definitely" as Dr. Derek got up, pulled out a glass and poured it full. John gulped it in one shot. "Doctor you need to listen to this" said John sitting up straight on his chair.

"That night the Eagles were playing against the Hawks. Do you watch baseball?" John asked Derek. "Yes" replied Derek with a smile. His voice was gentle and soothing, as he asked "So what were you saying about that day?" "Yes. Eagles were supposed to play. The game was about to start in 30 minutes and I was stuck in office. It's not everyday you manage to get a ticket for the game. Ain't it Doc?" John asked earnestly. "Absolutely Derek. Go ahead!" "I told my boss that I had to leave. As usual he made an issue about it but I didn't pay any heed to it and left. The traffic was exceptionally slow and long. I kept on honking but to no avail. I overheard a conversation of the immigrants entering our country. Suddenly a Syrian came running to me, banging my window he tried to tell me about his wife fatally ill. He needed a lift. I shoved him aside and turned up the window.

I missed the game. Two nights later my wife had a miscarriage. They come in my dreams every night and still cry."

Story 32

"What are you doing there?" Shireen screamed as she saw Rehan standing at the edge of the cliff."I was just trying to locate" Rehan shouted back. "Will you come back right now?" the panic was evident in Shireen's voice. "Coming" replied Rehan as he cast a last longing glance. "What were you searching for?" Shireen asked frantically. Rehan sighed, "I was trying to locate Luna's house." "Why would you want to do that? Don't you see, time is running away!" Shireen's voice was trembling.

Rehan sat down quietly on a boulder. "Rehan, what's wrong? We need to make a move. The bus will leave soon. We don't want to stay back here. Do we?" said Shireen as she tried to pull up Rehan by his arms. As they started making their way back to the bus stop Shireen nudged Rehan, "Will you tell me?"

"Do you remember Lester?" Rehan asked. "Yes. Luna's golden retriever. Why?" Shireen looked at Rehan with curiosity. "Luna called me a few days back. She told me that during their family dinner her father had proposed they leave for their ancestral home in Zurich. With the political and social situation deteriorating  at an alarming level, he didn't want to risk his family and their well-being. The only problem was Lester. They couldn't take him with them" Rehan ran out of breath. "Why?" asked Shireen. "Apparently, the air carrier didn't have any special provision for carrying animals because the human population was overcrowded as many wanted to leave. She had told me to take Lester along. But in this chaos I couldn't manage to go there and" Rehan's voice muffled.

As they slowly reached the plain terrain, Lester came running at them with a flower in his mouth with a note dangling, "Love Luna."

Story 31

"The night is still young my friend", said Jason as he opened the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of coke. "I don't feel like going to the party Jason" Ismail replied. "Why? Want some coke?" asked Jason as he stretched out his hand to offer him the bottle. "No thanks. Water maybe?" said Ismail. As Jason poured him a glass of water Ismail opened the television and started surfing the news channels. "Hey, please! Give it a break. No more news now. You will enter into depression now!" said Jason as he passed on the glass of water. Taking the remote from Ismail he turned the television off.

Ismail gulped down the water. "What about the game of 24 you planned to teach me?" asked Jason. "Don't play that 'you don't have cards' thing. You know very well that I bought a pack of them yesterday." Ismail smiled, "Yes Jason. I do remember. I will teach you soon but not today." Taking out the cellphone from his pocket, he suddenly remembered "Tell Sarah I won't be coming today. I don't want to text her and face a barrage of questions now. Just tell her that I am not well so I am taking rest." Bewildered, Jason replied, "Even Sarah can't force you out today?" "No. I don't feel like going to the party. I will get going. See you tomorrow" said Ismail as he got up and left.

Walking down the sideways he remembered how Abba used to tell stories about his hometown. He migrated from there when he was 18 years old and had settled in the United Kingdom. He wanted Ismail to go and visit their ancestral home where, Amir, the caretaker still lives.

Seeing the Syrian refugees made Ismail homesick, for the first time in his life.

Story 30

"How many of you have seen sunflowers?", Richard asked the class. A number of hands shot up in the air. "That's very good! So tell me, how do they look?", asked Richard looking at the class inquisitively. "It is yellow in color", pat came the reply from Josh. "Excellent! So where did you see them Josh?", asked Richard."I have seen them at Mrs. Mason's shop. She sells flowers by the roadside", replied Josh. "Very nice! So children, open your book to page number 45. We will learn about different types of flowers today", instructed Richard as he turned to the blackboard to write the topic. Amidst the general hustle which usually follows with kids bringing out their books, Richard noticed that Adrian was sitting with the hands covering his eyes as he kept on peeping at the blackboard. "What's wrong Adrian?, asked Richard. "I am scared", replied Richard. "Scared? About what son?", Richard was bewildered. "Has anything happened?", asked Adrian, his voice quivering. "Where?", replied Richard. "Out there at the world?", replied Adrian using his hands to explain the entire universe. "No son. Nothing has happened.But what makes you think so?", asked Richard, his curiosity was peaking. "So why are you teaching us about flowers today?", asked Adrian. "And why can't I Adrian?", asked Richard. "Because flowers are bad. They are used only when the bad people attack countries and kill people. We go out and put wreaths in their memory. That's why I am scared of flowers. What if they killed Mumma and Pappa and Boxy, my rabbit?", Adrian's eyes swelled up with tears. Richard stood shell shocked for few minutes. Then he walked up to Adrian and hugged him tightly. Now the word "flower" had a completely different meaning in his life.

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.