Zombies in Shanti Nagar - part 2

When life gives you a lemon, make lemonade

On the way back home my auto driver noticed the disappointment in my face.

“Love failurah?” he asked.
“Huh? Airport Road”, I hadn’t heard him properly at first.

His not so restrained chuckles made me feel uneasy. I was reminded of my own doings with the hot shot at Sea Shells. I realized that we are all the same, that we just had different ways of doing things. Couldn’t we all just get along? An idea was budding in my mind. I thought about my melting ice and lemons analogy and about the doppelganger. Ideas were piling up in my mind. I knew I was about to hit orbit and that a grand theory was taking shape, sort of like a unified theory of life. The rush of the exhilarating cerebral activity was awesome and it made me high. The fact that I was already high helped.

I had found my story. Only it was so profound that its ramifications would be felt for centuries to come. I was feeling very light and free. “May be this is what enlightenment feels like. This auto is to me like the tree was to Buddha.” I placed a hand on the auto driver’s shoulder and told him that he was very lucky. It was his turn to feel uneasy.

In the end, dear friend, it is always between us and God *

Zombies were coming down the stairs in my grandma's house. Few of my relatives where screaming with terror while others were whimpering and groveling on the floor. This new reality, where zombies invade homes, was beyond their comprehension. There was only one who could maintain his composure, me (did u doubt that?). They say that circumstances make heroes; well this was when I turned into one. I knew we had to fight them and as the bravest of the lot the responsibility fell on me. Orders were given and executed. Barricades were made to block the staircase, but I knew it wouldn't hold them back forever **. I would have to fight the zombies and protect those innocent relatives of mine (under normal circumstances we are mortal enemies, but when confronted by creatures from the nether world I realized that blood is thicker than .......eh whatever ooze flows through zombie's veins).

The barricades were interspersed with items from the pooja room, in the hope that the holy objects would repel the zombies. This kept the monsters at bay for a short while but then their numbers were too high. The barricades were breached. It was time for confrontation. The elite corps chosen by me was already in formation at the battle front waiting for my command.

“Go back to hell you creatures from ......eh........... hell. GO TO HELL I SAY. THEY MIGHT TAKE OUR LIVES BUT THEY WILL NEVER TAKE OUR....... our...........take us?”, I almost sounded like Mel Gibson when I said that.

Then I signaled the elite corps, comprised of my aunts and uncles, to begin their battle maneuvers. And one by one, all at different times, they started singing “Krishna ne beganne baro...” The raging cacophony horrified the zombies. Their pathetic screams goaded us on and we sang the bhajan with more conviction.

“Religion is the reason......” that was me. I only knew the words from the colonial cousin's song. Everyone stopped singing. Then all as one pointed fingers at me and laughed like there was no tomorrow. Even the zombies had stopped their howling to guffaw at me. But a very loud rumbling was masking all the other sounds. It was overwhelming and demanded immediate attention. Who or what was making that noise? And then I woke up.

The rumbling was from my tummy, massive hangover you see. When I had got home the previous night I was too tired to write anything. So I had decided to have a good night's sleep and write down my unified theory of life in the morning after getting fresh. But then while sitting on the toilet trying to recollect the previous nights events I could not remember the theory at all. I could remember everything else but the theory seemed to have vanished from my mind.

“My chance for success ruined.... It was just a dream anyway”, and then it came back to me - the dream, the zombie nightmare. I thought that it was actually an interesting story and that with sufficient embellishments it could be turned into an unputdownable thriller. And so I started with my first novel “Zombies in Shanti Nagar.”

* - Statistics show that .... er......I think that most readers prefer stories with a twist at the end. Get ready for a very twisted ending

** - No matter how strong the barricades are the zombies will always break in somehow................ as has been proved through the dime a dozen zombie movies.

TV shows - Stress test results - Part 1

I havn't had a TV for most of this year and for entertainment I watch TV shows on my laptop. I watched the entire episodes of season 2  & 3 of Lost in 3 days. I consider that an achievement, but unfortunately I cannot put things like that in my resume. So I am going to brag about it in my blog. Watching episodes back to back is in my opinion a kind of abusive stress test. That is when recurrent ideas in these shows become apparent and the jokes just aren't funny anymore. It really tests the script writer's variety.

Just remember that I am being magnanimous by sharing the results of my stress tests here. Who knows this might really turn someones life around. So here goes.

Lost
Pretty good series and probably the one with the highest ratings. Excellent production values and cast. Season 1 was very good. Each episode was like a block buster hollywood movie with many thrills and fresh ideas. But then seasons 2 just dragged on with nothing worth mentioning. In season 1, the viewers were clueless as to whether it was science fiction or fantasy. But protracting that theme made it boring. May be the writers themselves were clueless. The recurrent themes such as the impending strife between Jack and Locke, new characters appearing out of nowhere and disappearing at the same pace they came and the invincibility of the 'others' started annoying me. But towards the end of season 3 with many more plot revelations things got interesting. The ongoing season 4 sees a lot of new experiments, new characters and plot twists. Also they introduced the new format of putting something like subtitles to explain the plot intricacies (but sometimes they overdo it). They seem to have successfully catered to several audiences at once. Its got romance, violence, science fiction and spirituality. It even had a few court room scenes (US viewers love that).

All said I feel the initial excitement and intrigue is starting to wear down and I might not watch the forthcoming episodes. Nah.....who am I kidding?



Scrubs
Everyone likes to watch a show about losers. Scrubs is yet another of those shows. Although all the lead characters are doctors or medical interns, they have enough quirkiness to make people forget that fact. This show fared very poorly in the stress test. In fact I think they repeated a season 3 episode in season 5. The first season was entertaining but it got too repetitive and predictable after that.

I don't recommend it even for regular watching. Watching an episode once in a while is fine. And the acting isn't great either. I guess they ran out of ideas and resorted to gimmicks (like making poor Dr. Elliot get a boob job).



How I met your mother
Belongs to the same category as scrubs. Its about a bunch of friends who meet regularly at a bar (as opposed to a coffee shop). Few of the episodes are funny and there are a lot of crazy ideas by Barney, but the episodes all seem too familiar. I mean apart from a few highlights there is not much else to watch out for. And sometimes the idiosyncrasies of the characters are really annoying. It must be an attempt to make them more realistic but that is not the end effect. I used to like Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie howser) before I watched this show.



The Big Bang Theory
I would give this one five stars. Hmm...... I didn't give any stars to the others, did I? . But anyway this new series is very promising. I don't think theres any other series like it. It has geeks as heroes. Not as a tease like in revenge of the nerds, but really the lead characters are all geeks. A beautiful (but slightly dumb in a blond kind of way) Kaley Cuoco moves in next door to two Caltech physicists and they and their two friends begin to have new experiences. I guess I really like this one cause I identify with these characters very well. When I am not leonard or Sheldon I am Koothrappali.

The Indian geek Koothrappali is a very believable portrayal of a desi student in the US. Kudos to the writers for that. They deserve applause for not succumbing to employing the stereotype. A very entertaining show indeed. That said there have been only eight episodes of it so far and it might be presumptuous of me to give it such a high rating. But I enjoyed those eight very much.

Chicken Biriyani for the lazies

All hail the chicken biriyani. The undisputed king of all dishes is not that hard to cook, but it did take me some time to figure out this recipe. Though I tell everyone that it is Hyderabadi dum biriyani, it's actually my own recipe. Guess I should win an award or something.
"I would like to dedicate this to my tummy, for guiding me and having faith in me. Even when I wanted to quit and have just pickles and curd rice, my tummy urged me to do more, to invent....." that would be my acceptance speech.

Anyways here is the easy to make biriyani recipe. Do the whole procedure in medium flame. Best if had with raitha, curd or boiled egg.

1. Pour about quarter a cup of oil into a cooker and put spices (for the uninitiated - elaichi, cloves and a lot of other smelly stuff) into it. If you don't have the spices you can still make the biriyani, but it won't smell exotic. Fry till you can smell the aroma. If you have cashews put them in too.
2.Put in a big onion. And remember it is very important to cut the onion before doing this. Add turmeric, coriander/cumin powder (less than 1 tea spoon each) and two large green chillies slit vertically. Add a chunk of butter into it and a few cilantro leaves. Stir fry till the onions look fried.
3. Add 1 tea spoon of ginger-garlic paste and half a big tomato. If you don't know how big a big tomato is, know that its just a bit smaller than a big onion. Fry till they form a paste.
4. Put the pieces of chicken into the paste. Add eight and three quarter tea spoons of water or an equivalent quantity of curd/plain yogurt. Add three teaspoons of biriyani masala and two tea spoons of salt. Stir till the liquid is almost boiled away.
5. Add two cups of rice (long grain/sona masoori/basmati) and four cups of water and mix well.
6. Now is the tough part. You have to taste your concoction and see if there is enough salt. Add it in quanta of half teaspoons, tasting it each time, till it is just salty. Overdo this and you can throw the whole thing into the garbage or punish stray dogs by letting them eat it.
7. Close the cooker and wait for one whistle. Switch off the stove (hmm....... did I tell you to switch it on first?). After about ten minutes open it and let it cool for another fifteen minutes.
8. Eat it.

Tales from Azeroth: The Betrayal

Author's note: This one is set in the WoW mythos, but has a lot of deviations from it. Anyway it is self contained and so it doesn't matter if you are thinking wtf is WoW (but shame on you).

Through the nether world his spirit had wandered, reckless with vengeance and madness. The gleaming specks of his miasmic spirit bled through a portal ablaze in lightning fire and surged onto his decaying body. The blind half – demon, half - elven warrior had been resurrected. The twin blades that lay on his chest seemed to throb with electric energy. He slid his fingers into its hand grips like they had done countless times before. The betrayer had awoken.

“Who dares awaken me?” thundered Illidan Stormrage. “I am the rogue, the betrayer, the demon who was once an elf. My whole life was a play of hatred and bitterness. When I died no one mourned me....... and now you resurrect me? What does this mean? Who is foolish enough to bring this wretched being back from the dead?”

“It was I.” The voice had a shrillness that could pause any passing creature's heart. It came from everywhere, as if a hundred wisps all around sang in unison. Far from being pleasant it evoked images of slithering serpents with their fangs grating against each other's scales. It came from a banshee. “I am Sylvanas Windrunner, the Queen of the Forsaken. Once a revered elven warrior much like you, but cursed into a fate worse than death – into undeath.”

“And what do you want?” rasped the demon elf.

“Why? The same thing that you want.........” The banshee's eyes were orbs of green flames as she hissed through gritted teeth, “VENGEANCE”.

______


“Priestess, the Lich king's undead army has breached the alliance's defenses. It is only a matter of a few days before they reach the Moonglade forest and disrupt our beloved druids' slumber.”

“Good work huntress........ leave me now.” The priestess, Tyrande, had dreadful secrets that she could not reveal even to her trusted sentinels. She was expecting her scout owl to return any moment with news from the banshee territory. The fair elf was fondly called the priestess though she was the titular head of the night elves. Her beauty had been sung about in lands afar. It had once made two of the most powerful elves quarrel. The Stormrage twins were both in love with her, but she chose the wise druid Malfurion Stormrage and married him.

Malfurion was now drifting in the transcendent emerald dream rejuvenating his powers. He was to be aroused on the day of solstice that was just three days away. The savior of the people could then fulfill his duty and stem the surge of the Lich king's scourge. But until then he could not be troubled or he would be forever in a vegetate state. The undead scourge was advancing, relentlessly slaughtering and enlisting anyone who opposed them, for the scourge turned their kill into the undead. The Moonglade forest, where Malfurion and his fellow druids were recuperating would soon be blighted and infested with the undead minions of the Lich king. Malfurion would be killed and there would not be a champion left to rescue their world.

As Tyrande gazed out of her citadel's window her brow was wrinkled. She knew that there was almost no hope left of rescuing her people, her forest and above all of Malfurion. The Lich king had outwitted and overpowered her forces at every turn. Now was her last chance and she prayed that she would be more fortunate. She only needed to hold on for another three days, but that seemed impossible.

______


“You are an incompetent fool!”, cried the Lich king.

“Your majesty..... haven't I served you well?” Anub'arak the chief lieutenant reminded him.

“Then why do we have so many setbacks? Azeroth should have been conquered by now.”

“We cannot fail ...... you are almost a god.”

“Yes. Soon I will be a god. But now my army is too far away for me to control telepathically. I, myself will go to the battlefront and put an end to this pathetic resistance by the alliance,” thundered the king. “Make sure that everyone knows of my plans. The puny alliance will tremble on hearing these tidings...... they shall be devoid of all hope long before I unsheathe my sword in battle.”

The undead scourge unleashed their blood lust on the defending alliance champions with renewed gusto as emissaries brought forth the tidings of the Lich king's impending entry onto the battle field. And soon the alliance came to know their doom, that the invincible tyrant would conquer the elven territory and blight their holy forests.

______


“You remember Tyrande don't you?” the banshee teased Illidan.

“Of course, more than anything else.”

“Then hear this........ she is presently in terrible danger. She, as the commander of the alliance is the biggest obstacle to the Lich king's plans and he will see to it that it doesn't remain that way.”

“What are you saying?” Illidan was perturbed.

“The Lich king himself is entering the battle. Your brother Malfurion is recuperating in the emerald dream. There is no one left who can face the Lich king......... except you.”

“Me? He defeated me once before...... and he is several multitudes stronger now........” shouted a perplexed Illidan.

“Your demon avatar is impervious to his new powers...... and you will not face him alone this time. I have enough reasons for joining you. The wretched bastard did this to me, turned me into a banshee.”

“All right. I will go with you. What is your plan?” he asked.

The banshee related to him the events that had transpired since his death and then the details of her plan. They would go to the fringes of the Lich king's continent kingdom, Northrend, and infiltrate the undead troops. They would then intercept him on his way into the elven territory and assassinate him. The undead scourge would crumble without their leader and the future of the living on Azeroth would be safe.

“Illidan, this is your chance to redeem your honour, to save your loved ones.......”

“ENOUGH! Your platitudes do not sway me. I doubt if your insipid plan will succeed. But I will still do it...... I owe it to my brother and Tyr-........ his wife, the only people I care about in this miserable world. I shall play along and if your plan fails, it wouldn't the first time that I die.”

“Good..... and this is not my plan. It was Tyrande who requested me to resurrect you using my knowledge of necromancy. I have informed her scouts about my success with the necromantic rite.” Sylvanas noticed the disbelief in his face when she said, “She should be here soon.”

______


Mighty Malfurion floated over placid forests enveloped in a verdant bubble. An omnipresent force of limitless energy pounded on the circumference of the diaphanous bubble seeking an orifice. But inside Malfurion was calm. In fact he was meditating. He or rather his mind was in the emerald dream, the dimension where the mind was all that mattered. For eons creatures with fragile old bodies had retreated their surfeited minds into its calm and yet stimulating environment. There their thoughts could resonate helping their minds cogitate at an explosive pace. The emerald dream had thus turned into the biggest repository of wisdom and knowledge. But no one could enter it without the key keeper's, the great red dragon's, consent for the infinitely potent force would obliterate all infiltrators.

In the emerald dream Malfurion had the counsel of the wisest minds ever in Azeroth. Every moment he learned more about the true nature of power, about the origins of strength and magic. In a few days he would know enough to transform nature itself. Then he would be not only the keeper of the grove but its maker too. On the day of the solstice, when Elune's stellar powers are in its most untainted form he could recede from the emerald dream and revisit the real world. No one could then threaten the fate of the living in his world for he could turn the world itself against them.

______


He was still haunted by her tears; the shame and repent was overwhelming. More than ten thousand years ago Illidan had betrayed the elves to demons. He was so enamored by Tyrande that in his desperation he betrayed everyone to win her as booty. When Malfurion had caught him during his insane act, he was heartbroken too. But then he sentenced Illidan to be imprisoned forever, until due to a string of fortuitous events he was finally released. But by then he had spent a mind numbingly torturous ten thousand years in a dungeon. And even after he tried all he could to make up for his past mistake no one showed him any compassion or mercy.

He was not sure if his second life would be any different. He was needed for his powers and extraordinary talent for violence. When that need was over what would happen? Would he be shunned again? Illidan's desultory reverie was interrupted by the voice that he would have heard even if he was dead.

“Illidan. Thank you for doing this.” It was Tyrande.

“Tyrande!....... I am glad to see you again.”

“There is no time for conformities. You carry the fate of Azeroth on your shoulders. Pray the gods be with you.”

“I know what I have to do.” Illidan felt fatigued. He felt he was destined for self destruction. If the Lich king doesn't kill him then the remainder of his despondent solitary life might be worse than death itself.

“It is good to have you back Illidan..........,” said Tyrande looking genuinely glad. And then they deliberated their plans and decided on the details.

______


Illidan was soaring over the ice continent, Northrend. The wind chill would have frozen the tears in his eyes if he had had eyes. Sylvanas was a zooming purple blur next to him. They were on route to Netherport where the Lich king was thought to have camped before his journey to the Moonglade forest. He smelled acrid smoke from somewhere below and flew towards it. A party of necromancers were engaged in a sacrificial rite of self mutilation and cannibalism. Acolytes were hovering around them eager to sacrifice themselves hoping to attain undeath. Decomposing carcases lay splattered on the putrid ground. Illidan had known before the morbidity of these bands of undead and his reaction now was the same as always.

“DIE, FOOLS” he bellowed. His twin blades were more than eager to slice through the flesh of the necromancers and their lackeys. It had been a long time since a kill and his body and mind, being tuned for the purpose, reveled at the opportunity. Within minutes he decimated them all.

“You are the fool! Now everyone here will know of our arrival,” cried Sylvanas.

“I needed to do that.... Besides they were an isolated band. It's going to be sometime before we are discovered.” a calm Illidan replied.

But he was wrong. His audacity had endangered him once again. The ground below him shook in tremors. The blighted land cracked as hundreds of arachnoid warriors emerged from underground. At the center of the group was a giant ant covered with spiky appendages and mandibles the size of Illidan's arms.

“Illidan this time you DIE,” it announced.

“Anub'arak!” cried a shocked Illidan. The hideous monster was almost as despised and feared as his master, the Lich king. Illidan quickly transformed into his demon avatar and a terrifying battle ensued. Sylvanas surrounded herself with the arachnoids whose souls she magically possessed. Protecting herself thus she slew several undead warriors with her uncanny archery skills. Illidan, seemingly in a demoniac frenzy, went on a rampage killing all in his sight. Though he was targeted by the entire company, his magic shield protected him. He leveled many of the undead by summoning the flames of hell onto them. Finally Anub'arak and Illidan came face to face.

Both adversaries were adept at magic and their fight appeared to be a pyrotechnic spectacle. The ricochets from their clashing curses pulverized their surroundings. Eventually all but Slyvanas, Illidan and Anub'arak had perished. Anub'arak was beginning to show fatigue when Slyvanas aimed her flame tipped arrow at him. But she never fired the weapon. She was suddenly engulfed in flames that inexplicably emerged from the air around her. Her pitiable screams alerted Illidan, but to no avail as she was quickly reduced to ashes. The tyrant Lich king had manifested in front of Illidan shielding Anub'arak.

“Your persistence is impressive,” said a voice that clearly bespoke the unrivaled power of its source. “Before you try anything foolish listen to what I say.”

“I am here to kill you,” shouted an enraged Illidan before he pounced on the Lich king.

The Lich king effortlessly fended off the attack. He drew his magnificent sword and said, “If you insist I can play with you for some time. After all that is what you are here to do, to delay me.”

After many more futile lunges Illidan said between gasps, “No I am here to rid this world of you.” He used his twin blades both to attack and parry the Lich king's lurches.

“My powers have grown dramatically since the last time we had a bout. Apart from my boundless magical powers, I also posses unparalleled physical strength. You cannot hope to even scar me. Everyone in the alliance knows this. Hence I surmise that you must be here to delay me.”

“No, I can kill you. I am immune to your magic...”

“And I am immune to yours. You might as well give up elf. Did you really think that you can defeat me? I didn't think so..... thats why you are still alive. I want you to join me, why do you side with the people who hate you the most? You know you have no place in Azeroth as long as they are here. With me your powers will be respected. As I conquer other worlds you will be the champion of my army.” The Lich king put up an impassive face masking the weariness he felt.

Though Illidan was exhausted he did not give up his fight. He screamed, “Never..... I have not lost my mind. I will not betray Tyrande.”

The Lich king laughed out wickedly and using his most sympathetic tone he said, “Tyrande? She send you here? Isn't it obvious that she has used you as a ploy? She wants to delay me until Malfurion returns from the Emerald dream. What you don't realize and what she knows is that my telepathic powers are now so strong that I can sense whatever happens anywhere on Azeroth.”

They both stood still and regarded each other. The Lich king acutely observed Illidan as he said, “You see, if your plan was to surprise me with a stealth attack you had no hope from the beginning. I knew of your arrival the moment you set foot on Northrend. She too knows the fallacy of your plan. You have been used by an elf trying to save her love.” The Lich king's countenance did not betray his guile and trickery. He could subvert anyone.

“I don't believe it.....” Illidan was dismayed. But he realized that everything he had heard was logically sound.

“You can join me and have the life you deserve or die a painful death. Your first task as my lieutenant would be to return to moonglade forest and slaughter your brother. If you need to, tell your brethren that you killed me.”

Illidan was in a dilemma. It was heart wrenching to know that he had been betrayed, but he still had feelings of loyalty and some residual love for his brother and Tyrande. She could not do something so cruel, could she? But he knew that nothing could be said of the atrocities people could commit for the sake of their loved ones. He himself had once left the realm of reason and sinned terribly for the eternal company of his love. Was he really just a pawn? His whole body shook from the gravity of this revelation.

“ILLIDAN. Do you swear your allegiance? Will you murder your brother and take revenge on Tyrande?” asked the devious Lich king.

______


Tyrande was preaching a sermon when she felt desperation inexplicably creep up on her. She shuddered and tears ran down her cheeks as she sensed that something terrible had happened. The world moaned the departure of one of its greatest souls. A Stromrage twin had died.

The vilification of Tyler

Author's note: This one is not my best and frankly was meant to be depressing. And I used all  of my vocabulary in it, which I now feel was supererogatory (see what I mean?). So keep your dictionary software open.

The herald in red velvet announced “All rise. Queen Marla, ruler of the empire of Kaglash arrives.”

All eyes turned towards the entrance of the court as the beautiful Queen walked regally through it to her throne. As always her sight evoked awe, envy, treachery, devotion and love in those eyes. Thufir, the chief of royal security, watched them with engrossment. He was thinking of what the herald had announced. Only the day before she had been just Queen Marla, not the ruler of the empire. The king Lukkan had died in battle leaving her the burden of ruling his vast kingdom. He remembered that she had been just a callow young princess of the nearby kingdom of Zentyr when Lukkan had proposed to her a year ago. Now the responsibility of a sovereign of state was abruptly cast on her leaving her little time to even mourn her husband's death. Will she live up to our expectations?

Marla was concentrating on performing her duties. But she found it exceedingly daunting as her will was being drained by the effort it took to hold back the whirl storm, the wailing dirge that was emanating at the back of her mind. Her king and his entourage had been slaughtered in an ambush. The discontented populace of the kingdoms he had amassed in his tireless expansionist campaign looked up to her with hope of peace. The royal counsel had advised her of the cabal of noblemen and traders who were, at that opportune moment, plotting to overthrow her. Already there was talk of a usurper in their midst, someone who had betrayed the king’s war plans to his enemies. She felt weariness that she knew only sleep could obviate, but she could not afford that luxury.

A lot of ruckus coming from a corner of the room attracted her attention. Thufir was hustling through the court towards Marla’s throne.

“Your Highness, we have received credible reports that an assassin has been planted in the court. We have to search everyone”, Thufir whispered.

Even though he did not appear perturbed Marla could see the nervousness in his darting glances. With utmost restrain she intoned, “Do the needful.”

Thufir ordered the royal guard to cordon off the hall and bar all exits. Everyone would be frisked irrespective of their rank or status. Marla was observing her subjects, looking for signs of resignation, fear or cowardice when a sudden movement caught her eye. The court jester was being restrained by several guards while he was maniacally shouting inanities and trying to resist them. Thufir brought forth the jester towards her. He held a dagger in his hand.

“He had this on him. I cannot imagine what he planned to do with it”, he growled.

“The rascal, I know him; he always made us laugh with his histrionics. All the while he was plotting against me? The obscenity…..” The thought of her and her king laughing at his jokes and performances seemed repugnant.

Her enemies would be watching her, she knew, and they would judge her from her reaction. She had to show them her resolve. She had to set an example.

“This man is to be hanged unto death at dawn tomorrow. Find out who hired him and mete out the same punishment to them. Now get him out of here.” Marla tried to overcome the revulsion she felt, there were impending affairs of the kingdom to deal with.

The queen’s orders were executed expeditiously. As the sun rose the next day Thufir was standing on the ramparts of the castle overseeing the hanging. The court jester, whose name was Tyler, trembled and sobbed violently as he was led to the gallows. In comparison the other prisoner, they had found one more assassin in the hall the previous night, was calm and reticent as he went about the requisite formalities. Thufir found it highly unusual that there were two assassins in the hall. All through the night he had pondered the weirdness of the situation. He regarded himself as an excellent judge of character; after all he had reached his current post at a prodigious pace only on account of his shrewd manipulative nature. But no matter how much he ruminated he just could not make out Tyler to be an assassin. The fact that he was a court jester only made things queerer. Was he partaking in a blunder?

The other assassin was undoubtedly a true ruffian. He had on him several blades and had slashed at one of the guards who had tried to shackle him. He was disguised as a member of the priesthood and had sneaked in among the retinue of the high priest. During his interrogation Thufir had noticed several hideous scars on him and like any other mercenary he had revealed all he knew about his employers after very light torture. But Tyler’s interrogation was a different story. His claim that his weapon was meant to protect the queen seemed specious. Even when faced with inhumanely bloody torment he repeated the same babble about being innocent and never harming anybody and loving the kingdom and queen. But he did not appear to be a hardened murderer. Physically he was emaciated and some of his muscles had atrophied due to lack of recent physical activity. Were their enemies so parsimonious as to risk hiring a tyro?

After the hanging had concluded Thufir went into his office to reflect on the case. Based on the leads he had he knew that the assassins or assassin was hired by a duke who apparently was an intermediary of their enemies. The assassin was a loner with no known family. Tyler on the other hand had a family; his mother and sister were in the neighboring kingdom of Zentyr. He had been a minor attendant at the pantry in the palace of the king of Zentyr till he moved to Kaglash about a year ago and joined the group of court jesters there. Thufir thought his family could shed some light on him and they had been brought to the castle and were being questioned. The investigators had also retrieved from his house a few artifacts belonging to Tyler. They were placed on his desk and he went through them one by one. Books, trinkets and several other inconsequential private items constituted the bulk of it.

There was a battered old journal among them. Thufir leafed through the pages and randomly read passages from it. He was alarmed at first and then enraged.

“Utter gibberish” he grumbled, “Insanity….” He hurled the journal into the fire place and after returning to his seat quaffed down the steaming cup of tea that was on his desk. He had not been so discomfited in recent times. He hollered for his adjutant and enquired about the court jester’s family whom they had incarcerated. The mother had not survived the torture during her interrogation but the sister was still alive.

“Release her immediately and issue a statement that the court jester Tyler was mentally unsound” Thufir ordered, “and that he was a ……….bong addict who in an inebriated state had tried to harm our beloved queen.” He could not help but chuckle when he said that. He had lied.

“Ridicule that which you cannot accept,” he thought. Thufir painfully recalled the torture that Tyler had been subjected to. His guttural, almost bestial screams were echoing in his mind. Thufir knew he wouldn't be able to sleep well for many days.

Pages of the court jester’s journal had begun to char among crackling embers in the fire place. It had opened at a dog eared page and the hurriedly scrawled ravings of the court jester were transiently visible before turning into ash. It read,

“I know that pouring forth my misery is to no avail. It has always only made me sink deeper into depression and hence I refrain from dwelling on my sentiments. Today I had an insight into the crux of my quandary. It rained today, a pleasant drizzle that lasted for hours and I gazed out the window relishing every moment of it. I felt a longing to go out for a walk in the rain. Then I noticed that there were other faces too, looking out through the gloomy windows along my street. Did they also desire the same? To loose all inhibitions and play in the rain? When the drizzling stopped I felt disappointment for losing an opportunity to enjoy myself. And then I related the situation to my cursed fate.”

“Isn't the disappointment in my life an extrapolation of this feeling of loss? I think that abnegating myself the experiences that my senses crave for has had the same consequence, but in a larger scale. It is impossibly taxing to be unable to reach out and touch the object I desire even when only inches have to be traversed. Protracting this act of self-denial even though it goes against each and every instinct engraved in my bones seems to have ultimately disintegrated my mind into its basic primordial constituents. I have to forsake my instincts and rely absolutely on my disjointed intellect whenever I have the strength for it.”

“Am I turning into an automaton? Should I live my life as if it is a preprogrammed ritual? I feel the routine I follow day after day is a violation of my self, a slow but unwavering destruction or self imposed decay of my soul. I sense little, there is only a numbness that dilutes all my sentient emotions. But the numbness is overwhelming and every moment it threatens to devour the dregs of my personality that have somehow persisted. It feels as if my consciousness has been dulled and my soul has withdrawn into another realm, watching my pathetic life impassively, sensing emotions vicariously.”

“They say that the destitute crave for a revolution with the hope of ameliorating their life in the process. Well, I am destitute as I have been feeling utterly worthless for years now. I know that due to my shortcomings I will never attain my prize, but I have an irrepressible hope for a change, a revolution that will overturn the current circumstances.”

“In any case she needs all the help she can get now, she needs it now more than ever. I will not let any harm come to her. I am no soldier but I must do what I can to help and protect her.”

That had been the last entry Tyler had made in his private journal and it was now lost forever.

______


The herald in red velvet had announced “All rise. Queen Marla, ruler of the empire of Kaglash arrives.”

All eyes had turned towards the entrance of the court as the beautiful Queen walked regally through it to her throne. As always her sight had evoked awe, envy, treachery, devotion and love in those eyes. Tyler had been eagerly waiting for that moment and as the queen entered he had watched her with only love in his eyes, boundless but unrequited love.

Short stories

I write short stories once in a while. I am going to upload some of them here. Mind you they are all very weird.