Kavya Janani U.'s Blog, page 25

Man Booker Prize

Excerpt:

Lithiksha immediately browsed for the book and its author. The search results threw up pictures of the girl who was her then best friend. The same girl whom she had loathed. That girl whom she had prevented from becoming a good writer. She was a published author, a world renowned one that too. She was also the highest paid author of India. As she kept staring at the name ‘Shakthi Menon’, a flood of memories submerged her. A feeling of regret passed through her. She couldn’t believe her own eyes. The girl whom she had ridiculed, derided and mocked was a world renowned and a fan-friendly author. And she had been ignorant of that fact.

Read my latest offering here: Man Booker Prize (selected as Editor’s Choice)

Love,

Kavya Janani.U

A figment of imagination and a whiff of reality

“You’re 26 Nithya. And you say that you don’t like to fall in love!” screamed Aditi.

“And she also says that she doesn’t have any plans to get married as of now. I wonder even 35 would be acceptable for her,” scorned Ramya.

“Oh God! Spare me girls! I have a train to catch. Can we hurry up now?” The svelte girl, who was the subject matter of Aditi and Ramya, rose up from her bed, agitated with her friends’ lamentation.

“Which train is it?” Aditi put forth.

“Cheran Express at 10.20 PM.”

“Wow! Hope Cheran Express has cute guys in it so that our dear Nithi can hook up with someone for the night,” replied Ramya mischievously.

“Aiyooo, stop being gross Ramz,” Nithya threw a pillow at her.

“Hey, I agree with her. You know, I have heard that guys in Coimbatore are really cute and smart,” added Aditi.

“Hell with you both! Neither I will find a guy nor will I allow a guy to talk to me.”

“Then, how’d you spend the night?” chorused the girls.

“I will sleep.”

There were smirks from the girls. “Uninteresting,” muttered Aditi under her breathe.

“Nay! I am not. Don’t you know that night trains are meant for sleeping?”

“Lord! Please leave us. We wouldn’t discuss about this anymore,” said Aditi.

“But wasn’t Nithya hopelessly romantic during our college days?” asked Ramya.

“Ramz, please don’t start again…” began Aditi.

“Yes, I was. And I am. Not wishing to fall in love or get married doesn’t make me unromantic.” Nithya said in an offended tone.

“Then, why don’t you look for love?” Aditi lunged forward and held Nithya by her shoulders.

“Love will come in search of me.”

“Aha! I will hack you to death. You’ve rejected everyone on your way. How can you even expect love to come in search of you? Your dream man might have already proposed you and got snubbed by you. He should’ve married by now. I am sure that you’d live the rest of your life as a spinster, regretting your choices and decisions.”

“Well, I don’t care.” Nithya shrugged her shoulders, spewing nonchalance.

“Look at us Nithya. We’re happily married. You’re just following the trend of feminism, blindly declaring that not getting married at this age is the new fashion. But it isn’t. You’ve to…”

“Stop there Ramz! You needn’t advice me on marriage. It’s solely my wish to get married or stay single forever. If you ever dare to intefere in this, then that would be the last of our friendship.”

The girls never expected such an outburst. Nothing was spoken after that. The topics changed to general girls banter. After a few minutes, they exchanged goodbyes to each other and parted ways.

As soon as they left, Nithya seated herself on a chair and contemplated on their advice.

Should I really get married now? Is it mandatory for me to fall in love? Can’t these things wait till I completely tick off my bucket list and carve a niche for myself? Her thoughts wandered.

Perhaps, I should try. She assured herself, packed her belongings in her travel bag, locked her apartment securely and left the place.

*****

It was pitch dark inside the coach when Nithya boarded the Cheran Express. She muttered excuses as she made her way to her compartment. As fate could have it, she bumped into someone. And also her heel landed on the other person’s toe.

“Aaaaaa!!!” It was a guy’s voice.

“Oops! I am sorry, sorry, sorry.”

“That..that’s okay.” The guy stuttered. They couldn’t see each other in the darkness.

Nithya switched on the torchlight option in her smartphone and flashed it on the guy’s face. And the next moment, their eyes locked. His gaze pierced her heart. Those emotions which weren’t meant to be felt by her, came gushing to her.

Regaining her senses, she asked him quietly, “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I am okay,” the guy whispered. From his looks, it was evident that he was enchanted by her, as she was by him.

Then the lights came on. Embarrassed with the occurrence, they moved to their respective seats. Once seated, the guy began behaving indifferently. He never paid any attention to Nithya. He concentrated on his mobile, looked out of the window and rarely noticed her, even though he was seated right opposite to her. She was surprised beyond words. Guys had swooned for her in the past. But the indifference of this guy bothered her. She began dreaming of the sequence from Varanam Aayiram where the hero Suriya falls in love at first sight with the heroine Sameera Reddy, talks & flirts with her, confesses his love by breaking into a song and assures her of his love. She fantasized a similar sequence happening to her, with the guy wooing her and breaking into a song.

What’s happening to me? I accept that I am romantic. But I strongly oppose to falling in love and getting married. Now, why does this guy bother me so much? Why do I feel an urge to talk with him? Why am I changing my positions so that he’d notice me? And why the hell am I imagining the sequence from Vaaranam Aayiram? I am not supposed to feel like this.

Though her rational mind bravely spoke those to her, she kept stealing glances at him frequently. But the guy remained the same. He just flashed a couple of glances occasionally. His smartphone kept him engaged most of the time.

Oh my God! Why is my heart pining for his looks? Why is he indifferent, even though I look at him? Can’t he just smile at me? If he smiles, I am sure I would start talking to him. By the way, should I message Aditi and Ramya that I’ve found a cute guy on the train and might end up getting married to him? She smiled mischievously.

A man in his forties seated himself next to the guy. After a few minutes, they began talking to each other. Though their voices were surprisingly low, Nithya tried to make out most of their conversation.

“Well, what do you do?” asked the man.

“I am working as a senior software engineer in Infosys, Chennai.”

“Oh! But you look young. What’s your age?”

“I am 28 years old.” The guy replied politely and went back to fiddling with his phone, in order to avoid anymore conversation.

Nithya did a small mental dance of truimph as she came to know about the guy’s age.

After an hour and a half, the guy stood up to arrange the berths.

What the hell! Seriously, doesn’t he want to strike up a conversation with me? Perhaps, he is playing safe. He wants me to begin the conversation by acting indifferently. Nithya’s thoughts reassured her.

As she opened her mouth to say a ‘Hello’, the guy abruptly climbed the upper berth and placed his pillow on it.

Whaaattt??? Am I not going to face any Vaaranam Aayiram type of night?

Disgusted by the guy’s actions, she too climbed to the upper berth and laid down. She stealthily looked at him across the berth. He flashed a million dollar smile. Oh, not at her. At his smartphone. She even made smirking sounds so that she could receive his attention. But he remained oblivious. Moments passed away in snail pace, before he turned and looked at her.

Pouncing on the opportunity, she said, “Good night!” Her tone was rather lovely.

“Thank you. Good night to you too.” He replied calmly and covered himself with the bedsheet.

Hey, at least tell me your name. But she could only think of it, for the guy was dozing away. Soon, detaching herself from her fantasies, she drifted away to sleep.

*****

Nithya woke up to a screeching alarm from her mobile phone. Cursing under her breath, she switched it off and sprung from her berth. Immediately she steadied her disheveled hair, tying it into a pony tail. Then her eyes gradually wandered to the opposite berth. But she was welcomed by an empty one! At the next instant, she peeped down to see whether he was there. The guy wasn’t in sight at all.

Slowly, she alighted from her berth and reached the lower one. She looked hither and thither for him. But there was no sign of him. He had vanished into thin air. She couldn’t even ask anyone about him, for the man in his forties was also not present. Dejected by the state of affairs, she seated herself and pondered, he must have got down in Salem or Erode.

Well, her Vaaranam Aayiram type of journey went under water. She couldn’t believe herself that a headstrong girl like her was smitten by a mere co-passenger. Though her heart pained, she quietly alighted at the Coimbatore Junction and made her way towards her destination.

Perhaps he would come in search of me back in Chennai, she comforted herself with yet another Vaaranam Aayiram movie sequence.

*****

Two months passed away since that hopeless journey. From that day, Nithya began to change her preconceptions about love and marriage. Though she never met the guy again, she thought about him on a daily basis and pined for him. She couldn’t categorize her feeling as love, as she had no belief in the love-at-first-sight stuff. Yet she wanted to meet him, talk to him, get to know more about him and perhaps, enter into matrimony with him. And then it happened, one fine day.

Nithya ran to the main door to attend the bell. She opened the door and then froze. There he stood, with a smile on his face. Immediately, her thoughts began playing with her. She veered off to the scene in Vaaranam Aayiram where Suriya would make an appearance in front of Sameera Reddy’s house in pursuit of her and to prove his love for her.

Maybe he has finally come to pursue me. Nithya felt joyous beyond words.

“Excuse me! The flat next to yours is put up for rent, I suppose. And I am aware that you’ve the keys with you.” The guy’s firm words brought Nithya back to reality.

Though she was taken aback, she replied composedly, “Yes, I have them. By the way, have we met before?”

“We? No, I don’t think so. I have never seen you. I just came to enquire about the rented apartment along with my younger brother.” The guy declared plainly.

A gush of pain seared through Nithya’s heart. Her face contorted into agony as she realized that her ship had sunk. My goodness! He doesn’t even remember me. She was almost driven to tears.

“Please hurry up ma’am. I need to inform my fiancee about the apartment’s interiors after taking a look.”

And then, her heart broke. She could literally listen to it. That was her first love. Maybe a crush, but still a crush. She wanted it to end happily in a marriage, though earlier she was dead set against marital life. At that moment, she realized that not every guy can become Suriya from Vaaranam Aayiram. And not every guy she meets would be single. The harsh reality threw itself before her. I am sure that you’d live the rest of your life as a spinster, regretting your choices and decisions. Aditi’s words echoed in the air.

She did an about turn to hide her tears. She then moved to the key platter and brought out a bunch of keys. Handing it to the guy, she said, “Take a look by yourself.”

“Thank you. But it would be better if you show me around.”

“No. I am not in the mood. And also, I don’t prefer going into that apartment along with male strangers.”

“Oh! I can understand.” Saying so, he moved ahead to explore the apartment.

Just as she came to terms with the fact of being single forever and just as she began to retreat to her apartment with a pained heart, she heard someone approaching her.

“Excuse me! Is my brother inside the rented apartment?”

Nithya looked up to face the speaker. There, in front of her, was the handsomest guy she had ever seen. Her jaw almost dropped by his appearance and the way he conducted himself. And the same reactions were felt in him too. He flashed a pearly smile at her and continued, “Well, please stop admiring me and tell me whether my brother is inside that house.”

“Yeah, he is.” Nithya collected herself.

“By the way, I am Rakesh. 26 years old. Working as an administrative officer in State Bank of India.”

“I didn’t ask you. Why do you say all these?” asked an irritated Nithya.

“Because you seem broken and it feels like that I’ve been sent to mend your wounds.”

What the hell! What’s happening here? He can see through me! Thank god, I didn’t end up with his elder brother. Now, this guy seems perfect to me. No Vaaranam Aayiram type of proposal or chessy lines. Just a simple introduction and a straightforward confession. But wait! He doesn’t even know about me. Is he the love-at-first-sight kind?

“Hey, are you….”

“Before you question me, let me tell you that I meant to befriend you. I am not a guy who’d fall in love at first sight. I just liked you. So, let us gradually get to know if we are made for each other. I hope you don’t mind for a few dates.”

As a response, Nithya blushed and replied, “Okay, note down my number. I am not giving it because you’d asked me out. It’s because you’ve given me a whiff of reality and taught me not to imagine too much. Thanks to your straightforwardness and practicality.”

“Well, what do you mean?”

“That’s a long story Rakesh. We have an old connection. I will tell you on our first date.” She confidently replied, as her eyes wandered inside the rented apartment where her failed object of attraction was keenly exploring the interiors.

She silently thanked him.

**********

Love,

Kavya Janani.U

Photo Credit: rocketero2012 via Compfight cc

Princess Charming

This story is written as part of A Winter in Storyland contest on Tell-A-Tale – Bringing stories back into lives. Link to the tale: Princess Charming (do visit the link and share the story on your FB timeline or twitter so that I can increase my chances of winning ;-) )

*****

The pristine white snowflakes fell gently on her face as she looked up at the sky to count the number of stars. She couldn’t find any stars, but the snowflakes felt like stars. Stars that were falling upon her as a blessing. Stars that reminded of him yet again. Stars that spoke volumes of unexplainable words. As the snowflakes fell on her milky white skin, a warm feeling seared through her. There was radiance in the air. Though it was a freezing cold night, she felt cozy. The snugness was present even in the absence of a chimney or a fireplace in the porch. And she knew that the warmth was a product of her thoughts about him. Her happiness multiplied as her heart filled with his sweet memories. Yet she could never name her relationship with him or explain the feelings that she nurtured for him. They had spent many a day together, walking through the woods, chatting for aeons, dusting the frost from the pine tree leaves and shoveling & decking the snow to make a funny snowman. Still there was an aura of enigma, when it came to realizing their feelings for each other. As she dreamed about him, she heard footsteps approaching the main door. Unlatching it, a lady in her 40s hollered, “Caroline! Come inside! You’d be frozen if you stay outside any longer.”

Smirking to herself, Caroline stood up, dusted the snowflakes from her woolen wear and entered her rosewood abode. Once inside, the intense aroma of hot chocolate invited her. Automatically, her legs moved towards the table and found a huge mug of hot chocolate waiting for her. Picking up the mug with her excited hands, she climbed the stairs and made her way to her small room in the attic. Plopping softly on a chair, she began sipping the hot chocolate, indulging in its honey-dipping taste and losing herself in a myriad of thoughts.

Does Mathew love me? I can find a few hints in his mannerisms. But I want him to speak out his feelings. I want him to make me feel special with a romantic proposal. I want him to make the first move. If he confesses to me, I can have some time to analyze myself and then I can confess my love. But he is a…

Caroline got carried away in her thoughts that she didn’t realize her last sip of hot chocolate turning cold.Oops! She thought to herself and gulped it down. Then she climbed down to meet her mom. Mrs. Helen Smith was seated in a rocking chair beside the chimney, stitching a new fuchsia scarf for her daughter. Caroline went over and hugged her mom in a tight embrace.

“Thank you mom! I can afford to spend the rest of my life drinking hot chocolate prepared by you.”

Helen released herself from the hug and looked at Caroline with a raised eyebrow. “Then, don’t you have any idea of getting married? Shall I get you married to hot chocolate?”

“Oh no! It was a metaphor to saying that that hot chocolate was delicious. Nothing else mom. And for your information, though I am a weird fiction-ated girl with strange opinions and perspectives, I too would like to meet my Prince Charming and get married. Do you remember me telling about the musical locket mom? The one which appears in Tinkle Bells movie?”

“Awww! Please don’t repeat that Caroline. You’ve been telling me that for ages. You’d get married to the one who buys you the exact musical locket with the exact music bit, right?”

Caroline clapped her hands and replied, “I love you mom. You remember it so well. And I am repeating it yet again; I’d definitely get married to the one who presents me the exact vintage style brass musical locket withFur Elise playing in it.”

“Don’t build castles in the air Caro. You can never find a man who’d come flying in a chariot and sweep your feet away by presenting you the locket. First, fall in love with someone. Then tell him about this crazy desire of yours. Make him buy one or let him present it to you on a special occasion. And there is no assurance that that locket would be the exact one which you’d dreamed of. This is the harsh reality my dear girl. You have to find a guy and make him your Mr. Right. Magic happens only in fiction.”

“Oh, chill mom! Well, I’m in the process of finding a guy. Will let you know when I’m done.”

Giggling to herself, Caroline dashed back to her room, jumped on her soft bed and picked up a colorfully decorated scrap book from the bookshelf. As Christmas was around the corner, she’d planned to gift something special for Mathew. Hence, she had collected their precious photographs and pasted it all over the scrap book, clearly mentioning the day and date of each incident. She had also written a short note about each one. She looked at those photographs and smiled to herself.

Oh my God! What’s happening to me? Am I falling in love with him? Or am I already in love with him? Isn’t he supposed to be my best friend forever? Isn’t he supposed to be my 3 AM supporter? Should he mean anything more to me? Should I not be satisfied with his current association with me? By the way, will he ever love me? Will..will he love me despite his condition? He is the one who should be thinking about all these. But it’s vice-versa in my case. Only time can answer.

That night, she slept with confused thoughts.

*****

Christmas Eve meant Santa Claus and Santa Claus meant gifts. Hence, Caroline was eager to know what she’d find under the mistletoe on that serene chill night. Will I meet my Santa at least this year? Will I receive any meaningful gift? Shoving a tendril of her auburn hair, she reached the X-mas tree and found a small gift box wrapped in gold sheet with a red bow on it. She picked it up curiously. On top of it was a label mentioning ‘To my dearest Caroline’. At once, she recognized it as Mathew’s handwriting. Her jaw dropped at that moment as she marveled at the thought of Mathew gifting her on Christmas Eve. She pinched herself to make sure that she wasn’t experiencing one of her queer dreams yet again.

Untying the bow and unwrapping the gold sheet, she proceeded to open the box. Her heart thudded with each passing moment. There were beads of perspiration on her forehead. It was a caramel colored wooden box with a tiny latch on it. She opened it with care. Out fell something on her lap. And the next moment, she could listen to Fur Elise being played. With bulged eyeballs, she picked it up from her lap. And then she screamed. Screamed her lungs out. A joyous scream it was.

“What’s happening Caro?” Her mom came running from the kitchen.

“Mom!!! Thi..this..is ..just..un..unbelievable! Mathew has gifted me my long cherished dream. The vintage style brass musical locket with Fur Elise playing in it!” Caroline’s eyes streamed with tears. Those were tears of joy.

“Wowwww!!! That’s awesome dear. So, you followed my words, right? You fell in love with him, told him about this wish and boom – it is here!”

“Mom, what are you speaking about? I never told Mathew of this crazy wish of mine.” Flabbergasted would have been an understatement to explain Caroline’s then emotions.

“What?! You never told? Which means?”

But Caroline had no time to provide an answer. Wearing her overcoat and boots, she picked up the decorated scrapbook and dashed out to meet Mathew. At last, she realized the karmic connection between them. They were meant to be soul mates. They were destined to be together forever. The answers to her puzzling questions arrived in the form of the locket.

I want him to make the first move. Her own thoughts came back to haunt her.

No! It is I who should make the first move and seal this bond between us. This is it! Why should I wait for him to come down in a chariot, present me the locket and take me away? Let me do that. Let me be the Princess Charming for him.

Magic happens only in fiction. Her mom’s words floated in the chill breeze.

Magic happens in real life too. All you need is to have a belief in miracles. She reassured herself.

Will he love me despite his condition? Yet another of her past thought.

Why not?

She thought to herself and marched towards Mathew’s home. Gently pushing open the door, she called politely, “Mathew!”

Out came a poliomyelitic boy, making his way towards Caroline with the help of his crutches. He beamed and stared hard into her eyes, as if examining her soul.

Holding out the scrapbook, she went down on her knees. “Will you marry me?” That was all she said. A smile as a response from him secured their bond forever.

*********

Hope you enjoyed the love tale!

Love,

Kavya Janani.U

Avanthika & Lucia

Havelock Road was deserted at that time of the night. Lucia knew that it would have no single soul in sight. Ooty was a sleepy town where people retired to their beds at 9.30 PM. She  was the only one walking on the street. Wrapping herself with a jerkin and a shawl, she adjusted the scarf around her entire face, with the exception of her eyes. Those honey-colored eyeballs which her eyes bore were enough to entice any one. Her jet-black curly springs of tendrils were tied into a pony tail. She had no accessories on her as she wasn’t a sucker for ornaments or jewelry. Her saffron tank top paired with a blue jean complemented her bronze skin tone. She just had a black leather purse with her. Nothing else. She did not even have her stylish smartphone which she had used to flaunt to her friends.

As she walked, her eyes wandered hither and thither. She didn’t want to bump into any one, knowingly or accidentally. She wanted to liberate herself from the suffocation she was subjected to, since a year. She craved for her independency. She wanted to embrace serenity with open arms. She wanted her own positive self back, which she had painfully lost. And her timeless cravings & unattainable wishes were the only reason for her sojourn to Ooty. She wished to escape from the bustling polluted city and a ruthless relationship which had led her to do things that she’d have never done. She had suffered in the hands of her so called boyfriend, who gave her nothing but sorrow. His toxicity had spread through her nerves and made her to commit blunders.

She needed peace. Her heart throbbed to wash away her sins. Slowly she made her way to Snowdon Road. Her eyes captured a few hotels and eateries. Entering a 3 star hotel, she booked a room to spend the night. She needed time to think about her next move. A good night’s sleep would do wonders, she thought to herself and plopped down on the cottony soft bed and drifted away to sleep.

*****

Avanthika stayed in a simple yet elegant cottage house in Sheddon Road. Though Ooty was her home town, she had moved to Chennai along with her family to pursue a course in archaeology. She loved her native place and paid frequent visits. Her father had built the cottage as a homestay for tourists. That was years ago. It had been functioning as a tourist’s haven until Avanthika expressed her desire to convert it into a retreat for her. Being a loving dad, Mr.Vaidhyanathan had the cottage renovated according to his daughter’s desires. Since then, she had paid three visits and stayed in the lovely wooden cottage house. But never once she had ventured into her family house which was situated in Lovedale. The house had been locked since their departure to Chennai. Vaidhyanathan was waiting for a good deal to sell the magnificent house. Though Avanthika had visited Lovedale for a reunion with her school friends, she did not even take a look around her family’s precious property. Not even the endearing garden around the house could take the 20 year old to it.

“Akka! Please sweep the steps also. They have been dirtied by the mud from the postman’s shoes,” she requested the cottage maid Kalyani.

“Okay Ma, I will sweep,” came Kalyani’s polite reply.

Seating herself on a swing chair, Avanthika opened the envelope which the postman had given her. It was a letter from her father.

Aiyoooo, I wonder why Appa still writes letters to me. Can’t he send me a message through Facebook or WhatsApp? she thought sulkily.

She rocked the swing back and forth as she read the letter. The stanza after the initial pleasantries startled her. Her father had written about their house in Lovedale.

“Our house in Lovedale has been my pride. Though I haven’t received a good deal to sell it, I earnestly wish that the house would be maintained properly. It has been abandoned for many years. You have paid three earlier visits and you didn’t even think about the house. Please do visit it. Ask Kalyani and Ramayya to clean the entire house. There aren’t many things in it. Just a few furniture in the hall and the living room. I hope you’d be stuck with teenage nostalgia if you visit it. God knows, you might find something that would be useful to you.”

Though Avanthika deeply detested the idea of visiting the old worn-out house, something struck her as a thunderbolt. Immediately she made plans to visit the house in the evening.

“Kalyani Akka, we’re visiting our house in Lovedale today. Appa has requested Ramayya and you to clean the entire house thoroughly. Also, I have to retrieve something from there.” She spoke hastily.

“Ok Ma, we will go. But what is it that you want to retrieve from there?”

“It’s a time capsule which I’d buried when I was a 14 year old.”

“What is a time capsule?” asked Kalyani nonchalantly.

“Never mind. It needs a lot of explanation. Just be there at 4.30 PM.”

“Ok Ma.”

*****

Avanthika never expected to find an Iphone 5S in the place where she’d buried her time capsule. She was awestruck by the sight of it.

“Is this the time capsule which you spoke about Ma?” asked Kalyani innocently.

Avanthika was too dumbfounded to even answer her. She found that the phone had 50% charge and the SIM was intact. She also found a few missed calls and SMSes. Curiosity peeped from her mind and she pressed the Messages icon.

Where are u Lucia? Why aren’t u attending my call?

The work is done Lucia.

Will u pls attend my call?

There were no more messages. It was from a contact named Douglas. The same person had also made the calls. The messages were received the evening before. Avanthika couldn’t believe herself that someone had buried an expensive Iphone in the same place where she’d buried her love letters to her childhood sweetheart Roshan, clippings from newspapers, few photos and a personal diary as a time capsule.

“I don’t know what to do Kalyani Akka. This phone does not belong to me. How did someone bury this in our garden?” Avanthika began ranting.

“Perhaps someone thought it to be no more useful to them,” replied Kalyani.

“No! No one would be so insane to bury an Iphone. I don’t know who is this Douglas and Lucia.”

Avanthika vowed herself to solve the the mystery of the buried Iphone soon. But all hell broke loose when the phone began to ring around 6.30 PM. The display flashed ‘Douglas’. With shivering hands, she attended the call.

“Hello,” she said carefully.

“Where the hell are you Lucia? Why the f**k aren’t you attending my calls since yesterday?”

“I..I..” Avanthika began stammering. Though her mind screamed at her to reveal the truth about the phone, her abundant inquisitiveness prodded her to lead the conversation and know more about the caller.

“Okay listen. I don’t need any of your explanations. There’s lot to be said. I have murdered Robert with a kitchen knife. A series of stabs. That’s it. He was gone. He struggled for a few moments and then breathed his last….”

As Avanthika listened to the horrifying murder confession, she moved towards a table in the hall and brought out a notepad from one of its drawers.

“….I have buried the body in the backyard of my house in Velachery. You know the house, right? I need you here right now, so that we can plan our next moves. The chapter of Robert is closed. The next in the queue is Vishnu.”

The caller ended his speech there. Silence prevailed at the other end. Avanthika’s hands were busy noting down the name of the caller and the place which he’d mentioned.

“Hello? Lucia, are you there? Did you listen to me?”

“Ye..yes Douglas..” Avanthika spoke in a whispery tone.

“Douglas? You’ve never called me like that.”

Avanthika’s heart thudded against her rib cage. “There are police around me,” she continued whispering.

“Police? Did something happen to you? Did you get caught?”

“No. Please end the call now.”

“Okay, I can understand. Meet you at my house then. Bye.”

Avanthika pressed the ‘End Call’ button. Her limbs were shivering and her forehead was covered with sweat beads. She plopped down on a chair beside her and contemplated the event.

Oh my God! This Douglas has murdered someone. Can I believe this? I have just listened to a murder confession from the murderer!!! She thought to herself. But there were many unanswered questions swarming through her mind.

Who is this Douglas? Who is Lucia? Why did she bury her phone in my garden? What is she doing in Ooty when the caller is expecting her in Chennai? Who is Robert? Why was he murdered? Who is Vishnu? Why is he going to be murdered? And why the hell did I find the phone in the place of my memorabilia???

Setting aside the riddle, she decided upon something which would provide her the required answers. “Police!” she exclaimed and dialed the Police Control Room.

*****

The next day, every newspaper in India flashed the headlines “Most wanted assassin Douglas held”. The news article explained how Douglas has been an assassin to a popular gangster named Purushothaman in Chennai. When the latter wanted to kill someone for a particular reason, Douglas was appointed to kill him or her. Lucia was Douglas’ girlfriend. Though she wasn’t involved in any of the murders, she had dated him, despite knowing him to be an assassin. The news further carried that Lucia is absconding presently. Police are on a lookout for her.

Avanthika was elated to the core. There were two reasons for her happiness. The first one was she had helped the police in busting a decade long mystery and the second one was her identity wasn’t revealed to the media and not a word about the buried phone was written. The phone was not anymore useful to the police in finding Lucia. She had abandoned it purposely. But her choice of the burial place gave way to the fact that she was somewhere in Ooty. Avanthika wished that she’d be nabbed soon. And she also felt sorrowful that she couldn’t find her original time capsule which had contained a huge portion of her sweet memories. She had visited the garden once again and digged the place around the button roses. But her time capsule had vanished!

*****

Wherever Lucia went, she could see her posters stuck on the walls with a caption ‘Wanted’. She covered herself completely in a burqa whenever she ventured out. She was staying in the same old inn where she’d booked a room for a single night. Circumstances forced her to stay in the hotel under the identity of ‘Manisha’. She thought she could regain her peace of mind by running away from Douglas. But her world came tumbling down by his arrest and a nationwide search for her. She assumed that a large tip-off might have led to his arrest, but she never suspected her buried phone. And that was the reason which made her to visit Avanthika’s family house in Lovedale once again. To her surprise, the house had undergone renovation and it was painted freshly.

Fear pounded in her heart as she thought about the prospect of her phone being discovered and being the prime reason for Douglas’ arrest and her own dejected state. She looked around to make sure that she wasn’t being spied or followed. Though she had chosen 6.30 AM as the time to visit the house, she still feared that she might be caught red-handed. As she neared the garden, another fear gripped her. She couldn’t remember the exact place where she’d buried the phone.

Oh my god! Where did I bury it? I should retrieve it fast. I am running out of time. Someone might discover me.

And then she found the pink hue of button roses. She began digging the mud slowly. But the phone wasn’t there! She felt petrified. Yet her inner voice told her to move farther and dig. She listened to her heart, moved to the other side of the roses and began digging. Halfway down, her hand hit something hard. She pulled it out with all her strength. Well, it wasn’t her phone. It was a rectangular metal box with a latch. She opened it and rambled through the contents. It contained a leather-bound diary, some letters & photos and a few newspaper clippings.

What the hell are these! Where is my phone?!

Finally, after half-an-hour, she gave up her search. Realization dawned upon her. Her phone had been discovered by someone.

He or she must have attended Douglas’ call and pretended to be me.

She felt betrayed beyond words. She had deceived herself.

Maybe this memorabilia would tell me who the person was.

Picking up the metal box, she stood up and dusted herself. She came to the junction of Lovedale Road and boarded a bus to Coimbatore, intelligently hiding herself behind the burqa.

*****

So it is Avanthika, thought Lucia, as she read the letters that were written by Avanthika to her crush Roshan. Resentment washed over her as images of Avanthika discovering the phone and complaining to the police flashed before her. She was filled with deep vengeance. She read the rest of the letters with gritted teeth. Her displeasure increased in having discovered Avanthika as the one who had ruined her life.

After the hullabaloo concerning my search dies down, I will find this Avanthika and kill her. Lucia’s ‘Douglas-induced’ murderous streak came to the fore. Let me read her personal diary to know more about her.

As she opened the first page of the diary, a photo of the then Avanthika was pasted on it. Walnut skin tone, fish-shaped eyes lined with thick kohl, silky hair tied into two plaits and perfectly aligned jawline were her heavily distinguishable features.

She looks good, but that wouldn’t deviate me from my mission of murdering her. Lucia thought wickedly and continued to read the diary.

As she kept reading through the pages of Avanthika’s life, a mesmerizing emotion ensconced her. She was enchanted by the way in which Avanthika had expressed her views about life. Joys, sorrows, problems, deaths, heartbreaks, successes and failures were wonderfully portrayed by her. Lucia’s anger began to reduce gradually. She lost herself in the maze of words which Avanthika had woven intricately. Her negative thoughts were being torn away by Avanthika’s quotes and advices. She could feel something dying within her. And that something was resentment. The poison which had flowed through her body was eradicated completely within the last line in the diary.

After she closed the diary, droplets of tears fell from her eyes. She couldn’t control her emotions, even though she was seated in a crowded bus.

It has been a long time since I’ve cried. And it feels good now. Thank you Avanthika, for everything. Her thoughts began to fill with goodness for Avanthika who had completely changed her life within the pages of an old diary.

*****

Months later, Lucia joined as an English teacher in a school in the dainty and picturesque hill station of Valparai. Detached from every material thing, she began to live a peaceful life. She carried Avanthika’s diary everywhere she went. She meditated upon it whenever she felt remorseful.

Lucia’s buried Iphone led Avanthika to discover Douglas and end a series of assassinations, while Avanthika’s diary eliminated the toxicity from Lucia’s life and changed her completely. They had helped each other unknown to each other with their mutually beneficial buried time capsules.

**********

P.S: This story is a submission to IndiSpire’s prompt: You dig up a time capsule you buried years ago. Instead of memorabilia, you find a modern phone. It rings…. Complete the story!

Love,

Kavya Janani.U

A world sans Internet

Internet! Yes, you breathe Internet, right? That’s what everyone does nowadays. Internet has become one of the basic needs after food, shelter, clothes, education and money. Life without Internet is unimaginable. You cannot even envision your life without the Broadband connection or mobile data or hotspot or Wi-Fi. You needn’t step out for a bottle of water or milk packet or vegetables or accessories or grocery items. Everything is at your doorstep at the click of a button. Internet has definitely shrunk the world. We depend upon Internet for each and every living second of ours. It influences our thoughts and actions. Well, you wouldn’t be reading this post if Internet wasn’t invented. But what if Internet did not exist? (Immediate reaction of a few people after reading this line would be ‘WTH!!! How can that even be possible?’ or a few might think ‘Has the author of this post lost her mind?’ ;-) ) Well, let me tell you how the world would have been without Internet.

Writing letters, sending telegrams, fax and making phone calls to convey your messages and announcements instead of using emails or instant messengers.
Sending out real wedding invitations to your loved ones instead of e-invites.
Meeting people and talking to them face-to-face, sharing some memorable moments with them in reality.
A trip to the library for your research work (probably it might take years to complete your research).
Using the dictionary to find the meaning of a word.
Making long distance calls to your family members, relatives, friends or loved ones.
Enrolling in an offline hobby or DIY class.
Learning a new language with the help of a guide or a translator.
Finding directions and reading maps to navigate through roads (I bet that you’d lose your way at least once).
Buying books from the bookshop at the corner of your street.
Hanging out with the four or five best pals which you have (instead of spending time with the 500+ friends on your social media).
Reading daily newspapers to know what’s happening in the world.
Listening to songs on the radio and rushing out to buy a notebook and pen to note down the lyrics of a song when it is played once again.
Watching videos of your favorite songs on the TV.
Supermarkets would see a throng of people (applies to shopping malls, fancy stores and stationary shops as well).
Having breakfast or lunch or dinner at the restaurant (oh! how mundane is the process of calling for a waiter, ordering from a menu and then paying the bill).
Sale of cookbooks would increase phenomenally.
Calling your friends to your home and showing the pictures which you clicked on your holiday (instead of letting the world know through Insta).
Playing hopscotch, hide-and-seek, tic-tac-toe, chess, carrom, badminton, kabaddi, football, etc., (in short, all indoor and outdoor games instead of Candy Crush or Clash Of Clans).
A long queue in front of the ticket booking counter in theaters, railway stations and airports.
Writing articles and sending it to newspapers (well, no blog posts).
Narrating your daily activities to your mom, dad and siblings (kidding, right? What about status updates and tweets?)
Paying a visit to the doctor and describing the symptoms to know the exact ailment (no more scary disease suggestions from Google).
Watching the new movie in the theater and getting to know about its plot for the first time.
Reach for the encyclopedia to know about how stuff works (RIP Wikipedia and WikiHow).
Doing research about the best schools or colleges by physically visiting them.
Getting to know about limited political clashes, crimes, weird news, rumors about celebrities and actors (no more overload of negative info, life would be peaceful).
Hop from house to house to sell or exchange your things.
Treasuring the CDs and cassettes of your favorite albums and soundtracks.
Jotting down your thoughts and feelings in a personal diary.
Calling up the hotel or lodge to reserve your room.
Participating in competitions and contests (awww! the ones that take place in venues).
Creating posters, banners and pamphlets to promote and make something go ‘viral’.
Parks and other recreational areas would be congested (no more sitting inside closed walls with the smartphone).
 Go on a physical bride/groom hunting (aha! a big no to fake profiles on matrimonial websites).

Well, I have listed out as many possibilities that came to my mind. Do the above points sound wonderful or scary? Will you be able to live without the Internet? Share your thoughts in the comments section!

 

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

 

Love,

Kavya Janani.U