1 Seven Seekers
It was not a pleasant morning. Outside, rain was violently touching everything dead and unborn, while everything alive had sought a shelter away from the rain, an old car, the flyover, a house, the roof of a shop that hadn't opened yet. It was cold and he woke up with a dark apprehension.
It was warm and oddly comfortable under the strange blanket, which didn't belong to him. But he couldn't sleep anymore. There was work to be done. Today everything changes. It's today that everything will start to unfold. And although he can't go there and witness it happen, he wanted to be awake when it happens. He wanted to be prepared so he can start doing the work when it kickstarts. After all, he had to do his part.
He went to the other room and woke up Levon. And then he immediately escaped to the kitchen to avoid all possible questions and conversation. He made some black tea for both of them, kept Levon's cup on his table, returned to his room, closed the door, and switched the laptop on. The news would arrive any minute now. He waited impatiently, refreshing the inbox every minute, glaring at the screen. But nothing happened. Nothing happened for three long hours.
....
Nita was trying to converse with the Guru. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on the image of that alphabet. But she kept thinking about the sunlight flooding into the room, the violet curtain flowing in the wind, the violet orchid her mother had given her, and then about her mother. Nita knew she was disturbed and it had become impossible to communicate.
"Not today" , she thought.
"NOT TODAY".
The loud thought flooded her mind and she realised that it will only make it worse. There was nothing to be done if she can't concentrate on what is important. Again, Nita thought of that elusive alphabet. Then she got up from the mat, walked towards the washbasin and washed her face slowly, as if she had all the time in the world.
" I have time. It has not started yet. There is still time.", she thought.
Then, she walked towards the balcony and looked towards the horizon. There weren't any apartments on that side of her building. Only red earth and a few green shrubs here and there. And nothing. Nothing lay before her, like the infinity.
....
George kept looking at the position, trying to evaluate the extent of Black's advantage. Both the bishops were traded for the black knights. Queens were off the board and his rooks were oddly positioned. But he had an extra pawn, a passer, hope. Everything depends on the piece that arrives.
He waited.
"There is nothing to be done other than waiting" , he thought. He felt like a rook in the back rank. He had to wait. It will manifest today.
" I just have to keep playing", he told himself. Then he started humming a song because the anxiety was killing him. Idly waiting was not his forte. So, he again started looking at the position. If a knight comes to d3, that should do it. It would open up the infinite possibilities. He might be able to promote the passer. There is still hope. Nothing else matters.
....
There was a loud thud on the door and Rashid got up wearily. He opened the door and saw his aunt looking at him with disappointment.
" What are you going to achieve if you keep waking up so late? Do you know what time it is? " , She asked .
He mumbled something that didn't make any sense.
She gave him a cup of coffee and told him, " Please start writing. You said yesterday that you will finish it today. Remember! "
He smiled and said slowly, " It will come today. I am sure of it".
" Good! Then, I will call your publisher in the evening. Just finish it. Okay! Don't wait for it to happen. You have to make it happen. Just write an ending. Any ending."
He smiled knowingly and sipped from the coffee . He knew that they would connect today. The only possible ending will be revealed.
....
" Fyodor! Hey! Fyodor! "
Anna's voice echoed across the hall. The pictures on the wall woke up and grumpily looked at each other.
" Why is she shouting? " , Albus asked the others in a tired drawl. No one replied. They were not interested in the living as much as he did.
When Anna stormed across the hall towards the shabby little bedroom, they stopped moving and assumed the usual postures. It was pointless because she wouldn't have noticed even if they had moved.
She stormed into the room to find Fyodor staring out of the window, brooding gloomily, perhaps about the money he lost in yesterday's gambling.
" Can't you at least answer when I call you? ", she enquired with obvious displeasure.
Fyodor stared at her with a blank expression she was familiar with. She approached him and silently stroked his dark curls. He leant towards her and rested his head on her bosom. She looked outside. A small brown sparrow was fluttering around the lone tree next to their house.
" You have to call the professor, Fyodor. He called me in the morning and said you would not pick up"
She looked enquiringly into his face. There was nothing. He looked tired.
" You can do it dear. You said you would crack it by today evening. Remember! You said you would be able to find the solution"
She again started playing with his hair. He looked up and asked, " But, what would be the cost? "
She was puzzled. She had no idea what he was talking about. What could be cost of finding a solution and finishing his project he had been working on for years. The blank expression on his face told her nothing. She was scared and confused.
...
" Form is not a vessel for content to be poured into. " , Sunil said quietly and his friends looked up.
" What are you talking about? ", Alvin asked after a long silence. Then he looked around to check if he was the only one who didn't understand his friend's sudden declaration. But he saw his confusion staring back at him from all the confused faces. Tony got up and walked towards Sunil and touched his wrist. Sunil looked at him, got up, and quietly followed Tony out of the room.
" Are you okay buddy? " , Tony asked once they were outside. As he didn't reply, Tony led him towards the kiosk that sold cigarettes. Both of them lit cigarettes and smoked, staring into the chaos of everflowing vehicles in front of them.
" Something is happening to me", Sunil said, " maybe something meaningful. Something that is calling me from afar, asking me to make the connection and join".
Tony looked worried. Yet, he managed to smile.
" Maybe you should come with me when I leave this place and go back to my hometown. There is nothing left here for you. Is there? Maybe you can make new connections back in my place. It's not a huge city. Initially, we may not have great opportunities. But we could make it work. What do you think? "
Sunil looked at him, realising that he might have sounded like a mad man to his friend. But he had to tell someone. He had to make the connection and leave. And before that, he had to let someone know. He was afraid. What if...?
....
Kimba climbed on to her bed and started pulling at her blanket. She realised there is no point in resisting now. She had already sensed Kimba's impatience. She got up and smiled at Kimba. " Woof! " , Kimba said. She gently stroked the dog's neck and ears as Kimba kept murmuring, " Woo woo woo ".
She felt sad thinking about Kimba. Will David look after her properly when I am gone? Will I be able to come back by evening like the voices said? What if something goes wrong?
When all of this started, she had initially doubted if she was going mad. The immense possibilities had confused her, she remembered. But what happened yesterday changed everything. She always knew that she was imaginative. But she also knew that there were limits to her imagination. She couldn't have imagined something like that. It was real. The bears. The whales. The honeybees. The dance.
Everything is possible, she thought to herself. And she felt excited.
"Kamala! Breakfast time! " , David was calling from the kitchen and she slowly stretched her arms and legs and went out of the bedroom, as the others were waiting.
