Car

"Father! Father! what a lovely car" said the little one pointing at the dazzling brand new hatchback  parked next to their vehicle.
"Yeah sure son, it is beautiful" said father holding him within his palms and putting him down on the ground from the crossbar of his bicycle.

"Why don't we buy one too? Why do we have to use this bicycle?" asked the little one looking straight into the eyes of his clueless father who quickly tethered the bicycle to a tree guard near a car not realising it was partially obstructing the co driver's door.

"Let's go quickly else the gate will be closed" he replied putting the water bottle around his son's neck and the school bag across his shoulders.

They started to walk hurriedly towards the entrance of this missionary school that allowed few seats in every class to the underprivileged.

"Are you blind?" Screamed someone from behind, "Do you have no sense? Remove this cycle from here"
Father turned around, "One minute Sir, I am coming" he replied gently pushing his son inside the gate and hurrying back towards the car.

The little one could see his father handling the situation humbly from across the school fence while the car owner continued to look down upon him in arrogance.

A while later father boarded his cycle, apologized and rode on with a humiliated yet smiling face and moist eyes that so many people were looking at, including his teary eyed son. 

Father soon disappeared into the traffic. 'Good that my son was not there to witness what happened' he thought trying still to contain himself.

'If this is what becomes of people, let us have the cycle only O God, I don't want the car anymore', the little one prayed in his heart wiping his cheeks as he walked slowly towards his classroom •••

Angel

The train reeled slowly onto the platform as the clock showed 2300 hours.
Making their way towards the stairs leading to the footover bridge, Amaan and Seema meandered between passengers and coolies skillfully guiding their strollies, one of which rubbed against someone "Watch it" he said annoyingly. "Sorry" said Amaan before moving on hurriedly.

It was a very cold night of December 2001.
"I am shivering" said Seema as the young couple looked at each other and smiled.

No sooner had the passengers started to descend towards the exit gates, auto and taxi drivers mobbed them,
"Auto? Taxi Sir?"
"Where would you like to go? Some hotel?"

"No, Mall Road, how much?" Asked Amaan.

After a lot of frenzied scrambling and bidding that followed, he zeroed in on one guy, the lowest bidder ofcourse who quickly grabbed their bags, "Come with me, I have a van, its better than an auto in such cold weather" he said walking fast. Having covered some distance Amaan asked the guy where his vehicle was.

"Sir, wait here, I will bring it, they don't allow us to park inside anymore" he put down the bags, " Wait here, I will be back quickly" he gestured moving ahead, took the right ally and vanished.

"Crooked looking guy" said Seema

"Women find every man crooked, what's wrong with him? A poor guy trying to earn his bread" replied Amaan trying to pull her leg.

"Just our 6th sense" she said smiling, "Its so cold here and also very late, hope we reach aunt's home safely" said Seema blowing into her hands.

"Have faith" said Amaan reassuringly, "God watches over us all and there is his protection all around, only we don't see it"

No sooner had he finished the sentence, a sudden voice startled both, "Hello! Why are you standing here?"
They turned around and saw a policeman.

"We are waiting for the taxi" replied Amaan

"Taxi? What taxi? Take the prepaid from the authorised booth right there, do you not see what time it is? Go..."

They looked at each other and then saw the van approaching from some distance, "There it is" said Amaan pointing to the oncoming vehicle.

"Come sir come" said the man jumping out of the driver side as the van stopped right in front, "Let me take these" he quickly grabbed the strollies and placed them in the boot.

"Who's he?" Asked Seema peeping into the van. "That's my brother on the co- driver seat, need to drop him enroute" came the reply from the man. Seema looked at Amaan who was by now in two minds but still unable to make a decision.

Prrrrrrrrrrr...The policeman suddenly blew his whistle as if to warn, "Do you not listen? Take the prepaid" he said getting a little angry, surprising both Amaan and Seema.

"What should we do?" asked Amaan quietly, "I think lets go with what the policeman says, but you would not listen to me" she replied.

The driver turned to the policeman, "Sir, why do you kick my livelihood? Its been a bad day already, I too have children to earn bread for" he said in a pleading tone.

The policeman took a good look at the driver and then peeped inside the van.

"Hmmm...papers? License and registration now!" He said in a commanding tone, "You touts have created much ruckus here already"

The man froze for a moment then suddenly changed his approach, "Sir, sorry" he turned to Amaan, "You please take another taxi from the booth itself, I'll get your lugguage down" he said signalling to his companion, then turning to the policeman he pleaded "Now ok Sir? I am leaving right away".
By now another policeman had come to the spot.

Amaan and Seema started to walk away quickly towards the prepaid taxi booth.

Once the couple had taken a taxi and it started to move out of the premises they could see a crowd gathering around the van. A police car had arrived on scene.

"Glad we are out of this, thank God" said Seema who was a few moments ago, not incorrect in her judgement of the guy who posed as a taxi driver.

A while back, having vanished into the ally, he had met his assailants.
"Tonight will be fun, I have a couple with me, we will have the booty and do away with them, you two take care of him and we'll handle the girl, follow me closely and you! Be with me".

"They are not local it appears, so we will take the usual secluded road. Now get the number plates switched" he instructed them in an evil tone ●

Albert

June 6th 1944, Normandy. Albert Davies sat on the shore helpless and trembling, clinging onto his British Lee-Enfield MK4 rifle as bullets flew all around and landed in water just like the handful of pebbles that his 7 year old son would throw continuously into the pond across his house in Jordanstown, north of Belfast city back in Britain.

"Lass niemanden lebend entkommen" shouted German gunmen firing incessantly from their concrete bunkers that guarded the shore.
More heartwrenching than the bratat of machine guns were the anguished wailes of his fellow soldiers who already had the enemy's burning ammunition stuck in them. They yelled upon death to rid themselves from the immense pain.
The English channel surrounding this beach had become a foaming pool of smelling diluted blood.

"Albert dear, go fearless and come back victorious, go my son, I shall wait to meet you soon" his father's parting words echoed in his ears.
"Move...move! Take cover...go go!!" cried someone from the ranks as shells exploded nearby.
Albert gathered courage, got up quickly and began to run, maintaining a cautious ducking posture.
Zip!! One of the many bullets sprinting past hit him right in the middle of his chest, he felt molten metal flowing down his skin. He had not pulled his trigger even once as yet, 'Is this what I had come for?' he thought before dying and drifted away into the sea never to be seen again.

Prayer

"Bye sweetie, see you tomorrow" said Deepika waving at her colleague as both walked out of the office. She swiped her phone tapping into the app to book a cab. It was late.
'Not many people are around at this time, hope I find a cab back home quickly' she thought as the app notification took longer than usual.
'Dammit' she said getting annoyed. She quickly tried refreshing the app twice however the outcome was no different.
The day had been hectic and she was already exhausted, 'Perhaps, a quick sip at Cafè Democa, I might as well book a cab from in there and carry along the coffee' she thought still trying to check if any cabs were showing.
Chimes sounded as she opened the cafè door, glancing across she realized it was jam packed mostly with men. The place certainly did not offer the best of vibes at this point in time. She decided to walk out with more eyes glued to her now than the number that noticed her come in.
"Care for a coffee" asked one of the three men who were now following her, "We will buy you one" said the other. She paced faster "God! Get me out of this please" she anxiously prayed in her heart.
"Taxi madam....taxi" she heard someone cry from the other side of the street. An elderly man stood waving at her. "Yes...Yes coming" she hurriedly replied. She boarded the taxi "Civil Lines" she said. "I just prayed to God to get me the day's last ride enroute my home, its my wife's birthday today" said the driver as they both looked up in gratitude ●

Introvert

Joseph: "I just dont feel like going to the party, I hardly would know anyone, what will I do there except get bored"

Mark: "That's not good, when will you learn to mix up? Will you spend all your life alone?"

Joseph: "I don't know, being amongst people bothers me, at times I too feel bad but that's how I am"

Mark: "Stop being an introvert, look how many friends I got"

Joseph: "Not everyone's the same, you got a talent to connect with people, I mess up everytime. I feel left out at social gatherings"

Mark: "Alright then! Mr. Loner, I am getting late"

As Mark closed the door behind him, Joseph opened up the stationery cabinet.

That night, when Mark returned, he found Joseph sleeping by a sheet of paper. On it was a beautiful caricature of them in discussion. It looked so real that an amazed Mark kept on looking at it for a while without blinking and then he smiled  ●

Father

"Papa, what have you brought for me?" said his 4 year old son, quickly getting down from the chair and running towards his father.

Ashish placed his office bag on the sofa and took his son in his arms, "What do you want my darling?" he asked.
"mmm...a tricycle" he replied with a distinct glow in his eyes.

"The school has sent a notice" said Vinita appearing from the kitchen with a glass of water. "Fee for this quarter needs to be paid by 6th" she said.
"O! I missed that completely....How much?" He asked getting curious.
"Thirty two thousand five hundred" she replied.

"Hmm" muttered Ashish moving towards the bedroom.
"Have you thought about how we would be celebrating his birthday?" Vinita asked following him.

"No idea, with EMIs, rent and his fee to pay within this month, I would hardly have any money to spare"
"He has been waiting so eagerly for his birthday, infact he is counting days and inviting his friends on his own. Let's not break his heart"

"We will discuss" replied Ashish as lines emerged on his forehead and worry in his mind. 'Perhaps I could borrow some money from friends, but next month too will be tough, insurance premium for two policies have to be paid' he thought as his mobile phone rang from inside the shirt pocket.

He pulled out his phone, "Hello, papa how are you?"
"O, I am fine, had a word with your little one in the afternoon, it seems you are planning for a grand birthday celebration this time, is it?"

"Let alone grand, It seems I will hardly have any money to celebrate at all, many expenses have accumulated this month" replied Ashish sounding disappointed.

"Dont break his heart son, perhaps I could help you, I have around thirty thousand rupees that I don't need right away, I will send it across to you, return it to me when you can, afterall what urgency could a retired man have?" Said father reassuringly.

After a brief discussion, Ashish agreed to the offer.
"Ok beta, bye for now" father put the phone down and turning to his wife he said, "Listen, I know it is urgent for both of us but perhaps we should delay buying the orthopadic mattresses by a month or so, I am sure we can manage somehow....and yes, don't tell Ashish about this" ●

Imposter

"Why do you not resist?" Chided Sarla.

"Anita di is my elder sister, my guardian since mother passed away in our childhood" he replied to his wife in a low, nervous tone .

"I am not asking you to start a fight, just that you should speak up to put your point across".

Having said this Sarla kept away the towel she was folding and sat down beside him, "Where will we go from here? Do we have any other place to live?" 

He gave her an empty look filled with disappointment and helplessness, then bowed down his head.

Anita, his elder sister had been persuing him to leave the ancestral house and live elsewhere, her family was growing and the house seemed to shrink. He had been ordered multiple times by her to comply until yesterday when matters escalated to a level beyond his control.

That night as his wife and two children fell asleep, he lay staring at the ceiling.
'Where will we go if Anita di persists, perhaps next time we would be driven out from here, how much time do we have before this happens, how will I bear this sight in front of people?'

He got up, rubbed the back of his neck as his feet searched in the dark for slippers.

He felt an 'All pin' pass through his heart and soon the pain grew exponentially.

Next morning, amongst the crowd around the cot that had him on it lifeless, Sarla lay unconcious unable to bear the immense greif.

Beside the cot, on a chair sat Anita di making sure everyone saw her weeping, howling and screaming "Why did you leave me? Did you not realize what would I do without you?" ●

Ventilator

"How is he now?"
"Not good, he has been on ventilator since yesterday" said Ankur rising up from the bench outside ICU.
"Would they allow us in? Wish we could see him once" asked the visitors.
"No, even we are not allowed but once only during the day" he informed.

Ankur's ageing father had fallen ill in February. With his health fast deteriorating, he became bedridden around mid March and was eventually admitted to the hospital three days back on 12th of April 2008

"What does the doctor say?"
"He is trying his best, please pray to God so he gets well soon"
"We are and we will, dont worry, the almighty will provide him with good health soon" said the visitors before leaving.

Such dialogue had become a routine for Ankur whose father was a socially well connected man and therefore had a number of visitors daily.

"Get this injection" said the nurse tearing off the slip from her notepad.

Like yesterday, he dashed down the steps onto the ground foor. "This injection please" he demanded.
The pharmacist carefully looked at the paper, "Not available, I think the one you took yesterday was the last in stock"

"Where will I get this?" He asked curiously.
"Go, check elsewhere" said the shopkeeper getting busy with other customers.

Ankur knew that this daily injection was a critical resource to keep his father alive, that's what the doctor had told him yesterday.

He rushed out of the building.
"Not with us, perhaps you should try the medical college market" said another pharmacist.

He picked up his scooter and reached there in no time."This injection please" he placed the slip on the counter.

The pharmacist looked at the paper and then at Ankur, "One minute" he said and returned back with a familiar looking bottle.

"Thank God! This was available till yesterday at the hospital, so I had to come here to get it" said Ankur taking out his wallet. "My father is very ill and has been on a ventilator, this is a difficult time for me and my family,
God save everyone from desease and hospitals" he stretched out his arm to hand over the money to the pharmacist who seemed to have frozen, not knowing how to react.

After a brief pause, gathering his courage and clearing his throat he said, "Son, the injection you are buying is meant to prevent a dead body from decomposing"