Before The End: Chapter7: Taken

7. Taken

The alarm bells went off! 5.30p.m. Julia sluggishly got up from a bed. Outside the window, in the garden a small group of sparrows were flying about, building a nest. Still a bit spaced out, she thought about her mother, who was her idol.

How much she missed her childhood days. Making cookies, baking cakes and eating ice-cream on the porch, she missed it all. Time is a killer, a cruel demon, often overlooked. How slowly and gradually it kills you and these science folks call it ageing. What you are left with are just memories. Julia had so many of them! Perked up, she jumped off bed and headed for the shower.

Some time set aside for meditation, before an interrogation made her feel fresh, besides it also made her sharp and alert. A quick scan through the brief and the observations made by Harris was enough, not that it really mattered. Her mission was quite something else.

The clock struck 7p.m. and left her house, her new car the Z+ Ion was waiting for her. Well modern technology does help when you can pre-program your gadgets for convenience. Exactly at 7.30p.m. Julia’s team moved into the house searched every nook and corner. The house became a mess, but it was for the psychological effect that would be required for what was coming next in Harris’s plan.

8p.m. the search party left and in came Julia, looking stunning as usual. Jack of course was petrified. She went up to him and looked into his eyes. Once the eyes locked she shook hands with him and pressed his hand hard. Jack slipped into a trance. He collapsed onto a comfy chair, Julia still holding hands with him.

About half an hour later he comes partially to senses and sees Julia. His hand is free off Julia’s hand but it hurts, as thought someone injected him all over his palm with syringes. The line on his palm seemed to be swollen, just recovering from a kind of injury. Jack is dazed and cannot make sense of anything.

“Wha..What happened?”

“Jack you have just become a mutant.”

“Mutant? “

“We are a new race of human beings that do not fall sick. We are resistant to viral, bacterial infections and diseases. Do you know why?

“Why?”

“Because we create them!”

“Ohhhh!” Jack still in a trance, listening willing to what his controller says.

“Yes, we want to gather our numbers and when the time is right, congregate for our final goal!”

“Yes” Jack says in a dreamy voice.

“Will you not ask me what our ultimate motive, is Jack?

“What is our ultimate motive?”

“Heheheh hehahahaha heheh hahahaha! That you will know when I tell you! Remember humans are evil and we need to teach them a lesson.

Julia’s laugh was a horribly scary shrill.

“For all the stupidity man does, we will teach them a lesson and make them our slaves. Then the era of the mutants will walk the earth and humans at our feet!”

“Until then Jack, love them, treat them kindly and be your usual self. When the glorious day dawns the mutants will reveal themselves and dominate the world. Do you know, all the people who are mutants now, have become intellectually ten times superior to an average human?”

“Now go to sleep and let the mutant in you rise, when the time is right!”

Finishing with that, Julia rose up, satisfied to have completed a transformation successfully.

She couldn’t wait for the day, when all these mutants would come to their selves, in a world free of stupid, irrational humans.

She drifted off into her dreams of the human free world as she walked down the stairs of Jack’s building. Julia made her way towards her car, sitting inside were two people she dearly loved.

“Hey Mom! Hey Nuar!”

Mom and Nuar, she thought, what is life without them!

A warm breeze was blowing gently across her face; it sent a chill down her spine.

Branded Love !

Mary had Fendi lambs and wore shiny Prada shoes

She walked, skipped, hopped to make all guys drool,

With Gucci earrings, oh my miss fine,

Surely we can dine?

Snap! Retort: sad

D&G do not help in this game?

No alas, the brand is too gay.

Doom Armani, chauvinist pig,

How about U2’s gig?

I watch Opera, so you think?

Impressing fair maidens equals work laden,

Scoffs! Diesel be worn by men like thee,

Lesser weasels thou perceived,

Esprit glasses over armor,

Make ye look rich farmer,

Off, Church’s Gong,

Rid Billabong, al

Slip into Dior,

Bid good bye sire !

I wish I was a movie star !

I wish I was a movie star

I could do the bad guys in,

I wish I was a movie star

I could thrash villain into a bin.

I wish I was a movie star,

And then, save my kin,

I wish I was a movie star

I could serenade to my love,steal her away.

I wish I was a movie star

And be chased by the groom for a fight,

I wish I was a movie star

Sore and bloody yet I win the fight.

I wish I was a movie star

Where after every failure came success,

I wish I was a movie star

I could save people form the brink of death.

I wish I was a movie star

And the past left no scars,

I wish I was a movie star

With my will as my destiny!

What Patriotism means to me!.. (Sheetal's speech)

I wave the Indian flag! I am so patriotic! My heart is content and the world sees my gleaming teeth, I show pride. Following the regular way of life is our nature and endorsing it our second nature. Is waving a flag, standing up for an inherited national anthem our sense of patriotism? It barely takes a moment to realize how superficial we are.

What do we usually do on Independence Day and Republic Day? Most of us sit at home and enjoy our holiday. Just because we are not in school anymore and no one expects us to be present for the flag hoisting, we don’t bother to attend it. It shows that we take the independence of our nation for granted. Our patriotism is only limited to joining ‘I love my India’ community on orkut and facebook. Our patriotism only comes out when India plays against Pakistan in a cricket match. What happens to this patriotism when we carelessly throw chocolate wrappers on the street? What happens to this patriotism when we see thousands of flags lying on the streets on Independence Day?

Let me narrate an incident to you. During our vacations after our 10th std. board exams, I had the opportunity to visit the Wagah border. It is the only road connecting India and Pakistan and lies between the city of Amritsar and Lahore. The village of Wagah is divided by the Radcliff line and eastern part of this village lies in India while the western part lies in Pakistan. I witnessed the flag lowering ceremony which is held every evening. The crowd assembled on both the sides of the border and the air was filled with the shouts of 'Hindustan Zindabad' and 'Pakistan Zindabad'. On both the sides the patriotic songs were played at a very high volume. Some people even began dancing to the tunes of the songs. People on either side enthusiastically waved their flags. The BSF of India and the Pakistan Rangers took their positions. At the sound of the bugle they began to march in a perfect drill. The gates were opened and the soldiers exchanged a brief handshake. After this the flags were lowered and folded with utmost care. The officers exchanged a final handshake. The gates were closed and this marked the end of the ceremony. My seat on top gave me a complete view of the whole ceremony. I was extremely disappointed to see the sight of Indian flags lying on the floor. We promptly began picking up the flags. As we did this, few people joined us for the task. Some people were too busy clicking pictures to realize that they were stamping on the flag. We collected around 200 flags. The soldiers had seen us picking the flags and we were overwhelmed when they expressed their desire to click photos with us. One of the soldiers said, "Roz yahan hazaro hindustani aate hai. Aaj mujhe sachhe hindustani mile" .This instance has left a mark, on my mind.

We celebrate our diversity! Unity in diversity we claim, and I say it’s all fake! Patriotism for me, is when we realize, who is an Indian, and why do I call myself an Indian? After all India is in-fact an artificial political construct. Patriotism is when you have a feeling of belonging, a feeling of a positive debt towards a larger entity of the nation. We don’t need to write eloquent poems and song, we don’t need to be dogmatic. We don’t need to serve in the defense forces to show our patriotism. We are a part of a young, educated, enthusiastic and dedicated generation of India with the ability to understand the society better and do our part for the nation’s upliftment. In Kennedy's own words, don’t ask what your country can do for you. Ask what you have done for your country.

Song !

Never thought I’d love so much,

So much that I’d care to wait,

Not over the oceans and the great blue sky,

Lives my heart, my sweetie pie,

Yet so far and long away,

It almost seems like a trillion miles !

In the winter’s cold, I sit by the window,

Looking at the snow, wondering where you’d be, what u’d do,

Would you spare a sec or two thinking about me?

Hell! The pain inside, makes me

Wish for an end to life,

Or the courage and fortitude, just to tell you the truth.

Ch: So bloom timid heart, take a leap!

Don’t fear pain, cause it’s never in vain

When two hearts meet !

Hush all premenisions, take a leap, reach out!

I care for that suger smile, It melts my soul,

I’d do everything to keep it sweet

Only wish that I knew what you feel!,

The Mystry kills me inside and

I hope it doesn’t show

Wish I could say “Do you love me?, yes or no?”

Why I am God's Gift to Humanity !

God created many a things and me! Yes, me! If you could possibly count all your hair and divide it by the highest common factor and multiply it by twelve, that would be my precise value of human quotient. Naturally you would wonder why I try to complicate matter that can be put in simple and plain English. Well this is where I welcome you to my world, welcome into my mind, my brain and my heart. I would like to issue a warning forehand that each of the three mentioned above, function according to their own will and pleasure while having no co-relation besides being organically of the same super system that is my body. I do not claim to be the protagonist of an ancient prophecy but I can assure you by the time you are done with this article, you would wonder what was it all about?

You don’t always have to be dropped on to earth in a space capsule from another planet to be God’s gift to humanity, nor do you have to wear your underwear outside( it’s too embarrassing for me at least). I was born on a normal day, when everything was normal, the wind was usual and there was only one star shining brightly in the sky like should at about 4.00 p.m. on the 31^st of January in the year 1991. Yes I know you would crib about me being not very particular about the seconds and milliseconds of my birth, but it’s because I am not so much of an athlete. One reason for being the “greatest gift” is that I am the only child of my parents; yes it’s similar to being the only Olympic Gold medalist of the nation. Everyone just loves you.

Talking about me and me again is in a way difficult, not because I don’t know what else to say, I don’t know how much more to say. Praising oneself is an art few ever master. I speak no false and avoid abusive language; because my fingers are well settled on the alphabets and I do not wish to strain them any further with 1100 more words to go. I can’t even take the chance of actually typing the abuses because that would make people go “Hawwwww!” and result in unnecessary slaughter of marks which are far and few.

I realize that I tend to digress and therefore I shall take you straight to the first me, my mind. My mind is the rational me. The part of me which doesn’t hold prejudices and is emotionless. What most people see of me when I work is my mind. It is that part of me which is very focused. When I am in this mind set, I am all about cold logic and reason. I sometimes hate this mind set because it is cruel and unfortunately very practical. We all dream, yes even I do (but of what is another question) but not all dreams come true. It is my mind that rescues me time and again from being like a wishful child. Many people unfortunately, do not have this ability, I am their savior! Forever extracting the best of the abilities of the people around me and working with me. My mind is also the moral police of my being. All the “good student” behavior, sweet and kind talk comes straight from here. I am never short of being the ideal student when I need to, all thanks to my mind. A harsh reality that I wish to share with you is that, I am a slave to this part of myself. Not by choice but circumstances of-course. It is painful yet I carry on with the hope of a better tomorrow!

I hate being serious. My Brain is the jester. Life is all about fun and frolic and everything that I imagine is reality, when it comes to my brain. My disciplined image hides a rather mischievous side of me. When I was a kid, I was kicked out of my class at least once a day. I really love the naughty side of myself. It’s probably one of those things that help me to keep moving on. I wonder why I can’t reveal that aspect of my personality to others. It’s a question that still intrigues me. Never mind though. My brain comes up with some of the craziest thoughts, which seldom materialize into action. I guess “the brain” is the only reason that I believe I am in the right field of education. Everything is impromptu for this side of my personality. Preparation is a waste of nerves. My brain loves to ponder over weird facts, some interesting while at other times studiously thinking of questions like “Which is worse, a kick in the private part or labor pains?” All my dreams and aspirations emerge from my brain. It is temperamental and moody. I personally feel that my brain is at the other extreme end of my personality spectrum. There are times when I wonder how difficult it would be for people to work with only one type of thoughts. What I mean is that I love randomness. It shall not be in the same breath as anarchy but near it.

The catalyst of all actions and reactions within me is my heart. My heart is the epicenter of all the possible emotions packed into a small four chambered structure. Fortunately or unfortunately, not yet sure, I think with my heart. This is the place where intuition reigns supreme. I do not claim to have a heart of gold, but surely I have a noble one. I am a very sentimental person but I rarely let it be seen. I believe in advertising my teeth. I came up with a proverb “Advertising begins at home”. Yes I understand it sounds quiet familiar, but its ok, the Queen’s English has always borrowed words and proverbs from others. I always have fights between my brain and my heart, the mind always comes to the rescue. The result or the final decision is always based on what is more logical and feasible for me in the given situation. Well, most of the times it’s my mind which wins.

Phew! , the whole system of three personalities is very complicated. I wouldn’t want to theorize it anymore because the psychology students of the future would surely curse me! Besides I hate over doing “self admiration”, it blindsides us from those around us. Everyone has something good in them, I really believe in picking up those good qualities no matter who they are, or what they do. I don’t believe in hiding my views but I refrain from giving advice because Baz Luharmann says “Advice is a form of nostalgia; dispensing it is a way of wishing the past from the disposal--wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts, and recycling it for more than it's worth.”

I am quite sure that you must have felt as if you have gone all over and come back to somewhere new. That is exactly what I wished to make you experience. I am sure you would think, well even I say all this. Yes you can, because you too are God’s gift to humanity and so is everyone else in their own way!

Me!

Hello people ! I am Chaitanya , a proverbial convert. I love science yet I am doing a course in Mass Media for various reasons. I hope you would enjoy my blogs !