Chapter 3
THE DECISION
The implications of the mistake could have been far worse
than my expectations, because it was an experiment in which I was the subject,
and my subjectivity had led me in Suchitra’s embrace. Yet I rejoiced every
moment of it. My love, my sweetheart was in my embrace. I could smell the scent
in her hair. I could feel the flutter of her heart. I could sense the warmth of
love emanating from her. It was perfect. And, I wanted to live in this present
without worrying too much about the consequences of my action. It was the
happiest moment of my life, the moment which I had awaited a long time.
I had known Suchitra ever since I was nine. I always felt
happy when she was around. She was angelic, cherubic and chirpy; ever-smiling;
ever-chatting. As a kid of 9, her voice
was very sweet; even sweeter than most of the other 9-year-olds at my school.
We used to play and run around sometimes at my house, sometimes at her house.
We were neighbours. We used to chat for hours.
She used to tell me stories about her school, her family, her
neighborhood, anything and everything, and I listened to her rapt with
attention. I used to be hypnotized, because I would not be just listening to
the story, I would be observing her – her expressions, her voice, and the way
she would flick her hair back, when they came in front of her eyes. She had a
charm that no one else seemed to possess. Naturally, I was attracted to her. But then, childhood is fascinating. It is filled with forgetfulness.
So, I could forget those feelings of love, attraction and infatuation, and yet they could be aroused again.
Thus, when we used to be together, I had those feelings. But, when we were not
together I would forget. But, at those moments of separation, for example when
she would go to visit her Granny’s house (in Chandigarh) for a month , I always
felt emptiness in my heart. I would say ‘Goodbye’ with a smile, yet my inside
would scream, ‘Do not go. Please stay. God, please cease the time, so that we
can stay close forever.’
Today, I don’t have to
say all that. Today, I don’t have to remember any of those feelings. Today, the
unexpressed and concealed has been expressed, has been revealed. This day hence
my life changes forever. I have now decided that I will not leave this
universe. All I sought was purpose. All I sought was happiness. Now, I have a
purpose – to live forever with my soul-mate, Suchitra. Fulfilling this purpose
keeps me happy... I am happy. I am content. I am in love.
--*--*--*--
THE DESTRUCTION
In an unknown and unexplored territory, within the depths of
a dense forest, where no human dare pass, the beasts started running wildly here
and there. The birds’ soothing melody changed into a cacophony of chaos. The
winds signaled an approaching storm. The
clouds roared and thundered. And, out of the thin air materialized a machine,
which was not-a-time-machine, which was a paradigm traveler. From the traveler
came out a surprised and excited a look-alike of Mohan. He felt happy, yet
anxious. It seemed that he had been successful in accomplishing a time-travel,
but the landing took place in a time different from his destination-time.
He started walking further to explore the unknown land and
ascertain the time, because the traveler showed an inaccurate time, 25th
February 2011, 1:25pm
As he carefully walked through the thick bushes, he noticed
the chaos in the environment. His initial thought was that his own unusual presence
in the middle of the jungle had created the disturbance. But, that was far from
truth. He started moving towards the direction from where the other beasts and
birds seemed to flee from.
Moments later, he
heard a big thud and the land beneath his feet seemed to shiver. What was it? He
had no idea. Out of curiosity, he kept moving forward. The thuds increased in
frequency and intensity. But now, with each passing moment his curiosity started
to diminish and gave way to fear and panic. And then, he saw through the dense
trees a shadow; a shadow so huge, that it almost hid the sun; and, the shadow
came crashing towards the traveler, and the traveler was crushed beyond the
point of recognition.
What would happen to this-Mohan
now? Will he survive? Will he be able to reach back to his time? Or, will this evil shadow end his story here?
--*--* --*--
THE DATE
“Mohan, what all
places did you visit during your travel?”, asked a cheerful Suchitra.
(…to be continued)
