Beyond 'S'

“What are you doing up there??” she said. I was standing up on a short ladder leaning on the long book shelf that I had designed a year ago, searching for a book. “I’m looking for a book”, I said. “Ok, whatever. How come you’re up so early today??” “Early, it’s 10:30” “Oh yeah, considering the fact that you wake up at 2 in the afternoon usually” “People change dear. How come you’re here??” “Your sis asked me to check on you for a couple of days. So I’m here” I got down the ladder, holding a copy of a Gabriel Garcia Marquez classic to experience magic realism of his stories. I sat on the chair, placed opposite to the book shelf, as she stayed right beside it.  “Do you need some breakfast??” she said. “No. But I would love a cup of coffee, if you don’t mind” “I’m here for you; you can ask me anything for the next couple of days” She brought coffee in a few minutes. I placed the book next to me on the handle, bending the corner of the page and took the cup from...

“Welcome Mr. Arjun”, he said. It was a place just like Earth; Blue skies, green trees and oxygen to breathe. “Welcome to Htrae” he said. I looked at him, as my attention on the surrounding decreased. He looked just like me. I was baffled. “Thank you, you look just like me”, I said shocked. “I’m you in this world. I’m your mirror image. But not a billionaire like you to travel into this world”, he said. “What do you mean by ‘not a billionaire’??” I asked him not completely understanding his situation. “I’m still working in the same bank you worked in fifteen years ago” “How’s that possible??” He handed me the newspaper.  I turned the pages; I couldn’t recognize most of them. He took me to a nearby book store. There were books I had never even heard of. “So what do you think happens in our world”, he asked me. “I don’t know. I’m confused right now” “Ok, let me explain. Let’s go out and get some coffee” We went to a coffee shop, which didn’t exist in our world....

The phone rang as I was sleeping. It was around 7:30 in the morning, and it was a bit early as long as my daily schedule was concerned. I didn’t receive it, kept the phone in flight mode and continued sleeping… It was around 9 and I was set to leave to the hospital, when I checked my phone “10 missed calls”, it read. “Oh fuck, I’m in trouble”, I said to myself. I called back to Dr. Sophie. “Hello Sophie, Good morning”, I said in a charming way so that she wouldn’t shout at me. “Where are you?? I’ve been calling you for ages. Come here in fifteen or I’m gonna kick your ass from this hospital. There’s a peculiar case that has arrived. We’ve never seen something like that in medical history”, she said and disconnected the call. “Maybe her boyfriend turned into a donkey”. I said to myself. I drove as fast as I could to the hospital. “Good Morning again, doctor. Did your boyfriend turn into a donkey??” I said. “Ha Ha. Check this report”, she said. “A man cannot smile”, first...

I was sitting in front of our house in Chickmagalore, and I was with my better half sitting on a wooden swing  and we were talking. “Are we running away from our day to day life??” she asks me sounding perplexed. “Why do you think so… this is life, we are living it the way we want to, Life isn’t just going to work, coming back home, watching TV and sleeping and continuing the above process… right, we need to take breaks and live it the way we want to” I replied. “Ok ok, you and your philosophies of life…Mein toh chup hi betungi”, she says. “C’mon, how can we discover new things about each other, if you keep quiet, my dear!!” I wink at her. “Ok, you are trying to say that we retire and settle here forever??” “No, we have chosen jobs where we can’t retire. I’m a writer, you are doctor. I’m just saying we need these breaks, so we can know new things about each other” “Ok, Mr.Rohan we have been married for the past 30 years and you still don’t know things about me… Tum ...

“Dad, what happened next??”  She asked eagerly. Ok ok, wait… last time I told you this story, I stopped right at this point because you wanted to go out and play, and now ten years later, I’m continuing it. “Really, I don’t remember anything”, she said. I added, “Just like your Mom”. So her friends joined her. She just left and went to join them. I wasn’t thinking much about her. I started browsing and watched some episodes of House of Cards. Time went by, it was around 11… when something happened that I didn’t expect. Dr.Priya came and sat write in front of me. “Why aren’t you with your friends??” I asked her. “They all slept, I wasn’t getting any” She said. “You wanna watch a movie? Have you watched 500 Days??” I asked her. “No, is it good??” she asked. “Then let’s watch it, you tell me ‘how’s it’, after watching it, Ok…” and we watched the movie. I love that movie, she also loved it…and she was explaining me, the things she liked in it. She loved that ‘Expect...

I was excited; I was going to make a legendary journey in a train, not just any train… The Navyug Express, from my home town, Mangalore to Jammu Tawi… must be one of the longest journeys by train, with 61 halts covering 3609 km in 68 hours and 20 minutes…. I was excited It was also supposed to be one of the loneliest trains, because less people preferred to travel to Jammu by this means and especially in the A/C sections… I was waiting for the train to leave, when a girl just comes in and sits in the seat, exactly opposite to me… she looks at me and smiles and I smile back… “Hi, I am Dr.Priya”, she says continuing her smile. “I am Darcy”, I say… She suddenly gives me a “What??!!” expression… “Just kidding… the copy of Pride and Prejudice you were holding in your hand as you came in tempted me to say so, I’m Rohan. I’m a writer” “What do you write?” she asks me… “Just about anything , anything that inspires me… this journey is my next project, it might be the journey or ...

I trip on the stairs, and I wake up…, it’s around 2 in the morning and I was dreaming. Mom’s calling my cell, the alarm is ringing…its 6, I go down, get on with the usual processes and trying to recall the dream. I remember bits and pieces of it, and I discuss it with myself, it was Kashmir right, I was attending some marriage and someone was there… forget that its 6:30...you are late… and I get ready, and I leave to college…still thinking. I’m in the bus, listening to the latest bollywood tracks… still discussing about the dream. I reach college, and make my walk towards class… and I go and sit in my usual place… in the middle row. Two classes go by, some parts interesting, and most of them boring. In the recess, we get to know that the next class is cancelled… and I had almost forgotten the dream… Until the group of girls in the first two benches to the left of me were listening eagerly to a story that one of them was telling… “I was in Kashmir walking in the streets with y...