The Christmas Gift

The house of Smiths was in a lacklustre state and it was just three days more for Christmas. Eleven year old Peter awaited his widowed father, James, at the entrance of house for which rent was due for two months. They were about to get thrown out if the due extended for one month more and James was busy arranging for money from known sources through the small electronic service store he ran.

Times were dull at the store as more people opted for newer devices rather than repairing the old ones. Christmas was just as poor as the store he ran. Trees, lights, fittings, and various other decorations were a luxury he could not provide for his son and the sole star that hung at the doorstep was a year old.

The long wish-list of Peter was flushed down the sewers with the hopes of any prosperous deals that usually came in James way at the beginning of the festive season. Walking home, James stood at the entrance of the apartments before proceeding to face his son and his unfulfilled dreams. The grief of cheating his son was greater than the fear of being evacuated from the house. He was on the brink of filing insolvency petition.

“What have you got for me Papa?” asked Peter with pleading eyes which sent James into the crevasses. His hands turned cold beneath the poor-knit gloves.

“Well… I…”

“Dad! Not again. It’s already Christmas and we have not even bought the Christmas tree.”

“I’ll be sure to get you one tomorrow, darling. I’m too tired today. Please forgive me.”

“That’s fine dad. What’s for dinner?” Peter came forward and hugged his dad lovingly forgiving his misdeeds.

Two days passed in a jiffy and James managed to pacify his son on both days. The eve of Christmas arrived and the cries of Peter grew with the merriment of the world. James assured Peter that he would get gifts from Santa Claus and this was the only thing that brought cheer to the face of the kid.

“What will Santa bring daddy?”

“It’s something only he knows.”

 “Will he get the toys that I asked for him?”

“Listen Peter. Santa doesn’t give you what you want. He gives you what you need.”

“Can I see Santa Claus tonight dad?”

“No Peter. It’s already late. Go to sleep. He won’t come if you stay awake.”

“Fine then. Good night dad.”

“Good night Peter.”

“Dad! Leave the door open.”

“Yeah. I will. I always do.”

The next morning Peter woke up to the next morning only find that there was nothing in stores for him. Feeling dejected he ran back into his room with wet eyes and tears flowed down his cheeks. The ocean which formed at the bottom from his tears grew with every passing minute. James came in with drooping eyes. After having a drink with his friend the previous night, he had gone to sleep late after midnight. Hearing the sobs of his son he ran and sat next to the small figure from which tears kept running down.

“Peter. Don’t… Don’t cry.”

“Dad. Santa has not come.” He spoke loud with wide open mouth and tear shedding eyes.

“No Peter. He did come.”

“No he didn’t. There is no present.”

 “It’s all because of you. It’s because we didn’t get any decorations. Because we didn’t get the Christmas tree. We didn’t even hang the socks for him to put the gift in.”

“Peter, he has given you gifts.”

“No he didn’t. I won’t speak with you. I don’t want to see you.”

“Peter. Come on. Listen to me. He has given you gifts. I will tell you what it is.”

“No you are lying.”

“No I am not. Have I ever lied to you?”

“Yes. You did not get me anything. You said that you will buy me presents and you didn’t buy me anything.”

“Well. That is different. Okay can you tell me another instance I have lied to you. Don’t you want your presents?”

“I want them.”

“Then stop crying. Then you won’t get any gift the next Christmas. Santa Claus doesn’t like children who cry.”

With some final sobs, Peter’s red eyes stopped shedding tears and he hung close to his father. His arms ran around James, who pulled him closer.

“Where are the presents?”

“You are having them.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. This time Santa has given you not one but three gifts.”

“Like Jesus who got three gifts from the kings.”

“Three. Okay. Yeah. Sort off.”

“What are they?”

“The first one is your life. You have your life in your hands. You can win the world over with your life. You have your whole life ahead of you and you can develop into a great man. Someone who can make an impact across the globe. The life is budding and you can shape in a great way. In a way that can change the world for the better.”

“Then?”

“The second present is the heart. You have a good heart Peter. You are good at heart and that is something that can take you to great heights. Santa has given you this, to achieve what others couldn’t”

“What is the third one?”

“Third. The present.”

“Yes. What is the present?”

“Oh! No. Not that present. The present. The now. You have a lot of things to achieve. In your ambitions you should not forget to enjoy your life. On your road to success, you have to enjoy the journey.”

“Dad. I’m not able to understand what you are saying.”

“Not even a small bit?”

“Well. I do understand most of it but just that… I don’t know. It just makes me wonder. Am I the only one who has these gifts?”

With a smile, James hugged his child harder, hoping that the tides change with the change in the year.

---The End---

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A Seeker's Creation

The Perfect Plan

 The sun beamed at the stage set for the party campaigning at the district for the elections which were round the corner

“Why is Ram so tensed today?”

“He is the one in-charge of today’s campaigning and this is the last place of campaign. The party’s future in the coming elections doesn’t seem well. So everything could be blamed on him. His head is at stake.” Replied the Senior Editor to his newly-appointed assistant’s question.

“Then do you think that there would be something up their sleeves for this is the final place of campaign for the party before the elections.”

“You mean like a master-stroke. It only happens in cinemas. Usually these things will be a big drab. Some usual swearing against the opposite parties and then brags about themselves and finally distribution of money or liquor or whatever, depending upon the remaining never-ending election funds.”

“Then why are we here?”

A person came from behind and patted the Senior Editor’s back, pulling a chair close-by near them and taking his seat.

“This is Mr Aravind. He is the reason for our visit here.”

“Hello.”

“Hello Sir”

“He is the Party’s PR head. He says that the party leader, Krishna, has something planned for this final speech. That is why we have come here. It may be important.”

“What is it about?” the two of them turned towards Aravind with a blank look on their faces.

“We don’t know. Ram is the one who believes in it. He is the only person with whom the leader has spoken in the past week and he claims that the Leader has insisted that we make some special arrangements for this day. We don’t know what it is. Ram doesn’t know what it is. Our Leader must have stumbled upon something big enough to turn tables for us. That is what we all believe. It’s going to be an important day.”

Ram smiled at Aravind for a second, who returned it, then turned his head to the opposite of the stage and looked hard at the building which was in ruins.

Jai and Dev came into their room with two black bags hanged on their shoulders. They unpacked the items and began setting up the devices.

“How long will it take?”

“How am I supposed to know, Dev?”

“Then when do we start working?”

“Well let’s get prepared and set up our devices. We shall begin our work once we get the signal. We have to be patient. Get ready.”

“In short, it could take aeons for completing our work.”

Pilot cars came into the ground splitting the sea of people into two on both ends of the road and immediately Ram’s face brightened. What followed was the envoy of the opposition leader and taking a circle around the ground his car came right in front of the red carpet and halted. Ram rushed forward to open the door for his beloved Leader. Krishna got down from the car and tumults rose from the crowd and everyone was waving their hands at him and Krishna returned his love for hem by waving back at them. By this time the cameras had started running, reporters had opened their notepads, laptops and I-pads and were eager to capture what would be said, photographers clicked their way through their own crowd around Krishna for a better snap at him and other leaders, seated at the stage, either came down to receive their Party’s leader or they stood up to show respect towards his arrival while the person on the microphone stopped his speech for the settlement of the crowd.

“Mine is all set, Jai. What else do you want me to do?”

“Focus.”

“Anything else?”

“Focus.” Replied Jai as he was still fixing his device on the stand trying to focus on his work by fobbing off the interruptions from his companion whom he had to pick up for his own safety.

Several members of the party had taken turns at the mike and only Krishna and Ram were left for giving speech and it was already decided that Ram would take the conclusion and thanking part of the meeting. Krishna, a man not more than sixty-five with grey groomed hair and no other facial hair, came up in front of the mike and again the tumults began from the crowd and one could only hear the whistles and shouts of the crowd. Krishna raised his hand asking the supporters to calm down and was obeyed and he started his speech. Not more than five minutes later, Ram came up to Krishna and whispered something in his ears. Krishna acknowledged the statement and continued the speech again.

“The signal’s here. Wait for me to go. Wait for my instructions after that.”

“Okay.”

Jai looked through the lens and found the Leader standing at the podium, waiting for him to do his work. With a deep breath held back, Jai pulled the trigger and the bullet soared through the air. Krishna’s head was run through by the silver bullet, came out through the other end of his head and was lost.

Ram turned to the building opposite to him and made some signal for his men to search the place. People began to run hither-tither and there was a big commotion which by itself trampled some of the men, who had fallen on the ground.

Some men were visible through the broken window of the rooms. They were ready for this and were waiting for the chance to grasp the culprit in action.

“What do you see?”

“There are some men inside the room.”

“How many?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe four. Could be more.”

“Great. Did you bring my phone?”

“It’s in the bag.”

“Get to your position. Now.”

Blood was flowing out of the hole on Krishna’s head and Ram sat near his leader wailing out loud of the most unfortunate event that took place on such an eventful day. Some more time and the ruling party would have been nailed by the Leader’s speech for he had come to know of a secret about the Ruling party which he had wanted to reveal directly to the public. Now the secret has died with him. An ascending sound of a cell phone was heard at the stage and Ram reached for his vibrating pocket to take out his phone.

Caller: Private.

“Hello?”

“It’s me.”

“Are you safe?”

“Yes. Didn’t expect it right.”

“What do you mean?”

“I saw men barging into the room which I showed you as the place where I would be carrying out my operation. How did they come? Surely you should have given out my place.”

“What do you mean? I didn’t send anyone there.”

“Then how did they come?”

“Someone must have seen the gun fire. Yes. That’s it. Someone must have seen the gun fire when you shot and they came searching.”

“Didn’t you read me? I wasn’t there. At the place where I told you, I would be. I am somewhere else. You turned against me. I always had doubts about you. The first time I met you. I knew you were wrong. You were evil. You would do anything for yourself. Just like planning to kill your Leader. Now you have reached the end of your fate. Any last wishes?”

“No. No. Leave me alone. I will get you.”

“You won’t have the time.”

“Come on. Don’t do this.”

“Why not?”

“Please I beg you.”

“Dirty politicians are as good as rotten apples. Good bye.”

Jai signalled Dev to carry out his work. A small bang and in a second Ram fell on the stage beside his Leader with his phone near his head and the call running. More bloodshed.

“Why did you kill your employer?” asked the apprentice to Jai.

“Else he would have come after us. I was a liability. If I get caught, he gets caught. That’s why he sent men to kill me at that room.”

“But isn’t this a waste for us?”

“How is that? We were employed to kill one person. We have received our money in full. Now all that remains is our lives. What happens to our employer is not our problem. Whether we kill them or they themselves commit suicide, it doesn’t bother us.”

“Seems like some people have seen the firing from here.”

“Pack up. Let’s get going.”

---The End---

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A Seeker's Creation

The First Fight

The First Fight

The table was set. She had come early citing the special day. She knew of the plans to dine out and it was the reason she had come early from office. Rahul took Tanya out in his car, not two years old, and was contemplating the incidents that were to take place at the restaurant which could send ripples all through his life. He knew the result of his action but still it was the human nature that made him nervous and he struggled to keep cool. This was unnoticed by his partner, Tanya, even after they reached the destination. The starters went in and then the main course. When the desserts came in she found a ring. Ring of diamond, topping her ice cream. She looked at it in bewilderment. Before she knew what it was she found Rahul on his knees beside her. Arms wide apart. Music played at the restaurant. “You are my Lady.” Freddie Jackson had done a great job. He mouthed the words. “Just want to show. My feelings for you.”

Tears filled her eyes and she made no effort to hold them back. The furious nod of her head signalling her accent sank in far sooner than what Rahul usual takes. He signaled for the music to change. The music changed. “Nobody wanna see us together, Money don’t matter…” Akon’s song continued as Rahul took Tanya in his hands.

That was six months ago. They have been in relationship for over four years and he had done the most ridiculous acts to make her fall for him. They were from the same college and she is a year younger than him. After college, they both took up jobs in the same city. After the appeal by Rahul to marry at the restaurant, they contemplated their marriage and had fought for the consent of their parent and won the battle. Marriage was the best time of his life and the period that had followed were his best. The happiest. But now it all has turned into a dream. It is not what one could want. Or think. He is wondering what it was. Where he has gone wrong? His hands ache. They are tied up above his head to the ceiling fan which is loosened and any effort from him may lead to the fall of the fan on his head. He wakes up from his dream of the past. Sharp knife runs through his back. The cut runs through his shoulder and blood pours from the long wound. His shouts are incomplete for his mouth is wrapped. Tied by a piece of cloth. It is used for cleaning his bike. He had brought it up for cleaning. It is in his mouth, muffling his sounds, unclean and yet to be washed. Tears run down. Like rivers. From the mountains. From his eyes. They fall into the blood pool in front of him. It was formed from the wounds he had received early in the morning. The Saturday.

The day had begun as a usual Saturday. They had made love in morning and were on the bed till eleven in the morning. She received a phone call.

“Rahul. I have to go out. It’s urgent. Bye.” She said as she started dressing up.

“Where? What happened? Shall I come with you?”

“Nothing. It’s urgent. But nothing to worry about. Don’t worry. Okay. Order something for lunch and don’t wait for me. I may join you for dinner. I can’t be sure.”

“Then I will go out for lunch. At some restaurant. If you want you can join in. For lunch. I’ll cook something for dinner.”

“No. I won’t be joining you for lunch. I will tell you about dinner later.” She said with a stern face and was already wearing her heels and was ready to go in her party-wears.

The gloss of her dress suggested that it was a planned meeting and she had failed to update him of her program. He felt sad. He wanted to be with her. He was relishing the memories of her, in the bed with him. An idea spun from nowhere into his curious mind and he decided to follow her. It was not that he doubted her fidelity. It was for the sheer excitement. He was an excitement freak and had done many things for sheer excitement as far as jumping from the first floor. He put on some shady clothes and started behind her.

It was hard for him. Hard to digest what he saw. She was with a person at the restaurant. Her colleague. She could have informed him. Was she cheating him? His mind knew no bounds to imagine the worst. He returned home and awaited her return. The door opened. Her dress was crumbled. Her ears were unusually red. Her face too was had a shade of red to it.

“What was it?”

“What?”

“Where did you go? What happened?”

“Oh that. My friend. She. She had some problem. It’s some personal thing. It’s over now.”

“Is it too personal to keep me in the dark about what happened?”

“It’s her personal. Some women problems. Not for your ears.” She came close to his ears and said the sentence with a slight tinge of seduction. He was not aroused. His rage rose.

“Who was he?”

“Who?”

“Him. The one with whom you were having lunch with.”

“What are you saying? I’m not able to understand.”

“Don’t play dumb. I followed you. Who is he?”

“You followed me? You doubt me? You thought that I was cheating on you.”

“No. I followed you for fun. But that has nothing to do with this. Answer me first.”

The voices rose and it was evident that both were far away from being cool and their hot heads were too easily visible.

“What do you mean? You didn’t doubt me. I mean. Look at you. You are suspicious.”

“Answer my question first. I don’t doubt you. I didn’t doubt you.”

“You didn’t or you don’t? Be clear.”

“I didn’t doubt you until I saw you with someone else. Until you lied that you went to meet your friend. A woman. How can you lie to me? And what was that? Women problems. Is that the best that you can come up with? I didn’t expect this from you. You have deceived me.”

“No didn’t. It was her lover. The person with whom I was chatting at the hotel. She was in some problem and I went to see her. She was at the hotel. Then I went on to chat with him. That was what had happened. Yeah. You are so cheap and mean. Insensitive. I never thought you were like this. You are a cheater. You doubted me, followed me and now suspect me and my fidelity. Is that all? Or have you got some pictures as well? Maybe you sent out some sleuths behind me? Now why isn’t that possible?”

“That was it?”

“What do you expect?” she yelled at the top of her voice which echoed back to the house at third floor of the apartments. Rahul had backed off. His guilt was visible in his voice and he made a shameful face. His face signaled his defeat in the argument. Tanya had stormed to victory. The day passed with no more conversation between them. Rahul tried to make amends but Tanya switched rooms whenever he tried to approach her. It was late by night when he apologized for his mistake and she forgave him and continued with her work. They slept together and she turned away from him while he put his arms around her and slept. It was their first fight since their meeting. They had not had the slightest quarrel in this many years and this was something which came up unnecessarily. Her anger was justified from his point of view for he would have done the same to her if she had suspected him.

His fingers are cold. The blood was now flowing from the place where his finger, which is now in front of him, was. Blood drips from the hands onto his head and they come down his face and fall on his foot. The wounds on his back by themselves are painful. But this severed finger of his instills fear in him. It is his fear of death that is subservient to the fear of pain. Fear of pain is by far the most terrible fear of all. It is far greater than any fear including the fear of death. Most of the people fear death not because of their non-existence after it but because of the pain that one has to go through before dying. This is what is hitting him. His feet trembles in fear. The shakes of his legs soon give way of jitters of jaws. Unable to open his eyes he uses his ears to hear what is happening around. Soon some fingers run around his chest and a body come closer to him. The figure runs its fingers over his body and it comes even closer reducing the distance to nil between them. Soon the lips take action and are run over his shoulders. Seduction. He is being seduced in such at such a state. The blood running over his face is rubbed off by the lips. He understands whose antics these are. He has heard it all. His mouth is still sealed and his eyes closed for wishes not to see anything and believe what is happening.

He woke up at midnight and found Tanya missing beside him. He got up to search for her and found her in the most awkward way. She was in her black bikinis.

“I will come. Go on.” She said and signaled him the way towards bedroom. No sooner did he turn around, he felt something hit his head hard from behind and the next thing he knew was that his hands were held above his head and he was standing at the bedroom of his home. His hands were tied to the fan above his head. His mouth was sealed with some cloth which he was unable to see. His legs were a little off the floor. 

He searched to see who it was who did this to him and his wife appeared from the kitchen in a red robe.

“Hey darling. Seems you are a little off the ground.”

Rahul turned around to see she had brought in some accomplice with her. She was speaking with someone at the restaurant.

“Oh don’t worry darling, there is no one but us here. It’s our time now. So, how does it feel with your hands caught above?”

Rahul looked puzzled at her odd words and new, modern looks. She had transformed from a homely woman to a ravishing and rude beauty. A seductress. This was new to him. He knew not this side of his wife. She had a frantic look on her face. It was scary.

“Do you know why you are here? I mean, like this? It’s because of you. All you guys are the same. You want to keep women below your feet. You want them down. Have you thought what is it that made you all so great for women to be subordinate? Why should we serve you? You guys are disgusting.”

“I am going to teach you a lesson. A lesson for all men. For men to be respectful towards women. Women who serve them. You should be obliged. You should be at our feet for all that we do. I have been sending out messages to the world but no one ever seems to listen. I want you be the best message for them. You will be the best of all. You. My only husband.” She let out devilish laughter.

“I am going to amputate you. Hurt you. So hard that it conveys all the pains that women face in every country. It will be the ultimate message to the world. To stop their atrocities against women. You will be the message. Get ready. It’s going to be a fun night ahead.”

It was two when this had happened. Now it is three. The dawn is here. Some more time and then the sun would be up. Someone would come to his rescue. Someone to save him. Someone to stop his wife. The beast. He opens his eyes and sees little. He reopens the eyes after some flickers and finds his wife having a cutter blade in her hand with which she has injured him.

“What is it baby? Are you feeling the pain? Shall I treat your wound?”

He stares hard at her and tears start running from his eyes again. He sniffs and then shakes his head and drops of blood scatter all around him.

“Tears. They are such powerful weapons. Isn't it the weapon of women? We women use tears to change the minds of men. We use them to make you feel guilty. Weren’t these the statements made by you men? Now you are crying. We cry when we are hurt. And so do you. Now where the fuck do you see the difference between the fucking genders?” the modulations in her voice were terrifying for Rahul and he trembled even more. He tried to stop his tears but ended up making it worse and waterfalls were unleashed.

“It all started with my step-dad. He was very kind and loving towards my mother. She adored him. She abandoned my father for him. I remember him. My father. The son of a bitch. He used to beat my mom around like hell. She had scars on every part of her body. It was not long until my mom found her boss attractive. He too had an unusual attraction towards her. She wanted to get away from the hell we were on. She wanted to make my life better. I wasn’t spared by my dad. He hit me alright.”

“I don’t know when but she got hooked up with this boss. She took me along with her. My father did not know that we were about to run away. He needn’t know. All was well. Until I attained. Yes. It was after a year that I attained it. He changed. He wanted me. He was obsessed with both of us. When my mom was not available I was the one who satisfied him. He made me do it. He forced me.  I wanted to leave. But I couldn’t. My mom was caught between it. She found out the truth. It was not a matter of time until I was admitted to a residential girls’ school. It was a heaven. But it did not last forever. I had to return for the summer vacation and he put his ugly paws on me. I did not want it. I couldn’t control myself. I wanted to kill him. The next time I opened my eyes he was holding his head and his eyes were darted up. I couldn’t find his eyeballs. I went to check on him. His pulse was not there. I soon realized that I held a vase in my hand. It was a metal vase. It was evident.”

“My mother took the blame and she was put to death. I did not stop. I wanted revenge. Revenge for the death of my mother. For the suffering we had gone through. I went on to woo men. Every one of them had some complex. They wanted to over-power me. The woman kind. I hated this. The previous men I knew were like them. I did not hesitate. I killed each and every one of them. I escaped. I was missing at every incident. I had the perfect alibi. No one knew me. I killed each one. But you. You were not like others. You were different. You were happy to be with me and never hurt my ego. Never tempted me. Never hurt me. But then. Today. Or more appropriately yesterday, you changed. You became those wolves. You tried to suppress me. Do you know? I was always two timing. I always had more than one boy behind me. All of them are dead. The police found it hard to solve the case and they put them behind. Many innocents were put behind bars. I enjoy this. I enjoy killing. I kill those who suppress the women.”

“Unfortunately, no one got the message. I have found it hard to convey the message. But now. If I kill you, I would be the prime suspect. I have to abscond. So it would be better to send a strong and loud message to the world through you. After all I am going to be the suspect. So why not make it evident. I killed you. Brutally, of course. And post your photos on the Internet. Then abscond. Don’t worry. I will destroy every other thing here. I will burn them. Hmm… That would set off the alarms. Okay. I will blow off the house. It’s already five. Just one hour more. Our maid would be here. I will kill her and make her look like me. Put the blame on her. We both die darling. That’s what it will be on the news. Maid kills the masters and runs off with the jewels. This sounds like a good idea.”

Tanya runs her hands over his face and with another hand, in which she holds the cutter blade she slashes his stomach. She reaches for his wrist and slits the artery running in the way and then his throat. The doorbell rings. It is the maid. She comes in.

The news reader from a prominent news channel starts the program dedicated to the incident “Today the city of Mumbai has come into a state of shock as a maid kills the master of the house and steals the jewels.”

xxx THE END xxx

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Inspired by a Short film - 'Date No. 25'
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A Seeker's Creation