Story 40

Loneliness is something which grows on you slowly but steadily. Initially, it becomes very difficult to adjust oneself to the silence surrounding his/her existence but then the silence becomes your solace, your friend.

Like many, Julia had found her peace in silence. Days have turned into months, months into years and Julia had slowly fallen in love with the sound of silence. But the past few days had been a bit different. At the autumn of her life, Julia never expected her emotions to play such games with her. However, emotions are rarely considerate and she found herself seeking some attention. James was the reason.

A few months back, James had moved into her neighborhood. This tall, ex-Army chief, who was well past 70, was always buzzing with stories about his military exploits and was generally complaisant towards women. Julia had initially found him "a tad bit loud" but with time she was swept off her feet! His irresistible charm made her heart flutter. She ended up seeking his companionship. "But does James feel the same?" was the question which disturbed her.

As Julia sat at the corner of her drawing room she got reminded of that day. The pool at the back of their house was recently cleaned and young Julia couldn't wait to take the plunge. Victor was also getting ready to join her in the pool. As they jumped inside, Victor promised her to teach the "butterfly" swimming technique. It was going on well, till she found Victor trying to feel her up. The 15 something Julia wriggled to get out but, her cousin, Victor was a strong guy. The inevitable happened.

Julia was shaking with rage. Standing at the opposite side of time she knew that it was too late as drops of memories trickled down.

Story 39

"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? Would I 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 yours? 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 38

"So Pop, will it be just like before?" asked John. Peter, his dad, smiled. "Yes, son. Everything will be the same as before." "Will there be a secret room under the staircase?" the excitement in John's voice was prominent. "We will see to that" Peter replied looking at the construction site. As the cacophony intensified, Peter stared blankly at the ability of human spirit. Are we really that strong? Or does circumstances make us so? Peter's thoughts were disrupted by John's squeaky voice, "They are saying that the bad people have been caught. Is it true Pop? Will Santa punish them before Christmas?" "Yes John. Santa will punish them. They will not get any gifts, like you, from him." "That's good. But Santa will forgive them. Right, Pop?" the asked earnestly. Peter looked at him and asked, "Do you want him to?" "Yes Pop" pat came the reply from John. "But why? You saw what they did? Didn't you John?" asked Peter. John nodded his head. "Yes, Pop. But then, they made a mistake. You told me last week that learn from our mistake. They will also learn from their mistake and they will not do any such things in future. Isn't it Pop?" Peter looked away from his son. His eyes were swelling up. The last few days had been a complete blur for him. He had never expected such things to happen but then the world stood shocked as the horrific event unfolded. "Pop, don't cry. They have been naughty and like you, their pop will also scold them. They will understand their mistake and be a good boy next Christmas" said John as he slowly held his Pop's hand. John burst out crying, the midnights in Paris will never be the same again

Story 37

"What are you doing with a gun?" Maria was shaking with fear. Albert took her to a corner. Standing behind a tree, he whispered to her ears "Maria believe me I will not ask for any more favors from. Just this one. Please!" Maria bit her lips. Though she was aware of the consequences, her love for Albert made her say, "Okay. I will." Albert kissed on her forehead and whispered, " Catch the last bus to Scotsfield." And within a blink of an eye, he simply vanished into thin air. Standing in the middle of the park, Maria opened her umbrella and stood still for some time. She hoped that things would fall into place tonight.

It was a quarter to ten when Maria left her home. The sky looked exceptionally crowded today. It seemed that all the stars had decided to make their presence felt today! As she quickly made her way to the bus stand, she checked her handbag. Yes, the fruits were there. She wondered what prompted Albert to make such an unusual request. Hopping into the empty bus Maria found an empty seat for herself.

It was well past eleven when Maria got down at Scotsfield. As instructed, she crossed the road and found a small basket at one corner. Bending down, she read  picked up the note. It read, "I found this baby near the garbage bin a few days back. I guess her parents left her alone when the immigrants were forced to leave the country. Take her home and if she starts crying give her few pieces of an apple. She loves it! - Love Albert"

Story 36

"What did you see?" the investigator looked straight into his eyes. It had already been a very tedious day for Anwar and the tiredness was evident in his face. "I saw him punching the guy first and then he smashed the bottle of beer on his head" Anwar replied, bringing out the handkerchief and wiping his face. "What were you doing there?" asked the investigator. "Exactly how many times do I need to repeat myself?" Anwar was slowly losing his patience. "The number of times I ask you" pat came the reply. "I was on my way home" the anger was evident in Anwar's voice.

"What prompted you to be so proactive?" the inspector asked. "Because a human being was killed in the front of my eyes! Did you bribe your way into the police force? Because that's the stupidest question one could ever ask", Anwar felt difficult to contain himself. As the policeman smirked, Anwar asked "What about that guy who killed him? Why are you not questioning him?" "So are we changing sides here?" asked the policeman, smiling wryly. "No. It's just that I am being interrogated here for the past 4 hours and I really don't know why!"

As the investigator started searching for a file, he said "Mr. Anwar, the person whom you saw committing the crime today is one of our Indian army members. We are trying to deal with his alcohol problem." As he brought out a paper, he said "And kindly sign this paper stating that you haven't seen, heard and spoken anything about the incident. And if you don't, in two days time we will link you with Indian Mujahideen. Do you want to know the rest of it?" Shaking, Anwar signed the document.

Story 35

"The left-hand jab was a vintage Muhammad Ali and Jim was enjoying every bit of it. Star Sports has decided to celebrate the birthday of Ali by showing some of his very famous fights which made him an international sporting sensation. For a boxing lover like Jim, there was nothing more he could have asked for on a Sunday. Munching on his favorite nachos, Jim heard his name being called out by Mary, his 4 months old pregnant wife. He immediately ran to her room and found out that Mary was hungry and she would have nothing else than a large cheese pizza. As her doctor had repeatedly stated the need to provide food as per her wishes, Jim wiped his hand on the table napkin, took the car key and made his way to the garage. The weather outside was a bit weird for a sultry summer season. The strong wind from the south made Jim wonder whether winter was near or not. The roads were deserted, which was very unusual at this time of the day. As Jim sped up, his electronic speedometer rang an alarm, indicating the need to refuel. As Jim made his way to the gas station, an ear-splitting thunderstorm was followed by a heavy downpour. The intensity of the rainfall made Jim wonder when was the last time he had seen something like this. On reaching the gas station, a penguin came up to him and asked whether he needed a full tank or not. Jim literally jumped out of his skin. He mumbled something and ran off to the counter to pay his money. Was he dreaming? As he pinched his hand slowly, he knew that this was real yet surreal. Finding a penguin in the counter who efficiently provided him the receipt, he ran back to his car. While getting into the car he saw that the flyover on the other side had become an arc. Jim was flabbergasted.As he..."

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Story 34

"Why are they looking at me like that?" Rehan whispered to Shezad's ears. "Because they suspect us?" pat came the reply. "For what exactly?" Rehan raised his voice. "Keep your voice in check, you idiot!" Shezad hissed, "because we are just adding up to their population, which will invariably affect their competition, job opportunities, the cost of living. In a broader context, their entire economy." Rehan sighed, "sometimes I feel that we belong to a different galaxy. I feel that we are not humans because humans are not supposed to treat each other in the context of countries." Shezad muttered, "Enough of your philosophical nonsense. Please shut up and let me sleep." Drawing the blanket over his body Shezad made himself comfortable and slowly dozed off. As the bus zoomed past the countryside, Rehan was wondering what awaited them tomorrow.

"Have you heard this Shezad?" asked Rehan as he helped himself to a slice of watermelon. The bus had made an early halt and the military personnel had told them to report within an hour. The sun was slowly getting ready to say a bright hello and the sky looked breathtakingly beautiful. "What?" replied Shezad, his attention was clearly on the watermelon, the breakfast which the U.S Army provided. "They don't use fans over there. I overheard someone saying that!" exclaimed Rehan. "Oh",replied Shehzad, clearly ignoring what Rehan said. He got up and said, "I will go over there to have some water. Do you want to come?" Rehan nodded his head. "Okay. Don't be late for the bus" said Shezad walking away from Rehan.

Rehan slowly got up and moved towards the edge of the cliff. Stretching his arms, he saw the sun slowly rising. And m