Of Worries and Celebrations

Team : Wings of change

Note: This post has been written for a contest 'Game of Blogs' being held by BlogAdda. Several teams, each comprising of ten random bloggers are chosen to compete. Each team has to weave a story using characters provided by BlogAdda. Each member has to continue the story from where the previous person left it.

Our team successfully made it to round two :) Three cheers to us!  So far, eleven chapters have been written by our team.


Here is my post-

Chapter 12:  Of Worries and Celebrations

Two weeks ago...

As Shekhar stood outside the emergency room of the hospital, he was puzzled. He had recognized the bleeding man the instant he had looked at him. Mr. Cyrus was the same man who had knocked on his doorstep a day ago and then rushed away without explanation.

The doctors had said that it would take an hour for them to comment about the man’s condition. Hoping that the man would be alright, Shekhar immersed himself in his thoughts.“There is something that the man wants to tell me or my family. I wonder what it could be? Is it fate that we should meet two days in a row? What is going on?” he wondered.

The buzz of his mobile phone disturbed Shekhar’s thoughts. It was a message from Tara- ‘Im worried. Did you pick up Roohi? Why no intimation from you? Meeting is still on, so text me your reply’.

 Shekhar texted her back-  ‘Aryan picked her up and Roohi is at his home with his family. I couldn’t go as something cropped up. Relax, I will fill you in on the details later.’

C for Cyrus-coward and commitment-phobic

Team : Wings of change

Note: This post has been written for a contest 'Game of Blogs' being held by Blogadda. Several teams, each comprising of ten random bloggers are chosen to compete. Each team has to weave a story using characters provided by Blogadda. Each member has to continue the story from where the previous person left it.

So far, seven chapters have been written by our team.


Here is my post-

 Chapter 8: C for Cyrus- coward and commitment phobic

As Cyrus stared at the woman before him, he couldn’t hide his surprise.  It was Jennifer, but she looked totally different, even more beautiful than she had been before.  His eyes became moist and he struggled with his emotions. Unable to utter a single word, he just stood there, opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish. But within his brain, the memories were travelling fast, back to the time when he had left Kerala…and Jennifer.

***

(Nine years ago- Cyrus)

Back in his hostel room, Cyrus quickly called up a cab to take him to the airport. Piling all his stuff into his bag, he grabbed a quick bite and ran to the cab, not informing anyone that he was leaving. His main aim was to get out of Kottayam as soon as possible. During the 90km ride to Cochin airport, Cyrus’s thoughts were focused on one thing- ‘Forget the past and move on’. 

Back in Delhi, Cyrus played his emotional cards well and convinced his parents that he was severely homesick. Being a pampered and only son of affluent parents had its benefits and they let him stay at home. 

For the next year, Cyrus stayed at home, spending his time aimlessly. He could never forget Jennifer and the time he had spent with her. “She was a true beauty, with her casual dressing and rebellious attitude. She cared a lot about me. But I couldn’t be with her,” he often thought to himself. 

She had texted and called him repeatedly in the first month after he had returned to Delhi, but he had ignored her and changed his simcard. She then took to emailing him, but he ignored the emails and opened a new account. He also deleted all the other traces of his life in Kerala. 

Cyrus knew that he had liked being with Jenny and had a strong attraction for her, but he was also aware that his parents would never accept a free spirited girl like her. Moreover, he wasn’t interested in a serious relationship. Watching his parents quarrel everyday had turned him into a commitment phobic man who wanted to live life without any shackles.

Meeting after nine years...

Team : Wings of change

Note: This post has been written for a contest 'Game of Blogs' being held by Blogadda. Several teams, each comprising of ten random bloggers are chosen to compete. Each team has to weave a story using characters provided by Blogadda. Each member has to continue the story from where the previous person left it.

So far, six chapters have been written by our team.

Here is my post-

Chapter 7: Meeting after nine years

As she stood behind the mesh-fence of the school, Jennifer reflected on her past.  Leaving her new born infant at the doors of the adoption agency had been the toughest decision she had made in her life.  But it was fate.  As an 18-year old unwed girl disowned by her family, she had been left with no choice.  Though the act of abandoning her baby was a rational one, the emotional part of her being gave her hell.  Not a single moment of her life had been spent without thinking of her child.

The little one had dominated Jennifer’s mind at every point of her life in the past nine years. And everytime she thought of her child, she was also reminded of the one who was the reason for the child’s existence. Cyrus..he was her first love. She could never forget him, ever. 

Though she was now happily married now with a loving husband, Jennifer knew she would always remember Cyrus. Though he had abandoned her after that one night of physical intimacy, Cyrus would always reside in a corner in the deepest recess of her heart. Jennifer could not bring herself to hate him, in spite of what had happened.  

Cyrus’s cowardly act had transformed Jennifer from the inside out. Over the years, she had metamorphosed from a rebellious and outspoken teenager to a soft-spoken and gracious woman. Her short and unruly locks were tamed to flow long and beautiful, always neatly plaited. Shorts, tees and accessories that had filled her wardrobe were replaced by elegant sarees and salwars.  People found it hard to believe that she was a journalist, as Jennifer broke all stereotypes about her job.

Even today, she remembered everything like it had happened yesterday, a bitter thanks to her photographic memory.

She remembered the look on his face, on the morning after they had made love. Beads of sweat lined his forehead and his hands were trembling. She remembered holding them softly with her own hands and showing him the tattoo in the shape of ‘C’.  Cyrus had not been soothed by her calm talk. He had stood up, picked his stuff and left her house abruptly. She remembered running after him to her doorstep and calling out his name- “Cyrus! Cyrus!! Cy…Wait..!!!” Ignoring her repeated calls, he had walked quickly out of sight. That was the last time she had seen him…

Book review: Private India

Title: Private India
Authors: Ashwin Sanghi and James Patterson
Genre: Crime Fiction

What can one expect when two acclaimed authors join hands? A masterpiece that is filled with the best of both their skills. With Private India, James Patterson and Ashwin Sanghi have given us a brilliant story that does not disappoint.

The Plot

A serial killer is on the loose in Mumbai and it is upto Private India, an investigation agency, to try and prevent the murders and nab the culprit.  
Apparently unconnected women are killed, strangled with a yellow cloth. Strange objects are placed with the corpses and these puzzle the investigators. As the bodies begin to pile up in quick succession, it is a race against time before the case is cracked.
But it does not end there. Yet another danger is imminent and this time, the lives of thousands of innocent Mumbai citizens are at stake...