The Prank Caller

It all started a year back at my friend Olivia’s birthday party. She had invited few of our friends from the college including her boyfriend James for the party. We had just cut the cake and downed a few beers when we heard the doorbell ring. Olivia was a little surprised as all the people on the guest list had already arrived. She got a bit alarmed and told me “Emma, I hope it’s not my Dad”. In any case, she opened the door and got the shock of her life. Her ex-boyfriend Michael was standing in the doorway. “What are you doing here?” she asked clearly annoyed with his presence. “Sorry, Olivia. I didn’t mean to interrupt the party. I just wanted to wish you happy birthday,” saying this he handed over a flower bouquet to her. “I don’t need your wishes and I certainly don’t need your cheap flower bouquet,” saying this Olivia threw the bouquet away in a fit of anger.

By then, I and few other people had gathered around Olivia. James checked if everything was alright and requested Michael to leave. Michael looked sad and left without saying anything further. I always thought Michael was a nice guy. In fact, I always wondered what he saw in Olivia. She was a spoiled rich girl. I agree that she was beautiful. But, she was quite dominating and hard to deal with at most times. Michael, on the other hand, was a simple and down to earth guy. We had studied in the same class ever since we were kids. But, he never took much notice of me. I guess I was not that important to him. He always craved for Olivia’s attention and took care of her smallest needs. Olivia on the other hand simply used the poor guy. Once James walked into the college all the girls swooned over him. Olivia was no less. She made sure to throw her charms on him. Finally, she managed to trap James viciously and kicked poor Michael out of her life. Poor Michael still loved her and I could not bear to watch it when Olivia insulted him so badly. I decided to do something to help Michael.
The next morning, I followed Michael after the class. I followed his daily routine. I did this every day for the next two weeks. I made myself familiar with his lifestyle. It seemed that Michael did not have too much life beyond the college. He did not have any friends and stopped talking to anyone in class after Olivia dumped him. He went straight to his home after college where he stayed with his grandmother. His parents had passed away in a train accident a few years back. He was a studious boy and just immersed himself in his books. In the evenings, he took his Beagle for a walk in the park. Apart from that, he had a very simple lifestyle. No disco, no pub and no thought of another girlfriend. I was slowly getting the idea of why Olivia may have dumped him after all. But, I decided to help him nonetheless. I could not approach him directly since I was still Olivia’s friend and he would not trust me. I got hold of his number from the college website. The telephone numbers of the last year’s selected students for the Inter College Physics Quiz were still listed there.

That night I called him for the first time. I used a mobile app to change my voice and made a Voice Over IP Call to hide my phone details. “Hi Michael,” I said. “Hello, who is this,” he answered. “My name is Elizabeth,” I lied to him. “Sorry, I do not know any Elizabeth. May I know who are you?” he asked me. “Michael, I study in your college. I want to be your friend.” “Sorry, but I don’t make friends with strangers,” saying this he cut the call. “Well!” I thought that the poor guy was still in love with Olivia and he had cut himself off from the rest of the world. I decide that something must be done to save him from this agony.

Next morning, I went to college a bit early. I went to Michael’s locker and stuck a note on it. The note read “Please be my friend – Signed Elizabeth”. I then went to the library and waited for Michael to come. He always came to the library every morning to return the books he had studied the previous day. I waited patiently for about half an hour when I spotted him finally. He returned his books and as he left the library I followed him quietly. When he reached his locker, I saw that he looked confused. He took out the note and looked around. I quickly looked down and pretended to type a message on my phone. I looked up after a moment and saw that he had left. He had torn the note and thrown it in the garbage bin. I knew my task was not going to be very easy.

I started calling him every night and he used to cut off the call for the first few days. But, after a few days, I guess he saw that I was adamant and would not give in easily. He finally started speaking to me. I encouraged him to make new friends again. I told him that he deserved someone better than Olivia. He asked me several times to reveal my identity. But, I did not want to openly reveal myself as he would think that I was playing a prank on him all the time. I have been calling him for the last one year now. I guess the time has now come to reveal my identity to him. So, I called him tonight and told him that I would meet him tomorrow at the Indies Restaurant after college.

I wore my favorite black dress and gold earrings the next day. I was so excited. I somehow sat through all my classes the next day and rushed to the restaurant after the class. I entered the restaurant and saw Michael sitting at a corner table. He was speaking to someone over the phone. So, I did not want to interrupt him as it would spoil the precious moment. I quietly sat on a table next to him so that I could approach him once he was done with his call. He was sitting with his back facing me so he could not see me. I heard Michael laughing. I overheard him saying “So there is this silly girl who keeps calling me all the time. At first, I tried to ignore her but she would not listen. She thought that I was depressed or something. So, I just pretended to like her. She thinks that Olivia fell for James and dumped me. The silly girl does not even know that she caught me cheating on her. And, now I am going to use her in the same way.”

I was just too shocked to react. I just quickly tipped the waiter and left the restaurant. I quickly called Olivia and checked why she had dumped Michael. She confirmed the story that I had heard in the restaurant. I thanked God that I had kept my identity hidden from this cheat. It also taught me not to judge people based on their appearance. I stopped my prank calls after that day and resolved to never blindly trust people.

The End

The Divine Design

It had been forty years since the first human colony was established on Zeus-X planet. A planet that is roughly 50 light years away from our home planet Earth. Zeus-X was discovered by the great scientist Dr. Gabriel in the year 2030. And, within 100 years of that discovery, we established the first human colony on this planet in the year 3015. The current year is 3055. I am Captain Smith and currently leading an expedition to the fifth moon Saurus of the planet Zeus-X.

In all Zeus-X has seven moons. Saurus has a constant winter and an average temperature of -140 degree Celsius.  There is no Sun in this system and hence there is no concept of Day and Night. The idea of a planet which did not belong to any solar system had seemed absurd in the last century. But, with the gradual progress in Space explorations, it came to light that there were several planets called Solitaires which did not belong to any solar system.

These planets did not depend on a Sun to provide them heat, light, and energy. The energy in these planets came from within their core. The core was made up of hydrogen and helium and a fusion reaction was fueling up the planet with heat and energy. But, the fusion reaction was not burning up the planet like the Sun in our solar system.

There were metals called Soothers buried just about 50 km below the surface of the planet which acted as coolants. They absorbed most of the heat and radiated just enough heat to keep the surface of the planet warm. This heat kept the average temperature on the surface to about 45 degree Celsius. The light emitted from the soothers gave a faint yellow glow in the whole planet. The Solitaires had been discovered accidentally when a deep space exploration believed to be dead for years had suddenly started transmitting signals back to Earth. Many scientists had argued that Solitaires were in fact Suns with very faint radiation owing to their ancient creation. But, they were also surprised why these Suns had not been turned into a super nova and got destroyed after all these years. Hence, the Solitaires were regarded as Planets rather than Suns as they did not fit into the current preview of our understanding of the universe.

After the third world war, it had been decided that Earth was no longer fit for humans due to the high intoxication levels and large spaceships had been built with the remaining natural resources to move the few remaining people to the new planet. In all, there were ten different spaceships sent in different directions to ensure the survival of human race and avoid any chance of a complete annihilation of the human race due to some space catastrophe.

The recent transmissions had confirmed that five of the space ships had successfully reached their destinations. Two of the space ships had met with an accident and there was yet no news from the remaining two space ships. I was the first generation of people that took birth on the Zeus-X Planet. My father was an officer in the Spaceship that had traveled to this planet. My mother was a doctor on board the spacecraft. They had woken up from a deep sleep during the last six months of their flight. After a brief period of dating, they had married.

Our colony was setup with 1000 humans. There was an equal ratio of men and women to carry on life on this planet. With the advancement of science, it was now possible to decide the gender of the baby. As per the laws of the new planet, each couple had to conceive one girl and one boy to maintain the genetic bio diversity of the new race.  I was born three years after my elder sister Stella. Stella is the lead scientist in the mineralogy department. I am the in charge of the Deep Space communication and currently, we are on an expedition to setup a radio transmitter on the moon Saurus to send deep space signals to our other space expeditions.

I am traveling with a crew of four people. Captain Rogers is our lead pilot and Captain Sheila is the co-pilot. Captain Raj is the lead instrument scientist. From our earlier robotic expeditions, we had mapped the terrain of this moon. The moon did not have any energy source like our planet. The terrain was rough and covered with snow. Hence, it was so cold. Our spacecraft landed on the surface and I and Captain Raj got out. We were joined by our robot Sam. Sam flew the spacecraft and landed on the precise location to setup the radio transmitter. We setup the radio transmitter and returned to our spacecraft. Captain Raj pressed the button of the remote control to activate the transmitter and a red beacon started flashing as the transmitter came to life.

Our mission to setup the transmission had been completed successfully. Captain Sheila turned the thrusters on as we flew back to our home planet. As we took flight, I started looking out of the window. The moon was completely frozen and the absence of air made the Saurus a very quiet place. Suddenly, Captain Raj got excited and showed us the signals on his monitor. The heat sensors on the spacecraft had picked up a heat signature. He was receiving heat signals from the surface of the moon indicating the presence of some living organism.

It had been forty years but we had not yet discovered another species of any plant or animal on the planet or any of the moons. We could identify certain new types of microbes which helped in vegetation. But, the discovery of another life form was an amazing prospect. It would be the biggest break through since our space exploration. Raj had tracked the signal to about 10 miles from our present location. Captain Rogers steered the spacecraft in the direction of the heat signal. We took our precaution by transmitting a signal to the base camp that we were in the pursuit of a heat signal.

Base camp advised us to take due precautions and authorized use of firearms if necessary. Captain Rogers steered the spacecraft to within eyesight of the heat signal. We could spot two small sized animals running on the surface. The animal was only about two feet in length but it was leaping in huge strides. It had a strange red and white color and it seemed to be perturbed by the noise of our spacecraft. Sam had quickly sent out a drone to keep track of the location of the animals. We were all mighty pleased with our new discovery. There was life besides ours after all. We shook our hands and reported back to base about our discovery. A voice responded from the other side “This is a great news for all of us! It is our duty now to not repeat the mistakes of our ancestors. Let us pledge not to destroy the other species lest we are the only ones left behind. God has given us another chance so let us use it well. Amen!”. I recognized the voice on the other side. It was my dad’s voice. Our drone returned after placing GPS tags on both the animals.

We were all curious to understand how the animals had been surviving on this cold and harsh planet. Captain Raj suddenly looked anxious and said that the heat signals were lost completely. Sam checked the GPS signal and there was nothing being received there as well. We all became anxious and wondered what could have happened suddenly. I volunteered to go down with Sam and have a look around the place.

Captain Rogers consented after some deliberation with the base camp. I took a watch transmitter to track the heat signal or the GPS signal just in case they came back alive. I took out a magnum torch and Sam switched on his infrared sensors. Captain Sheila landed the spacecraft and opened the door. I got down along with Sam. Captain Rogers told me to return in another fifteen minutes. I nodded and went in the direction where we had last spotted the animals. We could see their foot marks. The foot marks were small and indicated that the animals had three toes in the front and two toes on the back of their feet. Each foot mark was about ten feet away indicating the long strides made by the animals.

Sam was about twenty feet ahead of me. Sam came back to me and reported that the foot marks had ended there. I went to the spot and looked around curiously. The foot marks had disappeared after that spot. Just as I was thinking about returning when an animal bounced at me from nowhere. I gave out a scream out of surprise. And, Sam came running to me. He checked if I was alright. I said I was.

The animals were now running in front of us. Captain Rogers said that the heat signals and GPS signals were back on and they could spot the animals visually. I provided confirmation. But, I could still not understand from where these animals had sprung upon me. I called Sam and checked if he had video recorded the animal jumping on me. He confirmed and I asked him to replay the video in slow motion. As the video played out in slow motion I saw that the animal had literally jumped from a height of about ten feet out of nowhere. I suspected that we were onto something big.

I asked Sam to send out a drone in that direction. The drone vanished as soon as it reached the spot as if it had been swallowed by some invisible monster. I relayed the message back to my team. Captain Rogers instructed me to return immediately. But, I disagreed. I told him I needed another five minutes.

I asked Sam if he had brought along a backup drone. He said he had. I asked him to setup a circular trajectory for the drone. This time I sent the drone and waited with bated breath to check if it would return. After waiting for about ten minutes, the drone returned and I jumped in excitement. We returned to our space craft and checked the information collected by the drone. To our surprise, the drone had traveled 40 light years in under 10 minutes. We had accidentally discovered a worm hole. God had finally revealed his divine design to us mortals. As we returned to the base camp, we were greeted with a hero’s welcome. The wormhole spot was named as the Divine Spot and is the key to discovering the remaining Universe.

The End

Daisy learns a lesson

“Mummy! I want that ice cream!” Daisy was begging her mom to buy her an ice cream. “No Daisy! You just bought the Popcorn tub. Nothing more for you.” Her mom was scolding her. Daisy and her mom had come out for shopping. It was Daisy’s summer vacation. Daisy studied in the fourth grade. She was a naughty and a stubborn girl. She always wanted all her demands to be fulfilled immediately. Her mom and dad had to reason with her several times. But, she was adamant and grew more stubborn with time. “No Mummy! Please buy me that ice cream. Please! I won’t ask for anything else after that.” She continued begging her mom. Daisy started wailing loudly and a few passersby started staring at her. Daisy knew that this was a good way to attract attention. Her mom was getting upset with her tantrums and she was also feeling embarrassed because of her daughter’s behavior. “You stubborn girl! Stop crying immediately! Let’s get your ice cream. But, no more demands after that.” Her mom finally relented. Daisy bought the new choco pista cake ice cream and her mom quietly paid the bill to the cashier. Her mom wished that somehow her daughter would not trouble her so much. She wished that she would grow up to be an obedient and a well-mannered girl.

As Daisy was eating her ice cream, an old carrying a gunny bag passed them. She was wearing an old sari and it was patched in several places. Her faces had several wrinkles and she was walking with a bent back. Most of the people ignored her or gave her a disgusting look. It was as if some people did not exist for the society. The old lady went to the garbage bin and started fumbling inside. “Look Mummy! That old lady is searching something in the garbage bin! Yew!” Daisy said as she and her mother looked on. The old lady took out a half-eaten sandwich from inside the garbage bin and put it inside her gunny bag. “Mummy! Why is the old lady keeping the sandwich in her bag?” Daisy asked innocently to her mother. Her mom’s eyes were filled with tears as she answered “My child! I think she is hungry.” She immediately took out 50 rupees note from inside her purse and handed it to the old lady. Seeing the old lady eating from inside the garbage bin made Daisy feel slightly guilty for her behavior.

As they walked on, Daisy came across a Toy store. She again started troubling her mom. “Mummy! Please buy me this Barbie!”. “Daisy! I bought a new Barbie for you only last week. No more toys for you!” Daisy was just planning to throw a tantrum once again when a little girl about half her size passed them carrying a basket on her head. She was selling small clay and plastic toys. Daisy saw her and immediately fell silent. “Mummy! Why is this little girl selling toys? Our teachers have said that child labor is illegal.” Daisy asked curiously to her mom. “Daisy, my child not all children are born lucky. There are thousands of children in our country who must earn the bread for the rest of their family members. They do not get opportunities for good education or to wear good clothes. They have to toil hard their entire lives just to feed themselves twice a day.” Daisy did not pester her mom for the toy anymore. They both finished their shopping and returned home.

After returning home, Daisy went into her room. Her mom went to the kitchen to prepare the dinner. After a couple hours, her mom went to her room to call her for the dinner. When she entered the room, she saw Daisy was packing all her toys, new clothes, and comic books into cartons. “Daisy, my child, what are you doing?” her mom asked her lovingly and fondling her hair. “Mummy! I am packing all my toys, comics and clothes to give them away!” Daisy answered. “Why would you want to do that my child? Whom are you going to give it to anyway?” her mom asked her curiously. “Mummy! I want to give them to the orphan children who live in the nearby Orphanage. I want them to get an equal opportunity as well. I am sorry for troubling you today, I will never do that again.” Saying this she jumped into her mother’s arms and started weeping. Tears started falling from her mother’s eyes as well. She thanked God that her child had learned a valuable lesson that day. “The gift of satisfaction and the joy of sharing with others is what makes us human. May God bless you my dear child.” her mother embraced her lovingly and thanked the lord for showing her child the right path.

The End

Real Magic

As the magician waved his wand and brought out a pigeon from his hat my friend Deepak gave out a big yawn. “My God! This show is so boring. Whatever made you bring me to this show Man!” he complained. This was his usual habit. It was very difficult to impress Deepak. He was a born critic. In a 700 Rs ticket magic show, he was expecting to watch some David Blaine magic. “Stop cribbing dude!” I said “The show has just started. This magician has great tricks up his sleeve. Just wait and watch.” “Ya, Ya let’s see,” he said in his usual bored tone. I didn’t know if this magician knew any better tricks but I didn’t want to hear Deepak cribbing throughout the show. “Jai! Pass me the popcorn Man!” he told me and I obliged by handing him the popcorn tub. Deepak and I were roommates. We studied at the same Engineering college “Rashtriya Shiksha Kendra” or RSK for short. Deepak was from Haryana and I was from Karnataka. Our college was in Delhi. We heard that the great Indian magician Jadugar Ali was performing at FICCI Auditorium this Saturday and decided to attend his show. The auditorium was packed with people and we were sitting on the ground floor just a few rows away from the stage. Jadugar Ali brought out a pigeon from his hat and drew a thunderous applause from the audience. The children seated near our chairs were excited and were clapping loudly.

Jadugar Ali called some volunteers from the audience for his next act. A few enthusiastic people went to the stage. They were asked to line up in an arc. The magician then folded a hand kerchief and asked all the volunteers if they could see through it. None of them could see through the hand kerchief. The magician then blindfolded himself with the kerchief and asked the volunteers to write some numbers on the black board which was kept at the center of the stage. He could guess the numbers accurately. Next, he asked them to write some complex Algebraic equations and could solve them all instantly which again drew thunderous applause from the audience. But, again Deepak was unmoved. “Dude! I definitely think he has a hidden micro earphone and someone is guiding him from behind the stage using a hidden camera” he explained his theory behind the trick. I nodded my head. After all, magic has some hidden tricks and his theory did seem plausible. “I wish this guy would show us some cool stuff! All this is so boring and childish” he again started complaining. “Let’s wait and see. I have heard that his rope trick is world class”. “Hmm!” was the only response Deepak could muster.

The next trick was indeed the world-famous rope trick. Two side artists brought a huge rope in the center of the stage. The magician was handed over a Pungi or Been which is flute like wind instrument used to charm snakes in India. He started playing the pungi and to everyone’s astonishment, the rope started swaying like a snake and started rising. The head of the rope was looking like the fangs of a king cobra. This made everyone sit up in their seats. I saw that even Deepak had an astonished look on his face and he said “Awesome man! How the hell is he doing this trick!” and started clapping. The audience joined him in the applause and everyone gave the magician a standing ovation. Finally, something could excite my friend. “What an amazing trick dude! Unbelievable!” my friend was getting lost for superlatives. “Yes! It was quite amazing!” I agreed.
The final act was a new trick. Ali called it “The Super Man” trick. Once again he called out for volunteers. To my utter amazement, Deepak ran to the stage in a blink of an eye and volunteered. The magician whispered something into his ears and he nodded. The magician made him wear a superman cape and asked him to say “Up! Up! And Away!”. Deepak raised his right hand in Superman style and said the magical words. To everyone’s utter astonishment he was flying. He went as high as 10 feet in the air and I could hear him shouting like a little girl. “Get me down! Get me down! Please” he was begging the magician as the audience looked on in amazement. The magician obliged and he came down. Someone helped him to take the cape out and looked quite faint. With shaking legs, he came back to his seat and just sat there without saying a word. I did not bother to ask him what had happened till the show was over.

After the show was over and we had boarded the metro to get back to our hostel I asked him “Dude! Are you alright? What happened out there!”. He kept quiet for a moment and answered in a low voice “It was real! It was not a trick!”. “Dude! Common, he just must have used some kind of invisible rope!” I said trying to get some sense into his head. “No Dude! It was all real” he said closing his eyes. “What did the magician whisper into your ears? Has he hypnotized you?” For the first time since he had returned to his seat, he looked me in the eye and said “He told me Deepak you wanted to see some real magic, right? So, I’ll show it to you!”. “How the hell did he know your name?” I asked curiously. “I think maybe someone might have told him from your seat number by whispering in his micro earphones!” I tried to reason with my friend based on his earlier theory. “No dude! That cape was real. When I said the Super Man words I immediately felt someone holding me tightly. I could even hear the voice whisper in my ears as it carried me in the air”. “Well! What did the voice say?” He looked at me meaningfully for a moment and answered “It was my dad’s voice. He asked me Deepak beta Kaise ho (Deepak my son! How are you?)” I stood transfixed. Deepak’s dad had died last month in a car accident. The magician had somehow invoked the spirit of his dad and put it in the cape. We both returned to our hostel room without speaking a word to each other and trying to make sense of what had happened.

The End

The Rainy Night

I was working till late evening that day. We had to deliver the final build to the client by EOD. My boss had called me in that morning and had issued a stern warning “Shaun! Get your team up to the task and make sure that the build goes today! I do not want any excuses this time”. It was a tough assignment but at last, we got it together and delivered the build successfully. I was elated that my boss would be happy now and I could talk about my promotion in the next appraisal meeting. I was feeling hungry and I grabbed a cheese burger and a soda from the office vending machine. I finished my meal with few of my team mates who had stayed back for the project delivery. We cracked a few developer jokes during the meal and all of us were so relieved to have finally completed this project.

After having our meal, we locked the office and took the elevator to the basement car parking. We said our goodbyes and drove off to our homes. My house is a bit far from the office. I commute around 30 miles to reach the office every day. I had got a great deal for this house last year. A family that was living there had to urgently shift to London for business and they sold the house to me at quite a bargain rate. I was so lucky to be living in a big house now. It was so much better than my one bedroom, rented Apartment. The only downside was that my house was now a long distance from the office. It took me almost an hour to drive to the office and another hour to get back home. My drive back home takes me through the freeway for about 10 miles from the office.Then for the next 10 miles or so there is a lonely stretch of big Victorian style houses. The final stretch again takes me through a forest area. My house is in a lonely forest place. But, I enjoy the peace and calmness of my locality. As I took my car out of the driveway, I looked up to see dark clouds. I checked my phone and saw a thunder storm warning. It seemed like it could rain heavily at any time now. I could see bolts of lightning in the distance. This was not a good sign, I hoped I could reach home safely before it started raining too heavily. 

I drove at a good speed of 80 km/hr. and I had only gone about 7 miles from the office when it started raining. The rain was bad and I could not maintain my speed. I reduced my speed to around 50 km/hr. and could barely see around 15 feet ahead of me. I started driving carefully. There was a sharp bend ahead in the road after some distance. As I took the sharp turn I could hear my tires screeching loudly but I maintained the car balance and could somehow keep the car steady on the road. I had barely gone 50 feet ahead when I saw a tree had fallen in the center of the road. The tree had also brought down an electric pole. I put on my brakes as hard as I could to stop the car. The car tires screeched as the car stopped barely inches away from the fallen tree. 

I cursed my luck as there was no other way around to get to my place. There was also no point in turning back as the office was locked and my colleague had taken the keys with him. There were also no Motels nearby. So, I parked my car on the side of the road and placed a STOP sign on the rear of the car so that no other vehicle would accidentally bump into it. I took out my umbrella and got out of the car. The best chance I had of surviving this bad weather was by seeking shelter in a nearby house. I could spot a light from a distance and decided to move in that direction. I started the flash light from my cell phone and started walking in that direction. My shoes were now completely soiled after walking in the wet mud. After walking for about half a mile, I came to the source of the light. The light was coming out of the window of an old Victorian mansion. 

I opened the gate and watched for any sign of a guard dog. On making sure there was no dog, I passed along a small garden and went to the main door of the building. There was a doorbell by the side of the road. I rang the doorbell and waited for someone to answer it. After waiting for about a couple of minutes, I was about to press the doorbell for the second time when the door was opened by someone. At the same time, a loud thunderclap followed and a cold shiver ran down my spine. The flash of lightning revealed the face of the person. It was a beautiful face. It was the kind of face that can bewitch a young man. The woman was dressed in a black dress. 

With one hand, she was holding a candle stand and with her other hand, she held the door open. “Yes, Sir! Caught in the rain now, are we?” she asked me with a smile. “Yes, Ma’am! There’s a tree fallen down the road and I can’t go any further until it’s been removed. Could I spend a few hours in the house till the rain stops?” I asked. “Of course, Please come in,” she said. I got inside and it was quite dark. I had turned off my cell phone flash light and the only light in the room was from the candle in the lady’s hand. I was feeling slightly uneasy in the darkness. I guess the lady sensed it and said “The power went out with the rain. And, the emergency light is kept upstairs” she said pointing the candle in the direction of the stairs. The stairs were leading to another floor within the house. These were big wooden floors which I had seen in the big mansions in old English movies. She placed the candle stand on a table and made me sit on a sofa. “My name is Shaun Graham” I introduced myself as she sat on the opposite sofa seat. “Nice meeting you Mr. Graham. I am Sofia Hepburn” she answered. “Miss Sofia, do you live alone here?” I asked her out of curiosity. “No. Actually, my sister and her son are also staying with me. They are sleeping upstairs.” We talked about for a little while and then we felt sleepy. Sofia politely arranged my bed in the guest room and went upstairs to her room to sleep. I kept my phone on the side table and as I was feeling very tired I fell asleep immediately. 

I woke up early in the morning and came out of my bedroom. Since it was quite early I did not wake up Sofia or her family. I left a thank you note for her on the table and left the place. I found my car and saw that the cops had already cleared out the tree and an electrician was fixing the pole. I felt so glad that I had found such a nice house to spend the rainy night. I was also thinking about my charming hostess and I decided to thank her by taking some flowers to her over the coming weekend. I drove home and suddenly realized that my phone was missing. I remembered that I had kept it in on the side table and had forgotten to collect it. In a manner, I was glad that I had found an opportunity to meet her again so soon. I quickly dressed up and finished my breakfast. I took my car and on my way picked up some flowers. I smelled the flowers and I could imagine Sofia opening the door for me in her lovely black dress. 

I tried imagining what I would speak to her. I guess I wanted to ask her out for dinner. I drove the long distance very quickly and as I approached Sofia’s house I could see few police cars parked outside. I got concerned and hurriedly parked my car. I got out and approached a police officer who was sealing the area outside the house. I greeted him “Good Morning Officer!” and asked him anxiously “Is everything alright?”. “I’m afraid not Sir! There’s been a burglary last night here.” “What?” I muttered. “Is everyone in the house alright?” I asked him anxiously.

“The land lady and her son were found murdered upstairs by the house maid today morning.” “What about the sister?” I asked. “Is she fine?” I asked desperately. “There were only two people living in this house. By the way, are you related to these people?” “No. I guess I confused them for someone else” I said. I looked up again and confirmed that it was the same house. The whole thing became clear to me in a moment. Sofia was the burglar. She had murdered the lady and her son. When she saw me she played along as the owner of the house and must have slipped away from the house while I was sleeping. I knew that the police would track me by through my cell phone. So, I narrated the whole episode to them. Sofia was caught a few days later in another city where she was spending the loot with her boyfriend. From that day I made sure not to venture into lonely houses to take shelter.

THE END

The Blind Boy

My name is Prashanth. I worked as a Software Engineer in a leading MNC in Delhi. It was a hot summer evening with a heavy humid weather. A warm breeze was blowing on my face as I stood near the train's door. I was returning home completely exhausted from my day's work. There was a large crowd in the local train which only made me feel more tired. I was very depressed that day. It was appraisal time and I had got a bad rating and my junior had just been promoted instead of me.

A lot of thoughts were crossing my mind. As the train was crossing over the river bridge I even thought for a moment of jumping into it and ending my miserable life. The thought of my wife and kids pulled me back. After all, I had put so much effort the last year into my work. I had achieved all my goals set by the management. I had even helped them achieve and exceed all their revenue goals. I had mentored my juniors. And, they had just used me all along and promoted my junior instead of me. My manager did not even acknowledge my hard work and instead was pointing only to my mistakes. I was tongue tied during the appraisal meeting. I was just too shocked and had gotten emotional to the point that I simply could not answer back. I just listened to what my manager had to say and politely left the room.

But, inside I was screaming and I was totally angry. I was thinking that how people just use you to achieve their selfish motives. I had been such a big fool that I had sacrificed my family life for this company. I had come home late almost every day. I used to remove my work frustration at home on my kids and wife. I gave them no time and missed so many important family occasions. At the end of the day it seemed like it was just not worth it.

That evening, after many days I had not stayed back in office to work late. The train had traveled very fast it seemed as I was lost in my thoughts. My station's arrival announcement was made as the train came to a grinding halt. I lifted my heavy laptop bag and made my way out of the crowded train. The platform was also very heavily crowded and I slowly made my way out of the sea of people to come out of the station. As I came out, I saw lot of auto rickshaws and taxis in the parking lot. I was approaching one of the autos when my eyes suddenly fell on one blind boy sitting in a corner. He was a lean boy wearing some dirty clothes and no shoes. But, he was holding a book in one of his hands and had a donation box. As I approached him, I saw what was written on the donation box "For my education".

Now, I know that are many cons in my country. Women carry little children and beg to get more money. People are maimed and thrown on the streets to earn money. Eunuchs can be seen on every traffic signal begging. Also, little children are blinded to make money. So, even though I felt sad for this child but I knew that he must have been begging on the behest of some local goon. So, I was just about to cross him to an Auto which was parked nearby. But, I saw some sheets of papers lying near the boy and a FOR SALE card board plate. This drew my attention and I asked the little boy what he was selling. The boy said he was writing and selling Poems for his education.
I was mildly taken aback as I had never heard of any such thing before. I asked him if I could read one of his Poems and he readily agreed but said that please do not click any pictures of this sheet. I took the sheet from him and read his Poem which went as follows:

I am a little boy and I can't see
But I never stop dreaming of whom I can be
I love my parents and my sister
We stick together no matter how much our life makes us suffer

I want to make people happy
It does not matter even if some of them call me shabby
My mama always tells me to study harder
She says that it will make the people wonder

Whenever things seem to be tight
I pray to the Almighty for his might
But sometimes I do worry
When people ignore me in a hurry

I wish they would pay me some attention
So I could also pay for my Education

I was amazed by the depth of thoughts in this little boy's poetry. I took out my wallet and paid 100 rupees to the boy which was the cost of his Poem. As I boarded the Auto it seemed how trivial the problems in my life had been. I prayed to God and thanked him for all the gifts he had bestowed upon me. I decided at that moment to not let my work influence my family life.

As I look back on that day 20 years later I am still bewildered. The Blind Boy has today become one of the greatest contemporary Poets of our time having published several books in his name. And, as for me, I have become the boy's Publicist. I had bought all the Poems of the boy the next day and got them published. The boy became an overnight celebrity and I took over a new job as his Publicist.
Who says that Miracles don't happen? I am a living proof of one.

The End

The Blooming Street Warning

I was honking furiously outside my friend Jimmy’s house. I had come to pick him up for the movie and as usual, he was late. This was his most irritating habit. We were going to watch the new movie “Paranormal Psychology”. I heard him yelling from inside his house “I am coming, just two more minutes!” “Phew!” I was completely furious and knew we will miss some part of the movie’s beginning. Finally, Jimmy came out after 5 minutes and I threw him a murderous glance.

He made a dramatic gesture of apologizing as he took his seat and I just scoffed. “Sarah! You look so beautiful when you are mad at me” he said and that annoyed me even more. I just pedaled the accelerator angrily and did not bother to ask him why he was late. Since Jimmy made the smartest excuses anybody could think of. Jimmy and I took summer classes together and that is how we had come to know each other. He was a smart, handsome and intelligent guy. I had a secret crush on him but had not told him yet. I guess he too liked me but as of now, we were just good friends.

“Well, Sarah! I read the movie reviews and it seems it is really scary! I hope you don’t hide behind my back or scratch me with your finger nails” he said chuckling and made a funny face. I laughed seeing him making strange faces and said “Don’t worry! I am not a Sissy like you”. We passed along the freeway cracking jokes about each other and reached the theater just in the nick of time. We grabbed some soda and popcorn and took our seats. This was a 3D horror flick and we both put on our 3D glasses.

We had read that this movie had made use of some new artificial intelligence technology to enhance the graphics. The movie started after a few commercials. The movie began in a graveyard. The gorgeous actress Selene was standing in the center surrounded by a few vampires. The 3D movie graphics were so good that it seemed like I was also standing close to all those people. The movie showed the vampires biting Selene and transforming her also into a vampire. Then, as Selene became a vampire she threw a wicked glance and I could almost feel her cold breath on my neck. I turned to Jimmy to tell him how I felt. As I turned my face, I was shocked.

Jimmy was not in his seat. At first, I thought that he must have gone to the loo. But, when I glanced at the other seats there was absolutely no one there. Now, I became a little scared. I tried removing my 3D glasses but they were stuck and I just could not get them off. I ran to the exit sign and found that the door was locked. I started shouting for help and pulled hard at the door. It seemed that everyone had quietly disappeared and I was all alone in the theater. I glanced at the movie screen and Selene was still standing there looking at me. It seemed that she could see me. As I looked on, she started making a gesture with her fingers at me to come close to her. I started moving closer to the screen. As I touched the screen it felt a little sticky and I could pass my hand through it. As I put my hand on the screen something touched it. Someone grabbed my hand and pulled me inside the screen. Now, I was face to face in front of Selene. She was smiling at me wickedly. Suddenly, she grabbed me. Her cold breath ran a chill down my spine. I was scared to death. She whispered faintly in my ears “Stay away from blooming street” and then bit me on my neck. I yelled in pain and closed my eyes.

As I opened my eyes, I woke up on my bed. I had a terrible pain in my neck and I could feel a few scratches on it. I thanked God that this was just a terrible nightmare. I had a date with Jimmy and we were going to a movie. As I took bath I could still hear Selene say “Stay away from blooming street”. Actually, I had never heard of any street called blooming street and that just made me laugh at my crazy dream. I quickly had my breakfast and hurriedly packed my purse. I grabbed the car keys and messaged Jimmy that I was starting. I started my car and took the freeway. A few miles ahead there was a sign to take a diversion. It seemed that few trees had fallen from yesterday’s heavy rains and the road was being cleared. The new road led me through some fields. A few miles down the road I passed by a graveyard on the side of the road. As I looked through the side window, I could see a few people surrounding a woman and she seemed to be running away from them. I stopped my car on the side of the road and tried to dial 911 but there was no signal. I ran to help the woman. As I moved closer, I noticed that two men were attacking the woman with metal rods and knife.

I was the karate champion of my college and was determined to save the woman from these rowdies. I yelled at the ruffians and asked them to scoot. One of them tried attacking me with a rod and I quickly bent and smashed my fist into his ribs. The other fellow then attacked me with a knife. I moved to one side swiftly and with a punch on his arm got rid of the knife. I then crashed my leg on his chin and he fell flat on the ground. Soon, I had overpowered both the men and escorted the woman safely outside the graveyard. The woman thanked me for saving her life and I offered her a lift in my car. As we sat in my car, I asked her where I could drop her and she answered,“Please drop me to Blooming Street.”

Read On

The Phone Call

I was very excited as it was my first night at the office. I had joined as a customer service representative Manager in a leading Finance BPO company. I took the office cab and reached the office by 10 pm. My shift started at 10:15 pm and ended at 6:15 am. “Welcome Jia!” my General Manager Bob welcomed me and introduced me to the rest of the team.

My building had 10 floors and our team was put up on the 9^th floor. Only the first and 9^th floors had teams working in at the night time. The remaining floors were occupied by other teams during the day time. I was leading a team which offered bank loans, Insurance and other financial services to people in UK, US and some other European countries. I started my work and started calling potential customers on my checklist one by one. I had called around five customers and had successfully sold insurance to my last customer. I was pleased and picked the customer sheet to read out the name of the next customer. The next number was of a lady by the name of Sally Shine. “Hi Good Morning, am I speaking to Ms Sally Shine?” I asked on the phone. “Yes this is Sally, who is it?” the voice answered. “Hi I am Jennifer Stone from Jennings Inc.; I would like to discuss an Insurance scheme launched by our company. Can I take two minutes of your valuable time please?” “Sure go ahead!” the voice answered gently.

I began explaining the various benefits of the insurance scheme to Sally. I had been speaking about a minute when I heard something which made my heart skip a beat and stop speaking. I heard Sally shouting to someone “Stop! Please don’t kill me James. Please don’t shoot.” Then I heard two gun shots and everything was quiet. I somehow gathered my courage and spoke “Hi Ms Sally, are you alright?” After some pause a voice replied “Sally’s dead! Who the hell are you?” I got scared and did not dare to reply back. The phone then hung up. I was in state of panic and got up to inform my General Manager about the incident. “Mr Bob! Something bad has just happened” I spoke in a scared tone. Bob got up from his seat and asked “What’s the matter Jia? You look so scared.”

I explained him about Sally’s death and all the things that had transpired over the call. Bob became thoughtful and said that he would have to discuss the matter with the company higher ups. Bob then consulted with some of the directors of the company and it was decided that getting involved in the case would bring a bad name to the company. Bob asked me to take the rest of the day off to calm down. I was angry that nobody had bothered to help to nab Sally’s killers. Who knows if she could have been saved with some timely help? I was feeling very guilty at not being to help her. I took the office cab and went back home.

I had noted down Sally’s number and personal details just in case someone erased her call logs.
She was the editor of a magazine in Florida. I went home and googled her. Sally Shine was the Chief Editor of Crime Weekly magazine. She had been running stories about the drug mafia and had helped the police in nabbing few of the big dealers. I suspected that one of them might have shot her. I decided that I had to warn the police of her murder. At the same time, I did not want to lose my new job by openly revealing my identity. I was very confused and was just thinking over the matter when my phone rang all off a sudden making me jump in my chair. “Hello” I answered the call and a gruff voice answered “Hi Jia, this is Raj here. I am the senior director of Jennings Inc. I am sorry about what happened. But, listen we can’t report this matter as this would damage our companies reputation. Please cooperate” saying this he disconnected the call. I really did not know how warning the police could possible damage the company’s reputation. I decided to go with my conscious and report the matter to the police. I called 911 and informed them about the whole incident. They thanked me and assured me that my identity would be kept secret.

After about a week, I saw on the news channels that Sally’s killers were nabbed. They were some local drug dealers who were upset with her work. As for me I resigned from Jennings Inc. and joined a new day job in another company. I was happy that I had done the right thing by listening to myself.

THE END

The Spectacles

I was surfing for anti-glare spectacles on eBay. My desk job had left with me a dry eye problem. The eye doctor had told me strictly “Use anti-glare glasses, James. Your eyes have become severely dry. Also, use these eye drops two times a day”. I had bought the eye drops but I did not have enough money to buy the expensive glasses. So, I was looking on eBay for good second-hand glasses. After about an hour of surfing, I found exactly what I was looking for. The ad said “Used anti-glare glasses just like new. Not used for more than a month and without any scratches. Offer at half the original cost.” Without too much thinking I ordered the glasses and my order was delivered in a couple of days to my house. It was about evening time when I received the package. I was very happy and opened the package. The ad was correct. The glasses looked elegant and without any scratches. I tried them on and looked myself in the mirror. They had the perfect frame and looked good on me. I smiled and sat before my computer. I wrote a good review of the glasses on eBay. I prepared dinner and fed my dog Tim and then went to bed.

At night around 2 am Tim began to howl all of a sudden. I woke up and thought that maybe he was hungry. I switched on the lights of the bedroom and saw that Tim was hiding under the bed and howling like he was scared of something. “Hey Tim, What’s the matter with you boy,” I said trying to pacify him. But, he was scared and would just not come out. I thought maybe he had seen some burglar.

So, I took my baseball bat from behind the door and quietly went to the hall. I moved with caution, landing my feet softly and looking out for any sign of danger. My hand held the baseball bat with a tight grip and few trickles of sweat were flowing down my temples. My heart beat increased when I saw the kitchen lights on. I ducked slowly and moved towards the kitchen. As I moved to the kitchen the lights began to flicker and my body started shivering lightly. I held the baseball bat in air and asked in a challenging tone “Who’s out there? Come out.”

My heart skipped a beat when I heard footsteps and a soft chuckle. Someone or something came out of the kitchen and I could see a flash of silver light. My baseball bat fell in fright and my whole body seemed to be frozen to the ground. I wanted to scream but I could not mutter a single word. I jumped when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I could feel cold breath on my neck. I turned back to look at a woman with long dark hair and completely dressed in white. Her face was pointing down but her arm was on my shoulder. I was dead scared. I could feel her pointed finger nails piercing me and then she slowly lifted her face to reveal a head with no face. She chuckled softly and was muttering something.

I tried to run but she held me in a firm grip. She lifted her other hand and moved her index finger sideways to indicate me to stop. “I want my glasses back!” she was muttering in a hollow voice. I pointed her to the computer desk where I had placed them. She walked slowly to the desk and put on her glasses. She then laughed in the most sinister way and said “Thank you James!” and poof she vanished. I found my lungs and screamed at the top of my voice “Help! Help me from this ghost!” I ran towards the door and as I ran I slipped and fell on the floor. I had stumbled against the baseball bat and my head had banged against the floor with a thud. Suddenly I saw some stars and passed out. 

When I woke up I was surprised to find myself on my bed. Tim was licking me on the face. My head was feeling slightly heavy but I laughed and thought what a crazy dream I had seen last night. I saw my baseball bat was lying behind the door. I went to the computer desk and found my spectacles there. I breathed a sigh of relief and as I turned there seemed like a note on the corner of the desk. I opened the note and it read

“Thanks James! You can use the glasses in the morning. I’ll get them back from you in the night – Signed Susie”

THE END

The Murder in the Library

I received a hurried call today morning at 7.45 AM. The call was from Mr. Richard Wright, the Principal of St. Xavier’s college. He said “Mr. Jacob, can you please come over to the college as soon as possible. There has been a murder and I want you to investigate it at the earliest. Our college’s reputation is at stake.” I am a private detective and I am pretty good in my line of work. I am generally called before the Police so that the evidence would not be destroyed by inefficient procedures and gross negligence. I assured him that I would come over in 10 minutes. I took out my car and sped through the freeway and reached the college within 10 minutes. 

I hurriedly parked my car and was met outside by the college Principal. We shook hands and it was clear that the Principal was visibly shaken by the incident. He was wiping sweat from his face with his handkerchief and said “This way, please hurry. Time is of the utmost importance”. He led me to the college library. The college was mostly empty as it was a Sunday morning. As he was leading me I asked him what exactly had happened. He said with heavy breath “The college librarian Ms. Susie was found dead around an hour back. I received a call from the cleaning staff”. We were now in front of the library. The principal took a heavy breath as he opened the library door and ushered me inside. I saw that the library was pretty big. On the side the body of the librarian lay in cold blood. She was a woman who seemed to be in her late forties. She was lying in her chair and her throat was slit wide open. The blood had now clotted and started to form lumps. It seemed that she was killed the previous night sometime around midnight. On moving closer I could see stab marks on her back as well. I asked the Principal to stay back.

I put on my gloves and took out my magnifying lens and started to inspect the writing desk in front of the chair. There were few books lying there along with regular stationery materials. I inspected the body and found that her left fist was clenched tightly. She was holding a small note of paper. I carefully removed the piece of paper. It was the bottom portion of a book with a page number 121 written on it. It seems like she had snatched a book from her killer and in the ensuing struggle a piece of paper had been torn from the book. As I moved little further I saw some blood stains. The blood stains led me to the second aisle where the Psychology books were kept. The blood stains ended near a shelf were few books had fallen off to the floor. I moved closer to the second rack and saw a bloodied hand imprint. It seemed the librarian was trying to run from away her killer and her bloodied hand had touched the rack leaving a stain on it. I looked around the remaining section and it seemed fine.

I returned back to the Principal and asked him “Is the library open on Saturday evening?” The Principal answered “No. And that surprises me as well. What was she doing there yesterday night?” “Didn’t anyone see her entering the college yesterday night?” I asked. He replied “No. I checked with the guard outside the gate. He said that he saw no one”. “Didn’t anyone hear any screams?” I asked. He answered “Mr Jacob this room is sound proof. It is impossible to hear what is going on inside”. “Did the librarian have any keys to the library?” I asked. He replied “Yes. She had a key and one more key is with the guard” “Is the cleaning staff here? I would like ask them few questions?” I asked him. He replied “Yes. Mr Underwood discovered the body and called me.” Mr Underwood was called inside. He was about fifty years of age with grey hair and a cap on his head. He was looking disturbed. He greeted me and I asked “Mr Underwood, what time did you discover the murder?” He replied “I came to college around 6 AM and cleaned the main hall. After that around 7 AM I came inside the library and saw that Ms. Susie was lying dead.” He was visibly shaken and I asked him “Did you see anything unusual today?” He thought for a while and answered “Not that I can recall anything, but the door of the library was already open when I entered. Generally the guard opens the door for me” “Thanks Mr Underwood that will be all” saying this I politely walked him outside the door.

It was becoming clear now that there was some connection between the Psychology department and this murder. I asked the Principal “Did Ms. Susie have any relations with someone in the Psychology department?” He thought and answered “I think she was close to Mr. Sam who was the Associate Professor in the Psychology department. But, they had a break up a few months back and were living separately now.” I had an inkling that somehow this Mr. Sam was the murderer or knew something about the murder. I asked the Principal “Can we meet Mr. Sam? “ He replied “I am afraid that is not possible. You see Mr. Sam committed suicide two months back. He was found in his house hanging from a ceiling fan.”

I was mildly taken aback by this statement. “Do you suspect anybody with this murder?” I asked him. “No. I am afraid not.” “Can we talk to the guard?” I asked. The Principal called in the guard Mr. Hall White. He was a strong and well-built man in his early thirties. I asked him “What are your duty timings?” He replied gruffly “It is from 10 pm to 10 am”. “Did you see anyone suspicious during this time?” I asked. He replied “Not a single person.” I thanked him and walked him outside.

“When did the security guard join this college?” I asked. The Principal checked some data on his phone and replied that this guard had joined around one month back. I asked him what was the surname of Mr. Sam and he answered that it was White. A bell rang in my ear and I told the Principal that we had found our killer. We called the Police and they arrested the guard.
After a couple of days the guard confessed to his crime. After a few days, the Principal called me to his college to extend his gratitude and asked “How did you know it was the guard?” I told him that when I had checked the fallen books in the library I found an intimate photo of Ms. Susie with someone in the book. Apparently Mr. Sam had committed suicide over his broken affair with Ms. Susie. Hall was the younger brother of Mr. Sam and he had resolved to take revenge on Ms. Susie. He had found some intimate photos of Mr. Sam and Ms. Susie and had threatened her that he would leak the photos if she did not pay him. He called her on Saturday night on the pretext of returning her pictures in return for some money. The meeting was arranged in the library. Ms. Susie had kept the money in a book. It was the same book whose torn paper she was clenching in her hand. Hall had stabbed her and dragged her body on the floor. He then placed her on the chair and slit her throat. He then washed his hands and went back to resume his duty outside the gate. But, he had forgotten to lock the library door. This is what caught my attention and I suspected his involvement.”

THE END

The Beginning

^{I am Angad, the Prince of Vaishali. My age is 5000 years and yet I have not aged a day since I met the Yogi. I still remember that day. It was my 21st birthday and I was to be crowned the next King of Vaishali. My parents the great King Vishnusagara and the noble queen Jayanthi had arranged for a great Yagna ceremony to mark the coronation. Great Kings, Mighty Warriors and Charming Princesses from all over the world had been invited to attend this ceremony. I was excited and looking forward to the grand occasion. After all, I had excelled at my studies and my various Gurus had consented that the time had come for me to lead my people. I had achieved specialization in mastering the ancient scriptures and arts of War. I had also studied the science of Political Administration and good ethics from the great sage Pashupathi himself. I had also won the Mighty warrior challenge last year when I had defeated a thousand warriors from all over the world in a competition that had tested my endurance, strength, and courage. Winning this contest had earned me the name Sahastra Vijaya or the Winner of a Thousand Warriors. My parents had received several proposals for me and I was the cynosure of all the eyes. In short, my world was like a dream. Everything a person could wish for was right at my feet. But, soon it was all about to change.}

I woke up with the first rays of the Sun and after taking a dip in the cold waters of the holy river Saraswathi I offered my prayers to the great Sun God. I asked him for the strength to lead my people with dignity and honor. I dressed up wearing the grand robe presented to me by my mother. This dress was made of a smooth fabric called Masarna Vastram.  I then walked to the holy place where the Yagna was to take place. There was a huge cheer from the people as I made my way to the ceremonial altar. I paid my obeisance to all my gurus and sought the blessings of my parents who were waiting for my arrival. After this, I made my way to the Grand Altar to take part in the Yagna ceremony for my coronation. As I was headed to the Altar I heard a voice call me from the behind “Rajkumara Angad! Please wait.” I turned back in surprise and saw a Yogi calling out my name. Everyone in the crowd was stunned and became silent.

As it was not considered an acceptable practice to stop a person while he walking towards the holy altar. Even though I was surprised but I did not forget my manners. I made my way to the Yogi and bowed before him and touched his feet. I sought his blessings and he replied “Thatasthu! Ayushman Bhava!”  I thanked him and asked him politely “O holy man! What is it that you seek?” He looked at me with a smile. His face was so peaceful when he replied: “I seek you, my child!” I looked at him with surprise and asked him “O great man! I fail to understand your words!” He said that he had come to offer me a choice to select my future. He predicted that if I became King that day I would be personally responsible for the killing of a million people. He said that the whole world would be at my feet and yet I would not be satisfied. He said that I would become an evil King who would not stop until he had conquered the entire world.

I tried to assure him that I would be a good King but he would not listen. I dared not offend him by telling that he was mistaken. But, I guess he sensed it. He said that I had another future should I choose to accept it. He said that this future too resulted in the killing of a million people. But, this future was to save humanity from evil men. He said that he could bless me with powers which would make me ageless and I would be assigned a hit list of people over a long period. The men in this list were corrupt and dishonorable men. Also, they were not as blessed as me as their future was already written. I had to take up the assignment of killing these evil men and earn a chance to redeem myself. He said that the day I killed all the men assigned to me the gods would grant me a place in the Peaceful Upper Realm we call as the Swarga Loka. I looked on helplessly. I turned to my Parents and saw tears in their eyes. Here, I was two feet away from being the greatest King ever and it all looked so hopeless. I knew I had to make this tough decision myself. I took a deep breath and prayed to my favorite God Vishnu to seek his divine counsel. I heard a divine voice and it commanded me to trust this Yogi.

I thanked the Yogi and asked him to lead the way. I threw a final glance at my parents and sought their forgiveness. I closed my eyes and uttered a prayer for courage. I open my eyes and here I am 5000 years later. I have killed all the men assigned to me by the Yogi and only a thousand more are left before my redemption. I am now known as Koti Hanana or the Slayer of a million. May God have mercy on your Soul and protect him from my wrath.

The End