Teaser of a story from my book "Navarasa by Lotus"

Mutiny

The leaves withered silently as a cool moist breeze brushed
past them. Monsoon had just ended, paving the way to cold
winter nights. People chose to remain at home, wrapping
themselves in blankets. The street dogs stayed away from the
streets howling once in a while, but busy scratching their hinds.
House No. 13, biggest home in the street showed no sign of
occupants. A group gathered silently at the rear of the house as
if not to wake up the house, next to a puddle. Each of them in
the group felt sorry for their neighbors who had been victims of
a calamity. Some of the victims were their relatives.
The chief, eldest and wisest in their society slowly came
in front of the group. Suddenly everyone started to swarm
around their chief to hear him talk about the calamity. The
group had great respect for their chief.
“Respectful Chief, we are all concerned about the recent
deaths. Scores of our neighboring folk have died overnight,
their bodies lying around their loved ones. Some of them were
able to escape and have found refuge with us. Their stories are
horrifying. They say that a pungent gas swept across when
they were asleep suffocating them. As they inhaled the air their
inners burned till they died. We must be the last surviving
society of our kind. We are all here to seek your advice.” The
moderator of the meeting gracefully bowed his head at chief.
The chief spoke slowly but in a bold voice. “My dear
children, with great pain I appear before you to remember our
folks who lost their lives. Many of you who were small enough
to remember, should know that the same had happened to
us as well. Birth and death is a part of nature; so are such
calamities.”

An annoyed voice from the group said, “But chief, What
does the calamity have to do with us drinking! You did predict
such calamities two days ago and asked us to refrain from
drinking. Why? Why do you ask us not to drink? What does it
have to do with the calamities?”
The chief replied, “My dear children, drinking is bad for
your health. Majority of our folks succumb to such calamities;
the rest should not just perish away falling for the habit of
drinking. Drinking is bad for health. I speak for your well
being. Believe me children. Do not drink and Fly.” Hz the
oldest, six-day-old adult requested his fellow mosquitoes.
For the first time in several hours the group had started to
lose their belief in Hz. They clearly suspected that Hz was
hiding something from them. Hz worriedly looked at the
dispersing swarm, his heavy mind struggling to hold back a
secret which he vowed not to reveal for the sake of his kind.
Some members of the group debated on why Hz asked them
to refrain from drinking, some supporting Hz saying that
drinking makes them groggy, lose control over their mind,
and vulnerable to accidents with humans and other kinds. The
others argued that there was a direct link between drinking
and the calamities, which Hz knew but wouldn’t reveal to
them for some reason.
Hz settled near the puddle looking at society’s uncertain
future, the wriggling larvae. Death could strike at any time if
their folks continued drinking…

What is the secret which only Hz knows of but fears that it would one day wipe his clan out? Would his clan ever get to know the real cause of the calamities? How long can Hz protect his society?

“Navarasa by lotus” is published by Leadstart Publishers. Now available on FLIPKART