My First Short Story

A New Beginning

In his entire life, he has always stood by one principle - everything happens for our own good. No matter how harshly life treated him he would always come out unscathed, at least in his perception. He would always find a ray of hope even in a mire of deepest troubles. He would say that if something has already happened and despite the fact that it bore ominous results for you, it was no point in blaming others or the circumstances for that quagmire. Even from that calamity, you could always find little-little positive points and in the end you could say that – ‘everything indeed happened for your own good’.

He was perspiring profusely. His was being defeated by his own reasoning. All of a sudden, he wondered that for how long he had been following this stupid dictum. In an instant, he got the answer as well, 52 years! And he remembered vividly how that one 40-minute English period changed his thinking forever. No, not forever! He was then in 4th standard when his English teacher read him a small story. Once upon a time, there was a King. One evening, the King was engrossed in a conversation with his counselor. The counselor, while serving fruits to him, accidentally put a small cut on the King’s right hand index finger. The King was so enraged at his counselor’s impertinence and impropriety that he ordered him to be put behind the bars. Early next morning, the King went for hunting in the jungle. There, while chasing a deer he found himself face to face with a lion instead. As he lay on the ground beset with exhaustion and the mortal fear, the lion calmly circled him twice and went his way without hurting the King. More than being grateful, the King was bewildered at the lion’s generosity in sparing his life. After reaching safely to his palace, the first thing he did was to summon his counselor and asked for an explanation for the extraordinary turn of events. The counselor in his calm disposition replied that the lion certainly would have devoured him to pieces had he hadn’t gotten any cut on his index finger. The lion never wants his prey to be stale. He put an end to his explanation with a divine statement, ‘everything happens for our own good’.

A blaring horn put him back to reality. He had been walking for the last two hours on a lonely highway. He frantically waved his hand at the passing truck and the truck just passed by. It was the third truck in two hours and also the third, which didn’t stop. He was stranded in the middle of nowhere. It was 2 am in the morning and his car had broken down. The events of the last 24 hours had left him totally disillusioned and he had never felt so helpless in his life. He had weathered numerous ups and downs but this was just too much to handle.

At 10 in the morning that day, he got the news that his company was hostilely taken over by the rival firm. Overnight, he had turned from being the majority shareholder to just a petty player in the company politics. He bore the news very calmly but he was disturbed by the fact that his closest aid had betrayed him and probably sold himself to the rival firm. World was full of such dishonest people. This was something he could deal with and which, he has always dealt with. He suddenly realized that he was sixty now. Probably, this news was an indication that he should slow down and give himself the luxury of rest. The time had come for him and his wife to enjoy their old age. He spent the entire day attending meetings and by the end of the day, he had quit his company.

At ten in the night, he received another call. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back. His wife had died. It must have been a while before he put down the receiver and the reality sunk in. His world shattered to pieces. He knew that it was going to happen but he never imagined it to happen so soon. She was suffering from cancer. It was diagnosed only two months ago. Without wasting a minute, he rushed to his car and headed straight to his ancestral home, which was a good 4 hours drive from the city. She had always wanted to spend her last days there. It was a large country home set amidst lush greenery and high mountains, away from the hustle-bustle of the city life. As he was driving madly and as fast as his car would go, her entire life flashed past his eyes. More than that, he realized that this was the first time when he had totally lost his reasoning and was unable to fathom what good could have come out of this train of events. But, more was to come as halfway through the journey, his car broke down. He could not bear it any more and a tear trickled down his face.

Perhaps, this was the best thing that could have happened to him. His solitary walk on a lonely highway gave him enough time to review his life from another perspective. He thought that it was indeed good that his wife had gone forever for she was spared the agony that she would have had to bear because of her ailment. It was also good that he had quit his company for now he could get back to his writing and painting. He had forgotten when was the last time he had held a paint brush in his hand or he had brainstormed just to come up with a good story. After two hours of anguished and at the same time relaxed walking, he sat down against a tree trunk for some rest where in just a blink of an eye, he felt asleep.

It was his profoundest five-hour sleep in a long time. When he woke up in the morning, the day was as beautiful as it ever could be. His mind was as fresh as the morning dew. It just dawned on him that this was also the first morning of the New Year. And he also knew that everything had indeed happened for his good only.


P.S. This is my first short story and by the way, I am not at all impressed with it. I think it is too contemporary. Anyways, since I have written it I have also published it here :o)

Au revoir

The General Evaluator

This evening I compered the Evaluations Section in the local Toastmasters Club i.e. I was the General Evaluator. A club member gave the following compliment.

For someone who didn't have time to prepare & otherwise also - you gave the evaluation session a very creative blend. Trust me it is not easy to give an evaluation session such an interesting touch.

- Vinayana Talwar

I was very happy after reading this. hehe!!

Au revoir

Illusion

She comes in my dreams.
Her halo is indescribable.
Her aura is mystical.
Is she real?
No, b'cos I know
She is just an illusion.

She walks to my bed.
Her walk is majestic.
In my dream, I dream
about our endless walks.
Will those walks ever come?
No, b'cos I know
She is just an illusion.

She whispers in my ears,
Her silky hair caressing my face.
In my dream, I dream
about our incessant prattle.
Will those innocent talks ever come?
No, b'cos I know
She is just an illusion.

She laughs like a child.
Her laughter echoes in my head.
In my dream, I dream
about our infectious laughs.
Will those wonderful moments ever come?
No, b'cos I know
She is just an illusion.

Will she ever come to me?
No, b'cos i know
She is just an illusion.

:-) (-:

My Third Speech

This Tuesday i.e. 13th December, I delivered my third speech at the local Toastmasters Club. It was all about my encounter with the ungrateful dog, with the underlying theme that we should always help the animals and people around us without bothering about the returns. The fact of the matter being that this could & should indeed make us happy. As usual, I end up doing something that becomes the highlight instead of the speech itself. This time, it was the urgency with which the speech was wrapped up!! The speech was supposed to end up anywhere in between 5 and 7 mins with a 30 seconds grace period. Well, I took only 4:56. Following are the comments and suggestions given by the fellow toastmasters.

Humor was the highlight of the speech. Well sequenced and very well delivered. Please try to cut down your pace. All the best for your next project.

- Manu Maudgal

Good start, Humorous. You are confident. Women - Gender thing a little harsh on women. Overall OK. You need to work on your habit of taking your tongue out and touching your lips. Why were you in a hurry? Slow down!

- Pradeep Dutt

Strong and forceful opening. Good use of humor. PACE! "GO SLOW" - (Please). Very good body language. Very good speech - good work. PACE - SLOW, SLOW, SLOW!! You could work on your timing - barely 5 mins!!

- Vidhu Dutt

You were racing along. You need to pause! Great anecdotes - good humor. Your closing was very rushed. I couldn't understand the reason you introduced a "woman's stare" into your speech!

- Deepak Menon

Good word usage of interesting events encountered. Wasn't quite clear about the main point! Seemed to be very confident. Could slow down and pace your speaking into a flowing manner.

- Janet Chawla

Well prepared & well delivered. The basic objective of the speech could have been clearer.

- Arun Pujari

Good use of words - you are a confident speaker - well done. However, you didn't meet one of the objectives of general/specific purpose. Still, you are a confident and spontaneous speaker - good.

- Sachin Gupta

Little short, missed some points. Otherwise, a confident speech.

- Joy Sen

Good topic selection. Good delivery of speech. Learnt a good lesson from your speech.

- Parul

Great fun. Very good delivery. Probably, you could have structured your speech better.

- Prerna Dutt

You could have stated the general & specific purpose of the speech a little clearer. Confident in presentation and good eye contact. The speech had good transition from one example to another and going back to one.

- Arvind Gupta

According to me, there's not only a room but a whole building for improvement :) As they say, there's always a next time.

Au Revoir

First Time

Everything and anything that we do is tagged 'first time' at some point in our lives.

I always used to think that how could anyone have a booze, in a pub, without some company. Well, I myself broke that dogma tonight. This week I have night shift in my office. Normally, one is supposed to reach the office by 8 in the night. As I was about to reach the office, a thought flashed through and what a figment of my imagination that was!! Why can't I go to a pub alone? And for the next five minutes, I kept dilly-dallying with that fancy notion of going there. And!! At the end of those five historic minutes, I was all prepared to pay a visit to 'Pebble Street'. Primarily, going there and having a cocktail or two was not at all enticing to me but going there and sipping a cocktail, all alone, was just too inviting.

Bingo!! and there I went. I made myself comfortable on a typically high pub stool near the bar and facing the entire lounge. I ordered a Kamikaze, which is a cocktail and some exotic sounding icecream. Now, when it comes to having a booze I am very particular. I don't take beer. Neither do I like neat vodka or for that matter whisky. But, I do like cocktails. Apparently, I take cocktails only. The good part is that they indeed taste good unlike usual liquors and they make your head go round in just the right amount..neither too high nor too low and you are always conscious of your surroundings and in complete control of yourself. The bad part is that they are priced unusually high. As a matter of fact, they should be cheaper than the usual drinks. After all, they are just a potpourri of several different spirits, most of which is lime juice or some soft drink!!

Normally, the happy hours end at 8 in the night. I had ordered my drink at 8:15. Even then, the steward was kind enough to ask for the complimentary drink. Bingo! so, I ended up having two glassfuls of Kamikaze. I must have sat there for an hour and after spending Rs 450, did I enjoy? Yes, I certainly did!! Though a company of a friend or two would have made it all the more enjoyable. Anyways, I left the pub at around 9 and dashed straight to the office.

Au revoir

The Ungrateful Dog

In the late evening, I was crossing a road. In the heavy traffic, it was difficult for even a normal human being to get to the other side of the road, let alone a normal and nondescript dog. I had already reached halfway and was waiting for the traffic from the opposite side to ease out before I could make any move. After a minute or so, I looked down indifferently and lo! there was a dog standing beside me.

I like dogs but I have never been so close to any one so that I may be able to predict their behaviour. From the perplexed looks on his face, it was clear that he too was trying to get to the other side. But which one? The one where I had come from or another where I was heading to. And his movements made it impossible to guess just that. First he would turn around and move his head sideways, probably anticipating for the traffic to stop. Next moment, he would change his mind and repeat the sequence of events, but this time facing the opposite side. And the next moment, he would just stare at me. Now, what in earth was going inside that little brain of his. Assuming that his brain size might actually be bigger than the average brain size of a human and the fact that he indeed had an intellectual air about him unlike other stray dogs, I thought that he was probably looking for a companion, who would take him to the other side.

Again, the same question haunted me..but which side? This time I resolved to find just that even if it meant my staying there a little longer. So, I did the same thing that he was doing to me i.e. even I started staring into his face. He did not disappoint me for as soon as I turned my gaze upon his innocent face, he flapped his ears as if to indicate that he was tired of this staring game and it would be better if I just helped him in crossing the road. How rude was that!! Here was a stranger and ofcourse a human being, with his benevolent desire to help another stranger, although a dog and he i.e. the dog was not even acknowledging this. He just wanted to get done with his business. As always, I am very bad at saying 'no'. So, as soon as the traffic cleared I dashed to the other side with the dog behind me. Not only that, he was also ungrateful for my services because after getting safely to the other side he did not even once turned towards me.

Alas! I think he must have been really busy. Anyways, I was happy for I had helped a dog in crossing the road.

Au Revoir