Eggscape

The shopkeeper took the 20 rupees and said he does not have the change. He was requested to give an egg instead. The shopkeeper agreed immediately. The walk back to home was spent thinking about the day ahead. The plastic bag with the egg and other stuffs swayed from the hands. On reaching home the bag was placed on a window sill. The car seemed dirty and needed dusting urgently. The process consumed 20 minutes. Twenty minutes of further thinking on the day ahead.

When the bag was picked it seemed lighter. Something was missing - the lonely egg. It had not fallen off the bag. But it was not in the bag either. Instead the bag had a hole which was big enough for the egg to fall off. A re-inspection of the surrounding confirmed that the egg had not fallen off. But a crow picking into a paper wrapping was noticed. The wrapper seemed to be in the shape of a egg. The damn crow had taken advantage of the opportunity to tear the bag and take out the egg. It took the egg to a safe height before tearing into the paper, breaking the shell and drinking the egg's content.

On finishing off the egg it gave a few contented caws before flying away. The questions it left behind included 

1. How did it identify the egg?
2. How did it take it off without breaking it?
3. Was there a hint of amusement in the caw or was it just satisfaction?
4. How can the recent desire to have egg for breakfast be satisfied now?

First excursion with friends

His first trip with friends. Staying two nights away from home at a hill station. Trekking, rock climbing and other exciting activities planned for the three days. The school had sent a long list of items to be packed. The buying and searching for items itself seemed an activity. The excitement reached a crescendo the night prior to the travel. He was up on first call at 4:45AM. It seemed he had not slept at all. He was ready to leave within 15 minutes and had to be held back for another 15 minutes.

It had seemed that he would be the first child from school to board the train. But everyone had arrived by the time he got to the compartment though he had reached on time. Excited voices of children filled the compartment. The parents looked through the windows with a mix of excitement and anxiety. Most of them were first timers and many questions crowded their minds. Some of the experienced parents tried calming down the anxiety. The train started moving and waves of goodbye filled the air. The parents started their journey back to their usual lives when it seemed pointless to look at the passing train. They did not have much to talk to each other.

For the second time in as many months, mobiles could not help in getting instant information. By the end of day, the parents were calling each other to get some information. Time dragged on and by the end of day two, the desperation reached its peak. One of the parents called the school and received the information "they are fine". This turned out to be the most shared item on the parent's Whatapp group.

The day of arrival finally arrived. The parents did not feel too relieved. They had to wait till 10:30 PM. Two days had passed with no information other than "they are fine". It was not like they doubted the school's ability to take care of the kids. But the "what if" worried them. The day dragged on. The most boring and mundane activities seemed boringer and mundaner. For the first time in many years, determining the current time seemed a very important activity.

Most parents reached the platform 15 minutes prior to the arrival time. They smiled at each other sheepishly and indulged in disinterested small talk. Finally the train arrival announcement was heard. The parents craned their necks to get a first look of the train arriving. The announcements were rebroadcast two more times before the headlight of the engine was seen at the other end of the platform. The light grew constantly and transformed into an engine soon. The  engine passed a little later. The first set of compartments rushed by.

The train stopped and the parents looked into the compartment eagerly. The children and the parents spotted each other. Happy faces waved and greeted each other. The children weighed down by their bags tumbled out. They ran into their parent's arms who seemed relieved and surprised by the children's happiness. In a matter minutes the parents and children were on their way back home bundled into their respective cars.

He did not boisterously share stories and experiences from the past three days but was quiet and only answered in monosyllables. He seemed tired and his voice hinted an affliction of cold. He suddenly mentioned that that he had not taken bath during the excursion. The "why' question was pointlessly responded with a "Gneaah". On reaching home, he removed his pants and ran to the toilet. "Sit down. What's the hurry?" protested the parents in unison. "The toilets were very dirty" came the response. "So?" queried the parents. "I did not use it".

Dog - Dead on ground

The rain had turned into a drizzle by the time I decided to leave.  I ran through the light drizzle towards my car.  The downpour had resulted in many puddles across the road and I was not successful in avoiding them.  By the time I reached the car, my shoes had sucked in most of the water.  I got into the car, removed my shoes and socks.  As I started the car, the stereo blared out something loud.  I shook my head back and forth as I started working on the pedals and wheel.  It was nearing midnight and way later than I had planned.  Sunday nights had to end by ten but this evening my insistent friend extended it 2 minutes to midnight.

The roads were empty this late on a Sunday night and it took only fifteen minutes to reach my apartment.  I got out of the car and walked towards the gate.  I searched for the key hole in the dark.  I angled the lock towards the faint beam of light coming from a distant street light.  It helped; I inserted the key and turned it but it did not go the necessary full circle.  I tried again with similar results.  I was getting desperate now.  I continued turning the key insistently and forcefully.  A few turns and curses later, the key completed the full circle and lock clicked open.  I removed the lock and chain from the gate and pushed the rickety gates open.  As the gates opened, the key fell out of my hand.  I bent down to pick the key.  When I looked up I saw one of the gates rushing back at me at alarmingly rising speed.  I pushed my head back to avoid it, lost my balance and my backside hit the ground with a thud.  As pain shot up my back, I heard dog coming towards me barking.  When the dog reached closed by, it recognized me and started wagging its tail.  I looked at it annoyed.  It seemed to have a surprised look in its eyes.  I shoo-ed it away and walked back to the car.

As I was driving into my usual parking spot I noticed that my neighbor's car was not parked in its usual spot.  There was a dog lying there instead. I parked my car, got out and was walking towards my home when i remembered the dog. I turned around and saw that the dog had not moved a muscle. All the noise from the parking, opening of the door and banging it shut had no effect on it. I walked towards the dog to inspect. When i got close i saw that its eyes were only half closed and its mouth was half open.  Though not an expert on the topic, I realized that it was dead.

A dead dog near my house was disturbing. I did not feel bad for the dog as I was going through a phase where death seemed a welcome change. I inspected the dog visually to find the cause of its death. I saw tyre marks close to its head but did not notice any injury. I looked around for clues but found none. I gave the dead dog a last look and walked towards my home.

Disturbing thoughts of a decaying maggot infested dog lying besides my house hounded me as i got into my bed. Even these thoughts could not keep me awake for long. But the sleep was not peaceful. I went through experiences that seemed real but were too absurd to be real. I remembered these distinctly when I woke up but now the details seemed to have slipped into some unreachable corner.

I woke up some time during the night due to some noise from outside. I heard people talking right outside my window. A few of them were crying and others howling.  I got up and decided to find out what was happening. When I opened the door I saw that the street lights were still on and the sky seemed dark. I walked out of my door and saw a number of dogs standing around the dead dog. The talking stopped as soon as the dogs saw me. They stared at me with varying levels of passion. 

Soon they ignored me and their focus turned back to the dead dog. Some lamented about its early demise. Others talked about the dog's acts of kindness. A few protested about humans being responsible for the dog's early death. I tried to say something but could not. I don't remember what happened next but think that the scene continued for sometime.

Nothing untoward happened but there was something very disturbing about it. Though the dogs were crying and talking there was a kind of terrifying quietness. Though it had seemed dark when i woke up, it was not exactly dark outside. Instead some light from the horizon made the thick clouds every where else red, orange and yellow. It seemed like a storm was about to blow in.

Like most nights I was relieved to wake up. Some days i remember my dream for a few minutes after waking up. But soon the memory fades and only a vague impression remains. But most of the days I feel relieved to get out of a dream.

I searched the web to determine how to get rid of the dead dog. I found the Corporation call center's contact. I called up and was attended to politely. They said some one will come by and clean up. Soon I met my neighbours who informed me that they found the dog dead in the afternoon. It seemed to have died naturally. They had informed the local corporation guy to clean up.

An hour later, I gave the dog a last look as I was driving out. I received a SMS from the corporation at around noon that the carcass has been removed. That evening I parked my car in peace. The dogs who ruled the streets went about their business as if nothing had happened.  The dead seemed forgotten.