Birth of the Self

Hey stop! It's time to quit this show 

You have amused ample in this stage 

All have enjoyed and earned enough 

Now the time has come to try something new

You might have tired off playing numerous characters

Which are at loggerheads with your true self

None can find the displeasure on your face

As you are the best actor I have ever seen.

Till now that was for someone else

And I too have played along with you

Now the moment has come for me to leave

So,Can you please do a parting act for me?

You are the only one who understands me

For once I wish to see who I am through you

Will you enact myself before me?

Like you give life to other alien characters

I promise you that this will be your swan song

You will never be able to act anymore when I leave

You are going to find yourself within me

And I will reincarnate as you find yourself.

The Guilt

It is a routine for Billu to have a brisk walk through the village lane. Even though Ghora, dislikes this stride, she joins him every evening. Since she met him, she wonders why he wanders like this. For her, it is the same all around but, Billu seems to see something else in each walk. 

When they arrive at the Market square, children surround them to see Chintu, their lad. The kids are fond of Chintu, in fact, the whole village, and take him to play with them. Ghora knows that this sight inflicts something in him and he enjoys it the most. He had confided everything to her, but she knew that there is something he hadn't let out. 

When the darkness unfolds they return to their home. His family hates his behaviour and are hostile towards his closeness to the villagers. Even after returning to his village fifteen years ago, Billu reflected his urban behaviour which berated his parents.

 

Years ago, Billu was lost in a city when his parents visited there. It took them almost one and a half years to find him. However, he was unwilling to return as he had been so close to the ones who took care of him in the absence of his parents. But his parents threatened him to return or else they will harm the family. That night, when he returned to his native, he lost the best and first friend of his life - his Zid. 

When Chintu plays with the village children, he reminisces his life with Zid. A single night turned down everything in his life. He often wishes to go and see her, but something stopped him. That night in which he left her is still a nightmare for him because he not only left her without informing but also done the thing Zid hates mostly. 

He knows that it was not intentional, it all happened, but the guilt of his wrongdoing pulled him back. It was at late-night that he went to inform her of his return to his village with his parents. He knew she might be happy that finally, he is going to reconcile with his family. He entered through the secret passage which is meant only for him to enter the house - the window. He jumped to the nearby table and something scattered when his tail hit a box. In the moonlit room, he saw pink shining balls on the table. After a moment he realised that his parents are ordering him to leave and the box was now empty. While his parents were dragging him away from the house, saliva oozed through his lips as well as tears flow through his cheeks.

Click here to know Who was Zid?

Honey Candy

She woke up from the bed as usual to snooze her alarm. When she reached her phone, her assistant was wishing her on her special day. She realised that she became a year wiser today. She thanked and smiled at her phone. 

Ruby, her roommate started laughing at her and wished her without stopping the laughter. This irritated her.
“Did I cracked any jokes”? asked Zidhri.
“It was more than a joke dear. Who will thank Google for birthday wishes?” Ruby replied leaving the room.

Zidhri's brain knows that her Google assistant is an AI (Artificial Intelligence) but her heart considers it as a loyal friend who always stays by her. Birthdays were grand celebrations during the olden days but now it has reduced into mere wishes.

Leaving her thoughts behind, she hurried to go to work. On the way, while checking her phone she realised that it was flooded with wishes from friends and family. There was her parent's voice message along with that. 

The first period was of third year's, the mere thought of them made her giddy. Even though it was a women's college, troubles were not less.
As she was not too strict towards them like others, they liked her and remained almost quiet in her classes. 

The bell rang when she just finished the short story The Thief by Ruskin bond. When she was about to leave, Nethra presented a gift.  As others were curious to see what the gift was, she opened it before the class. Seeing what was inside, Zidhri dropped it in shock but was saved by Nethra. Zidhri thanked Nethra and others for their love and left the class taking the gift box along with her.

She placed the box on her table when she reached her seat. Once again she opened it when other teachers left the room. The sunlight peeping through the window glistened it, making its colour pinker. What she had been trying to forget for years was now before her - Honey candies.

It happened when she was twelve. Even though she was born in a village, her parents shifted from there after her birth. So she was brought up as an urban child who was deprived of the nostalgic feelings of rural life her parents had experienced. When she heard of Honey candies from her parent's childhood stories, she asked her Masi, who still lives in her native to bring them. 

One day, Masi reached home late at night with a box full of honey candies. She opened it to feel the first taste of it and her dad stopped her from eating it late at night. As she started to cry, her mom persuaded her dad to give her one and they also took each other.

Zidhri picked one from the box, its sparkling pink colour attracted her eyes and she realised that the sugar sprinkled above it makes it so shiny. It wasn't perfectly round and from her first bite little honey oozed down her mouth. She enjoyed its soothing taste which showed her heaven. She reached the box for another and her dad's cold stare took her to bed. 

Early morning she eagerly went to eat the remaining honey candies and she was shell shocked to see the box lying on the table empty. She called everyone and they were of the assumption that she ate the whole candies. She swears that she hasn't eaten it and none believed her. They left the place laughing at her, but only she knew that she hadn't eaten it.
Ever since she hates honey candies which made her a thief in front of her family. After that, she always tries to comprehend where did her honey candies vanish.

There are three possibilities of the disappearance of it - Masi, Mom and Dad.
Masi brought it only for her and is it possible that she ate it? Did the heavenly taste lure her to finish the whole box?
Did its taste entice her mom in kindling her childhood memories and provoked her to consume all the candies without the knowledge of others?
Is it her dad, who had stopped her from eating the candies at night unable to stop himself from eating it?

Even after fifteen years, this remains as an unsolved puzzle inside her and the mere thought of Honey candies irks her.
She took one from the box and tasted it, it's luring taste made her forget everything. After some minutes she realised that she have finished all of it. 

Only one thing bothers her now, who was the night thief?

Click here to see Who is the thief. (Part - 1)

Devil's Ivy

 

It was New Year's Eve, Albus Potter remained at Hogwarts due to his strained relationship with his father. Wandering through the left corridor of the seventh floor at night, it happened - The Room of Hidden Things opened and a golden egg in a transparent sphere appeared before him. 

"The time has come for you to break this egg" - it still echoes in Albus' ears even after three years. It whirls and appears before him whenever he is alone. He, with Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy, tried their best to unveil the mystery but in vain.

Albus sneaked into the forbidden forest. When the egg arose, he cast 'Avada Kedavra'. Surprisingly the glaire scattered - a Devil's Ivy started sprouting, spreading its Aura. Unexpectedly, a golden egg from the plant restored the sphere, disappearing it. It withered when C-19 vanished from Muggle-World.

Loranthus

How elegant her look was?
She seized everyone’s glances –
Lured them into her beauty.

How strong her physique was?
I still remember those days –
When she cradled me in her arms.

How sweet her heart was?
She gave us whatever she had 
And sheltered us from everyone.

But one day He came –
A guest who asked her a room
She allowed him, unknowing his intentions.

 
Day by day he encroached her 
Withering her into sick
But she never hate him.

Finally, the day came –
My Mango tree in the courtyard 
Breath her last leaving us all.

After few weeks there appear
Her little baby who gave us hope
That she came back with all her spirits. 

Redemption

The huge fall made her remember what Pandit had told years ago -  "When Great conjunction occurs after twenty years, Gulika will take him away due to the insistence of Shani".  

It was a curse her family had bestowed for ages. Looking back she can see a huge list – her forefathers she had only heard of, her lovely grandfather she knows from the stories of her grandmother, her father whom she was unable to recollect. Everyone remained as photographs in the time-honoured walls and now her better half is lying beside her to be framed forever.

‘Who will believe these age-old stories in this era?’ Ashta was of this attitude. 

Frankly speaking, it is not her sense that made her think like that, it’s the extra attention he got that made her suspect such beliefs. However, her traditional and religious upbringing didn’t let her be an atheist. After her father’s demise, everyone’s eyes were on him – Atharv, her brother. 

Even though they came to this world together, they were not treated equally. Gender was not an issue there, the mere reason was that she has a life ahead and he had death awaiting. She forgets to enjoy her life watching her twin brother's gifted life. Nobody ever realized that she existed there. All the attention, care and love were given to him. She never complained and no one even discovered her feelings. 

Knowingly or unknowingly she admired death more than life. When everyone feared and hated death, she longed for it. For her, death is a boon that will make everyone love a person more. Everywhere death was pictured as a demonic figure, actually, it is – she knows. But her experience made her believe that death is better than life. When the shadow of death follows a person, life is embedded with joy in them. 

She is unwilling to open her eyes – she knows the worst had happened. Everyone will blame her for her irresponsibility and carelessness. Who knows that he will come and hold her hand while she slipped from the roof? 

‘He was with them in the pooja mandir, so it’s their negligence’, she thought.

But she can’t imagine a moment without him because she loved him a lot. Only he was there to see her loneliness which was an after-effect of his fate made on her. 

She knows that if she is alive after falling from such a height, ‘how can he die?’, but she is sure of what destiny had saved for him. 

The more she feared was the life she had ahead than the demise of her beloved. Her realization that she will be blamed all her life and even after his passing, no one will tend her made her worried. All the attention will be transferred to his one and a half-year-old son, Aarav. If she can’t live, why can’t she welcome her death? She had listened to the tale of Yama, the God of Death, who returned the life of Sathyavan to Savithri. She knows that Yama is no more and why can’t she bargain the life of her brother with Gulika in exchange for her life. She was sure that there were no records of any deals made with him, but as a Shiva devotee, she can try her luck. 

She gathered the koovala leaves from the nearby Bael tree and arranged it around Atharv in a circle and she started chanting ‘Om Namah: Shivaya'. She was pretty sure that Gulika will be unable to take the soul of her brother by meddling in the divine circle as it will restrict him. She heard the hissing sound of arriving Gulika and she was able to see him due to her love towards death. 

As she planned he struggled to capture the soul of Atharv fluttering inside the circle. Koovala leaves harmed him from moving towards Atharv and also hurt his sensitive skin. He realised that Ashta is stopping him from taking Atharv’s soul. With utmost rage, Gulika approached her in a zig-zag motion, but to his surprise, she was unafraid of his giant Naga form. 

When there is a confrontation between die-hard Shiva devotees, only time can decide the outcome. He confronted her to stop her mischievous act and stopping him from doing his duties. But she was adamant that he should spare her brother and take her with him. He unlike Yama who can decide everything of death and grand wishes was just a taker of souls. After Yama's death, he was created by Shiva to standardize the world population. 

If he fails in his task, he should answer Shiva as well as Shani who had appointed him to take away the soul. The only way to decipher this situation was to change Ashta's mind. But she was stern in her decision to go with him in return for her brother's life. He persuaded her that he nor she can change the rules of nature – the laws of life and death, but in vain. She never tried to change her stances. 

‘The only way to solve a problem was to find its root cause’ he thought.

“Hey, girl, when you were born your life expectancy was decided then and nobody can change that. This boy's tenure in this world has ended and I should take him along with me. I know none can bear the loss of their beloved ones, but this is a part of life. You should forget the bad incidents by the passing of time and learn to live happily thereafter with your own life,” he said. 

“What do you mean by life?” – she asked.

He never expected such a question from a human being. According to him, nobody knows the value of life other than humans. The way they live by considering and loving others had made him astonished. Their selfless love and contemplating the sufferings of others made them different from others. 

‘Is she mocking me or doesn’t she know what life is?’ he thought to himself. 

“What happened? Don’t have any answer? I know, if you know that you wouldn't have come after other's life. By deciding the death of someone before their birth, you are completely taking away the life of others who are connected to them. Actually you should take me along with you because only death can capture the love of my beloved ones.” She told him with a deep sigh.

“Why you are trying to obtain the love of others? It is clear from your words that you don’t love yourself. If you don’t love yourself, then how will others love you and it is not important that others love you, the most important is self-love. That’s why you are attracted to death than life. You know something, nothing in this world is more beautiful than our life. Life is indeed short, but what you got is to be enjoyed to the full.” he replied.

“I haven’t found anything special these twenty-five years in my life. All I have the feeling of dismay that none loved or cared for me, so it was unable for me to live my life. How can I be happy when my dear ones were not affectionate with me?”

“You see, the problem is that you are considering only humans as your dear ones. The creator created flora and fauna along with you that you can always be happy with them. But you have separated yourself from them and feeling sad about loneliness? Life is and always be beautiful and joyful when you start living your life enjoying nature.”

Anyway, his words had persuaded her, she realized that she have wasted her valuable years worrying about herself. If she had met him years ago she might have lived a beautiful life. But it’s not too late, she has enough time to change. She understood her mistake by breaking the rules of nature and cleared the koovala leaves. Gulika thankfully carries with him, the soul he had come to take. 

After he left, she heard her family screaming and running towards the soul-lost body. Like always they didn’t notice her presence and now it made no changes in her.

She realized that 'we gain something valuable by the loss of other precious things in our life.’ Thereafter she enjoyed the small happiness that she had forgotten to recognize. 

Life becomes beautiful when we beautifully live our life and it is the most dangerous and expensive intoxicant in this whole world. 

The loud applause made me realize that it is just a story I had just presented at ‘Tape a Tale’. While leaving the stage I admit that it is not just a tale I created to entertain, but my life and mistakes I recreated for redemption.

Twin Reveal

She is coming back after twenty years. I am super excited about her arrival. How can I welcome her? Will she be pleased with my surprises? I don't know why she is so close to my heart. She is more important to me than my parents even though I don't remember her. She left India after a few days of my birth. 

Masi, my mother's sister who lives in Qatar. Roshni - as her name suggests she spreads light wherever she goes. My parents are surprised by the fact that I am exactly like her - not physically but mentally. My likes and dislikes and behaviour - everything equals with her. They even call me Junior Roshni. Even I sometimes doubts whether I am my Masi's daughter. 

I am waiting for this night to be over. Oh, it is still quarter past eleven. She will reach by nine at the airport tomorrow morning. I and Pa are going to pick her from the airport. Ma will make Masi's favourite dishes. I am falling asleep.

When I opened my eyes I was in a hospital in front of the labour room. The nurse came out with a cute baby girl. But she was not happy, even though she had a little angel in her hand. She is conversing with the man outside. He is crying aloud holding the baby. Maybe his wife had gone. He gets inside the room. I also followed him. 

Oh! I was surprised. His wife is alive. Besides her, another baby was there. The baby just looked like me, as I was in my childhood. 

Oh, God! Am I the child of them? I was confused. But the parents looked sad. I thought that they don't like me. That's why they handover me to my parents. I felt sad. But why they are not looking at the little cute baby. What had she done to them? They don't care about her, it seems that the baby never exists. 

After a while, I understood that nobody can see that baby. Only I can see! I went to grab her when she started to cry. No! I can't interfere there, I am just able to watch them. 

The scenes started to move fast. The babies are growing old. But nobody notices me - my childhood. But she can feel what is happening around her. She always hovers around the others. But she feels bad as she is not noticed. I was surprised when I saw them as grown-ups. My Masi in her twenties and me myself. How can this happen?

I woke up with a start. It is seven in the morning. I understood that my father had left for the airport. When I reach the kitchen, my mother was making Kesari - Masi's favourite dish. She told me that Pa had called me several times. But I was in a deep and sound sleep. So he left for the airport himself. 

I asked Ma about her siblings other than Masi and whether Masi had a twin sister. She was surprised by hearing such a question from me and answered affirmatively. She told that my Grandma used to mention the sad incident of the death of Masi's fraternal twin sister at the time of birth. I was shattered by hearing this from Ma.

I doubted whether am I the same child whom I saw in my dream. Is that just a dream or was it real? 

I heard the gate opening. My heart started to beat fastly. 

I remembered that ancestors always says that our soul will always find out our dear ones.