The Hard Choice

Ramesh woke up at 5 a.m. He went through his normal morning routine. He didn't feel like going to work today, but he knew he had to. Yesterday afternoon he had consumed the last morsel of food in the house, and his stomach was already rumbling with hunger. To make matters worse, his mother was still in hospital and her condition was deteriorating. He still hadn't come up with enough cash to continue her treatment. No, as much as he felt otherwise, he had to go to work today.

Ramesh pulled out his cart and made his way towards his spot. He liked the spot very much. It was just next to a beautiful park, surrounded by lots of trees and flowers. He loved hearing the birds chirp early in the morning. It was always peaceful there, and people were friendly. But, most importantly, after a nice morning walk, people felt the need for tea. And Ramesh's tea was said to be the best in the area.

Ramesh was initiated into the tea business when he was just five years old. He had watched carefully when his father had made and served tea. Those days, he was only allowed to wash and clean the glasses. Very soon though, his father deemed him capable enough to make tea. Business was going well, and life was good. However, tragedy struck when his father died of a heart attack, leaving Ramesh and his mother to fend for a living. Ramesh took on the role of sole earner with aplomb, and took care of his mother.

His mother never recovered from the shock of his father's death, and this affected her health. Ramesh did all he could to balance his work and his mother's health, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to manage both on his frail shoulders. It was then only a matter of time before his mother's illness grew enough for her to be admitted to the hospital. The doctors wanted money to start treatment, and that was a commodity which wasn't readily available to him.

Ramesh reached his spot and started his preparations for the day. He set up his container, milk and glasses, and proceeded to make tea. Very soon, he saw people entering the park, starting their exercises. A few of them looked comical, and he always enjoyed watching them make a fool of themselves. A few minutes later, people started coming to his stall, and so the day began.

Ramesh busied himself in making tea and keeping up with the demands. Occasionally, he looked up in search of his favorite customer, Nitin Verma. He was a tall, middle-aged man with a gentle appearance and an ever-smiling face. Ramesh had taken an instant liking to him and felt comfortable in sharing his joys and sorrows with him. Nitin always seemed to find time to talk to him and ask him about his day. He had become like a father figure to Ramesh, someone he looked up to and depended on for advice.

And there he was! Ramesh's eyes lit up when he saw Nitin. He called out:

'Hi, Nitin uncle!'

'Hello, Ramesh. Good Morning! How is everything?'

'Still the same, uncle. Maa's health is getting worse day by day.'

They chatted for a few minutes while Nitin drank his tea.

Time flew for the next few hours. It was now unbearably hot outside. Ramesh was clever enough to realize that people did not need tea around noon. So, he decided to take a break and catch up on some much needed sleep. He was just about to leave for home, when he noticed something lying on the road near his stall. It was a wallet! Ramesh picked it up and opened it. He found an ID card. He gasped when he saw the photo - Nitin Verma! He had dropped his wallet here! 

Ramesh's eyes lit up when he saw the amount of cash inside the wallet. Five-thousand rupees! He had never seen so much money at one place in his entire life. His heart raced. This will be enough to get Maa's treatment started!, he thought happily. Suddenly, a pang of guilt overcame his happiness. I cannot do this to Nitin uncle. He has always been so nice to me. How will I ever forgive myself? Ramesh took the wallet home.

At night, he lay in his bed, clutching the wallet in his hand. He was lost in thought, immersed in dilemma. On one hand, his mother was dying, and if he didn't act soon, he was sure she wouldn't make it. On the other hand, was Nitin, who was an integral part of his life. He had to save his mother, but could not cheat Nitin as well. It was late at night when he had finally decided what he had to do.

The next morning, Ramesh reached his spot, convinced that what he was about to do was the right thing. When he saw Nitin, he called out to him and said:

'Nitin uncle, you dropped your wallet yesterday. Here it is!'

Nitin came over and patted him on the head. He said:

'You are such a good boy! I am proud of you. Thank you so much, Ramesh!'

Ramesh managed a smile, but somehow he didn't feel any better. He knew he had done the right thing. He had been honest. But is honesty always rewarded? What will happen to his mother now? He had a chance to save her, but he had let it go. His mother was going to die. Will he be able to live with himself?

He felt suffocated, and decided to retire early from work. He thought of his mother, and decided to pay her a visit. Will I be able to look her in the eye, knowing what I did and could have done? She would be expecting me to do something. What will I tell her? Tears formed in his eyes and he started weeping.

It took him another twenty minutes to reach the hospital. He made his way to the general ward section where his mother was kept. To his surprise, he couldn't find his mother anywhere. Fear gripped him as he searched the entire ward. Where is she? Where have they taken her? What has happened to her? Ramesh felt helpless. As he was making his way towards the reception, he ran into Dr. Pradhan, his mother's doctor. Ramesh asked him frantically:

'Doctor! I cannot find my mother anywhere! Is she okay? What happened?'

Dr. Pradhan had a smile on his face, as he said:

'Relax, boy. You mother is in the operation theatre. Her treatment has started.'

Ramesh was stunned. What is he saying? How is it possible? He managed to say:

'What....how.....'

Dr. Pradhan's smile widened:

'The entire amount for the treatment has been paid. A person called Nitin Verma came in today, and paid the whole amount. He said he was your godfather. Don't worry, your mother will be fine.'

Ramesh burst into tears. He couldn't find any more words to say. He wept. He thanked God. He thanked Nitin. He prayed. Through his tears, he realized that honesty is always rewarded. He had made the right choice.

That night, he had his first peaceful sleep in years.

The Massacre

I feel as if the walls are closing in on me. I feel trapped. Trapped in a labyrinth from which escape seems impossible. My wife and son are dead, and I am left with nothing. Why was God so cruel? Why did he let all this happen? Why wasn't I able to stop it?

'The Ravager' was well-known in our town. He was a masked maniac who murdered people for fun. Some say he was always dressed in black, and wore a mask covering everything but his eyes. He was a ruthless killer, and he had a specific liking towards beheading each of his victims with his dagger. So far, ten unfortunate souls had fallen prey to his evil. Ten heads, that were severed from their bodies. People were afraid to come out of their homes after dusk. Children trembled at the very mention of his name. Such was the extent of his madness, that when he was caught by the police, they sent him to a mental asylum and locked him up in its deepest confines.

Everything was peaceful in our small town for about two years. People carried on with their lives. The after-hour parties started. The children were taught to forget his name. Slowly, but surely, the cloud of horror lifted from our town and the warm rays of happiness took its place. Freedom felt good and everyone embraced it with open arms.

The joy, however, was painfully short-lived. News crept in that The Ravager had escaped from the asylum and was nowhere to be found. The whole town shook with unadulterated fear. A few people left town in a hurry. Some locked themselves inside their houses. Shops closed down before dark, and no one stayed late in office. It was like a ghost town after dark, and for good reason.

Unfortunately, this time, The Ravager picked my home as his next target.

It was just getting dark when I had reached home. I found the front door ajar, which seemed a little out of place. I pushed the door and went in. I saw my wife and son, sitting on our comfortable sofa, a look of horror etched on their faces. I was puzzled. My wife seemed to be beckoning, trying to tell me something, or maybe trying to warn me. Before, I could react, I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head, as if someone had hit me from behind, and everything went black.

I opened my eyes. My head was throbbing with pain. I was lying down on the floor. I looked around, and saw my wife's face. She had her head turned towards me and was looking straight at me. I tried to call out to her, but she did not respond. With trembling hands, I tried reaching out to her, but found my hands clutching empty space. It was then that I realized, her body wasn't there. Just her head.

I cried out loud. I forced myself to get up, and saw my son's head lying beside my wife's. Tears started rolling down my cheeks. Then, I saw him. At the doorway. A dark shadow. A black mask. A shiny dagger. Rage took over me as I rushed towards him, screaming loudly. I must confess the finer details are still unclear to me due to my head injury, but somehow I managed to subdue The Ravager and called the police.

I have lost everything. There is nothing more to live for. My whole life, my two precious possessions, were taken away from me by this madman! Oh Lord, why couldn't I save them? What had they done to deserve such a horrific death? I had no answers. My only solace lay with the fact that The Ravager was about to be hanged to death. At least, there would be some iota of justice. Even though I had suffered such a huge loss, the rest of the town can finally live in peace. It was I, who had managed his capture. Yes, that has to count for something.

Alas, I would have to stop writing now. They are calling me. It is time. The rope, the noose. It is ready. Am I prepared? Yes, I am. The world is getting rid of a dangerous criminal. That has to be a happy ending, right? I know it will be painful, but I promise to put the rope around my neck with a smile on my face. Yes, this world has no place for a psychopath like me. Tata!

Passenger 32C

Sameer Gupta was running late. He checked his watch. 6.00pm. His flight was at 6.20pm and he was still stuck in the long queue at security check. I knew I should not have stopped at McDonalds!, he cursed himself, that McEgg would cost me 5000 bucks if I miss this flight!

After what seemed like ages, he finally got through all the checks. Snatching his bag from the conveyer belt, he rushed towards the boarding gate. Fortunately, he was just on time. With a sigh of relief, he boarded the Air India flight to Bangalore. He quickly settled down on seat number 32C. Aisle seats were his favorites. Soon the flight took off. While everyone craned their neck to look outside the window, Sameer's sole intention was deep slumber.

Half an hour later, the food services started. Delicacies, they said. Sameer shook his head in disgust. Delicacies my foot! I'd rather eat a cactus!. He was getting bored and still had two more hours to spend on the flight. He took out his iPad, and was about to unlock it, when he stopped short, stunned. He could not believe it. There was a news flash from CNN on his lock screen, and it read:

Breaking News: Air India flight AI466 to Bangalore crashes. Many feared dead.

Sameer blinked. This cannot be true. There must be some mistake. AI466 was precisely the flight in which he was sitting right now! And the news flash had come in forty minutes ago! His head swam and he felt faint. And then he saw it, a second update from CNN on his lock screen. He had missed reading it. It read:

Flight AI466 crash update: All bodies charred beyond recognition. Officials claim there are no survivors. Search still going on.

Sameer felt sick and the bile rushed up his throat. He got up and dashed to the washroom. The small enclosure did not help his cause and he puked into the commode. Strange thoughts invaded his head. What does it mean? Is this flight going to crash? Am i going to die? Charred? He felt helpless. Splashing copious amounts of water on his face, he went back to his seat.

Sameer's hands were shaking as he opened the CNN app and tried to see the details. To his surprise, the news details were not there in the app! He calmed down a bit. Maybe this was indeed a big mistake. Maybe they broadcasted the new flash in error. He started to take deep breaths and closed his eyes. He was almost back to normal when the cabin attendant's shrill voice rang out over the intercom:

"We are about to run into bad weather. I request all passengers to return to their seats and fasten their seat-belts. We will resume the food service shortly."

Panic returned in a flash. Turbulence! Sameer felt his hearbeat double up. He gripped the seat handle tightly. Within a few minutes, the plane was surrounded by a thick envelope of grey clouds. He could feel the entire plane shaking. Each jerk added to his fear and he felt faint. He started praying.

After a few seconds, the turbulence subsided and they were steady again. But Sameer did not feel reassured. He called the cabin attendant and said:

"Are you sure everything is okay? Are you sure there is nothing wrong with this flight?"

The attendant smiled at him and said:

"Please do not panic, sir. It was just a minor turbulence. Everything is fine. Try and relax. I will get you a glass of water."

Sameer gulped down the water and tried to calm his nerves. He glanced at the other passengers. Most of them were sleeping peacefully. A few of them were chatting happily, and some were reading magazines. Everyone seemed so relaxed. They haven't seen what I have seen! The future!, he thought bitterly.

To his utter dismay, he felt his surroundings darken and turned to see another thick layer of clouds surrounding the plane. This one was much thicker. Much more ominous. The turbulence resumed. This time the plane started shaking uncontrollably. He knew this was it. The plane was going to crash. All of them were going to die a horrible death. He closed his eyes and screamed....

With a strong jerk, Sameer woke up. He was drenched in sweat. He looked around. He was sitting safely on his seat. The plane was safe and cruising along. It was just a dream! Just a big, stupid dream! And it felt so real! Relief washed over him. He almost laughed. I have to tell Sanjana about this! Thinking about his wife added to the relief. He looked at his watch. Still an hour to go. Sanjana would be waiting for him at the airport. They had planned a lavish dinner and he was really looking forward to it. He looked around at everyone. Everything was normal. Peace. Quiet.

And then it started. The plane shook violently. The baggage enclosures flew open and bags rained down on them. Sameer watched in horror as the front half of the plane broke away. He felt his body lurch forward. He closed his eyes. Just a few more seconds. And then - Peace. Quiet.


Sanjana was about to leave for the airport. Her husband was scheduled to land in less than an hour. She had just started her car when she felt her iPhone buzzing. She grabbed her phone. It was a notification from CNN, and it read:

Breaking News: Air India flight AI466 to Bangalore crashes. Many feared dead.

Pitfall

June 2008

All he could do was run. He was completely out of breath, his lungs were crying out for oxygen, and his muscles felt like lead. But, he had to run. He had to survive. He had to find out what was going on. He had to find out who was trying to kill him.

He had left home to buy groceries. His wife had given him a long list and he wasn't particularly looking forward to the trip to the mart. It hadn't taken him long to figure out that he was being followed. Out of the corner of his eye, he had seen a dark figure with a black cloak and hat pulled down low over his head. He had tried to change his route, give him the slip, but the dark figure had followed him everywhere. He couldn't think of any possible reason why someone would tail him. He had felt a lump forming in his throat. Out of sheer panic, he had started running. He had no idea where he was running to and what he was running from, but he had this sinking feeling that he had to get away somehow.

He heard a soft hissing sound, and a second later, sharp pain shot through his legs. He almost fell down, but somehow managed to stay up and stumble forward. He could feel warm liquid oozing out from the back of his thigh. 'I have been shot!', he thought fearfully. Why would someone do this to me? What have I ever done to harm anybody? He was just a lawyer. Oh wait! A lawyer does have many enemies. Is this one of my clients? Or the opposition? His mind was blank. He was going to die and there was nothing he could to about it.

He could not take it any longer. His body gave up, his legs buckled, and he fell down heavily on the road. He knew his assailant would be on top of him anytime now. He closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable death. But it never came. He opened his eyes and looked behind him. His assailant was gone.

He could not believe it. Maybe they only wanted to scare him. His relief was short lived when he realized that he had to get himself to a hospital. He somehow got back on his feet and trudged along, gritting his teeth and pushing back the pain in his leg. In ten minutes or so, he managed to reach a hospital. He had barely made it through the doors when he fell down and fainted.

He wasn't sure how long he had been out. He felt weak and disoriented. He could make out that he was lying on a hospital bed. My leg! He tried to raise his head but felt as if a thousand knives had pierced his brain. He lay there for what seemed like ages, until finally a doctor came up to him. Smiling, the doctor said:

'Good to see you awake. Feeling better now?'

'No. I feel terrible!'

'Sorry to hear that. Rest assured you will be fine. I just need to ask you a few questions. Formalities, you know. What is your name?'

'Gary Hill. I am a lawyer by profession. I was chased by a man and got shot!'

The doctor raised his eyebrows in surprise. He spoke slowly:

'There is no bullet wound on you. Nobody shot you.'

'What! You must be joking. Can't you see here my leg--'

He forced himself to raise his head and stopped short. His leg was perfectly fine. No wound. No blood. He winced in pain as the migraine gripped him again.

'I want my wife', he breathed,' Pam! Where are you?!'

'Your wife is here', the doctor said. 'I will get her for you. Please try and relax.'

His eyes lit up when he saw his wife come in through the door.

'Pam! I am so glad to see you. I don't know what is happening to me! Someone tried to kill me and I managed to escape, and....'

His wife looked shell-shocked. She could barely move. It was as if she had seen a ghost.

'Honey', she said, ' my name is Lisa, not Pam. What are you talking about? You had just gone to the market to pick out some groceries.'

He was stunned. Surely, there must be some mistake. This must be some sort of a joke.

'Pam', he said, 'Please stop kidding around. I am your Gary.'

His wife let out a gasp, 'Gary? Do you mean Gary Hill?'

'Yes!' he shouted.

The wife felt faint, and the doctor looked on in surprise. What the hell is going on there? After a few minutes of eerie silence, she spoke, this time to the doctor:

'Doctor, I know who Gary Hill is. He is the main character of my husband's latest thriller novel. You see, my husband is a struggling author. His name is Brian Grant. Over the last couple of years, he has immersed himself in writing this book, obsessing over it. He spent all day and night working on it, often forgetting my existence. I was afraid of this, and now it has come true. I have lost my husband." She started crying.

'Please calm down, Mrs Grant' , said the doctor. 'I will give him some medicines. He will be fine. Just make sure he doesn't go near books for a while.'

April 2013

Detective Inspector Rod Franklin cursed loudly. Who the hell is calling me at five in the morning?! Groggily, he picked up the phone. It was his superior.

'Rod, you need to go to 19, Mansion Road right now. Suicide case.'

Still grumbling, Franklin drove to the scene of the crime. The deceased was hanging from the ceiling fan. He was a middle aged man, very thin and weak. Franklin found a letter on the table. Intrigued, he started reading:

I am sorry, Tina. I am sorry for cheating on you. I deserve nothing more than death. I know this will cause you more pain, but I cannot live with my guilt. Please forgive me. Goodbye. Love, Aaron.

Grunting, Franklin began examining the body. Suddenly he heard a loud scream. He rushed outside, and saw a woman sitting in the garden and sobbing uncontrollably. On seeing Franklin arrive, she managed to say:

'I tried my best. I really did! But, I failed!'

Franklin noticed a pile of papers strewn around her feet. He went over and picked them up. It seemed to be a manuscript for a novel. He gasped when he saw the title of the book:

Aaron's Infidelity.

What Goes Around.....

Sanjay paced up and down, his face grim and his brain working overtime. How did I get myself into this mess? What should I do now? Thoughts such as these flew in and out of his mind. The 'mess' that he is alluding to, is something that would normally be a cause for celebration. And yet, the very thought of it filled him with dread. The thought, that he was going to get married in three days.

It had been just like any other love story. Sanjay had met Anita in college. He was then in his first year, a time when you are considered 'cool' if you are dating someone.Several factors, including peer pressure, led them into a relationship.

 They started with the night-call phone tariff plans and cheap early morning movie tickets. Gradually, they moved on to fancy restaurants and picnic trips. They enjoyed every minute of each others company. Anita seemed to be smitten and went head over heels for him. Sanjay, however, remained at level one. His feelings for Anita hadn't grown a bit, and he still saw the whole thing as a college-only gig.

Time flew by and their college life came to a close. Anita was seriously in love with him, and Sanjay was searching for ways to break it off with her. But, he could not muster up enough courage to confront her. Things went from bad to worse, when they got job placements in the same city. Anita was thrilled to bits, Sanjay simply cursed his luck.

A couple of years went by. Sanjay was hoping she will get the hint eventually. To his horror, she asked him to marry her. Tongue-tied and stunned, he could barely utter a word. Anita seemed to take this as a 'yes' and jumped with joy. Thus started the wedding preparations and Sanjay's misery.

And now, with just three days to go, he could not stand it any longer. He had to do something about it. Marriage is serious business. He would not only be ruining his own life, but Anita's life as well. No, enough is enough, he had to get to get his life on track. 'I will call her right away, meet her some place, and tell her the truth', he thought fiercely.

Just as he was about to convert his thoughts into action, his phone rang. It was Anita's father:

'Hello.'

'Hello, Sanjay! Anita is missing, and I can't find her anywhere!'

'What?! Where did she go?'

'She went out with her friends to do some last minute shopping. It has been over five hours now. Her phone is switched off, and I cannot reach any of her friends! Oh, I don't know what to do!'

'Uncle, relax. I know where she goes for shopping. I will go out and look for her. I will keep you updated.'

Sanjay disconnected the call and rushed out with his car keys. He tried to call Anita and her friends, but their phones were switched off. Panic gripped him as he drove towards Anita's favorite shopping mall. He rushed inside and searched the entire place. She was nowhere to be seen. Neither were any of her friends. He then drove to a few other locations where she might be. No luck.

Unrestrained fear coursed through his veins. Where could she be? What had happened to her? His mind went blank. Bad thoughts kept flowing in. Delhi has a notorious history of being unsafe for women. He could not help but fear the worst.

And then it hit him. Guilt. He was about to marry a girl who loved him and cared about him a lot, and all he had thought about was how he was going to break it off with her. How stupid can one person be? How could he not realize that she had always be the one? What if something bad had happened to her, and he would never see her again? He could not bear the thought. He realized that his feelings for her had always been genuine. He had been a blind fool all his life. A coward.

He rushed home and prayed to God: 'Oh God, please let her be safe. I know I do not deserve someone like her. I have been a complete idiot and could not see the obvious. I promise to marry her, love her and take care of her, always. Please let her be safe, God!'

His prayers were disturbed by his mother calling out his name. He went down and saw his mother holding a piece of paper in her hand.

'This is for you, Sanjay. Some guy came to give it to you. He left before I could invite him inside.'

Sanjay took the piece of paper from her mother and went back to his room. It was a letter. His eyes widened in surprise when he recognized the handwriting. It was Anita's. He started to read:

Dear Sanjay,

I am writing this letter to you out of desperation. I am at my wit's end and don't know what to do. But you deserve to know the truth. So here goes...

I never loved you, Sanjay. Believe me, I tried a lot. I just couldn't. After a while, I gave up trying to love you, and started trying to break off with you. I am basically a coward. I could not tell you face to face. I knew men are afraid of commitment. So, I pretended to get closer, pretended to be serious about us, and pretended to be smitten by you. I honestly thought this would scare you and drive you away. But, you didn't flinch. That is when I realized that you were actually in love with me.

I panicked. Things got worse for me when we got placed in the same city. But I still kept up my act, pretended to be overjoyed. I really thought you would get the hint. But you never did.  Out of sheer desperation, I asked you to marry me. I was sure this would frighten the living daylights out of you and you would run away. But you said yes! I knew then that I was doomed. Oh, why did you love me so much? 

As the D-day grew closer, I thought of ways to get out of this mess. My parents were involved now and I didn't have the courage to tell them that this was all a big lie. See, how much of a coward I am. I am not brave and honest like you.

So today, I decided to run away from home. I know all of you would be worried to death, but I was desperate. Maybe I will come back soon, but right now, I need some time to gather myself. You can tell my parents not to worry about me.

I have ruined your life, and my family's. I know I may never be forgiven, but you had to know the truth. I am sorry I could not love you back. Thank you for always loving me and caring for me.

This is a final goodbye.

Anita.

To say that Sanjay was stunned would be an understatement. His mind was in a twirl, and he realized the true meaning of the phrase 'what goes around, comes around.'

Nightmare

Rajiv woke up with a start. It took him a few seconds to get his bearings right. Yes, he was in his bed, safely tucked in. He wiped the few beads of perspiration that hung on to his forehead.

'It was just a bad dream', he assured himself. He tried recalling what had woken him up, but it was only a blurring image of him falling down into an infinite, dark pit. 'I hate nightmares', he cursed.

Catching his breath, he looked outside his window. Early morning sun rays were streaming in,casting an aura of pale orange inside his small room. Realizing that sleep now was a distant possibility, Rajiv slowly got out of bed. He went up to the window and let the cool Nainital breeze calm him down.

'Why don't I wake up early more often?', he said to himself, cherishing the peace and quiet that enveloped him. Soon, hunger invaded his tranquility and he decided and go down and make himself a snack. He quickly got dressed and made his way down the stairs.

 Suddenly, sounds of wailing reached his ears. It seemed to be coming from the kitchen. Loud cries of anguish followed by incessant sobbing.Worried, Rajiv hastened down the stairs and ran to the kitchen. He saw his mother, bent over the counter, her head in her hands, crying loudly and shaking uncontrollably.

Rajiv stood there for a second, stunned. He tried to call out to her, but no sound came out from his mouth. Finally, he managed to get his speech back, and shouted, 'Maa! What happened?'

His mother continued to cry, almost choking on her tears. Rajiv called out to her again. Suddenly, his mother rushed from the kitchen and ran upstairs. Dumbfounded, Rajiv followed. She went up to her bedroom and slammed the door shut.

Rajiv banged on the door with all his might, begging his mother to let him in and tell him what the hell was going on. He could hear her cry inside, but she did not come out or let him in.  Rajiv felt his breath becoming labored, panic occupying each and every pore in his body. He tried to calm himself, forcing his mind to think logically. What could have happened to her? Why won't she tell me? Is it something I have done? Have I shamed her in some way? His mind was in a frenzy.

Out of all these confused thoughts, one stood out clearly. Dad! It was six in the morning. He had to be home. He went looking for him, calling out, screaming. No response. He searched the whole house. His father was not there. He felt real fear for the first time in his life. Where is Dad? Where could he have gone so early in the morning? Is he alright? Has something happened to him? Is that why Maa is crying?

He simply had no answers. He dashed out of his house, trying to think of the next step. The neighbors! He went over and rang the bell. Nobody came to answer the door. He tried again and again, but to no avail. He felt sick. Where is everybody?

Unsure of what to do next, he thought of calling the police. He went back home, and dialed 100. No one answered his phone! Where is the police when you need them! He could still hear his mother sobbing in the bedroom. He felt sure something really bad had happened to his father. But what? It was only yesterday that they had gone trekking, having a great time, laughing away to glory. All that seemed ages away now.

'I will call Sujit, he can help!', he said to himself. Sujit was his best friend. He surely won't mind if he called him so early. He picked up the landline and realized he could not remember Sujit's phone number. He frantically looked for his mobile phone, but could not find it. Where did it go? He searched all over, but it was nowhere to be seen. 'I lost my mobile?', the usually careful Rajiv was shell-shocked.

He ran out of his house and started running towards Sujit's place. It was across the Naini lake, so he had to go the entire way around the beautiful lake. Physically and mentally exhausted, he reached Sujit's house. To his horror and dismay, he found it locked! He felt as if the world was against him. His legs felt heavy and he sat down on the porch. His head was spinning, terrible thoughts clouding his brain.

'I better go home and check on Maa, only she can tell me what is happening'. He dragged himself home, feeling sicker every second. To his utter disbelief, he found the front door of his house open! He was sure he had closed it while going out. He rushed to his parent's bedroom, and was about to bang the door, when he heard voices inside.

'Please try to calm down, darling. You have to be strong!'

It was his Dad's voice. Relief came flooding into him and he felt himself drop to the floor, overcome and overburdened with emotions. His father was okay! He could still hear Maa crying. He heard his father's voice again.

'I went to the spot. There are no new updates. I am losing hope now. We should go ahead.'

Go ahead? Updates? What spot? Rajiv was confused. But, what he heard next stung like a thousand knives. It was his mother speaking now. She was shouting.

'Go ahead? How can we? You want us to have our own son's funeral without his body? I will not accept that! I will go there myself, where he fell! I will search for him myself! My God, why did you do this! He was right with us, laughing. Oh, he enjoyed trekking so much! And you took him away from us!'

And it all came crashing down for Rajiv. It all made sense now. His nightmare. Waking up. Images of him falling. Nobody acknowledging his presence. Yes, it all made sense now.

And with a sense of impeding doom, he realized what he had woken up from was not a nightmare. His nightmare had only just begun.

Back To The Future?

As a science fiction fan, I was always a big fan of time travel. I used to (still do!) read up or listen to each and every lecture on time travel. There has been no dearth of such movies coming in as well. I recently saw Looper, which was based on the concept of time travel. A well made movie, I must say, regardless of all the loopholes and paradoxes involved. Anyway, coming back to the eternal questions- Is time travel possible? If so, how? Can we travel to our past or into the future? In this post, with ample assistance from Messrs. Einstein and Hawking, I will attempt to tackle a few of those queries.

Believe it or not, the concept of time travel was first introduced by Einstein back in 1905. In his superhit 'General Theory of Relativity', he introduced the concept of the fourth dimension. We all know any point can be measured in three dimensions (x, y, z). Einstein proposed that there is yet another dimension, which along with the other three, will determine the exact position of the point. Yes folks, that quantity is 'time'. He said that since time itself is a variable (not constant as we all thought), there exists four dimensions - space (x, y, z) and time (t). Together, he called it space-time (t, x, y, z). He also proposed that space-time is a curved, or warped fabric. To understand this, consider a thin rubber sheet suspended in mid-air. Let us suppose this sheet is the space-time fabric. Now, when we place a ball on top of this sheet, the sheet will bend downwards (curve) under the mass of the ball. The ball here is equivalent to a star, or any other heavenly body. Hence, a star causes the space-time fabric to curve. Higher the mass of the star, higher the curve in space-time. This was later proved by numerous experiments. So, according to Einstein, if we can curve space-time sufficiently, we can travel through time.

Okay, hold on now! How is that even possible? Enter Prof. Stephen Hawking. In one of his hugely popular lectures, he touched on the topic of 'wormholes'. A wormhole is a point in the space-time fabric, which theoretically is a gateway to another dimension, a parallel universe. It is basically a gap in space-time, which can transport us through time. Hawking proposed that wormholes are all around us (there may be one right next to where you are sitting!). However, they are too tiny to have any significant impact. Any thing, if looked under the microscope, will have small holes or gaps, or a crack. Same is true of space-time. It has tiny cracks all over, which are all potential wormholes. Hawking said that if we can somehow enlarge those wormholes sufficiently, we can use them to travel to the past!

So let us dwell a bit on the topic of traveling to the past. As mentioned earlier, if we can enlarge those gaps in space-time, we can travel to the past. However, according to Hawking, there would be so much radiation and electromagnetic waves going in and out of the wormhole, that the wormhole will collapse within a few milliseconds of its formation. Bad luck folks! It seems like wormholes are highly unstable, and cannot be used for time travel. Well, at least not today. Okay, so let us suppose in the future, we do build a device that can stabilize a wormhole. This would make time travel to the past possible. However, if that is true, why don't we have visitors from the future coming in, and sharing that knowledge? It is human nature to show off, so surely travelers from the future would have come here to boast!

Also, there are many paradoxes involved in traveling to the past. Let us take a simple one. Suppose a scientist successfully creates a wormhole that takes him one minute into the past. He comes out and notices his old self standing. He then shoots down his old self. How, then, can he justify himself being there?

Let us take another interesting one. Let us say a scientist wants to build a time machine which will take him into the future. He tries a lot, but remains unsuccessful. Suddenly, there appears an old visitor from the future. He teaches the young scientist how to build the machine. Thrilled, the scientist travels to the future, and spends several years there, enjoying himself. He then realizes that he should share this knowledge with the people in the past. So, he uses his machine to travel to the past. On reaching there, he finds his younger self, sitting and wondering how to build the machine! This would mean that he has taught himself how to build the machine. If that is so, where did the original idea of building the machine come from?

According to Hawking, this is against the laws of nature. The 'effect' can never precede the 'cause'. That is not how nature works. Considering all these points, time travel to the past seems impossible, or at most, highly unlikely.

What about the future then? We can at least go there, right? Yes, we can! All we need to do, is go fast. Really, really fast. Einstein proved that mass is directly related to time. Time tends to move faster when we are closer to a massive object. This means that if a few of us decided to live in space, we would age slower than those living on earth (since we would be further away from the earth's mass). If we come back from space after a few years, we would notice that all others have aged more than us. In fact, the clocks on the satellites orbiting earth need to be corrected everyday to account for the time lag on earth. However, the difference is actually negligible.

Now, let us get to the moving fast part (who doesn't like speed!). Hawking says that all we need to do to travel into the future, is to move close to the speed of light (easier said than done, professor!). In his lecture, he gave the following hypothetical scenario - Let us say we build a train line, for a superfast train. This line goes all around the earth in a circle. A few brave souls decide to board this train. The train starts its journey around the earth, and slowly starts gathering speed. After some time, it almost reaches the speed of light. This would mean that it is making seven revolutions around the earth per second! At this scary speed, time would slow down considerably inside the train. Let us suppose the train keeps going around the earth for 100 years (who will bear the ever-rising fuel expenses?). For the people inside the train, only one week would have passed! That is the extent to which time would have slowed down! When they finally come out from the train, they would be effectively transported 100 years into the future. Awesome, right? Yes, surely, but the practicality is questionable at this point, or is it?

We already have a similar structure in place underground, which is accelerating particles at the speed of light! The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN is emulating time travel as we speak! And what's more, the particles inside the LHC which are traveling at the speed of light, are decaying slower then they would have normally done!  Importantly, it shows us that Einstein was correct all along. Time is not constant for everyone as we previously thought. It is a variable which depends on a number of factors, including mass and speed. This makes time travel possible (Yay!).

The brilliant mind of Stephen Hawking deduced another interesting theory. Our universe is filled with dark beasts, creatures that swallow up everything in their path. They are called black holes. Black holes are super-massive points in space with infinite gravity. Such is the strength of its pull, that even light cannot escape from it. More importantly, due to the fact that it is super massive (normally a million times the mass of our sun), it curves space-time so much that standard laws of physics fail there. As Einstein, had pointed out, since it curves the space-time fabric considerably, this makes a black hole a natural time machine.

If we think along similar lines and someday are able to create a sustainable mini black hole on earth, we would effectively create a portal to travel through time. Of course, to create such a mini black hole is no easy task, not to mention putting our entire existence at risk! Moreover, it would be a one-way ticket into the future, with no way back to the present. Nevertheless, it provides yet another possibility of time travel.

I am sure you have noticed that I have always questioned the practicality of each scenario. You may think that all the above scenarios are impossible to create. However, science is constantly evolving. We have passed through the phase when the earth was thought to be flat, when the universe was thought be to stationery, when the earth was thought to be the center of the universe, so on and so forth. Hence, it is safe to think that at some point down the line, we may be able to put these theories into practice.

The bottom-line, though, is that time travel is theoretically possible. We are now poised at the threshold of the unknown, with infinite possibilities ahead of us. Hopefully one day, we would be able to book our tickets to the future. For now, let us keep using the only method of time travel available - sleep! Close your eyes, and when you open them after a nap, whoosh, you are transported a few hours into the future!

The following limerick does justice to everything we discussed in this post:

There was a young lady of Wight,
Who traveled much faster than light,
She departed one day,
In a relative way,
And arrived on the previous night.

Cheers!