Geetha Krishnan's Blog, page 15

The Lost Race

Chapter Three

Mark found himself lying on a bed when he woke. He had no idea where he was or what time it was. He was definitely alive. Were his friends safe? He tried to sit up.

“You’re awake,” Mark turned his head so suddenly towards the voice that spoke that he nearly fell off, but the speaker moved forward to catch him, and to help him sit up before moving back. It was a man or at least it looked like one. A young man with silvery blonde hair, whose skin had a silvery sheen to it. Even his eyes were the colour of silver. All in all he looked like a silver ghost. He was not the same man who had driven the creature away, but Mark had only a hazy recollection of that man, so he could not be sure.

“Who are you? Where are my friends? What is this place?” He was aware he was speaking fast, but he was feeling anxious, his panic returning in full force now that he was awake.

“I am Rowen,” the man spoke, and his voice was calm and soothing. “You are in my home and safe. Your friends are also safe. They are in another room. They are all unhurt. One had a broken leg, but now he is fine.”

“Fine?” Mark muttered and it was then he noticed something. “My arm- it’s not broken anymore.”

“I healed you,” Rowen said, and Mark could feel himself gaping. Healed a broken arm? So quickly? With all their advancements in technology and science, with all the progress humanity had made in the medical field, they still couldn’t mend broken bones so quickly. How advanced must this civilisation be if they could do something like this!

Mark closed his mouth and flexed his arm. There was not even any discomfort. He looked at Rowen, “You are not the one who saved me.”

“That was my father. If you are all right, he wishes to talk to you.”

“I’m fine, but- What is this place?”

“I told you before, this is my home.”

“Which planet? Which galaxy? I’ve never even heard of a galaxy like this.” He had to get as much information as possible.

“This is the planet Petar. It is in the Swelgarian galaxy. “

“I’ve never heard of it.”

“Now you have. Are you feeling upto getting up? My father wants to talk to you”

“I am all right, just give me a moment.”

Rowen nodded. “I’ll wait outside.”

Mark looked around the room once Rowen had left. It was a spacious room with large windows opening out to the forest. The room did not have much furniture; apart from the bed, there was only a chair and a wardrobe. All the furniture looked new, the smell of fresh varnish still in the air. What was even more curious was that the furniture was all made of wood. Mark ran his hand over the side of the bed. Wood, polished wood, but wood nevertheless. With so many trees around, it made sense, but he couldn’t wrap his head around the extravagance of using wood for anything. Back on earth, trees were precious, because there weren’t many left, and to cut down a tree was a capital offence. Of course, it was too little too late, but had the war not broken out, perhaps they could have ended up saving their planet.

He sighed and sat up, his thoughts too depressing, and he thought of the man who had been there. Rowen. He was absolutely certain that Rowen was not human, but he had no idea what he was. Not any more than he knew what the other creature that had killed Dr. Harvey was. Perhaps the man who had saved them had the answers.

He rose, noticing with surprise that he wasn’t as tired as he should have been. How long had he been unconscious? He was barefoot and the floor of the room was also polished wood. His toes curled an an involuntary exclamation of pleasure left him. He had no idea wood was so comfortable to walk on!

Rowen was waiting for him outside, standing near a balcony from which he could see the forest. There were no other buildings or any signs of civilisation nearby. The house seemed to be standing right next to the forest. The entire building seemed to have been made of wood. Mark ran his hand through the railing of the balcony in wonder. Rowen didn’t move or speak till Mark turned to him.

“You said your father wanted to talk to me?”

Rowen nodded. “If you’re ready,”

As he stepped outside the room, he saw Rowen standing there.

“You’re ready?”

Mark nodded back. The corridor through which they walked had huge windows and open balconies on the right and bare smooth wooden walls on the left. It was well lit, but he couldn’t tell where the light came from. There were no electrical fittings anywhere, so perhaps it was sunlight.

Rowen stopped before what was apparently a bare stretch of wall. He touched the wall and Mark noticed with surprise that it was actually a door. He looked at the sides, and could find nothing that distinguished door from wall. How did they tell it apart?

Rowen opened the door and Mark entered the room. The first thing he saw on entering the room was his friends.

“Mark! You’re okay!” Andy was at his side in a trice.

“We didn’t know where you were,” Ron said, the next to reach him. “I thought maybe that creature…” his voice trailed off.

“We’re missing Dr. Harvey,” Jake said.

“That creature got him,” said Sam.

“Got him?” Andrea asked, “You mean he’s dead?”

“Yes,” Mark replied. “And it would have killed all of us if-” he paused.

“He didn’t follow you in,” Sam said. “Who is he?”

“I don’t know,” Mark said. “But I don’t think he’s human,”

“He’s not.” Ron said. “I mean, he just put his hand on my leg and it was mended, as if it had never been broken. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

That made Mark gape again, thankful that he wasn’t awake when Rowen had healed his arm. What sort of technology was this?

“Yes, my arm is healed too.” he spoke when he could find his voice.

“But if it’s not human, then what is it?” Jake asked.

“I don’t like it,” Andrea said. “Mark, where are we?”

“Planet Petar. Or at least that’s what the man told me.” Mark said, a wry smile twisting his mouth. At least he knew something even if that wasn’t much.

“Any idea what that other creature is?” Sam asked. “We have not enough weapons or ammunition. If there are more creatures like that here, we may have to find some other planet to settle in. Unless we know how to make more guns.”

Mark saw the dismay in the others’ faces, but he had to agree with Sam. If there were more creatures like the first one, they would have to leave. They had only very minimal weapons and that only for protection. They had no idea how to build weapons. They had no weapons experts with them. It had been a conscious decision. Weapons was what had finally destroyed their planet, and made it so it could never again be habitable, and they weren’t going to take the seeds of their own destruction alongwith them. But now, they were here, with a creature that could swat them aside like rag dolls and break their necks like twigs and they had no means of protecting themselves.

Mark was saved the trouble of answering by the door opening and two men entering. One was Rowen and the other one was an older man with the same silvery blond hair, silver skin and eyes. That must be Rowen’s father, the one who had saved them all. His gaze was shrewd and penetrating unlike Rowen’s friendly one. Mark swallowed, feeling as if he was about to face a trial.

The Lost Race

Chapter Two

Mark was feeling nervous as they approached the planet. It looked similar to earth from space. What awaited them down there? It was not likely for the planet to be uninhabited. What would the natives be like? Would they welcome them or would they turn them away? He thought of the children in the ship.

We need to convince whoever’s here to let us stay.

What if they were cannibals? What if they enslaved them? What if they killed them all? What if they imprisoned them for experiments?

Stop it!

He tried to think positively. What would he tell the inhabitants of the planet? What language would he speak? Mark was proficient in all the major Earth languages, but would any alien this far off understand him?

Way to be positive.

The shuttle landed in a clearing in the middle of a lush green forest.

“I don’t believe this,” Andrea said in a hushed voice, “It’s like all the pictures we’ve seen of the past of earth.”

“I’ve never seen trees like this,” Mike Harvey said, “I don’t even know what kind of trees these are.”

“Look at the water,” Sam said, as he walked off to examine a puddle at the edge of the clearing.

“It appears habitable,” Mark said, “and that puddle looks like rainwater, so maybe the climate is a bit wet, however, we are not in a position to pick and choose.”

As if they would! Earth hadn’t had natural rain in Mark’s memory nor in those of his parents. A planet with trees like this and natural rain might be paradise. Mark hoped he would not wake up to find all this just a dream.

“So shall we go back and get the others?” Jake asked.

“We’ll do a bit more exploring, I want to see what sort of wildlife there is. Everyone, stick together and keep your weapons ready.”

As they moved into the forest, Mark could feel the others’ excitement.

“I’ve never walked in a forest,” Ron said in a hushed voice.

“Such enormous trees,” Jake said, awed.

“The grass looks so soft,” Sam said.

A bird flew close to Mark’s face; it was not large, and had bright orange feathers. Mark ducked automatically.

“What was that!”

“This place is great!” Ron exclaimed.

It was difficult not to get carried away in the face of the others’ enthusiasm. But Mark was not relaxing his vigilance. Anything could be here. But the planet felt so comfortable, reminding him of earth in a good way.

Perhaps we can make our home here.

“It’s rather dark in here,” Andrea muttered, holding aloft her torch. “All these roots on the ground could trip you up.”

“Stop complaining,” Jake said, flashing his own torch. “This place is large enough for us, and-”

“There’s something there!” Ron said, stopping suddenly.

Mark was on the alert instantly, “Where?”

“Towards the left, something moved there, like a living thing. I thought…”

Mark waited. Ron took a deep breath and continued, “I thought it looked human”

“Human?” Mark was startled. “Are you sure?”

“It looked like it,” Ron said.

“We’ll go left,” Mark said. “I want a closer look at whatever it was.”

The trees grew thicker as they moved towards the left and the light grew dimmer. Mark saw it. Though why did he refer to that person as it? It was standing about a hundred feet away, staring up into a tree. It had its back to them and it looked to be human, though Mark doubted very much whether in fact it was human.

“What is it?” Andrea whispered.

“Who is it?” Mike whispered at the same time.

“I don’t know,” Mark said, “It looks to be human, but-”

“I’ve a creepy feeling about this,” Sam muttered under his breath, “That thing could be dangerous.”

“Keep your weapons ready,” Mark whispered, “If it is hostile, shoot it.”

They were about ten feet away from it, when it seemed to sense their presence and turned around to face them.

Mark gasped. So did the others.

“It is a man!” Andrea said.

“It is the devil!” Ron exclaimed.

Ron might be more correct. It looked like a man; its features were human, with pale skin and jet black hair. It was starving, judging by its appearance and as they saw its eyes, Mark felt goose bumps all over. Its eyes were red in colour and wore an expression so malevolent that Mark involuntarily took a step back. The creature sniffed the air.

Before he realized what was happening, he was bodily picked up and thrown to the ground. Pain lanced through his left arm and he could see the odd angle at which it was bent. The pain was unbearable and he felt himself grow dizzy, his vision blurring. He shook his head and tried to move. Sam opened fire, but his hand was shaking and he missed the strange creature. His military training probably didn’t prepare him for aliens who moved faster than they could see. The others were also picked up and thrown as if they were puppets. Dr. Harvey lost consciousness as he hit the ground. The creature picked him up and snapped his neck.

Mark stared, unable to move. It killed him! He felt dazed. Mark looked around to see if his friends were all right. Ron was conscious and he looked horrified as he looked at the creature.

“Ron,” Mark whispered, “Are you all right?”

“My leg’s broken,” Ron whispered back. “What do we do, Mark? That thing can’t be human, it just threw us around as if we were puppets! I can’t reach my gun.”

The creature stood up. It threw Dr. Harvey aside and moved to Andrea.

“Leave her alone!” Mark shouted as he attempted to get up, ignoring the feeling as if a brand of hot iron was pressed to his arm.

The creature turned to look at him, and it started moving towards him.

There was a movement from behind him and the creature stopped. A man stood near Mark. He held a spear in his hand; the pointed end was towards the creature. He stepped forward and the creature cowered. It bared its teeth in a feral snarl, turned, picked up Dr. Harvey’s body and was gone.

Mark’s vision blurred as the man knelt by him. He fought it, but his vision turned dark.

The Lost Race

So, this is something I’d earlier published in KDP, but decided to rewrite because it seemed like I could do better with the whole storyline. Despite many people praising it, I was always not fully satisfied with it. So now I’ve unpublished it from all platforms and am going to rewrite it. I decided to post the first few chapters here as I’m rewriting.

Chapter One

The stars which shone on the vast emptiness seemed to be mocking him. Mark had no idea where they were. The constellations that he could make out were completely unfamiliar.

A fine leader I turned out to be. I’ve just got everyone lost and I have no idea even about the galaxy.

He might not be the only one in the ship with experience, but he was the one who had gotten them into this. Standing here, watching the strange sky, he was beginning to think he had been a fool to think this could work. All their technology and advanced weaponry had only gotten them to the brink of extinction, and did he really think he would be able to save humanity?

Bile rose to his mouth and he swallowed hard.

“Mark?”

He turned around to see Andrea, a hesitant look on her face, which was so unlike her. But probably she had been able to sense his discombobulation.

“What’s it, Andy?” He attempted a smile.

“Are we lost?” No mincing words. Straight to the point. It was one of the many things he loved about her. He hesitated for a moment, before answering her. Andy deserved his honesty, and he had never been a fan of prevarication anyway.

“I think so. I don’t know where we are, so technically yea.”

“Technically?” her brows rose.

“It’s not like we had any specific destination in mind,” he shrugged.

“If we don’t find a habitable planet soon, we may all die here.” She said, her eyes shadowed. For all her capacity for reading him, he had never been able to read her. She spoke the words so matter-of-factly.

“I know,” he said, not sure if she wanted confirmation or comfort. “We may find a planet in this new galaxy.” He could always hope.

“Or we can return to earth.” She avoided his eyes, but he caught the wistful note in her voice. So that was it. Mark shook his head, but she continued still without looking at him, “I know it’s a long way off, but it’ll ensure at least some of us will survive, and-“

“Andy” he interrupted her, “By the time we reach, earth will no longer be habitable.”

If it was even there. But he did not say those words aloud. If earth was destroyed, it was likely that the entire solar system could be thrown out of balance. A planet that had formed over millions of years and had survived so long and all it took humanity was a few thousand years to ensure its destruction. He swallowed again. He was the one averting his eyes now, because he didn’t want her to see the devastation on his face.

“You don’t know that,” she said, but her voice shook. He could see in her eyes that she knew he was right, but it was a hard truth to accept, and so she would fight it.

“Isn’t that why we left?” He asked, his voice low and it felt as if his entire being was being wrung out by the words he spoke. “To ensure that the human race would survive?”

Perhaps they shouldn’t have left. After all, why did they deserve to survive when their planet and the millions of life forms on it didn’t? Especially since it was their own fault.

“But we’re going to die here anyway,” she whispered, her voice dull.

Perhaps that was what they deserved. Perhaps it was only fitting that they die here amongst these strange stars, drifting in space forever, the relic of a race which had destroyed their own planet.

Mark sighed. He was the one who had talked everyone on the ship into leaving earth, convinced them it was their only hope for survival. And now they were all going to die anyway, slowly, from lack of food, water, and air. At least on earth it would have been a quick death.

“Am I interrupting?” Jake didn’t look too worried. “Cheer up. I bring good tidings. We have spotted a planet. Scanners indicate presence of life, and it looks like it may be habitable. Shall we make for it?”

Life!! Habitable! Mark could not believe his ears. He could have hugged Jake. Make for it? Need he even ask? He was about to say “Yes” when it crossed his mind that perhaps he was allowing desperation to overcome his reason.

“How many know of this?”

“Just Ben and I; he was the one who did the scanning.” Jake spoke as if he understood the reason for Mark’s question. Was he that transparent?

“Don’t spread the word.” Mark said. “We’d better send a small party ahead to know if the planet will support human life. We also need to make sure there are no hostile aliens there. If everything’s good, we’ll make for it.”

“It’s a large planet, larger than earth,” Jake said. “I’m sure any aliens there might be happy to share the planet with us.”

“Besides,” Andrea said. “It’s not as if we have a choice, Mark. Whatever we find down there, if this planet does support human life, then it is our only option.”

Mark had never felt so harried in his life. “All right,” he said. “But I still say we send in a party to scout out the planet.”

“I want to be in the party” Andrea said.

“Me too,” Jake said.

“All right,” Mark said. “We’ll take Dr. Harvey as well. Also Sam and Ron, they’ve had military experience. For all we know, there could be a bunch of hostile aliens tracking us from down there – or even wild animals. Jake, get the team assembled and tell Boris to get the shuttle ready.”

“Aye aye captain,” Jake winked at him before sauntering off.

“I better get ready,” Andrea looked happy, almost. Hope. This was what hope looked and felt like. Mark tried to tamp it down, but was aware of a lightness in his chest and of his lips stretching in a grin. He didn’t know what awaited them on the planet’s surface, but he felt as if he could deal with anything. After all, nothing could be worse than dying out here, could it?

He looked at the stars again. They no longer looked mocking or cold.

Movie Review: Evening Shadows

Review: Evening Shadows

Sridhar Rangyan is known for his championing of LGBT+ rights and his movies depicting the challenges faced by the community in India where, till recently, homosexuality was a crime. His latest offering, Evening Shadows is a coming out story. But more than that, it is the story of a bond between a mother and her son and how she struggles to come to terms with the revelation that her only son is gay.

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The film is set in a conservative small town family in South India with Damodar (Ananth Mahadevan), a tyrannical father who believes that homosexuality is against Indian culture, values and ethics,;Vasudha (Mona Ambegaonkar), the mother who is the typical Indian housewife, one who obeys her husband, and whose life revolves around taking care of her family and their gay son Kartik (Devansh Doshi) who is a photographer in Mumbai and is in a committed relationship with another man, but hasn’t told his parents yet. They think Aman is his roommate.

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In the backdrop is the aunt, Sarita (Yamini Singh) who has left her abusive husband and is crticised by Kartik’s father for her inability to manage her own life and marriage when she attempts to advise him not to force Kartik into marriage; the uncle Ramesh (Abhay Kulkarni), a closeted homosexual who has married to satisfy his family, and who had sexually abused Kartik in childhood, and who still seems to have a thing for his handsome nephew; Aman (Arpit Chaudhary) whose mother has not talked to him since the day he came out to her; and there is the 2013 SC judgement which reinstated section 377 overturning the Delhi HC verdict. In view of the recent SC judgement declaring section 377 as unconstitutional, the 2013 verdict is now moot, but the reactions of Kartik and Aman to the judgement and Kartk’s fears on how it will make it even more difficult for his mother to accept his reality are all brought out well.

The film does seem to border on propaganda at times, but considering its theme, that’s only natural. The propaganda part is not “the-in-your-face” kind, but subtle and is incorporated naturally into the dialogues. The bond between Kartik and his mother is natural and easy and both actors have done an amazing job in their roles. Though some of the changes in Vasudha does seem based on the ideal rather than the real, her acceptance and support of Kartik in the end leaves no one unsurprised. As she tells her husband, whatever or whoever Kartik is, he is hers. If only more mothers had as much strength to stand up for their children!

Kartik’s relation with Aman is mostly phone calls to and from, but the audience is left in no doubt about the depth of their feelings for each other or of how committed they are to each other. They support each other, and have plans to grow old together. They are a cute couple in the only scene we get to see them together. Both Devansh Doshi and Arpit Chaudhary are excellent in their roles.

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Ananth Mahadevan as the ultra conservative Damodar who kicks out Kartik and performs his funeral rites has also rendered a noteworthy performance and the supporting cast are also good, but the star of the movie is undoubtedly Mona Ambegaonkar who is simply stellar as Vasudha.

Evening Shadows is heartwarming and beautiful. It is more than a film about homosexuality – it is about the bond between a mother and a child, and how that bond is capable of withstanding even things beyond the mother’s comprehension. As Vasudha tells Kartik towards the end, she may never comprehend homosexuality, but she will always accept and support him. And ultimately, what more can anyone ask for? This is a movie that’s definitely worth watching whether you are gay or not, whether you support LGBT+ rights or not, because the themes depicted are universal, the struggle for acceptance in a world that’s too eager to tell people who they should be and is too quick to judge them for being different.

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How do I write a first draft? The 3 secrets to plotting vs pantsing your novel. 

Creative Frighting

You’re pumped, right? Inspired. You’ve got an idea that you can’t get out of your head – be it for a novel or a short story or even a screenplay. It’s an idea that came to you in the night, maybe. An idea that hopefully popped into your head after my last post – How To Banish Writer’s Block.

But either way, in the here and now, it’s a new beginning. A

fresh start – your first book or your tenth. It’s exciting and scary and

there’s so many possibilities lying ahead.

But there’s that voice again, whispering in the back of your

mind: ‘This is going to hurt, isn’t it?’

Well, maybe. A little. Because writing a first draft? It’s a marathon. A marathon without any real route. You can go whichever way you want. It’s liberating, on a good day. And on a bad?

Well, it’s an…

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Pages of Surprises: The Joy and Despair of Being a Pantser

Uh, pantser?

Simply, it refers to writers who write by the seat of their pants. Those who make it up as they go along. Sometimes they have a general idea where the plot is going, and where it is supposed to go, but mostly, they’re also waiting to find out as they write.

Really? Writers do that?

Yes, they do. You’d be surprised at how many pantsers there are. There’s something so incredibly joyful about just letting go and let your words take you in directions you didn’t even know existed.

Is it bad?

I wouldn’t know. I’ve never done anything else. I tried plotting once, but when I put pen to paper, the whole plot fell apart, and I was writing something that had nothing to do with the outline I made.

So, why am I a pantser?

Again, I’ve absolutely no idea. I mean, I’m a person who needs structure and routine as much as I need air, if not more. I don’t do things spontaneously. If I go on a trip, I have a checklist. I budget my expenses, keep track of them. I know in advance what I’m going to cook the next day. I panic when things spiral out of control, when life feels unsettled. Even an unplanned trip can freak me out. My brain freezes if I’m in a situation like that.

But when I write, I love not being in control, I love letting go, to jump off that cliff in the hope that I’ll fly.

Go figure.

Pantsing sounds cool

Oh, it is! There’s never a boring moment. Since I’ve no idea where my plot is going or what my characters are going to do, I’m as eager, as excited or nervous or scared, and as surprised as they. And I can always hope that my reader will be just as surprised, eager and excited.

To me, the best thing about pantsing is finding out what happens next, what my characters are going to do. Are they going to do the right thing or do they decide it’s too much work? Why are they like this? Everything is discovered as I write.

So, what’s the problem?

The problem is, when you write without any idea of what happens next, sometimes the plot takes you in unexpected directions. Now, as I said before, it can be cool, but it can also be crazy as well as needing a ton of research sometimes.

How’s that?

As an example, one of my works in progress is about a vampire. But after the first chapter, my vampire decided that he doesn’t want to be the traditional vampire. He won’t be an undead or anything related to humans. He’s part of a humanoid race with magic, a separate species, but he still drinks blood. So, I am in a position where I have to do a ton of research on every animal on the planet that drinks blood in order to come up with a biological reason why this species needs to drink blood.

And don’t even get me started on the dragons.

Dragons?

Ah, well, I started writing this story, and it was shaping to be a love triangle, then took a twist and I realised that it was probably going to be a journey of self discovery and personal growth for all three of its main characters and I was super excited till boom! A dragon decided to land in the story, or rather, to take off in front of one of the characters. And now I have five kinds of dragons, a whole new mythology and no idea where my plot is going and my main characters? Looks like they’re going to be secondary characters.

Of course, it’s still better than the aliens.

Aliens?

Again, this was a sci fi series I was writing and the first two books were already finished and I started on the third which I was hoping would round things off, but instead, from the beginning, the plot started twisting till suddenly the galaxy I was writing about is facing an alien invasion, which really throws me off because there are no aliens or references to aliens in the first two books which means I am going to have to fix my already finished books. Fun, right?

Does this mean pantsing is bad?

Oh no! It’s confusing, it’s frustrating, but for me, there’s no other way to write. I’ve a great deal of respect for plotters; I’m in awe of them, because what they’re doing is utterly impossible for me. But I love the way I write, and I can manage a few dragons and vampires and aliens as long as I get to occasionally soar when I jump off that cliff.

New Series in Channillo

I’m posting one of my books as a series in Channillo. Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a comment!!

Never a Good Time

Inkling Interview: Clyde Andrews

Ayana Gray

Clyde Andrews

Happy Friday! Party time!

One of my hopes with the #inklinginterviews is to hear voices from a diverse array of writers around the world. Diversity isn’t just about colors, it’s about a willingness to listen to the stories of people who don’t look like us, talk like us, or think like us. I firmly believe that, at core, many of us share the same base beliefs in kindness, love, and respect no matter where we come from. That’s why this week I wanted to venture over to Australia to interview this wonderful writer. His tweets are always so positive and kind. He once caught my attention when he unapologetically took a stand for a particular community in his writing and noted that he was more than happy to lose followers to stand for the people he believed in. (In this social-media centered world, that means a lot to…

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Why Creativity Can’t Be Taught

Writer's Treasure Chest

“What is creativity?

During my research I found there are about as many definitions of ‘creativity’ as there are people. For example:

Henry Rollins says: “Starting with nothing and ending up with something. Interpreting something you saw or experienced and processing it so it comes out different than how it went in.”

Daniel Pink‘s definition is: “Giving the world something it didn’t know it was missing.”

The English Oxford Dictionary‘s definition is: “The use of imagination or original ideas to create something; inventiveness.”

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Now, according to ‘Psychology Today’ creativity cannot be taught. In 2011 they wrote, you can teach everyone how to use a hammer or knitting needles.

But knowing how to use a hammer or a knitting needle doesn’t make you creative. Visualizing, dimensionally manipulating or modeling the chairs you build in your mind’s eye won’t necessarily make you creative either. Whether material or mental…

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The Banished Secret

Chapter Eight

Aditya sat in a corner, feeling out of place and bored. He and Abhi had arrived at Shyam and Vina’s house at six and had been ushered into this room. It was a large room which was already full of people the same age as Abhi and Aditya had immediately felt out of place. He had found a seat in a corner and Abhi had stayed at his side for a while before Aditya told him to go and have fun. Abhi had resisted for a while more before gravitating towards his friends. There were a lot of Aditya’s students among the guests, and they came over to greet him before going back to mingle with their friends. Abhi was dancing with a girl whom he remembered having seen once or twice around the campus. Vina was flirting with one of the boys from their class named Aakash and Shyam was nowhere to be found.

He was wondering if it might be polite to leave and was looking around to see if he can spot Shyam anywhere when a stranger came and sat down on a chair next to him.

“Hi,” the man said. “You are Abhi’s brother, aren’t you?”

Aditya looked at the man. He had never seen him before. He was tall, with a pleasant open face, and pair of very keen eyes.

“Yes,” Aditya said. “But how did you know?”

The stranger chuckled. “Easy to spot the resemblance. I’m Savit, by the way. I’m not from the college. I’m a family friend of Shyam. That’s how I met Abhi.”

Aditya nodded. “Nice to meet you,” he said, before relapsing into silence. What did one say in situations like this? He had never had any skill in making small talk.

“You’re a professor, aren’t you? What do you teach?” Savit asked.

“Economics,” Aditya replied, nearly suppressing a groan. It looked as if Savit wasn’t going to leave soon.

“I’m a total ignoramus where that is concerned,” Savit grinned. “Just scraped through with pass marks in school.”

Aditya smiled faintly, not knowing how to answer or if any answer was expected.

“You’re not drinking,” Savit observed.

“I have to drive home,” Aditya answered.

“Hmm… and your parents are on holiday, I heard.”

“Not exactly. They have gone to visit our grandparents.” Aditya wondered how Savit knew about their parents not being home, but he did not explain that his grandmother was ill and his parents would not be returning in the near future, not till she improved anyway.

“I see,” Savit said, smiling. “Well, nice talking to you, Aditya. Be seeing you around.”

Aditya heaved a sigh of relief as Savit disappeared into the crowd of dancing youngsters. But the sigh turned into a groan as Aakash sat down onto the vacant seat with an ingratiating smile.

“Here you are,” an unknown girl with a bright smile grabbed hold of Aakash before he even greeted Aditya. With a muttered apology, Aakash went with the girl.

“Enjoying yourself?” Shyam took the seat Aakash had vacated.

“Would you feel offended if I say no?” Aditya was tired of trying to make conversations. At least with Shyam, he didn’t have to pretend.

Shyam shrugged. “Not really. Abhi did warn me you were kinda anti-social.”

“I’m not, but I’m not comfortable with people I don’t know.” Aditya was offended. He wasn’t anti-social. He just liked his own company or those of his books more.

“Sounds anti-social to me,” Shyam teased. “If you’re tired of the party, go and have dinner. Buffet is arranged outside. You can go home afterwards.”

“Abhi planning to stay here tonight?” Aditya asked.

“I think so. We’ll be glad to have you too, you know.” Shyam said.

“I think I’ll go. I dread having to make small talk to people I don’t know.” Aditya hadn’t meant to have said it, but he wasn’t regretting having said it either.

Shyam laughed. “Well, Saina saved you from Aakash, didn’t she? You didn’t have to make any small talk.”

“Not with him. But there was no one to save me from that Savit guy.”

“Savit?” There was a slight frown on Shyam’s face.

“He said he was a family friend.” Aditya said.

“Oh him! Yea. He’s a bore. Come to think of it, he wanted to stay the night too. And so did a couple of others.” Shyam frowned. “I’m beginning to realise that we don’t have enough room. Abhi will need to go home. How am I even going to explain that?”

Aditya chuckled. “How fortunate l did not take you up on your invitation!”

“I’m bad at organizing,” Shyam grimaced. “I’ll probably need to sleep on the couch too. Never mind. You go have your dinner. I shall bring Abhi too.”

“He won’t be happy,” Aditya muttered.

“No, he won’t. I’m hoping he’ll…” Shyam’s brow cleared. “I got it! I’ll come with you two. I just need to throw a few things in a bag. How lucky tomorrow is a holiday!”

“What? But it’s your birthday! You can’t just leave your guests and go like that!”

“Vina will manage them. She owes me one anyway. And mum and dad won’t mind too much. You did meet them today, didn’t you?”

“Yes, when we came in. Why do you ask as if they’re strangers to me?”

“Just ‘coz they’ll be asking me later if you and Abhi had dinner and all. They’re not familiar with most of this crowd, but they know and like the two of you.”

“Well, I haven’t seen them since I came in.” Aditya couldn’t really make head or tail out of Shyam’s explanation.

“Oh, they’ll be around somewhere. They don’t enjoy this crowd, but they enjoy parties. I’ll just go and tell them I’m coming with you, and we’ll all have our dinner and we’ll go.”

“Well, if you’re sure, you’re welcome to come with us.” Aditya gave in.

“Thanks big bro.” Shyam flashed him a bright smile.