1 Death

Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, South India:

The Nagarjuna Sagar dam's reservoir is one of the largest in India. On a walkway that is overlooking the reservoir, a young man is pondering his life choices. All around him people are happily going on with their lives. But his life? he lost it the day he joined the organization. He just didn't know at that time. Now he knows. It is too late. He is wearing a thick leather jacket all zipped up with his hands in the kangaroo pockets. Pretty unusual at this time of the year. But it has a purpose. He is tightly clutching the contraption inside his pockets that could determine the life and death of hundreds of tourists. He is in a dilemma about whether to press it or not. Unknowingly, his gaze clashed with a handsome youth that looked over him.

Krishna is not a happy young man. His parents broke up after his brother's birth. His father was a sadist with some sort of psychological problems. Because of that, his mother was traumatic with any psychological disorder. When he was in the last year of high school, he discovered that he had a similar disorder. But he still had his gift i.e he would read information and recalls the particular information at the correct time. It was not an eidetic memory but useful nonetheless. He had been lucky most of the time because he would recall that most of the time. He grew complacent because of that. He forgot that it was not absolute. That it could someday fail him. And most importantly he need to read the information and he could not get something of nothing. He realized this during his college entrance exams. For the first time, he failed miserably. It was then that his disorder became prominent. He had fallen into a deep pit from which he could not come back. It took his grandfather's death to make him come to his senses. But it had been too late. His career was in shambles. His family is broken. He decided to cool off his thoughts after the funeral.

He came to the dam to clear his thoughts. The River and the dam felt symbolic to him for some reason. He was gazing at the river that is being held back and redirected to the reservoir. He then observed the hustle and bustle of the makeshift marketplace. it is lively and that improved his mood somewhat. His eyes then caught onto a suspicious person. It is always humid in India, especially here. But the guy is wearing a jacket that is zipped up. He was nervous and when their gazes met, the guy panicked for some reason. He walked up to him to check what is up with him. The guy is now visibly panicking. He reached into his pocket for something. Krishna was terrified when he saw what was in his hands. It all clicked for him. He felt dread after the conclusion. The dam he is at is a good tourist spot. This was also one of the largest and most important dams in the region. Right now due to some politician's rally there are a lot of people at the dam. It is bustling with hundreds of people tourists, political aides, and hawkers. A perfect spot for someone who wants to cause chaos. But he still couldn't understand. Suicide bombers are not rare in India but in this region, it was the first. There weren't many radicals in this region.

Time slowed down between them. Krishna could feel his heartbeat. It felt slow even when it is beating over 100 BPM. He had no idea how to manage this situation. The bomber is scared he could feel it but he could also feel his desperation. He is brandishing the detonator like a knife against him. The surrounding people noticed this and panic began to fill. Krishna ran to the bomber. It was involuntary. He tackled the bomber as he couldn't control his momentum. They both reached the railings that were put to stop the curious tourists from falling into the reservoir. Due to their mutual imbalance, they fell over it in a steep fall into the river. He knew death is imminent. He just hoped it wouldn't be too painful. He wished for his family to overcome this hurdle. He hoped his mother will be strong to take this and keep fighting for his brother. He hoped his brother would be proud of him and not miss him much. He knows he would.

He was brought of his musings when Krishna heard him whisper " Thank you but I am sorry". He then heard a click and a strong feeling assaulted him. Before his brain had processed it as pain, everything went blank. Like a screen with its power cord cut.

After a long time or what felt like a long time, Krishna regained his senses. But, he felt nothing. His senses couldn't process what is around him. He could feel it like it was instinctual. He felt boundlessness and desolation along with it. He felt something approach him but not through sound or sight but like an instinct. He heard(???) a soothing voice speak, "Well you took your time". Krishna swung his head in the direction of the sound but he couldn't pinpoint it like it was coming from the boundlessness around him. "Oh! I forgot to fix that." The voice exclaimed. He suddenly regained his senses. Not only the senses but he could see his own corporeal body. He now tried to find where the person who spoke is. As if noticing his confusion, a familiar woman manifested to his right. He recognized her in a second. He stiffened for a second before he involuntarily began speaking " Mama!! I am sorry I didn't want to do that but it happened so fast and I.. I..." He could hold out any more and started to sob but when he tried to hug her he couldn't like there is some kind of barrier around her. His mind became clear and he remembered his death. " I am sorry but I am not your mother. Technically I am your mother as I am the mother of all creation but no I am not your biological mother." The figure clarified.

He felt depressed and remorseful at the same time that he missed the 'mother of all creation' part. Well, it hit him with a subtlety of a suicide bomber. "Wait WHAT??" are the words that came out without even thinking.