Story of a weird night

The darned night began on a very bright note. There was a party going on in the MBA building. The ground floor was choc-a-bloc with students, faculty members and freeloaders, hobnobbing with each other, treading on each others toes, generally making a lot of din. I always found myself wanting on such occasions. I really hated shouting while talking and there was so much noise hitting you, music, loud voices, shrieks, hoots that by and by it started getting on my nerves, so after saying some hellos and grabbing a beer bottle, I headed outside in the cold to light up and to soak in the cold. I loved solitude and the sound of crickets and the gentle rustling of leaves was what my heart craved. I am not a loner but every now and then I crave for silence and woe betide me if I can't get it. Anyways while I was outside, just standing outside the main gate, the door cutting off the noise, I spotted another person. It was a girl who was dressed very outlandishly. She was wearing an evening gown and she was looking so pretty walking on the grass, while the moonlight bathed everything in its pale yellowish light. I was transfixed by her, somehow the scene captivated me.  And then suddenly she caught me staring at her and walked towards me. Initially I had assumed she was a student, but when she came closer, I could not place her so I assumed she was a student of Grande Ecole and I felt a mild trepidation. Those students would always speak in French and my French was atrocious. Anyways when she came near me, I called out "Bon Jour" and got a "Good Evening" as a reply. So she could speak English and my life just got easier.
We started talking, she even took one cigarette from me. To all my questions about her, the only things that I could learn was that she was from England and she was a visitor over here. She had absolutely loved the campus, The school had such a beautiful campus that anyone would fall in love with it and she was just roaming around. Then she made a very unusual request. Could we head down to the lake? The lake was some distance away from MBA building, you had to go down the stairs and then you reach a wide expanse of land which had the lake on its north end while the other playing fields surrounded it from the other two ends. And it was getting late too. I had to go back to my room and finish up my assignments. But she was beautiful and it was a full moon night. And for some reason I did not want this moment to end. And despite all my forebodings, I said yes and we headed towards the stairs. Her name was Angela, I could not comprehend the last name and I let it go. We made decent speed and while on the way we discussed some inane matters like weather in this time here and the general environment at the school and I made some remarks about the people and their idiosyncrasies and she laughed at my poor jokes. And so before I knew it, we were near the stairs and then we went down very swiftly. The thing with the stairs was that you could always run down them but when you had to climb up, it almost always knocked the sails off your winds. I always found it very very tiring to climb them but then when you have company, you simply do not care for such things. While going down, Angela made some remarks about the trees as to how they appear to remain same year after year but all the time they change bit by bit so that if you look at a tree after some time, it would change its appearance and probably nature too. I seriously thought that something was wrong with her head and then attributed the same to evening refreshments. The wind was getting stronger now and it was almost a struggle when we finally reached the lake.
The lake appeared very very beautiful. The moonlight all over it gave it a pale look and the wind was making waves which caused the moonlight to break in million small pieces of glass so that it looked like the whole lake had gone yellow. I was so awe struck by it that I did not even notice that Angela had kept moving on and when she called out to me I found her waving at me from near the trees. The lake spread to the north and the forest started after the running tracks. The forest was unkempt and students generally kept away from it. But Angela was almost in the woods now and she turned back and called out to me. I really did not want to go in to the woods, not in the night time. Who knew what kind of creatures roamed in there? But when Angela disappeared amidst the trees, I had to follow her. Chivalry? I don't know, something made me go after her. And so it started, the game of hide and seek, with Angela moving faster and faster and I losing her sight and then regaining it fleetingly and then rushing after her. After some time of such rapid, random walk, I was furious with Angela. I was scared too but the anger  masked the fear. And then I found her standing still near some trees.
I shouted at her to stop being such an idiot and told her that I was heading back to the Expansiel and if she was not following me back, she could go to hell. She did not protest and she did not even talk back. What she did was that she grabbed my left arm and gently pulled me around so that I saw what she was looking at before I came upon her. It was a door, more like a postern, small wood door. Where did this lead? What was going on?
"I have been waiting for this for a long time. Please help me"
And then she touched my forehead with her palm. It was cold, very cold. That's all I can remember. I must have lost consciousness then and there because when I woke up a little later, I was still there, right in front of that wooden door, in the woods and I found myself on the grass with the wind howling all around me. It looked like a storm was coming. I got up and realized that I had a terrible headache. My head throbbed and my eyes saw stars everywhere. After a few moments, I started seeing properly and realized that  I was right outside the door. Where was Angela? I could not see her around me. And then I saw that the wooden door was ajar. It was hidden in such a manner that the wind was not causing it to swing but the door was ajar. Did she go right in? I would not have gone in for it looked foreboding, but it started raining and the water droplets were big and it was cold, very cold. Despite my trepidations, I had to step in through that door.
It was dark inside but quite spacious although it smelled funny, a kind of musty smell from a place which had been locked up and left locked for too long. At first I thought I would throw up due to the stench but the feeling soon passed and I was able to stand in there. It was very dark in side. The dark clouds had hidden the moon and there was no light inside the space. I heard a strange scraping sound from deep recesses and I felt a slow cold terror shooting up my spine. I was petrified, I had never been so afraid whole my life. Where was I? What was there inside? An animal? Wild? Where was Angela? A thunder was rolling up in the heavens and the rain had intensified. I would wait for the rain to ease off and then I would head back. I had no idea of Angela's whereabouts and I did not care any more. What kind of game was this? While I was thinking about it all, the whole experience appeared really to be a waste of time and I was cursing myself to get entangled in this affair, I heard some sound coming from real far away, a kind of repetitive sound, like someone was repeating one thing again and again. Was it Angela? Was she crying for help? I moved a little ahead and stumbled badly.
Stairs!!! Stairs leading down some where. And exactly at this moment, a lighting flash lighted up the sky and in that fleeting moment of luminance, I noticed many things. First that I was not in a cavern or a room. I had seen the sky lighted up in the pink and white psychedelic show. And I saw a winding stairs going down first and then leading up towards surface. And in the next flash I saw something unmoving in the middle of the stairs. Was it Angela? Why was she not moving? She might have been running up and then maybe she met some accident. And so again I moved. I could not see anything at all, I was stumbling across the steps. The steps were broken. Most of them had one or two big stones intact and some of them had nothing at all on them, just the dust. The lightning flashes kept guiding me but most of the time it was just instinct. I groped all the way down and then I realized I was going up, all along the way, stubbing my shoes on stones and at one point of time I really thought I was floating on air. And then I stumbled on something. It was not a stone. It was a body. Angela!!!
Why was she not moving? Did she twist her ankle? I checked her and found that she was alive. She was repeating something very feebly. When I paid attention, I heard "help me". She kept repeating it again and again. It was very dark there and when I tried to make her sit, I felt some jelly like thing on her face. It clung to my palm and started burning it. I tried wiping it on my jeans but it would not come out. When Angela grabbed my hand, I realized that jelly like thing had spread over her too and it must have been very painful for her. She was unable to move and was lying there, breathing with difficulty. I had to help her and the only way out of this mess was up. I tried hauling her on her feet but her legs gave in and she crumpled to the ground which forced me to kneel too. And I felt something stick to my knee, go right through the jeans and sting my skin. That gooey thing was all around us, we were positively ankle deep in it. I tried carrying her in my arms and found that either she had passed out or was in so much pain that no sound came from her. I kept my right foot on the next step and forced myself to go up and somehow, probably because weight was not properly distributed, I put too much weight on the right ankle and twisted it badly. I lurched towards the wall and leaned on it, trying to get back my breath. I felt that something was oozing through my shirt from the wall and it was stinging like hell. I almost felt like I was being burnt alive by some kind of chemical. There was no looking back now. Every step was more painful than the previous one, every breath was a reminder of the pain that my body was suffering. Somehow I kept dragging myself up. The rain had ceased off and I could feel the cool fresh rain laden air on my face and that gave me hope. I could now see the opening ahead, I could now see the end of stairs approaching. After a really really long period of time, I managed to get on the very last step, pushed Angela over the edge and dragged myself up. The pain knocked me down. I kept on gulping air while I lay on my back. The whole world was swimming and there was an awful humming sound in my ears. I closed my eyes and the sound slowly ebbed and then finally went away. I opened my eyes and found that the world had stopped swimming but I could still feel the pain, from my hands, arms, chest, back, legs. I forced myself to look at my hands. They had turned black, like the chemical had burnt my skin to cinders. I was so preoccupied with all this that I did not realize that there was a welcome party for us. There were three person who were helping Angela stand up. The gentleman looked at me and lumbered towards me, smiling with his hands outstretched. There were two ladies with Angela who were all smiling at me. The gentleman took my hand and kept thanking me repeatedly. He helped me on my feet and then asked me to accompany him for a walk down the woods. I had one more fleeting glimpse of Angela leaving with the ladies while the gentleman walked with me the other way. His choice of words were quaint, very old kind of English, which made it very difficult for me to converse with me. He kept a decent pace and he was saying something when my ears suddenly started aching, sort of like what you experience when the plane you are in makes a descent for touch down. The pain was so terrible that I had to close my eyes and after some seconds when the pain was bearable, I opened my eyes and I found that the gentleman was not around. Did he keep walking without looking back at me? I limped that way for some more time and when I came out of the clearing, I found myself right near the lake. I had come back. And then the moon came out of clouds again. In that feeble light, which illuminated the lake once again, I saw that there was no one around. I was all alone there, down by the lake. I checked my hand. They were not black anymore, nor dead. I could still feel the pain though, but it was very less. The lake undulated before me, there was a pale corridor of light right in the middle of it, there was a gentle wind breaking now. All was silent here, everything was at peace here. Did it really happen? Was it all a dream? I thought of going towards that door but when I moved around, I winced in pain. The right ankle was protesting wildly. So instead of heading that way, I limped towards the big stone stairs which will lead me back towards Expansiel. Somehow I climbed those stairs. The pain masked my confusion, gave my thoughts something to focus on, to hold on to so that I was able to make my way to my room. I straight away hit the bed. At around 3 AM, I woke up again and the memories came rushing back in. I could not sleep anymore so I got up and did the assignments. It was good that I was able to do something because I did not really want to think about anything about that weird experience in the woods, right next to the lake. But the memories would not die. In trying to make sense of it all, my mind kept coming out with explanations. My mind can not settle down till the time it has solved a puzzle and this was awfully confusing.
After some days, when the ankle had healed, I went to the same spot and tried to locate the door, which was hidden in the trees. I could not find it. And so it ends. It was a weird night, one without explanations, one with so many unresolved questions. After much agonizing over it, this is my feeble explanation. That I had gone back in time and that Angela was stuck here in this world, she needed help in getting out of the morass which was preventing her from leaving this world, maybe as a punishment, so she needed my help. And that I helped her and led her out of it. And the pain that I suffered in my ears could be due to the time traveling. Does that make any sense at all?I have not yet fully come to terms with it. I am writing this down so that I never forget it. Maybe some day I will be able to make better sense of it all. Till the time I will stick with my explanation.

The Fog 3

The first knock did not evoke any response. Even to Prakash, the sound seemed muffled. He had knocked hard and progressively harder so that after some time he was practically banging on the door. The dog was wailing at the top of its voice and other dogs had joined it too so that there was a huge commotion now. And now someone stirred in the adjoining house.
With some heavy duty cussing, the door opened and someone threw some stones on the dogs who then proceeded to run helter-skelter. But Prakash was completely frozen now. Some of the stones had gone right through him, like his physical body was no longer there. The only thought that kept drumming in his head was that he was dead, that it was a horrible dream. He had often thought of what would happen once someone dies. This was it. He was in the fog which let him look at the physical world but which would not let him interact with its inhabitants. He was dead and he was floating now in this god forsaken fog. But what about the old man? Where was he? He should not have run away. And so Prakash turned back and started on the long way, trying to make sense of the events. Was he dead? Was he caught up in this anomaly in time space continuum? If he were dead, he would not be feeling the pain, right? Or may be the pain signals were something his mind came up with from the dredges, something to hold his sanity? Ohhh ,where was the old fool?
There was a sound up ahead and he saw a young man, about 24-25 of age, stumbling along, trying to find his way home perhaps. Prakash called out to him.
"hey, over here"
The young man was scared, Prakash could make out very easily. He was also hurt, he must have fallen some times, his dress was dirty and torn from some places.
"oh, hi. thank god, i found you. can you please help me? " the man was breathless, a tad relieved too.
Prakash waited. He knew what would play out. 
"It seems I am lost hopelessly" the young man started to speak and then when he looked at Prakash's face, he stopped.
"and where exactly were you when you got lost?" Prakash himself realized that he should not be speaking in this cold manner but he could not help it.
"uhh, this is sesame society, right? I mean, I did not step out, right?"
"I have never heard of that particular society. No, please tell me which city? let us start from there"
"city?" now the young man hesitated. he looked closely at Prakash and must have seen something that spooked him. Prakash could see fear in his eyes. And no wonder, Prakash must be looking odd, clothes torn, dirty, bloodied lips.
"yes please."
"Bhagalpur"
Prakash had never heard of Bhagalpur.
"and in which state?"
Now the young man steadied himself and looked straight in Prakash's eyes.
"what is this going on? is this some kind of joke? I am lost, I am tired, and I want to go home"
"yeah, me too." Prakash said nonchalantly. He was not scared anymore. He was just curious. How did he manage to get in this horrible mess? And more importantly, how could he get out?
"which year is this?" Prakash asked again.
The young man was livid now.
"is, is this, some kind of joke" he stuttered.
Prakash smiled gently.
"no, this is not a joke. don't get angry. that does not help. this is just to make sure that you are in complete possession of your faculties. this is something I need to know. tell me, which year is this?"
Prakash's voice was gentle now, not tired, but more of coaxing now. He had to know where was he exactly.
The young man was not so sure. " this is year 2004, date is January 10"
Even though Prakash had expected something weird, this really took the cake. He had been thrown out of his time and place in this place, so many years back. His heart sank. The old man had been right. Oh, where was he? Then a sudden thought came to his mind. Maybe once you start running towards something, your time and your place changes so that if you met someone right now, you would not be meeting that person again. The old man had said that he had never seen other people again. He was sure that they had died. Maybe they were thrown around so that it was highly improbable that two people would meet again.
The young man suddenly gave a start.
"did you look at it? there is a light over there. I need to go"
Prakash caught hold of his hand which terrified the young man.
"what is your name?"
"let go of my hand."
"come on, your name"
"raj" he was trying very hard to free his hand. Prakash let go of him.
"before you run away from me, you need to listen to me. after that if you want to go, I won't hold you back."
Raj looked like he was about to break in a sprint. But then he stopped, right in his tracks and then took off again, like he was scared of Prakash.
Prakash started running after him, which must have terrified Raj because he increased speed and then went flying headlong on the road.
Prakash did not see him falling. He saw him disappearing in the haze, head first, his feet following him last.
When Prakash reached that point where Raj should have been, he did not see anything.
"That is interesting. So if you fall down, you get thrown in some other point in space-time continuum. If you want to haunt one place, you need to just keep on walking. So, don't fall down. "
He stood there for some time and he was very calm. All his fear had left him and he was now contemplating his next move.
"what can I do to get back to my original time and place. Or is it better that I somehow break open this horrid maze and then pay attention to where and in which time I find myself?"
He was feeling very cold and he saw the light blinking in many directions now. The light was a trap, like that old man had said. He would not repeat that mistake. So, what could he do?
The lights were getting stronger to catch his attention and he kept still, kept thinking, kept rooted at the same place. He had run enough already. There was no point in running like a headless chicken.
The lights were brighter now, coming closer now. Now he could even hear some sounds, like whispers. The fog was getting thinner. He was surprised. What could be happening?
The fog had cleared off the path and was sticking to the leaves and to the branches but it was not strong now. Prakash could even feel that the power of fog was weakening. The light kept getting brighter till it seemed like a ball of white light was coming towards him, inexorably removing any obstacles next to it. And when Prakash looked at it fascinated, the light, so bright and yet so soothing, kept coming for him. And soon, Prakash was bathed in it. All was illuminated. There was no fog anywhere. He stood right in the middle of such bright orb of light that there was nothing to hide. And Prakash did not want to hide anything. He just stood there savoring each moment. It was so peaceful, so soothing, so pleasant. And then there was a voice. There was someone else standing in that orb. Prakash could only see the silhouette. The voice was commanding Prakash to decide. That was what he could understand.
"Decide what?" At this time, thinking was difficult. The light had pervaded him and he was lost in it. He did not want to think, let alone decide. But the voice was adamant.
"Decide now. uhhh, I need to go back? Ok." Suddenly the voice was gone. The light was decreasing in the intensity and Prakash thought he was awakening. Did he really sleep here? The light orb was now the size of a bulb and then it jumped up and got stuck there. It just hung there and after some moments of staring at it, it looked so familiar, Prakash realized that it was the bulb on the towers that he saw on the road in his society. He looked around and he saw that he was right on the path dividing the blocks B1 and B2. The fog was still hanging around, but it did not try to reach out to Prakash anymore. Even against his will, Prakash legs started moving and he kept walking till the time he reached the park where in he took the left and reached his block D1. He walked up the stairs. There was no one around. He realized that he was still carrying the eggs and bread and that his toe was paining. When he finally entered his room, he turned on the lights and looked at his face. There was blood on the lips. His coat was torn. What had just happened? Did he hallucinate all those events? OR did they really happen?
He could not stand now. He sat on his bed and wept. He was not weeping for his safe home coming. He was not even weeping for that old man who was forever stuck in that fog. He was not weeping for all the bruises and cuts on his body. He was weeping because the light of tube light resembled that of that orb in the middle of the fog and he missed the warmth of that light. He missed the peace that came from just being in that light. He knew what decision he had taken. He had decided to come back and he felt that if he would not have come back, he would still be bathed in that light. And that thought broke him. And he wept for his loss.
-------------------------- The End ------------------------------------------

A day in the life of KK

KK would have loved to sleep more but his mother was really angry now and he had no choice but to get up. When his mother would get really angry, her voice would start to shake and that was the clue which KK would never ignore, not after what happened to him the first time he had ignored it. That tremulous voice was the very last straw, he knew, and he better get up and do what she wanted to get done. He hit the shower and got ready for his school.
He was in class IV now and so he had to be more responsible now, like his father would always say.
"Now that you have grown a bit more, you should start taking care of your stuff. How can one boy lose so many pencils? What exactly do you do in the classroom, eh?"
This year KK would try harder. He had lost so many things, some of them had been stolen, some of them had been snatched from him. But he could not snitch on his friends.
Anyways, the school would be a bore. His father accompanied him to the bus stop and he checked AP, AK, TD and they were all sleepy too, bored also, hopeless lot. He looked at his father and found that his face was extra serious now. The moment his father would step out of the home, he would acquire this stupid seriousness on his face, maybe to deter other people from talking to him. Anyways, his father was a softie. KK always hid behind his father when things got ugly. He knew his father would always support him.
When the bus came, KK had to be the first to get in the bus. Ha! Just beat that upstart 5 years old CC. Trying to beat KK in his own game? Not a chance !!!!
Like I said, it was a normal boring day. But then things got interesting. TD and AK were whispering something. These girls !!!! They would always whisper and make plans, only God knows of what. But then there was shriek. It was not exactly a scream, more like the sound that might come of a dog with a severe throat infection. "kriaaaaa" or something like that.
KK had to turn around and check. It was a problem with him. Anytime there was any sound of a problem and KK had to be there to investigate and to satisfy his curiosity. Always !!!
So he turned around, got up on his seat and looked back. AP was as usual trying to ignore everything. He was in Class V now and he really believed that he was more mature and more responsible than others.
"What is in that bag?" KK asked TD. Now TD was a great girl. She could run very hard and she was never weepy about her cuts and bruises. But she had this very quirky sense of humor. Most people simply don't get her.
"A frog"
"A dead frog!!!!" AK squealed.
"is not dead, is very much alive" was TD's response.
Now AP was interested too.
"Kya? you have a frog in your bag!!!!"
KK rolled his eyes. They just kept repeating same thing again and again and called it conversation. God !!!
"Ok. we have established the fact that there is a frog in that bag" KK pompously proclaimed. He loved his voice when he thought he was in charge.
"now why do we have a frog there?"
TD looked straight in his eyes and said "it is a gift for mala madam".
KK lost his voice. Gift my foot, TD had planned something for Mala Madamji. Mala was a new teacher and she was very strict and she was stupid too. She would speak in her nasal voice and she taught Maths to class IV and V. Such an interesting subject was made so oafish, so stupid by her focus on making them memorize everything. KK did not like her but TD actively hated her. TD hated Maths and so hated Maths teacher. And on top of that, having to handle Mala Madamji was too much for her.
KK touched her forehead.
"you ok, right. feeling feverish, eh?" he impersonated his father's most annoying tone. His father would tease him sometimes and then he would use these different tones. It annoyed KK a lot but he was happy to note that it would simply derange his friends. They did not like it a bit.
"stop that" TD thwacked his wrist.
"I am ok"
"someone is not going to be" KK thought.
"but, why do you have frog" AP persisted. He really was a gentle soul, but he would always get caught in these pranks played by his friends and he had to really keep an eye on them. And this frog business was something that alarmed him.
"It is a gift for someone" TD clammed after this little gem.
AP, AK and KK kept asking questions but TD would not respond.
All through the first 2 classes, KK kept wondering. What was TD planning to do? Put that frog in Mala's bag? In her tiffin box?
In the very first break, when he stepped out, he found that there was minor commotion outside TD's class room. He thought may be the deed was done, so he rushed over there and pushed and jostled to get in front, when he saw that Princi was standing over, and then KK began to push and jostle to get to the back of the crowd. Too late.
"Kush, come here".
KK had to step up and he tried to come up with the most distressed looking expression, the kind that he used in front of his parents whenever he would get caught.
"yes ma'am"
"do you know what is going on here?"
"no ma'am". KK wondered on how could Princi ask him these questions. Didn't she see that he had just waddled in.
Now KK looked around and saw TD standing in the corner with books and tiffin boxes spread around her. She was looking very confused. KK marveled at that expression. He would love to do that.
But what happened here?
Then he saw Mala madamji who was in the other corner of the classroom. She was sitting on a desk and she was completely shaken, like she had seen some ghost.
KK's giggle almost escaped him. The sight of Mala madamji, so helpless, so clueless, so scared, was worth all of this.
Princi was looking very stern.
"Come to my room." And she turned towards TD and motioned her too.
The gaping crowd made way for KK and TD as they followed Princi. TP patted KK's back like he had done something grand and TD was still sporting that confused look.
The bell rang and children scampered to their classrooms.
When Princi entered her office, she went straight to her chair. The desk was cluttered. There were files all around, papers and paperweights. There were 2 stained cups, with tea or coffee. The file cabinet was properly congested. Yes, it definitely looked the room of a hassled principal.
"Now, tell me what all you know about this"
KK and TD just stood there. KK waited for TD to begin with some lameduck excuse of a story. But instead, TD started crying softly. KK was aghast. TD crying? Why, she had not even cried when she had fallen right on her face while chasing her brother and her lips were swollen for 2 days.
Through the tears and sobbing, the story came out.
"I don't know, Ma'am" It started with a proclamation of ignorance which was good. But what stumbled afterwards made KK think very hard indeed.
What TD had in her bag was a toy frog. It looked deadly real so she had brought it to school. The idea was not to scare someone or do something stupid. But then Mala madamji found a real frog waiting for her in the desk drawer, which had jumped on her. To her credit, Mala madamji had not shouted but she had gotten deathly sick and had vomited right behind the desk. TD still had the toy frog with her, so it could not be her. But when Mala madamji checked all the bags, she found the real one, alive, very much alive, croaking too, the slimy frog in TD's bag, she had turned out her bag on the floor where TD was left scratching her head as to how her toy frog had suddenly come to life.
" A likely story" said the Princi. " You can display your toy frog right now and I will believe your story and be done with it."
"I can't. The froggie is nowhere to be seen"
Princi coughed at this answer as to imply that she coughed on the answer itself. Very demeaning, KK thought.
And she turned her attention to KK.
"And what were you doing there?"
"Ma'am, but Ma'am, you must have seen me. I was in my class room. I just came there" KK protested his innocence and Princi had to call his class teacher who vouched for him. At this point, Princi let KK go but there was a tinge of regret in her voice and her eyes were like that of a cat whose fish had been snatched from its claws.
KK took a deep breath and left her chamber. What would happen to TD now? Her parents would be called, no doubt. But was TD really speaking the truth?
Only AK had touched the frog and only she knew whether TD was lying or not.
In the second break, KK saw TD in her class room, blissfully eating from her tiffin box. What mental fortitude? KK was knocked over.
When TD saw KK coming over, she looked at him and shook her head 2 times. This was the secret sign. That meant danger was not over. KK swung away from her class door just in time. He saw that Princi was speaking with Mala madamji. A close shave indeed!!!!
AK was not to be found in her classroom. She was not on the stairs. She was not in the lobby. Where was she? While searching for AK, he ran into AP, who was trying to look very sober, like the boy who has just realized that he was older than fools around him. KK came to the point directly
"Oye, AP, have you seen AK?"
Now AP hated someone to call him AP. and that too from someone who was a class junior to him. AP's lips quivered.
"bata na" was how KK exhorted him.
there were some chuckles now. AP was infuriated now. But he spoke slowly like he was expressing anger
"she is over there, in the music room"
"ok, ciao"
KK left AP there with his stupid friends and rushed towards the music room. There AK was talking with some of her friends.
KK barged right in the group and in his breathless voice he asked her
"in the morning, in the bus, when you checked TD's bag"
AK immediately kicked him in the shin and loudly said
"oho, the bag. no I don't have your tiffin box"
KK's brains did a little backflip. What was the problem with her?
Then AK caught KK's hand and said "let us search for it in your bag"
The other girls snickered. Kush's face was flushed with anger now.
 what was she blabbering about?
But the moment they had walked some steps away, AK whispered sharply in KK's ears
"what are you doing? do you want to get in trouble?"
"TD is already in trouble. We need to find her froggie or else she would be fried"
"look, I tell you. that frog was real in her bag. she is just telling a story to get out of the jam"
KK thought about it and then shook his head
"nopes, she does not run away. no, she runs directly in them. and you know what, I believe her story. so tell me, was the frog a toy in her bag"
AK looked hard at KK and then closed her eyes like she was trying to relive that experience. KK really loved that. He also wanted to close his eyes and go back in time. But he could never do that.
After a pause, AK said
" I don't know. I wanted to touch the frog but she wouldn't let me"
"hmmm, so then it is her word against an alive frog which somehow found its way to the drawer"
KK checked his watch. He still had 5 minutes. He needed to go in the classroom where TD was sitting. How could he?
"AK, you need to help me. I need to check TD's classroom"
"What do you want me to do?"
They were walking back to the classrooms when they spotted AP loitering around all alone.
"hey AP, over here" KK shouted.
AK had a smile on her lips when AP presented himself, a bit livid, a bit embarrassed.
"do something, AP" AK said. "KK wants to enter TD's classroom"
AP looked at KK and KK thought there was solid respect in that gaze.
"OK. You go ahead. Princi and Mala madamji are in Princi's chambers"
Hooboy, KK thought and raced towards the classroom. When he entered it, he saw TD standing near her desk and looking vacantly all around her. There were some other children too but KK ignored them.
"Where had you kept your bag in the morning?"
He came straight to the point.
TD looked a little lost.
"bag?"
"oh, come on, we don't have the whole day"
"huh, oh yes of course. it was there, why"
"maybe some one stole your froggie"
"probably yes, but how did he put life in it"
KK hated sarcasm. And that too at this hour, when she was looking at a really long haul.
And then the bell rang. KK started moving towards the door when the bell rang again and then again. What was happening? Students who were going in the classroom were now frozen in the lobby. The bell rang again. And then there was utter chaos. Like a ripple, the crowd started to rumble, first at the very fringes, near the door of Princi, and then the waves kept coming closer, the children running helter skelter, pushing other children out of the way, who were pushing others, when suddenly the exasperated faces of Princi and Mala madamji were seen again, who were rushing through the crowd. Who was this desperado?This fool?
KK stayed put in TD's class for some extra seconds and when he felt that all was well, he stepped out and ran to his class room.
He could not focus on the subject at all. His mind kept racing to the frog suddenly turning alive and to the bell which kept ringing. There was no news of anyone getting caught for the bell mischief.
He had to quieten his mind. He raised his hand for loo break. The teacher had asked the classroom to revise the chapters for test tomorrow and she had no problem with his loo break request. When KK walked to the loo, he kept thinking about the days events. When he reached the stairs, he heard the lab assistant protest something.
" I am telling you madamji. I had that frog in the morning. now it is no longer there"
He was talking to biology teacher who taught grade 7 and above. Who were supposed to go to the lab in the morning? KK recalled it was TD's class IVB. So someone who knew TD was carrying a frog stole one real frog from the lab, placed it the drawer and stole the toy frog from TD's bag. Yes, this made a lot of sense. but who?
When KK was returning back to his classroom, he found that Princi was not on the stairs anymore but the lab assistant kept muttering
"if it was not that frog, where would my frog go on its own?"
Suddenly a thought crossed his mind. KK stopped right in his tracks and went back to the lab assistant.
"sir, did you find a toy frog in place of the frog that is gone missing?"
"arre, how did you know?"
"that explains everything. Please bring it to Principal's room. We were looking for it."
And KK marched straight to the Princi's room. She was checking some paper, when she noticed KK.
"yes, Kush, what can I do for you"
always so formal, so prim, KK thought.
When KK explained the sequence of events and when Princi called lab assistant and viewed the toy froggie, her face became very confused first and then she acquired the expression of someone who was completely sick of what ever she was listening to and just wanted it to end.
"oho, so this is that toy, is it" she picked up the plastic frog from the leg and swung it. Of course, it was dead. What was she expecting it to do? Dance on its head?
"call Tanisha"
When TD came to Princi's room, she immediately recognized her toy.
TD got an earful on why she should not have brought such toys to school but it was nothing in comparison to what she would have got if her parents would have been called to school. So it was cool.
When KK returned to his class, his class teacher made him stand in the corner for some time. And then asked for the reason as to why he was so late coming from the loo break. His class teacher was a softie too. She would never punish any child and all children loved her. When KK explained it all, he realized that every one in the class room was listening to his story intently and there were some oohs an aahs too coming from them which satisfied KK. What was the use of telling story if the audience did not like it?
When the school broke for the day, KK was satisfied. There was the mystery of ringing bells, but that could be taken later on. Right now TD's name was cleared and that was good enough for him.
When he reached his bus, he found TD seated with AP and AK and they were discussing the same thing. Who could it be who did this heinous act?  And who was the one who rang bells in the break?
The mystery of the bell ringer was clarified in another minute. Some of the senior boys were laughing on the back seat and they kept mentioning bell and lab experiment. It turned out that some students of grade 8 were doing an experiment in the lab where in they had to complete the circuit and ring a bell. But 5 of them kept completing circuit together by pressing their buttons and the combined sound seemed like that of school bell. Of course, they were caught very quickly and had been punished. But it had all become part of school lore and they were all very chilled about it.
So, that was it. That did not require KK's involvement but he had the answer to the question and he was satisfied with that turn of events too.
Now to find out who was the master mind behind TD's frameup?
AK said softly
" I have a plan to catch that guy red handed"
And KK groaned. AK's plans were always out of sorts, weird plans which would get them in trouble. But AP and TD were listening so KK also joined in.
"Tomorrow, we bring this toy froggie again"
KK protested
"what do you want? TD will be kicked out of school"
TD was nonchalant about it
"no, princi will be cool about it. don't want to harm anyone"
AP was trying to act mature
"KK is right. this is a sure shot recipe for disaster"
AK dropped a bomb
"this time KK will carry the froggie"
KK was aghast
"no way, no can do"
TD whacked him gently on his back
"oh come on kiddo, take some risks"
KK did not mind the hit but minded the jibe
"who said I run away from risks? but this is foolhardy.princi will knock me down. did you look at her eyes when I got away scot free?"
TD started laughing. KK joined in.
AK was adamant.
"look here, that thief will try once again same trick. we will get him this time"
So, after a lot of hand wringing and protestations the motion was carried and the toy froggie was placed in KK's bag.

---------------------------------
story meandering now, need to rethink.

The Fog 2

Prakash suddenly felt the terror shoot up his guts. What did he mean by this choice thing?
He was in the fog, he could see that. He was lost now. Why did those villagers see right through him? Was he invisible to them? And then the dreaded thought sprang up. Was he dead? No, he can't be dead. He was still feeling cold. He could still see this old strange man standing next to him, inclined against the tree trunk, his body wrapped up in old overcoat, his face hidden in the darkness. He looked all around and all that he could see was the impenetrable sheet of fog, hanging menacingly, not doing anything, just hanging, waiting for him to make his first move. He had done so but he had been thwarted.
The old man was lost in his thoughts. Who was he? And why was he out in this blasted evening?
"Tell me, what is going on?" Prakash tried very hard but was unable to control his trembling voice.
The old man looked at him now and then very slowly repeated :
" You are in the fog. You have to decide on what you want to do."
" I would like to go back to home."
The old man started laughing now. His laughter was cold and sounded hollow and distant. And then he had a fit of cough and so after some time when he could catch his breath, he turned around and put his hands on Prakash's shoulders.
"Home? There is no home for people like us. We are cursed lot. Bound to walk up and down on the face of this earth. Only thing we have for company is this fog, this huge stupid blanket of fog which is all around you. We are fellow travelers. We can see each other, talk to each other but we can't penetrate this fog. We can't go back to our lives."
This made no sense at all to Prakash. He was now alarmed that the old man was not only senile, but was downright crazy. He looked closely at him. The old man's eyes were red and the moment he realized that Prakash was observing him, he deliberately turned his back towards Prakash.
Prakash's head was buzzing now. What did this fool just blabber? That they were fellow travelers? That they could not go across?
But he had tried all that he could. He had walked for so long. He had even found help, he thought, but for some reason, those villagers did not see him.
Suddenly the silence was broken by the rasping voice of the old man.
"Where are you? Can you tell me where are you?"
"I am not sure. I must be still in the society complex."
"hmmm, no you are not in the society complex. What would those villagers be doing in your modern society?"
Prakash was dumbfounded for some time. Not in the society complex. Did he really walk out of the complex, somehow crossing the open stretches of land to reach the village? How could he? Maybe there were no boundary walls. He must have taken a wrong turn, kept walking.
"Is this the shabad village?"
"no, you are not in the shabad village either."
Now the old man turned towards him. His voice was tired now.
"Which year is this?"
"2013"
"no sir, the year is not 2013. Before you think I am some maniac, let me clarify that statement."
Prakash noted that the old man was now speaking very softly, a little bent over like he was addressing a class room.
"You, sir, were caught in the great fog. This fog carries people across time, across place. Is this some kind of anomaly in space time continuum? I don't know. I entered this fog in the year 1998 and since then I have been carried to different eras, to different places. You must be thinking I am crazy. At first I thought so too. I was unable to get out of this fog, this white sheet. I was unable to reach out to many people but I saw so many walking in this fog, trapped by it, in it. Most of these unfortunate souls would give up very quickly, they would wither away and die. They can't bear it at all. Trapped in this fog, they would keep walking till they would get very very tired and then they would die. I have met at least 10 people till this time. You are the 11th. Slowly it started making sense to me. I could figure out that I was stuck with it. If I met some one like you, I would try to explain this to them. 99% of the time they would laugh at me, call me maniac and they would run away like they were scared of me when they should be scared of this fog all around us."
At this point, the old man paused for some seconds. Prakash was now certain that this old man was a maniac and that he must find a way to get rid of him.
"You might be thinking of running away from me" The old man rasped again.
"There was a young girl before you, some 25 years old. She was trapped in the fog in the year 2012 from Faisalabad, Pakistan. Her name was Aiyasha. I had tried so very hard to convince her but she had run away. I never saw her again."
Prakash was now getting impatient. "Maybe what you are saying is correct. Maybe you are wrong. How do we verify your statements? If someone walks up to me and starts rambling on some stupid fog which actually makes you time travel, I would imagine you to be a maniac too."
"Good point. I have a copy of paper with me." He put his hand in his pocket and took out a newspaper.
Prakash was unable to read it. There was not enough light around him. He had to really bring it very close to his eyes when he saw the date. 22 December 1998.But this was not conclusive proof.
"OK. You are carrying a very old paper. But you could have got it from anywhere."
The old man put the newspaper in his pocket and started moving around.
"you want some more proof. ok. Tell me why didn't those villagers respond to you?"
"I have no idea. I have been thinking about it too. Why didn't they?"
"Because all they could see was the fog. All they could hear was the rustling of the wind."
This was getting absurd and boring. Prakash looked around him and then suddenly the fog lifted for a split second. He saw a light flickering when it was again hidden by the fog.
The old man seized his hand.
"Don't. This is the game that it plays with you. It will keep leading you to these places. You would always feel hopeful. But they can't see you. And then you start losing hope. Once you are hopeless, your will to live dies too. And then the fog owns you."
"Leave me alone" Prakash shouted. He was now angry. " Get away from me. You and your stupid fog"
And Prakash started running towards that light. The fog would keep on lifting when the light would get stronger but then the fog would again hide it. Prakash ran at a steady pace. The only sound that he could hear was his footsteps, crushing everything that came in his way when his toe ran right against a jutted stone and he was sent sprawling head first on the dusty path. The impact left him stunned and he lay there motionless while the whole world kept getting whiter, the fog kept entering his lungs. Dread. It was the dread which made him sit again. His toe must have been fractured because it was paining a lot. He got up again and looked around. No sign of the old man. And there was the light again. He was very close to the cottage now. He moved slowly now, cautiously. The experience with the villagers was very strange. And he was extra careful now. Maybe he did not speak properly. Maybe he thought he was speaking but no sound came out his throat. But why would they not see him?
He saw a dog sniffing some garbage and when he came closer, the dog's ears were raised. It looked at him and started wailing. Prakash was certain that the dog could see him and he was mightily pleased. If the dog can see him and respond to his presence, then it was ok. The old man was crazy. He saw a clutch of huts all of them closed now. It must have been late in the night now. People would be sleeping inside now. It was too cold. This must be the "shabad" village. How did he reach here? Don't worry, he will find answers later. He needed to find his way out first. He needed to reach home now. He should have taken his cell phone. He could have called his friends. May be they could have helped.
He reached the very first hut and saw the wooden door locked from inside. The occupants must be sleeping.

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wait for part 3 now :-) :-)

The fog 1

Well, I am back to blogging again after a hiatus of more than a year or so. The truth be told, I did not want to come back, didn't want to yield to the creative urges, didn't want to get out of my depressed state. I was depressed. I was hopelessly mired in regressive, hopeless, stupid thoughts, so much so that at one point of time, I had even planned to quit and to leave this world, leave its people who are so foolish, so small minded, so plastic. Oh, for the love of one truly heeled person, someone with some wit and charm of his/her own, some one with some really bright idea of his/her own. And then I believe the thought simply came to me -- if you can't find any such person, why not become one yourself? Why keep looking to others to step up? Why not move on?
So, back to my own place, where I can safely type in everything that I want to type in :-)
no one to read, to comment, to judge, to criticize. this space is truly my own, to write what I want to write.
And I am going to go back to my original love. I will start writing stories, my own stories.

                                                                     The Fog

When Prakash stepped out of his house to get some milk, he had known how cold it would be outside. It was a very very cold winter evening in Delhi and there was no one on the road. He had just moved to his new apartment. It was on the outskirts of Delhi. He could look at the stretch of fields starting just outside the complex. He had not seen such huge empty space since long. Delhi has been overcrowded, but the Bawana village was still a village and Time has stood still for them.
The first thing that Prakash felt was cold air, and he shivered in his jacket. The second thing he noticed was that a white curtain had filled all spaces. The evening was foggy and the fog had permeated every nook and corner. Those empty stretches of field were now owned by the fog. Stumbling on the road, Prakash turned left to go to the shop located inside the complex. But when he reached it, he realized that the shop was closed. The fog had thickened by now. There was absolutely no sound other than the sound his shoes made on the tarmac. Prakash turned back and kept following the long curving road which he knew took him first towards the canteen, now deserted with the chairs unoccupied, frozen and then towards the back of the building D2, and finally leading him to the main gate. The gate was locked of course, but the side door was still open and the fog was a little less hazy over here, mainly because the space was constrained here. The fog had lost out here, but like a licked enemy, it was waiting for its chance, hanging around. Prakash walked out and saw that the kirana store was open. After buying the milk and eggs and bread, he started back. He could have taken the same way back but it was long and he was feeling very cold now, so he decided to head for the path between D1 and D2 blocks which will lead him to the garden and then a left would have taken him directly to the steps of his B1 block.
He was able to find the path easily. Some 5 steps on it and the main gate was hidden behind a solid wall of white fog. He could not even see the lamp post now. The fog was making it difficult to breathe. The cold air hit his lungs and he doubled up every time he dragged the fog in his lungs. He was blindly stumbling now. The only thought running in his head was to reach the end of the path so that he could reach the garden. He went right into the gentleman who was walking towards him. The fog and the fact that he was concentrating only on the path led to the mishap. His nose must have been hurt because even though it was very cold, he could feel the stinging sensation. The other person was completely knocked out and was now lying on his back. At first Prakash thought the guy had fainted but then a groan escaped him and Prakash gave him hand and made him sit.
"I am so awfully sorry, sir. Was not looking ahead."
"no, young man, it was my mistake." And then the old man groaned again. He must have hurt his hips or something because the moment he tried to stand up, he yelped and his legs caved in again. This time, Prakash hauled him to his feet and even though he was in pain, the old man stood and moved gingerly. Satisfied that he had not broken any bones, he looked at Prakash.
"oho, I think your nose is bleeding."
Prakash touched his nose and felt the warm gooey blood. He had not felt the blood till then, but now he saw it in the pale light under the lamp post, with white curtains all around it, above it.
He took out his hankerchief and pressed it forcibly on the wound and said through it :
"I need to go home now. I will check it there."
"Which block do you live in?"
"B1"
"hmmm, I think you took a wrong turn. for B1, you need to go back and hit the main road"
"no, there is a way from here. from the garden, you take a left"
"I am coming from the this way. This is a dead end".
Prakash was surprised. The old man must have been mistaken. It was true that he had moved in some 2 weeks back, but he had walked on that path. He knew the way.
The old man then looked at his watch.
"sorry but I need to head that way. coming along?"
"no sir, i will go this way only".
"ok, suit yourself. bye"
"bye"
Prakash turned towards the garden and then realized that the lamp posts were not working . The only light that he could see was under this lamp post. The others were either not working or had not been switched on. It was so cold, maybe the person in charge did not move out. He took 2 steps and found himself right in the middle of the fog. The fog was swirling now, enveloping him from all around, sticking to his clothes and leaving behind a tiny layer of water. His jacket was wet now, as was his jeans. He took 3 steps more and suddenly realized that he was blind. He could not see anything now. The fog had hidden the path, had hidden the buildings. He looked back and realized that all he could see was thick white blanket of fog. All around him the fog danced and nothing could be seen through it. For a second, Prakash panicked. Where was the old man now? He could not even hear his footsteps. He realized that when he had gone headlong into him he had not heard him that time too. He put his foot down and the twig crushed under his foot crackled through the fog. There was not even one ripple seen on the foggy curtain though. Why did not he hear that old man walk? He took some more steps and then stopped again. This was rather foolish of him. He was now trembling and he could not just keep on starting and stopping. So he bent his head and started walking on. He counted till 50 steps and then started wondering about the garden wall. He should have reached the wall now. It was not that far away. He was confused now. He took another 50 steps and then realized that he was hopelessly lost. He quit the path and started moving towards what should have a building, either D1 or D2. But he walked for another 100 steps and he realized that instead of building, he had reached a tree, a huge tree. When he trod on its huge roots, which had come to the surface, and stumbled badly against it, he fell right on its thick trunk. The bark was hard and cold and he hurt his knuckles. It was a very big tree, very old tree and it was deathly quiet here. The fog had embraced its each leaf, its each branch and thus it stood, completely hidden by fog. Prakash could not remember such a tree in his 2 weeks of stay. Where was he? He looked around, trying to find some lamp post light but the fog was hiding it all. The wind was getting stronger but the fog was determined too. Everytime, the wind would blow some fog away, some more would rush in and the only thing Prakash saw was white fog all around him.
Standing beside the tree, Prakash tried very hard to stop panicking. He was not a very brave man and this sudden turn of events made him very fearful. He tried to shout but his first two or three tries were more like croaks. "help" he shouted but the voice did not even breach the fog around the tree. He shouted again and again and by sixth time, he was fairly bellowing. "help" the sound would emanate from him and ricochet from the foggy wall and drown the very person who was shouting. When he was out of breath, Prakash noted miserably that his cries had not brought any angel. Heck, it had not brought even a person. No one would want to step out in such weather. He must keep on trying. The thought kept gaining strength in his mind. He must keep on trying. Where can he be? He must still be inside the complex. He was not near any boundary wall. He decided to choose any direction and keep on walking till he found something or someone.
He kept walking in one direction. The twigs and dried leaves kept getting crushed. The noise deafened him. How can no one notice this din? The path kept getting worse. The road was broken here. He was now stumbling from one pot hole to another. He would get pebbles and small stones under his shoes. And then he realized that the road was getting wider, that he was going downhill. He kept walking and then finally saw a light gleam out. The fog could not hide it. He was transfixed by that light. He kept his eye on it. The light would gleam and then get hidden, like the fog was kicking away the light rays from reaching his eyes. But all that it tried, it finally failed. Prakash could finally see some people huddling around fire. He almost started running, lost his balance a couple of times, got scratches on his hand and his legs, but he kept running.
When he finally reached the group. he was almost delirious. They were all huddled together, like they were one being, all of them facing the fire. But when they heard some footsteps, they turned around and found him stumbling towards them, they turned right back towards the fire, completely ignoring him. Prakash did not care. He had been walking for almost an hour and he had finally found some help. He would be home very soon.
"bhaiya, ye B1 block kidhar hoga?"
No one answered. They were all looking at fire. And then Prakash felt something strange about the group. Their faces were mixes of shadows and light falling from the fire. He could not make out any face at all. Like they were there and they were not.
"bhaiya, suno to" He touched the shoulder of one person.
"uff, it is very cold today" was what that person said to his neighbor. His neighbor did not reply back.
Prakash was angry now. How can these uncouth, uneducated villagers ignore him like this?
He pushed harder and his voice grew firmer
"i am talking to you, why don't you listen?"
He shook that man's shoulder. The man was scared now as were others around him. They all looked at Prakash and Prakash saw some very scared faces, not looking at him, but through him, behind him, at the fog.
Someone tugged at Prakash's hand. He turned around and saw the old man. He was smiling tenderly.
"Come with me. I will explain."
Prakash walked with him and when he looked behind, the villagers were all huddled together again.
The more he walked, the thicker the fog grew. It was not between the two travelers. When they had walked for some 5 minutes, Prakash broke his silence.
"what is happening? where am i?"
"You are in the fog, Prakash. You have to choose what would you want to do?"
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more in the next blog :-) :-) :-)