Embracing You...

You are dynamic, ever changing.
You take so many turns.
Sometimes i lose my balance and fall.
Yet you make me get and move ahead.
You were so simple when i was little, so easy to be with.
Then as i grew up, you started throwing challenges at me.
I was unprepared, yet i took them up.
Because you never left me, always there edging me on somehow.
You sent me where i had to make a mark, establish myself.
For you, i did that too.
You gave me a new dimension, new people, new you.
I thought this was how you had planned it all.
That i would be with them forever- SAGA, AAS.
But then again you took a sharp turn.
This time i completely lost my balance.
I fell hard.
You looked down at me and said something that encouraged me.
I got up and looked around.
You had thrown me in a new corner.
I saw them standing there.
I met them and felt that it was great.
I found you there with me too.
But now all doesn't look bright.
Now i'm stranded in mid ocean.
With land far out of sight.
Yet you are there, but nothing else.
I don't know what to do, where to go.
I need your help. But you are stubborn too.
You insist i do it on my own.
So i'll do it.
And i'll do it right.
I just have to be patient, just have to do the right thing.
I know it's tough, it's going to take time.
But i'll do it.
And after i'm done with it, i'll be with you.
Looking at all that you had shown me.
And together we'll laugh.
And as always, Life, i'll be
Embracing you...

Do You Really Care?

A very Good Morning to all present here. I am Ananda Kashyap of class XI. The topic in front of the house is ‘The society no longer cares about wrong being done as long as they are not affected’ and I am speaking for the motion.

Yesterday I read in a newspaper that a girl had been first raped in public and then murdered by three drunken men. The public chose to ignore the on goings and left the place as soon as possible. They could have saved the poor girl by just calling the police. But they moved on.

Petty criminals in buses don’t think twice before stabbing people for meager items while the rest of the crowd watches as spineless mute spectators.
The citizens of this city no longer---
“Ananda?” my mother called from the kitchen.
“Run to the market and get me a packet of red chilly powder, please.” my mother shouted from the kitchen. She came and stood right next to me holding out twenty rupees.
I was writing a debate for my English class and it had to be presented tomorrow. I had been at it, writing and re writing for the past two hours, trying to get it right. And when finally I was getting there, I was thus interrupted.

I got up, making a face as I looked at myself in the mirror. I was in no condition to go out. My neck length hair was looking as if I had just got up from sleeping. But I was not in a condition to listen to my mother’s scolding either. She was standing there which meant that if I didn’t go right then, she would shout. Therefore, I took the money from her and went out without delay. I took out my bicycle from the basement and left for the market. On the road I saw a few girls, who were passing by, look at my bedraggled state and smirk. I felt like shouting, “Hey! I’m generally not like this! ”

I bought the powder from a known shop and started on my way back. It was already dark and the street lights weren’t even on. I had to squint to see the way.
I was riding slowly because of the lack of light, determined not to miss a speed breaker and fall (or you can say, determined not to step on the spit on the road or slip on the peals and waste lying around and fall). That would be like the ultimate embarrassment. After all there were still a few people there.

I took a turn and was now riding down a road that was surprisingly deserted.
It’s only 8:20, I thought.

I was half-way down the road when I heard a scream. It was a girl. I stopped dead on my way, my mind working fast.
Should I run home or should I check what it is? It could be something extremely dangerous.

I had decided to rush back home when the girl screamed again. As curiosity and boldness took over fear, I turned my bike in the direction of the scream and rode at full speed. I felt like superman going to save a girl. Only that I was sixteen years old and I certainly didn’t have any super hero powers.

The girl was now screaming without a pause. She was crying too. The screams were growing louder and louder. I turned into the alley from where the screams were issuing and stopped dead. There was only one street light and the rest of the alley was very dark.

And then I saw it.
A girl was lying on the ground and a man was towering over her and slapping her continuously. He was drunk judging by the way he was shouting.
Then he took out a knife and pulled back his arm, about to strike her.
Just as he brought his hand down I subconsciously shouted “NO!” Then realizing what I had done, I started backing away, scared out of my wits.
But the damage had been done. The man turned his head towards me, his hand suspended in mid air. He got up and began moving towards me now. My bike was lying on the pavement.
Too far, I thought.
Panic numbed my senses. I could not think of anything. No one was there on the road. I looked up at the closed windows but no one was there. I saw a man hastily drawing the curtains of his window on the other side.

Just when the lunatic was a feet away from me, it hit me. My eyes wide and my hands fumbling at the back, I started backing away. When the lunatic was within an arm’s reach, he pulled back his hand and was about to strike. At that moment, the red chilly powder packet I was fumbling with tore open. I threw the powder in the man’s eyes.

“Aaarrrrrrrggghhhhhh” he shouted. Now he was backing away as I kept throwing powder into his eyes. I ran to the dustbin lying nearby and took off its lid. I smashed his head with it. Once, twice, thrice. I kept hitting him till he fell on the ground. I picked up a heavy stone lying on the pavement and hit it on his head with as much force and strength as I could muster.

As I turned to run away, he caught my wrist and twisted me around.

“You stupid girl. I will not let you go so easily.” he said. He caught hold of my top and brought me down to the floor. I was seriously shaking now. Because I was going to die. Because I was not going to see my family again. Because I didn’t even have a chance of getting away what with the guy over me like a hungry wolf.
Will you give up so easily, Ananda? I thought. Will you not even try and give this guy a punch in the guts? Will you not stand up for yourself and then regret why I didn’t even try. Harry Potter never gave up even when Voldemort was about to kill him in the graveyard! He even came back after he died to kill Voldemort.

I raised my hand and slapped him hard. Again and again. I took hold of his forehead and rubbed his bloody eyes rashly. He still didn’t let go of me. I bit his hand as hard as I could. This was what I was best at, biting people’s flesh off.
He let go of me and began screaming. I hit him with the dust bin lid and the stone again. The man was now unconscious or looked unconscious because his eyes were closed.
I ran to the girl on the ground. She was semi conscious.
Great.
I tried to pick her up but she was quite heavy. I shook her and she opened her eyes.
“Can you stand?” I asked
She nodded. Good.
I helped her to stand and took her by the arm in case she fell. She leaned heavily on me, making it difficult to walk fast. She looked to be around my age, only taller and heavier. I tried walking fast but she kept slipping.
I picked up my bike from the corner where I had dropped it. I made the girl sit on it and I walked, pulling the cycle.

I saw that man peeping from his window again.
“What are you looking at, you cowardly fool?” I said. “Just keep watching the show and don’t bother to help. Would you just stand at the window and watch if it was your own daughter here instead of us?”

Anger was now sprouting up in me. I wanted to get hold of that fool of a man and slap him senseless. I just couldn’t imagine how anyone could be so heartless and such a big sissy?

I couldn’t help feeling let down by the people of this city. It’s a country which prides itself for its culture, values, tradition, respect for others and empathy. But people can stand in their windows and look at what happens to a poor girl tut tuting, not bothering to come out of their houses and help. They can talk about times being bad and not safe for women but when they see that a woman is in trouble they won’t do anything. They are too absorbed in their own lives and choose to ignore such things so as to avoid any kind of trouble.

I realized that these people will never help anyone in need. They will not come forward to stop a crime from being done. They will be mere spectators of the on goings. They choose to stay away and let lives be spoiled and ruined.
All because they are cowards who are scared of any kind of hassle and police involvement. They think it will cause them some great trouble and bring bad name to their family. They are people who cry about corruption and about all the evil but don’t move a muscle to help. They are the sleeping citizens who want the politicians to wake up and do their bit. They can just complain. They can’t really help. That day for the first time I realized that humanity was soon going to be eradicated from this planet. Friends won’t be there for friends anymore. And no one can depend on anyone anymore.
I felt sick with anger, disgust and pity for the person who didn’t deserve to be called a man. Giving him a look that expressed all these feelings. I didn’t look back to see if the lunatic was conscious or if the silent spectator was still watching. I walked on.

I held onto the girl in case she fell down. Asking the way to her house I took her there as soon as I possibly could. I rang her door bell which was answered by her mother. She looked at me and then her gaze fell on her daughter.
She let out a shrill shriek and grabbed her daughter. She was already crying. She checked if her daughter was conscious and then slammed the door shut on my face.

Ok. I won’t lie. I was shocked. Here I was risking my own life for her daughter and bringing her back to her house when my own house was at least three kilometers away, and she just slammed the door on my face, not even bothering to thank me?! I felt like breaking the door and shouting at that woman and telling her that it was I who saved her precious daughter and was about to get killed myself. I was the one who brought her back to her house instead of leaving her there and running away to save my own life. But instead, I turned back and rode on my cycle at full speed. I wanted to be home where I was safe and didn’t have a raging lunatic after me.

As soon as I saw the silhouettes of my house, I started pedaling faster. I reached the door and began hammering on the door forgetting that there was a doorbell. My mother opened the door with an angry expression on her face.

“Oh God! It’s you. What took you so long? I was dying of worry. And don’t you know we have a doorbell and you have to ring it and not hammer on the door? Where are you going? Ananda? Wait, what’s the matter? Can you hear me?”

I rushed into my room and sat down on the bed. I filled up a glass of water and drowned it. My mother came into the room with a worried and angry expression on her face. Only mothers can achieve that kind of an expression.

“Are you going to tell me what the matter is? And where is my red chilly powder? I’m talking to you Ananda. Why do you have this lost expression on your face?” Then her face softened and she asked “Beta, is everything alright?”
I hugged her and began crying. She wrapped her arms around me, stroking my hair. She kept on asking what was wrong. But I couldn’t speak. I just cried.
Then after two glasses of water and a big slab of chocolate, I told my mother the entire episode. I told her about seeing a girl being harassed by a man, about trying to save her and jeopardizing my own life instead, about almost killing the lunatic and about leaving the girl at her home. She listened to it all with a shell shocked expression on her face. As soon as I finished telling my story, she grabbed the phone from my bed side and dialed my father’s number.
“Hello? Dev, come home immediately. Ananda has just told me about something awful. Come back home right now. Yes, she is fine but in a bad state. No, I don’t think she needs a doctor but you come home right away. Yes, ok.”
“Beta, don’t you worry. I’m there with you and you are absolutely safe. Papa’s coming home right away. Everything is ok. Don’t cry now. I’m there with you.”

It was these words that did the trick. I felt safe now. I knew my family was there with me to protect me in any circumstances. I knew nothing could happen to me within the walls of my own house. This was the last thought before everything blacked out.

I opened my eyes and saw blurred images hovering above my head. I blinked several times to clear my eyes and mind. My mother’s and father’s faces came into focus. My dad was stroking my hair and my mother was rubbing my left hand. I looked at the watch and realized that I had been asleep for three hours.
“Ananda? Are you feeling alright, beta?” my mom asked. “Do you want to eat anything? Apples, anything?”
“Don’t give her food right now. She just got up. Beta, how are you feeling now? Are you hurt? I have called the police and they will be arriving here in twenty minutes to take your statement.”
“Don’t worry, beta. We will take care of everything. Here, have a glass of water. Wash your face with this towel. You’ll feel better.”
I did as I was told. My mind was tired now. My whole body was tired. It was like I had just done some strenuous exercise. I lied down again and closed my eyes. Flashes from the evening’s event came before my eyes and I opened them immediately.
“Now, tell me the whole thing again, Ananda. Your mother told me what all you told her. But I want to hear it again from you so that I can tell it to the police.”
I recited the whole incident to my dad again.

After fifteen minutes my parents left my room to let me sleep. I wasn’t woken up when the police came. I wasn’t forced to tell the whole thing again.
Later, my mother came to check on me. On finding me awake she first pretended to be annoyed but then told me the whole conversation with the police men. My dad had told them the other girl’s address and even went with the inspector to see if everything was ok there. The policemen caught the drunk lunatic. My parents had told the inspector to contact them if he needed any other sort of help in this case.

Lying in bed, I wondered that this place would be so much better if there were more people like my parents here. They gave their number without hesitation and were really interested in helping in this case. Not only because of me, but because they were good people. They had both gone to the other girl’s house to check if everything was alright and if they needed anything. I was happy that there was still some humanity left in this world.
I closed my eyes and went off to a peaceful sleep.

The Phone Call

I’m Priyanka Mehra, a fourteen year old girl, studying in the ninth grade. I have a sister Sakshi, who is four years elder to me. We both are very close to each other. An incident, which happened about a month back, has brought us closer. This was an incident which none of us can forget.

One winter evening my mother was telling us, yet again, not to open the door for anybody while our father and she were out. They were going for a wedding of a close relative and had to attend the entire function as the relation was very close. But as Sakshi was having her exams, we couldn’t go. “Keep the doors locked at all times, and keep the curtains drawn. And close the rear window.” my mother was saying. “Yes mum, we heard you the first time. Relax; it’s not the first time we are staying alone at night.” Sakshi said.

After our parents left, Sakshi went to study and I went to watch the television. My sister, after only ten minutes, came to sit with me as she was taking a ‘break’.
The phone in our drawing room rang with a shrill noise and Sakshi went to pick it up.
“Hello?” No answer. “Hello?” No answer again.
I heard the receiver being put down and after a moment it rang again.
“Hello?” Sakshi said quite firmly this time. “Yes, this is Mehra residence. May I know who is on the line?”
I came outside where Sakshi was talking on the phone. She was listening for a while and then her facial expression changed from irritation to confusion to fear. “Who is this? How can you say that we are alone? We are not alone. My entire family is here.” She was now trembling. She banged the phone down. “What’s the matter? Who was it? Why are so scared?” I asked.
“There was this weird man on the phone who said that our electricity will get cut in a minute.”
“What? Who was it?”
“I have no idea.”
Suddenly there was a scratching sound on the door. Both of us jumped and held each other’s hand. Then as suddenly, the scratching stopped. Sakshi and I looked at each other?
“What was that?”
“How do I know?”
“Priya we should call mom and dad.”
“Sakshi, did you close the rear window?”
She looked at me, terrified. We both ran to the back of the house and closed the window. We both ran up to our parents room and took out the emergency lights. We went to call them but the phone was dead. Just as Sakshi was dialing dad’s number from her mobile, the land-line phone rang.
It started working so soon?
“Hello?” I mumbled into the mouthpiece. “Are you ready? Taken all the lights? The countdown begins now. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3--” he put the phone down. Exactly after two seconds the lights went out.
We both screamed. We ran into our room and locked it. Sakshi turned to face me and screamed, pointing behind me. I looked behind me and saw a man standing on the ledge waving at us in a way a maniac would. He had long hair and his face was covered with a black mask. And he had a knife in his hand. He was looking down and when I looked down too, I saw that the latch was open. Just as he moved to open the window, Sakshi and I ran out of the room. While closing the door I saw the man running towards us. We locked the door from outside and ran downstairs. We both were crying and my whole body was shaking. “I think we should call the police” Sakshi said between sobs. “The phone is dead and the candles are blown out. We are stranded in complete darkness now.” I said. “The cell! Where’s the cell Sakshi?”
“It was on the phone table.” I was trying to find it in total darkness when my hand rested on it. I lit the lights of the phone. There was someone in front of me. In the light I saw a man standing right in front of me, like nose to nose. Well actually it was more like chest to nose.
I screamed and dropped the phone. I pushed him back but as he was way bigger and stronger than me, I could manage to push him back only a few centimeters. He grabbed my shirt and pulled me. I screamed loudly and heard Sakshi’s running footsteps. “NO! Sakshi don’t come here. He is here. Run. Hide.”
The psycho tried to shut my mouth. But he didn’t know that I was too good in this department. I bit his hand, gathered all my strength and punched him hard in the face. My hand collided with his nose and he roared loudly. I ran to Sakshi and we both rushed to open the main entrance. But it was of no use as the door was locked from outside. We ran to the back of the house but before we could open the window there, the man pulled us back by our hair.
Sakshi picked up a vase from a nearby table and hit him hard on the head. He staggered back and we both ran. Sakshi went up into our parents’ room and was picked up the cell phone. I fumbled with digits of the phone.
As you can make out I had forgotten that we can use the speed dial option. But in such dire situation people tend to forget everything.
“Hello Papa? There is someone in the house who is trying to kill us. Papa come soon we can’t hold him for---”
But before I could finish speaking, the man came and snatched the phone. I ran in the opposite direction shouting “Sakshi, don’t come out. He is here only. Keep yourself locked. Don’t come out.”

I ran into the living room and hid behind a sofa. The man came running into the room. He tore and upturned every sofa in the room. He upturned the chair behind which I was hiding and raised his knife to strike. I picked up a brass plate from the side table and it collided with his knife. The knife fell and as he moved to pick it up, I moved to run away. But he was too fast for me and bruised my arm with his knife. He turned me and slapped me (it was more like a punch really). I could taste blood in my mouth. As he raised his knife, I closed my eyes, ready this time to embrace death. But it never came.
I opened my eyes and saw the man staggering and holding his head. Sakshi was there with my cricket bat raised in her hands. She hit him again with the bat. She kept hitting him until he fell and lay there unconscious. She hugged me and we both began crying. I told her I had called dad and he was on his way. We went into our parents’ room and got some of our mother’s dupattas. We tied them around the man. Then Sakshi called our parents again. They told us that they would soon be here and had called the police already.

After fifteen minutes both, the police and our parents came. Mom hugged us both and burst into tears. The officer told my father that the man was mad and a serial killer. He did a complete research on anyone before killing them. They had been looking for him for the past three days. They asked Sakshi and me to give our statements about the night’s incident. At about three in the morning they left and we went to bed, exhausted but unable to sleep. Today we both had taken on a full fledged murderer.

That night we had nothing to save ourselves with except each other and were an inch away from death but we managed to escape it. Because of my sister I am still alive and have been able to tell you about the night we got the phone call.

:|

My closest friend since eighth grade has gone so far away from me that i don't think that she will ever be able to come back again. When we came in eleventh, we were given different sections eventhough we have the same subjects. when i call her she always says "oh i'm doing this, oh i'm doing that. not at all i'm not studying yaar.i'll now study in 12th. 11th is to enjoy with friends and chill." but when you see her in school, she has her head in her books and doesn't look up even for a minute. when you say "hi" she looks up and goes "oh hi" and then into the books again. she stopped coming down in breaks, but used to meet us at least once during the day. now she has stopped meeting us altogether. it's been 2 months since i last saw her. we met once and exchanged feeble smiles. she never calls. never makes an effort to talk with us. she just likes to sit in her class with a bunch of geeks and study. when i told my mom and sister about it, they told me to climb down the high horse. so i called her and talked generally for a few minutes and then came to the point. she told me that she was really busy with homework and all. doesn't even get time to eat her lunch plus the pressure of new subjects is too much. i brought to her notice that i too have the same subjects. but its different yaar.. oh ok i get it. so that's when i said bye. after that, till date she hasn't tried to talk to us people. it's not just me. my other friends have noticed it aswell. they ask me why she doesn't come for the weekly assemblies. i tell them and they go like "what the hell! what does she think of herself? snobbish idiot." it's not like she doesn't like us or anything. it's just that she thinks she is good enough for herself, doesn't need any friends,is happy the way she is. she just need her books for company, no human being. the ones who were with us in the same group tell me how they sometimes feel sick because of her damn behaviour. they are telling me. i told her all my damn secrets, shared hers.heard all her bloody family problems, gave her solutions, told her to call me at any point of time if she needs me. had awesome time with her during classes and otherwise. told her about all my crushes. heard her secrets,kept them safe. she always told me that i was her best friend and mattered most.
but now in 11th grade she doesn't need anyone

Hoping and Wishing

Since the day I heard of a friend's wedding, I had been dreaming of meeting him after all this time. Come 24th and I would be able to see him again. I decided what to wear for the wedding. I was happy that after such a long time I would see him again. I had last met him on Diwali, when it was just the two of us talking, actually talking for the first time. i was so happy that i told my friends (who didn't know about him earlier) about it. i would pester them evreyday by telling them how many days were left for 24th. the bubble of happiness in the pit of my stomach was growing bigger and bigger as 24th was coming nearer. on that day, i could not study at school as i was busy thinking about what we woud talk about. in the afternoon i couldnot sleep or rest because i was busy thinking about him only. and in the evening i was anyway going bonkers with anxiety. when i got out of my car at the venue, i noticed his dad's car. he was already there. my heart was in my throat. by god, i had not been this nervouse oe excited even for my exams (honestly man!). when we walked in i looked around for him. i saw his mother sitting with other aunties and i saw the other boys too. but he was not with them. he was not around. because he had not come.