My first experience with the Paranormal entities

They say that the best way to believe in something is to experience it first hand. The shock that your senses experience when they visualize something extraordinary places a lasting impression on your mind. No matter how hard you try, the image keeps forming in front of your eyes. It does not let you sleep. It does not let you eat. It does not let you rest. It does not let you be what you were before this experience. Your whole life simply changes.

I have never believed in ghosts. I have seen so many Horror movies that have scared me to death. But, once I was outside the theater I knew that those movies were unreal and those ghosts were fake. I have been curious about ghosts, demons, and ghouls. But, after all these years I never once came across any conclusive evidence which could shake my beliefs. My friends tried to scare me by showing some YouTube videos of people caught on cameras doing weird things. I have seen videos of people talking to someone in an elevator when clearly there is no else with them at that time. I have read articles about haunted mansions and spooky towns. But, since I have never really seen any of these things with my own eyes I have never been able to ascertain the facts from the myths. But, all my beliefs were tested to the core when I visited the hill station of Shimla.

Shimla is a beautiful hill station located in the Northern part of India. It is the capital of the state of Himachal Pradesh. Before India's Independence, it was the Summer Capital of the British. The cold climate of this hill station attracted the British to establish this city in the dense forests of the Himalayas. I had taken the Shatabdi Express train from Delhi to reach Kalka. The train journey was about four hours in duration. From Kalka, I took a connecting train to Shimla. Even though the car journey from Kalka to Shimla is about 90 kilometers and it takes around three hours. But, I preferred to make the longer trip of five and half hours by the famous Kalka Shimla toy train. The train took me through the famous and picturesque Kalka route. The narrow gauge rail line has been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for the steepest rise in altitude in a distance of 96 Kilometers. The Kalka-Shimla railways line has been listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site for the Mountain Railways of India. I captured some amazing photos on the way and felt that I had taken the right decision to travel by train.

My train arrived at Shimla by late evening. It was around 9 pm and I was tired from my ten-hour long train journey. I had booked a hotel close to the Railway station. I took a cab from the station to reach my hotel. After completing the hotel room booking formalities I went to my room to freshen up. I changed my clothes and went to a restaurant just outside my hotel to have my dinner. After eating my favorite butter chicken and a couple of tandoori rotis I really felt heavy and sleepy. I paid for my dinner and hit straight to my hotel room. I went to sleep the instant I landed on my bed.

I woke up the next morning around 7 AM. I looked outside my room window. It was snowing outside. It was my first experience of seeing snow. I felt so happy. Experiencing snowfall had been a top item on my bucket list and I was finally going to cross it now. This was the main reason I had traveled to Shimla in this chilly month of January. I quickly took a bath and got ready to have my breakfast. I had a quick complimentary breakfast in my hotel restaurant. The snowfall had ceased by the time I had finished my breakfast. I learned from the waiter that it had been snowing all night.  I had booked a cab to show me around the city. I was worried if the snowfall would have caused roadblocks. But, the waiter informed me that the government snow clearing machines had cleared the snow from the roads. He said that the tourist income was a major source of the state revenue and the government ensured to keep adequate facilities to boost tourism. I tipped the waiter and went to the car parking outside the hotel.

My cab driver was waiting for me in the parking area smoking a cigarette and reading the Daily newspaper. He smiled as he saw me approaching his old white ambassador car which he had washed and cleaned for our trip. I smiled back and got in the car. I had just packed a small backpack with few snacks and a spare set of clothes. I had slung my Nikon DSLR camera on my neck. I wore my Rayban aviator goggles and my new Nike hat. I was wearing a black leather jacket and a red scarf. I was also wearing a muffler and heavy boots. I was looking every bit like a seasoned tourist now. My great Shimla adventure was just about to start.

My cab driver first took me to the Ridge. This is the most popular tourist destination of Shimla and located on the Mall road at the heart of the city. This beautiful place was brimming with tourists. There were cafes, bars, boutiques, shops, and restaurants everywhere to attract a large number of tourists. There were Pine, Himalayan Oaks, and Fir trees everywhere. I was mesmerized by the beautiful Gothic architecture. I was able to capture some amazing pictures at this location. I had a quick lunch in one of the restaurants. After my lunch, I bought a beautifully embroidered shawl for my mother.

I told my cab driver that I wanted to visit a calm place now which had a lesser number of people. So, my cab driver said that he would take me to Chail hill station which is located about 44 kilometers from Shimla. He said it was a summer retreat built by the Maharaja of Patiala during the British Raj. He said this hill station had the world's highest cricket ground and a Polo ground at an altitude of 2,250 meters. I was very excited by the description of this hill station and waited eagerly to reach there.

We reached the hill station after a drive of about one and a half hours. I was amazed by the breathtaking view of the valley. Since the weather was good my driver asked me if I wanted to do some hiking before we visited the nearby tourist places. I was super excited by the prospect of walking in the snow-covered jungle and told him I would love to go hiking. He asked me to stay on the walking trail and return in half an hour.

I started my walk along the beautiful valley trail. I could hear the chirping of the Himalayan Magpies and Thrushes perched on the tall oak trees. In the distance, I could hear the water flowing along the slopes of the hill. There was fresh snow on the trees and along the goat's trail. There was absolutely nowhere around and I felt a profound sense of calmness had descended on me. I was walking peacefully in solitude far away from all worries of the world all alone but not lonely. My heart was experiencing an inner joy which I had never experienced before. I kept capturing the beautiful landscape on my camera. I saw some deer grazing in a distance and walked in their direction to capture their pictures. I was able to capture some lovely photos. I had been walking for quite some time and had lost track of time. I looked at my watch and it had been almost two hours since I had started my hike. I thought of returning back. But, suddenly I looked around and realized that I had forgotten my way back.

I was now in a thick part of the jungle and it was almost 4 pm. It gets dark very early in the winters and the weather had also started to become cold. I checked my phone and there was no network. I tried hard to recollect the way back to the walking trail. But, I could not find it. I looked around for someone else and shouted for help. But, I could see no one else. I realized how foolish I had been in venturing so far without any proper equipment or a guide. I tried frantically to find a way back but I had to finally give up after a struggle of a couple of hours. I now thought realistically and thought that if I had to survive the night then I would have to find some shelter. The jungle was home to some wild animals like wolfs and leopards. And, there was also the danger of snowfall and dying off the cold. So, I started moving further in the jungle looking for a shelter or a place to spend the night. I was starting to feel hungry and exhausted. Luckily, I had brought my backpack and ate a few snacks and drank a little water to keep hydrated.

I kept walking in the jungle and it was almost pitch dark now. I was using my cellphone's torch to look around. I had almost given up hope when suddenly I saw the glow of a lamp at a distance. I hurriedly rushed in the direction of the light. When I reached closer, I found the light was coming out of the window of a small cottage. I knocked on the door but no one answered it. I crept inside from the window. I was surprised to see a well lit and nicely furnished cottage with no one inside. The light was coming out of candles and lamps inside the cottage. A wooden dining table was placed in the center of the cottage. The dining table had been laid with a variety of dishes, fruits, salads, meat, roast turkey and fine wines. I wondered who had laid out this magnificent candlelight dinner in the middle of the jungle.

Since it was getting very cold outside, I pushed the door and after some effort, it opened up. I quickly closed the door and sat on a chair beside the table. A fire was burning close to the chair and I put my hands over it to keep warm. After I had warmed myself, I began to feel hungry again. I really did not want to eat someone else's dinner. But, since I was feeling very hungry I thought that I would eat just a little food and explain to the people that I had lost my way. I thought that they would probably be understanding and helpful. I also thought that maybe they would also help me tomorrow morning to find my way back to the hilltop as well. I helped myself to the soup and the chicken. I sipped a little brandy to keep me warm. The meal was hot and delicious. I had been anticipating that someone would arrive at the cottage at any moment. But, surprisingly no one turned up.

I soon started feeling sleepy and decided to take some rest. My legs were stiff after the long trek. I lay down on a mat beside the door. I closed my eyes and soon fell asleep. I had been sleeping for a few hours when I was suddenly woken up by a loud guffaw in the middle of the night. I opened my eyes dreamily to see a young military officer and a lady having dinner. I woke up with an alarm. I thought that perhaps my hosts had been kind enough to sense that I had been sleeping and decided not to disturb me. So, I approached the young officer to thank him.

"I want to thank you so much for your kindness," saying this I stepped forward to thank the officer. The officer took no note of my presence. I turned to the lady and she too seemed to have ignored me. I felt that I must have really annoyed them by encroaching on their privacy. I felt very ashamed. "I am so sorry Sir, I should not have had your dinner without your permission. I should have waited for you. I had lost my way, Sir. And, was exhausted. My sincere apologies to you and the Lady," I apologized to my hosts. Still, the officer continued to guffaw and enjoy his meal. The lady laughed shyly. It seemed they were completely oblivious to my presence.

I sensed that something was wrong. It took me a moment to realize that the young officer was actually not an Indian military officer. He was a smart, lean, white man with black hair and wore a Khaki color uniform. Indian army officers wear green color uniforms. The lady was also not an Indian. She was a white girl and had black hair and was dressed in a beautiful white gown. She was wearing a big pink hat with plumes. The couple was talking in a British accent. They looked like husband and wife or lovers and they were totally in love with each other. I stood looking at them bewildered. I felt like I had breached a very private dinner party and my hosts were ignoring me to make me feel that I was an unwanted guest. So, I decided to try to apologize one last time to them and leave the place.

I approached the officer and kept my hand over his shoulder to seek his attention. I was shocked beyond words when my hand simply slipped through his body. It felt as though my hand had made contact with thin air. I was afraid and my whole body froze in sheer fright. The whole thing finally started making sense. It seemed like the British officer and the lady were actually some ghosts from the bygone British era. I had stumbled upon them my by chance when I had wandered into the jungle. My whole body started shivering with fright and I rushed to the door. I pushed the door open and ran out. It was cold outside but it was nothing compared to the chill that I had just experienced inside the cottage.

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me and after some time, I stumbled upon a small village. It was 4 AM in the morning. I went to a hut and banged on the door. A villager came out and looked at me curiously. I told him that I had lost my way and begged him to provide shelter to me till morning. The hut dweller was a kind-hearted man and he took me inside his hut. He woke up his wife and asked her to prepare tea for me. When I had settled down a little bit I told him about the strange experience I had in the jungle.

The villager and his wife stared at each other. The villager said,"Babuji (Sir in Hindi), You are very lucky. The good souls have provided shelter to you. The ghosts you saw were of a British officer William Higgins and his wife. Everyone in our village has seen them. It is said that the husband-wife had gone to the jungle on a Shikar (Hunt in Hindi). At night, when they were having dinner a gang of dacoits attacked them and shot them dead. From that night, their souls are haunting these jungles."

I was taken aback after hearing this story. All these years, I had thought of ghosts as fictitious characters created by fickle minded people. But, here I was in the middle of a ghost story myself. My whole life and how I viewed it had completely changed after this incident. I stopped visualizing ghosts as shown to us in the movies. I did not think of them as bloodthirsty ghouls or ferocious monsters anymore. They were not scary creatures who walked in a twisted way or were hell-bent on revenge. I rather see them now as wandering souls who are completely unaware that they are dead. They are waiting for someone to help them and free them from their pain.

After returning to Delhi, I decided to study the paranormal science and help the lost souls to find peace. My trip to Shimla had completely transformed me. This was the first account of my experience with the Paranormal entities. I have since encountered several such events during the course of my long career as a Paranormal consultant. I am writing a book on all these events and will be publishing it shortly.

The End

The Holocaust

My name is Tom Walters. I am a spaceman. At present, I am stationed in Planet Mars and taking history lessons from a robotic teacher in Titan. The history lessons are mandatory for each human after every ten years so that we always remember our origins.

In the three hundred years since the war on Earth, we have developed technology to travel our entire Solar system. We have mapped the entire Solar system on 4d maps. Our space crafts are built of special metal alloys and biofuels which have helped us achieve surreal speeds close to a ten thousand miles per second.

"It's the year 2017. People had close to perfect lives in several developed countries. Every house was connected by electricity, internet and gas lines. Almost every adult in the house had their own car. Everyone had their own laptops, smartphones, and tablets." our history teacher was giving us a lecture on the Holocaust and streaming videos on our space-top devices. The powerful Z-rays discovered about a hundred years back were transmitting the videos in Space almost in real time. She continued,"People were divided on economic basis using a concept called Money. People with money had complete control over the society. People wasted precious resources like food, water, and fuel on concepts like Parties, Recreation and showing off on Social Media." "That sucks," I muttered.

"Then the tragedy struck. The nuclear war that followed wiped out 97% of the world's population. A million species of birds, animals, and insects went extinct." She took a deliberate pause after her last sentence. She wanted the gravity of her last sentence to sink into our young minds. I was shocked to see the horrific pictures and videos she was streaming. "What a waste of life!," I thought to myself.

"It was a miracle that a few lucky people survived the Holocaust. A few nations had already anticipated that a disaster like this was imminent. So, they had secretly developed a few spacecraft and had already colonized Titan which is a moon of the Planet Saturn about ten years before the war."

Anastasia rose her hand eagerly. "Isn't Titan very cold compared to Earth? How did we manage to colonize this moon?".

"Very good question, Ana," remarked the teacher and proceeded to answer the question. "You see Ana when we first send out space probes to Titan we discovered several things which completely astonished us. To say that we colonized this place without any help would be untrue. When our space probes landed here we found an entire city built underground the moon already. There was water, plants, and houses built already. But, we could not find any sign of other life. It was as if someone had built the entire city for us already. All we had to do was to bring in the people to inhabit this place."

"Wow, that's unbelievable," gasped Ana. The teacher smiled back.

As the atomic clock struck 12 o'clock the class came to an end. The teacher said that she would teach us about the colonization of Titan in more detail tomorrow.

I switched off my space-top device. I looked out of my cabin window and saw the vast emptiness of space all around me. A few stars shined brightly in the distant sky. Looking at them I wondered if the nuclear war had proven to be good for mankind. How could we have achieved so many technological advances if we had stayed in a corrupt place like Earth? Although, I definitely felt sorry for the great loss of life. But, was it not their own doing in the end? Endless weaponization and wars. Some disaster like this was always on the cards. In fact, I was surprised to know how the intelligent media of that time had warned about such disasters repeatedly in so many books and movies. But, history tells that Mankind likes to repeat its mistakes.

I had now been alive for over two hundred years and had supplies for the next fifty years in my spacecraft. I had read that the mortality rate on Earth was very high and people died at a relatively young age. With our body implantation, conscious transfer, and tissue growing technologies, it was now possible to live technically forever. There was no known death of a human in the last two hundred years. Also, human reproduction through primitive biological means was totally redundant. The human embryos were frozen and were used to create test tube babies and clones when necessary. These clones were then sent on intergalactic missions and deep space probes.

There are a total of ten thousand humans alive today and we are spread throughout the Solar system. To think that there were close to 6.5 billion of us living on Earth alone completely blows my mind. I wonder how all those people might have lived on such a small land mass. No doubt, this mindless rubble simply destroyed their home planet.

I am curious though to learn more about the entities that helped the few of us to escape the holocaust and survive. Who are these people? Are they aliens? Are they Gods? I am determined to find these answers. I have vowed to continue my research and explore the Galaxy to get answers to all my questions.

The End

A Lion's tale

There was a conspicuous silence. All talks had died to hushed whispers. The leaves fluttered in the wind and the dried twigs snapped under the weight of the rushing animals. Even the big predators like the tigers and the leopards stepped aside and bowed their head. The big Elephants raised their trunks. The small rabbits scurried to a corner. The birds flew up and started circling around the pool. The monkeys climbed the nearby trees and dangled from its branches. The King of the jungle had arrived at the pool for a drink. The Lion King arrived at the pool accompanied with his pack. He majestically walked up to the pool. He took a drink followed by his pack. As he turned to leave, he gave out a loud roar to acknowledge his subjects who were patiently waiting for him to quench his thirst. As the Lion and his pack left the pool, the animals resumed drinking the water.

After the Lion had left the pool he turned to his male cub and asked him,"Little one, Why do you think the animals waited for us to finish drinking the water?". The male cub replied gingerly,"Because, you are their King and they are afraid of you." The Lion laughed and patted the little cub's head lovingly. "My dear child, you are both right and wrong." "How's that father?", asked the little cub curiously.

"You are right that the animals waited for to finish drinking as I am their King. But, you are wrong to think that they do so out of my fear." He continued,"My child, they Respect me. You can make people bow to you out of fear. But, you can never win their respect in that way. A good leader is one who loves his people and treats himself in the same way as any one else. He does not trouble his people and is always ready to defend his people like he would defend his own family."

"But, father we hunt these animals. Aren't these animals afraid of us?" the little cub asked the Lion King not satisfied with his father's reply. "Yes, child. We hunt the animals but only when we are hungry. Eating flesh is our nature. We can't go against it. But, we don't hunt for sport. We protect the animals in our territory from predators outside our jungle. My subjects know this and show me their gratitude by giving me the privilege to drink first from the pool."

The little cub was happy to hear his father's reply. He said,"Father, I am proud to be your son. One day, I too shall become a great King like you."

After the Lion had left, the animals began talking freely. The Rhino said to his brother,"Did you notice how much fat this Lion has become?". "Yes, brother. All he does is to sit full day while his pack hunts innocent animals." replied his brother.

The hyaenas gathered around and laughed wickedly. Let us follow this foolish pack and snatch their kill.

One of the Elephants trumpeted loudly and exclaimed,"Gosh, my trunk is hurting. Why do we have to salute this stupid Lion?" The elder Elephant replied,"Our salute keeps the Lion and his pack happy. They don't attack our calfs."

The leopard whispered to the tiger,"This Lion thinks he is some kind of noble animal and we bow to him because he is someone special. He does not even know that all these animals laugh behind his back." "Why do you think they do that? He seems like a nice chap." the tiger wondered.

"After he killed his own brother to claim the jungle's territory, all animals are afraid of him. He thinks he liberated us from his brother. He does not even know that his brother was far less cruel than his pack. His pack feeds on at least ten small animals every day. While his brother only used to hunt only one or two buffalos every day." the leopard explained to the tiger.

The wise eagle had overheard the conversation of the Lions as well as the other animals. The eagle thought,"The foolish Lion thinks that his subjects love him and respect him. But, the lion cub was right. They are just afraid of him. In the end, everyone cares only about themselves and thinks they are on the right side. But, others look only look at our faults."

The End

The Three Tests for the Golden Throne

King Dheeraj was the ruler of Shakthi kingdom. He had two sons with his Queen Shyama. The boys were twins. Their names were Vayu and Surya. When they grew up, the King decided to coronate one of his sons to be his successor. So, he summoned his wise ministers and sought their counsel.

The ministers were asked to discuss the matter and come up with the successor's name in one month's time. The wise ministers held a meeting and decided to come up with three tests to decide the next King.

Next day, both the Princes were summoned to the court. They were told that they would have to go through three tests. Whoever completed all the tasks would be coronated as the successor. Both, the Princes were happy with the opportunity and said that they were ready for the challenges.

Their first task was to climb the sacred mountain Kishore and bring back the blue lotus from the Mansi Pond at the top of the mountain. Prince Vayu was the stronger of the two Princes. He was a good mountaineer. He immediately made the preparations and started ascending the tall mountain to bring back the blue lotus.

Prince Surya was intelligent and had an analytical mind. He liked to think well before committing himself to any task. He thought that the mountain was very tall and it would take at least three to four days to climb it. Also, very few people had managed to come back alive from this dangerous quest. He had often stood at the foothills and seen few mystics climbing the mountain. He often wondered how those mystics were able to climb the mountain so easily.

So, he went to the old library and ordered the librarian to get him all the books on the Mountain Kishore. As he pondered over the books, he finally got what he was looking for. He got hold of a book called "The secret pathway to the Mount Kishore". When he finished reading the book, a smile crossed his face.

Prince Surya made his way through the secret pathway in the Mountain and was able to bring back the blue lotus all in two days time. Prince Vayu took four more days than his brother to return back. When he returned, his condition was bad and he needed one more week's rest to recover his full strength again.

Prince Surya was adjudged the winner of the first task. The ministers next announced the second task. There were two small kingdoms located in the Northern and the Southern borders of their kingdom. These kingdoms were very strategically placed and it was vital that they were conquered. So, the Princes were told to conquer these kingdoms. Whichever Prince conquered the kingdom with minimum casualties would be declared the winner.

Prince Vayu was assigned the task of conquering the Kingdom of Supradesha which was on the southern border of Shakthi kingdom. Prince Surya was assigned the task of conquering the Kingdom of Vijaya which was on the northern border of Shakthi kingdom.

Prince Vayu was desperate to win the second task. So, he pulled out the best infantry and the best cavalry units from the Kingdom's army. He handpicked the most fearsome fighters from the Kingdom and also took out the best siege weapons to help him in his battle. He marched with a strong army of twenty-five thousand men to conquer Supradesha.

Meanwhile, Prince Surya was again thinking hard to find an easier solution to his task. He studied the geography of Kingdom Vijaya thoroughly and also asked his ministers and spies to bring him any more information about this Kingdom. He learned that the main source of power Kingdom Vijaya was that they had four huge dragons to guard their kingdom. So, no Kingdom in the last hundred years had dared to cross paths with them. Apart, from the dragons, they had just a few thousand soldiers. So, once you took out the dragons the kingdom would fall in no time.

Prince Surya learned that the dragons loved to eat cows and goats which grazed on the borders of his kingdom. Many shepherds had reportedly complained to the King to check their menace. This was also one of the reasons why it was important to conquer this kingdom. Prince Surya came up with a plan to tackle the threat of the dragons.

He ordered the shepherds and farmers living near the borders to feed their cattle with grass after mixing it with a secret potion. The secret potion was actually a special type of sedative called Herba. The cattle were immune to this sedative. But, if a carnivore were to kill and devour the cattle, immediately Herba would be released in the form of a gas inside the body of the carnivore and would temporarily paralyze it. This drug was often used in hunting to capture the wild beasts.

The shepherds and farmers did as they were instructed. After about a week, a news came which Prince Surya was eagerly waiting for. Two of the dragons had ventured into their territory and carried a few cows. The dragons had reportedly been paralyzed after devouring the cattle. The soldiers who had been waiting for this to happen had already captured the dragons and bound them in huge chains and locked them in underground dungeons.

Prince Surya next sent an emissary to the Vijaya Kingdom. The emissary threatened the Vijaya Kingdom that if they did not surrender by that evening both their dragons would be slaughtered. The sudden disappearance of the two dragons had created a huge panic in Vijaya kingdom. Their King was weak hearted and did not dare to cross swords with a huge kingdom like Shakthi just with two dragons and a few thousand soldiers at his side. He immediately signed the surrender documents.

Prince Surya had managed to conquer a whole kingdom without shedding a single drop of blood on either side of the Kingdoms.

Meanwhile, Prince Vayu attacked the kingdom of Supradesha with his huge army. The kingdom of Supradesha was ruled by a princess called Shalini. She was orphaned at a young age when her parents were killed during a hunting expedition. She was a strong lady and a fearsome military general. The kingdom of Supradesha was well fortified on all the four sides. The kingdom of Supradesha had only a force of six thousand men. But, what they lacked in numbers they compensated in their technology.

The princess Shalini had invited several travelers to her kingdom. Through them, she had learned the latest advances in weaponry. Shalini's armory boasted of a rocket division. No other kingdom, in the seven lands had heard or seen this weapon before. It was an ingenious weapon, the technology for which she had obtained from a Chinese traveler called Hiwen Twang.

When Prince Vayu led siege to the kingdom of Supradesha he had not expected much resistance. He was over-confident and arrogant. He thought his huge army would crush their opponents in no time. All these theories were put to the test when his whole army was found running helter and skelter in the wake of the rocket attack. The Rockets exploded and destroyed two of his infantry divisions and three of his cavalry divisions all within a span of one hour. Prince Vayu was left with no choice but to retreat.

When he returned, he learned of how Prince Surya had conquered Vijaya kingdom.  He immediately went and congratulated his brother. He told the ministers that there would be no need for a third task as he had admitted that his younger brother was more deserving to be the successor. The ministers and the King were happy with Prince Vayu for accepting his defeat gracefully.

The king summoned the Prince Surya and told him that even though his brother had accepted defeat from him. But, there was still the problem of the kingdom Supradesha which needed to be tackled at the earliest. He said that conquering this kingdom would be regarded as his final test which would earn him the right to sit on the Golden Throne of Shakthi kingdom.

Prince Surya bowed to his father and took his leave. He talked to his brother and learned that the enemy had used a new weapon on them. Prince Vayu's soldiers had managed to collect some rocket shells and showed these to him. Prince Surya was amazed after seeing the new weapon. From his spies, he learned that this weapon was gifted to the Princess of Supradesha by a Chinese traveler.

Prince Surya sent emissaries to the kingdom of China with many gifts and a message. The message said that if the Chinese would share their weapon technology with them, they would be given a dragon in return. Prince Surya very well knew that the Chinese were crazy about the dragons and they would never refuse this offer.

As expected, the Chinese transferred their rocket technology to him and sent three scientists to assist him in making new rockets for his armory. In return, Prince Surya kept his promise and gifted them with one of the captured dragons. He was happy that at least one dragon was now permanently taken care of.

When the rockets were ready, Prince Surya sent a messenger to Supradesha kingdom. The messenger told the Princess Shalini that the kingdom of Shakthi also had now learned to make rockets and there was no use in useless bloodshed. The formula for making the rocket with gunpowder was delivered as a proof. Princess Shalini was taken aback and stunned at the wisdom of the man who had outwitted her. She learned from the messenger that the architect of this great battle strategy was Prince Surya. The Princess returned the messenger with another message.

The messenger announced that the Princess Shalini had refused to surrender. She said that the people in her kingdom preferred to die rather than live as slaves. When Prince Surya heard this he was shocked. For the first time in his life, someone had not accepted his terms. Prince Surya was a wise person. He appreciated the valor of the young princess and this time he himself traveled to her kingdom in order to persuade her to join hands with his kingdom.

The Prince went to her and proposed to her so that both their kingdoms could live peacefully. The Princess accepted his proposal and they got married. On returning to his kingdom, the Prince was coronated as the next King and he was made to sit on the Golden Throne where he ruled as a just ruler to the end of his days.

The End

A Simple Classroom lesson

My name is Tom Combes. I was nine years old back then. I studied in a boarding school called St. Patrick's. I was in the third grade. It was prep time and we had to complete an exercise on Arithmetic. The Examiner was none other than the dreaded Physical Instruction teacher Mr. Hayes. Every boy in our school was afraid of him. Mr. Hayes was a short, stout and an arrogant person. He walked with an air of superiority and his cold glance could freeze the blood in any boy's veins.

The exam paper had twenty-five arithmetic problems which we were supposed to complete in two hours time. I began answering my paper deftly. Contrary to most boys of my age, I loved Maths. I quickly began solving the problems one after the other. At some point during the middle of the exam, I heard a whisper. I turned to my side to see another boy of my class Dawson calling out my name.

"Tom, Do you have a spare pen?" he whispered to me. "Yes," I answered in a low voice and handed him my spare pen. Suddenly, out of nowhere, we heard the loud explosive voice of Mr. Hayes from the corner of the room. He was pointing a finger at me and shouting at the top of his voice. "You there. Yes, you boy. Cheating in the exam. Come over here, will you?" he said in a threatening tone. Every boy in the class was staring at me.

"But, S-Sir, I was not cheating" I stuttered in fear. "Do you think I am a fool or a liar?". "I saw you with my own eyes taking notes from the other boy." Trembling with fear I made my way to the dais. Mr. Hayes snatched my answer sheet and scribbled something on it. He handed the answer sheet back to me and asked me to leave the exam hall at once.

"Caught cheating in the exam. Zero Marks". These were the words scribbled by Mr. Hayes on my answer sheet. I left the exam hall with a bowed head and clenching my answer sheet. Tears rolled down my cheeks.

Later that day, I was summoned to the Headmaster's room for punishment. Everyone knew what that meant. I would be caned for bad behavior. Trembling with fear, I made my way to the Headmaster's room. I knocked on the door. A voice barked from inside the room "Come in!".

I walked in slowly and stood in a corner. "Mr. Hayes caught cheating you in the exam today. What do you have to say for yourself?" the Headmaster asked me menacingly. I raised my head a little to glance at the angry face of the Headmaster and muttered "Headmaster Sir, I was not cheating. I was only trying to help Dawson."

"Are you implying that Mr. Hayes is a liar?". "He saw you cheating on the exam today. And, why would a good student like Dawson need your help?".

I was scared by the flurry of his questions. Also, I was a little taken aback by his last sentence. Dawson was indeed a very good student. I knew that there was no more point in arguing with the Headmaster. Since Mr. Hayes and the Headmaster had already decided that I was cheating. My fate had already been sealed.

The Headmaster asked me to kneel down and punished me with six cane strokes on my buttocks. Every cane stroke felt like a lightning bolt on my rear. Bruised and deeply insulted, I left the Headmaster's room. But, I did not cry. I decided I would not feel weak despite the injustice meted out to me.

I walked slowly back to my dorm room clenching my buttocks with both my hands. I could feel the deep bruises and cuts. A little blood had trickled through the cuts and dried leaving blue marks. It would take at the least three weeks to heal the wounds.

When I went back to the dormitory, I was surprised to find all the boys from my class there. They surrounded me and expressed their deepest sympathies. The boys knew that what had happened was wrong. Dawson came over to me and hugged me. He started crying and started saying that it was all his fault. He begged me to forgive him.

I consoled him and said that there was nothing to forgive. I hugged him and said that the grown-ups had not understood what we were doing.

That day, I learned two important lessons in life.
One, that life is not always fair.
Two, that children are not always at fault.

I am glad about whatever happened to me. It taught me a new perspective about life.

The End