The truth that brought them together!

Rahul was very excited today. His sweetheart (at least he used to consider her as his sweetheart)  Kavya had consented to come for a dinner at a city restaurant. Rahul and Kavya worked at the same advertising company. They were very good friends. But Rahul wanted this friendship to take to a new level. And he had decided that today he will reveal his love for Kavya.

He had reached half an hour before the time to the restaurant to prepare for the situation where  he encounters Kayva and tells her the secret buried in his heart for last two years.

At seven o’ clock sharp, Kavya entered the restaurant.

“Where are others?” asked Kavya.

Actually Rahul had told her that he was throwing a small party for the salary hike that he had got inviting just 3-4 close friends. And that is why Kavya asked about others.

“They must be coming… we are Indians after all… punctuality is not in our genes.” Rahul tried to answer her question with layers of lie mingled with confidence.

“You say what you will have for starters?” asked Rohan.

“I like only tomato soup as starters,” answered Kavya.

“I also like the tomato soup.”

After ten minutes the waiter served them the soup.

“The interior of this restaurant is quite soothing, don’t you think Kavya?” said Rahul sipping on the piping hot soup.

“Umm… yes, it is quite relaxing… but why others have not come yet?” asked Kavya looking at her watch.

“Actually Kavya, I had told you lie…no other persons are invited.”

“What? But why… may I know the reason behind the lie.”

“Yes there is a very personal reason behind it.”

“Personal?”

“First you order the main course and then I will tell you.”

“No… first you tell me the reason or I will go.”

“No … no... you stay here I will tell you.”

“Actually, I want to confess something to you.”

“What?”

“Actually I have been thinking  to tell you this for so long…I have a feeling for you…I… love you.”

“What? But we are friends Rahul.”

“Yes we are but I want to move to the next level. I would like to marry you… see I find you the perfect one for becoming my life partner.”

“Umm…give me some time to think over it.” Saying Kavya started rising up from the chair.

“ But have the meal at least.”

“No no… I am not that hungry.”

“Shit… what did I do? I should have waited till the main course,” Rahul cursed himself.

Next day he was eagerly waiting for Kavya in the office, but she didn’t come. He tried her phone number but that was also not reachable.

For next 7 days he was restless as there was no contact with Kavya. On the eighth day, he got a call from her. She told that she had thought over a lot on the issue of restaurant night and she wanted to talk over it. 

This time she invited Rahul to that restaurant where they had earlier met.

“You know Rahul life is more than the emotion of love… it has other emotions as well.”

“But I have only emotion of love for you and that too in abundance.”

“But we hardly know each other.”

“Whatever I know about is fine for me.”

“You know nothing about me.”

“What is it that I don’t know about you? I know that you are a wonderful human being and a beautiful personality and that is what I want to know.”

“No you must know other aspects of me as well and I know that after knowing that you think about me differently.”

“What differently? Are you lesbian?” Rahul asked bluntly.

“No no… it is not that… actually I am an unmarried mother of a 2 years old girl.”

“What! … I mean how?”

“I used to love a guy and used to think that he also loved me. But when I got pregnant the demon in him came out and he forcefully took me to doctor for abortion but I vehemently refused. He left me but I could never leave the life burgeoning inside me. So, today I am a mom and I was talking about this emotion. Now I am sure that you will start thinking about me differently. You can call me whore, slut or anything that you want but I wanted to let you know about this aspect of my life. Look this is what I am and I think that this revelation about me has left you befuddled to say anything. I can understand what you must be going through. Anyways I will take your leave now.”

Rahul felt thunderstruck. He didn’t move for a while from the seat.

Kavya was feeling really relieved after telling all about her to Rahul. Incidentally, she had also developed a soft corner for him but given her situation she thought that she didn’t deserve anyone now. Frazzled by the travel of the metro, she reached her home and was in for a big surprise. There was Rahul playing with her daughter and her mother.

“Now… today… before whole of your family, I want to ask you hand in marriage,” proposed Rahul with all drama.

“Look you will always remain my love Kavya your reality will not let me think differently about you as you have wanted,” whispered Rahul to Kavya.

Kavya only blushed in the reply of the proposition.

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When Santa Disappeared from Earth.

Santa Claus loaded his bags stuffed with the myriad gifts on the reindeer cart. Humming the hosanna of God, he slithered his sledge on the snowy road to meet the children of the world. He is rapt in the memories of the children whom he had visited last year. Sometimes a small smile dances on his lips and sometimes a laud laughter pierces his citadel of stark white beard as a result of reminiscence from the prattle of children.

Last year one little girl of four asked Santa: “ Why do you paint your beard only in white? Next time colour it in blue. It is my favourite  colour.”

Such puerile and pure questions kept doing rounds in the mind of Santa.

After travelling for hours, he stopped at a spring to drink some water; he cupped water in his hands and took to his mouth. “Yuck,” saying this he spat out the water. “I have never drunk such saline water from a spring, brine water is nature of sea not rivers and springs,” He talked to his Reindeers.  

With his throat still thirsty, he moved on. After travelling for an hour he reached a place that had a bevy of coconut trees. The sight of coconut trees gave a glint of happiness in his eyes. Now he felt relieved that his thirst could be quenched. He plucked one coconut and gulped the liquid within it… but again he had to throw up whole liquid as again the coconut water was salty. Now he got totally bamboozled as to what was happening to him. He thought that he must have  done some mistake and that was why God was punishing him. He sat there and prayed to god to forgive him for any of his mistakes that he doesn’t remember committing.

Satisfied with his prayer, he moved ahead.

Now he decided to eat and drink only with the kids, so he didn’t stop anywhere in between. He wanted to reach quickly to the place where children had last time promised him to be.

After travelling for sometime he reached that place. But to his utter surprise there was no one present there. He decided to wait. One hour passed, two hours passed, three hours passed ,but no one appeared.

He was looking frazzled and hassled. Seeing him perturbed, one vulture asked him: “You feel tired and hassled, what is the problem?”

“Since the time I have started the journey today, very strange things are happening to me,” Replied Santa.

“Strange things… such as?” asked the Vulture.

“ Today,I tried drinking water from a spring but its water was brine, I tried drinking from a coconut frond but it was also salty.  And here I am waiting for the kids for so long and they are not there. Actually, they know that I come to this place at this time to give them gifts… but it is really strange that they are not here till now,” Explained Santa.

“ The mother earth who is carrying the dead bodies of her children in her  lap cannot engender the sweet water Santa.”

“ What! Can you come again… dead bodies of children?” asked a befuddled Santa.”

“Look ,I feed on dead bodies but despite that I will only condemn this act of humans.”

“For God's sake can you be a bit clear with your explanation,” Urged Santa.

“Look the grown up humans have taken to the new hobby and that is killing of their own children, all your children have been killed because the grown- ups were fighting to prove their superiority. They sprayed the tender bodies of children with cruel bullets. No one will come up today Santa because they have been made bereft of their right to live by the force of bullets.” The Vulture clarified.

“The place where you are standing is their grave yard,” Informed the Vulture.

“What are you talking dear, I had thought that under the auspices of the elders my children will be safe, but these grown- ups themselves devoured my kids. Now what is the purpose of my life,” Saying so Santa started crying frantically and started digging the soil.

After digging the soil for some time he came across the dead body of the girl who had told her to paint his beard in blue, he rippled her body to bring her back to life. But instead of life, the ripple put forth the fountain of blood from her mouth that made his beard drenched in red.

“The place where my children are not respected is not the place for me either; I will only be there where my children are.” And saying so, he also buried himself with his reindeer cart.

And thus the synonym of happiness for children disappeared from the earth forever.

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