I had a dream

*NOTE: NO PHOTOS IN THIS BLOG; ALL PICTURES ARE ADVERTISEMENTS.

 

Length of blog: 500 words (approx.)

Genre: Fiction.

              “I had a dream”, dear brother, Iwobi continued, “that you were calling me to check the news channels.”

“A bear creates a ruckus in a cargo plane”, the TV flashing the news headlines read, “Luggage dumped out with parachute for safety of the passengers in the plane.”

“They show CCTV footage of a live mission being completed, “Iwobi continued, “And out of the corner of my eye, I see a parachute. I turn towards the French-window and see the unbelievable.”

“I follow the parachute towards the landing area (maybe by bike)”, Iwobi continued”, “And it’s a street where all are talking about the unusual sight of how a parachute landed with a bear atop a heap of luggage. It quickly fled off hugging on to a bag. I abandon the bike and head on foot. The bear dragged a bag away along with a train of a nine to ten bags which were chained to each other.”

                “It went that way”, people said as they helped me and got about their daily tasks.

                “I then reach an old sky-scrapper which has been abandoned half-way at the time of construction.”

                “A few kids pointed and gossiped about the sight and I enter the building in ruin.

                “I cautiously enter after scoping out the gentle sloped-surroundings of the cylindrical tower. And I notice the baggage-dragged scars in the undergrowth.”

                “I see that one bag is on the entrance of the ground floor - open and empty. Food trailed off onto the next floor. The building had a staircase only till the second floor. The rest of it had not been completed (and in ruin). I veer off and circle a window and see the bear rolling and relaxing in the first room.

                I run down past the children with the eager news of finding the bear – sleeping. The fruit vendor closest to building, calls for help on the phone.”

                I re-enter and exit towards the first floor and find all the luggage in one room. I video-call you showing you all of the luggage which is thankfully yours.”

                On the call we come to know that the ten bags are yours and you describe some of the well packed deep-blue-all-weather canvas bags. One had foodstuff in it, which is obviously the one on the ground floor – open and eaten by the bear. One package is a cycle, the shape of the bag is a giveaway. We discuss about your fitness level.

                And as I exit the building, the police are there and they verify that it is your luggage on the video-call itself. Apparently one of the bags has your documents in them. As I leave I see a security guard eagerly telling the arriving news people that he had collected the luggage into the room below the resting bear.

 

--- THE END ---

Kindly help in interpreting the dream.

;-P

Debt Repaid

 

*NOTE: NO PHOTOS IN THIS BLOG; ALL PICTURES ARE ADVERTISEMENTS.

 

Hrushab was off to the local hill-station for a weekend of cycling and it had been multiple times the plan was delayed. Too many times indeed. So, when he received the call from Viz, he said, "Can you take care of this?"

 They were three of them and Viz required Hrushab to be involved else they would all lose out on the new rental apartment they had to move into. Viz was eager to move out of their current room with a leaking ceiling.

 "Ok", Viz said

 "I'll pack everything and keep, you would need to get the packers-and-movers to shift my baggage into the new rental apartment", Hrushab said

Deal done, Hrushab had a splendid trek, but when he returned, he found the new homeowners had buggered up. The managing committee who had a tiff with the owner had held-up the incoming clan. The broker who was the go-between the three of them and the owner was under fire for a few formalities not done according to law. Police were to be called to oust the unwelcome newcomers out.

"Hi, I'm Hrushab, I am not a terrorist, please don't treat me like one. I have a morning shift tomorrow. Please have a heart and let me enter", Hrushab said.

 The three men who formed the managing committee made the guard throw-out the ever-protesting Hrushab.

 "I have seen my father work as a treasurer of our building society bur never have I seen him be so heartless", Hrushab said from the entrance while he held the paper-bag of Chinese fried rice on his finger in one hand.

 Only after some promises made by the broker, were they allowed to enter, however the packers-and-movers had left. And hence two cupboards, a fridge and a couple of other hefty items were left out overnight in the rain.

 Viz had to call in another set of packers-and-movers to shift-in the rain soaked furniture. A drab start to their new dwelling.

Fourteen months had passed. The 2020 pandemic made all of them move back to their home out of their now 'old' rental place. They had informed the broker, in the eleventh month that, they would not be renewing the rental agreement. 

 "We need to move out by end of week, the broker has contacted us to empty the flat", Hrushab heard Viz's distant voice on his cell phone.

 "Tell that fellow, we will do it Sunday", Hrushab continued without missing a heartbeat, "I'll be there to do the shifting-out. You provide me logistic support over the phone, like where to move out to and coordinating with the packers-and-movers, etc."

 Come Sunday morning, Hrushab was early to rise and was at the rental apartment. He packed everyone's baggage into their respective bags. He waited for the movers to assess the package deal and then guided the baggage into the trucks.

            He noticed that one room was locked up.

 "I think the broker is trying a fast one on us”, Hrushab continued into the video conference call ongoing with his to-be-ex roommates, “Viz, please go on the attacking foot and tell the broker we are almost out of this apartment and we would need our refund back.

 Viz excused himself to do the same.

 “I bet we won’t see any of our deposit refunded”, Hrushab said to the remaining room partner on video conference call

 Hrushab was pointing his cell phone camera at the locked door when, in came the broker.

“Why is this door locked?”, he said

 Hrushab who was hungry by now and his ears pained for wearing a mask for a long period whilst coordinating with the packers-and-movers, watchman, cleaners and electricians dismantling and packing stuff, pounced on the broker. All were audience to his shenanigans.

 “Do you remember me?”, Hrushab continued not waiting for any recognition from the broker or the person standing next to the broker, “I am the same person whose luggage you did not save from the rain while entering this house last year and the same person who is running around doing the ground work here since morning.”

 Hrushab turned toward the new face next to the broker.

 “I’m guessing you are the new person who will be replacing us, please be well aware of this guy standing next to you. He will not give you a single ounce of help yet take his cut in full plus make you pay for the extra fees like the door fixing”

 The key-maker who Viz had sent for arrived on the spot.

 “The lever in the lock has broken in on itself. The door will need to be roughed up to get it open”, the keymaker said.

 Hrushab paid off the keymaker. The door lay open just like Hrushab's ranting mount.

 “It’s not about the money”, he continued, “Us, youngsters, come to a new place with aspirations, new lives to be lead. From new shoes right up to the new dreams that we think our new career will take us to, but here we find these men who form speed-bumps like hindrances rather that showing off their wise age and experience and help us into a forward moving lot. But no! One will bring everything right from family-feuds, to clauses in agreements, to rainwater damage, to ego clashes, to no service-provided, to cunning ways to not return deposits, to any applicable conditions and repeat the same without heart.

 Hrushab stormed off to the departing luggage filled truck to a storage facility.

 “Hope I don’t come across that guy ever again. I came to repay a debt to my now ex-room partners who helped me shift into that place.”, Hrushab said. He was addressing the convoy after the unloading was complete and all were about to part their ways after a long day of shiftings.

 

--- THE END ---

 

Length of blog: 1000 words.
Genre: Fiction

;-p

 

Humanity Lost

 

*NOTE: NO PHOTOS IN THIS BLOG; ALL PICTURES ARE ADVERTISEMENTS.

 

Surenjene had just acquired a wicker sofa from his brother-in-law. It was light, bulky though, and awaiting to be transported to his house.

"How are you gonna transport it to your place. It's on the other side of town, right?"his brother-in-law continued,"it surely won't fit in your car"

"Not a big deal, I'll flag a shared pickup", Surenjene said.

Thus saying Surenjene marched off. He went towards the local market and scrutinized the place for a tempo. He specifically looked out for a license plate which matched his car's prefix. 

"Help me load the sofa onto the tempo." Surenjene said. 

The brother-in-law looked on as the wicker sofa disappeared in the back of the tempo. He looked at the time. His lower lips protruded and eyebrows raised.

"All within an hour", he said to Kunti, his wife, "That guy has some talent."

They did not have phones and had to coordinate by looking at each other; the tempo driver and Surenjene.

"I will follow you", the tempo driver had said, his thumb raised.

The first couple of check-posts they held their spots. As they turned off the expressway nearing their destination, Surenjene signaled towards the side and turned on his left-blinker. He watched as the tempo parked behind him seamlessly. Surenjene pointed towards a pani-puri stall. Both of them enjoyed the crisp globules of masala filled water. The best part about this pani-puri-wallah was that he had six containers of different flavours to choose from - one was regular,  then tamarind, followed by cumin, mint, garlic and ginger. Each with it's own unique twist of taste.

They continued their journey towards Surenjene's house and that is when Surenjene lost sight of the tempo. He slowed down on the left of the road. He stopped for some time. The traffic was thick and slow, the tempo couldn't be far behind. Another traffic signal, again he strained his neck. He had lost the tempo. And he had not given the driver his address neither did he know any other details.

He circled a few blocks and reached home. 

"I have lost all hope in humanity", Surenjene told his wife.

He argued how any driver who had followed behind his car all the way could take a wrong turn. Deliberately perhaps.

"Get me the bottle of whiskey", he told his wife.

"That is why he agreed for almost quarter the price of what the official price list was", Surenjene said.

"Why did you trust in him in the first place?" His wife continued, "That has been your problem always. You trust everyone, always."

"I looked out for a guy with our area's license code so that if he did not have to do a return trip, it would work out well for both of us - financially."

"It was a good plan, but see the outcome. He must've seen you and decided to dupe you", his wife continued, "What triggers others as signals, you take it as faith."

Surenjene gulped in a huge sip from his whiskey glass. He would never hear the end of this. To top it all, her brother the previous owner of the wicker sofa would also pipe-in. Oh the in-laws' jibes!

"The cheap numbers was the trigger, I was referring to, by the way" ,his wife had continued her pricks, "Your biggest idea of him not having to go back to the other side of town, has made you land the sofa onto his lap, or the tempo-driver into the sofa's lap"

"But we had pani-puri together", was what Surenjene could keep saying.

He was restless in bed. Then at one o'clock the door bell rang.

It was the tempo driver with the wicker sofa. He had taken the journey back to the brother-in-law's side of town and driven back with the exact directions to deliver Surenjene's lost faith in humanity.

--- THE END ---

Length of blog: 650 words.
Genre: Fiction

Written as a light read during these dire times of pandemic quarantine as a reminder to the reader to not lose faith in humanity. 

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;-p