Welcome To Paradise

"Damn, I did not expect such a detailed backstory!" Gibli said in awe.

"That's the kind of thing you should expect from me!" Lonappan said, with his pride soaring through the sky.

"Wait a minute! I never knew a time when the commanding officer was kind and friendly! That seems like a glaring inconsistency in my point of view!" Thankappan spoke, thinking of all the times Ponnappan trashed him before everyone.

"I guess people change! He's an asshole towards me too these days." Lonappan told, reminiscing all the good times he had with Ponnappan back when he was a rookie.

"That's like a whole one eighty of a change! For a person to change its behavior in that manner, they have to face some sort of drastic situation. So, what was his drastic experience that changed him for the worse?" Kunjan asked.

Lonappan shook his head. "I don't know man. I know for sure that it was a gradual change, however, I'm not sure as to what had happened to him. Had I known, I would've tried my best to divert him from whatever path he's taking." He replied.

"Why don't you start now? Who knows, he might still have that one soft spot for somewhere in him." Kunjan spoke.

"I don't know man! He looks like he's beyond that point of salvation." Lonappan put his head down in disappointment. It hurt him mentally, thinking about it.

"It's not over; it's never over. As long as you hope for something and work towards it, it's never impossible. Even your boss can turn to the old cheerful person if you're willing to try." Kunjan assured.

Lonappan felt ashamed at that moment. The alien before him has more of the so-called humanity than he ever had. He gave up on Ponnappan the moment he witnessed the slow-burning change. "I shouldn't have given up on him like that." He blamed himself for that. However, he wasn't willing to give up, now that he has a chance to redeem himself. "You know what? First thing that I'm gonna do after this is to invite him over for dinner." He proclaimed.

"Great! Do that." Kunjan gave a thumbs up.

"Can I join you too? Then it'll be like three generation worth of senior-rookie relationships." Thankappan interjected with his puppy eyes.

"Dude, this is supposed to be an emotional reunion of friends. Don't try to ruin it!" Kunjan retorted, which made Thankappan a bit sad.

"Fine! Don't call me then! I won't come by even if you begged me to come." Thankappan pouted.

"Cool, I don't want you to!" Lonappan said, before giving out a light chuckle. "Bruh, don't be mad about it! I will invite you some other day, okay?" He asked.

After giving out a few seconds worth of silent treatment, Thankappan replied. "Okay, however, you better remember that I like sweet things." He replied.

"Ah, don't worry. My wife's an expert at making that." Lonappan assured.

"I see. That's settled then." Thankappan gave out a sweet smile. After coming out of the dungeon, he started living for those small things in life; things that made him genuinely happy. Hence, this was one hell of a moment for him. "Hmm, since that's settled, why don't you join Gopan over there and listen to the Chief Minister's speech. He's been raring for you to stand by his side." Thankappan pointed towards Gopan, who had been looking at Lonappan with expectant eyes for the whole time.

"Shoot! I'll head over there then. I hope you guys enjoy this too!" Lonappan waved before heading towards Gopan.

#

"Dude!" Taro sighed.

"What is it?" Thankappan asked.

"How do people even like this shit? Like the guy looks expressionless as fuck. He doesn't give out any gestures and yet the people over here cheer like crazy. I can get why people like movies so much, however, this is just torture for me!" Taro sighed yet again.

"Touché!" Gibli sighed with him.

"What do you mean touché? You can literally understand what that guy's saying! And judging by the crowd's reaction, apparently he's been giving a banger of a speech, albeit expressionless." Taro said as he looked around and watched people jumping around with each words that Vijay Das said.

"That's political stuff! I can't literally feel any hype when he tries badmouthing the other party!" Gibli shook his head in dismay.

"Why does he do that though?" Taro asked.

"Well, to rile up the masses, I guess? I'm pretty sure they are all close buddies behind the scene." Gibli gave out his assessment on it.

"Then aren't we idiots for even listening to this speech?" Taro asked.

"Well, we believe there's a thing called democracy in this world! So, of course we are!" Gibli replied.

"Can we please not get political this time? I'm not in a mood. Instead, why don't you enjoy the pure moment of joy experienced by Lonappan and Gopan—with context this time?" Thankappan asked of them.

"Sure." They agreed and stared at the two for a few minutes before they got bored of it.

"Wanna escape from here?" Kunjan placed the notion to escape from this hell before them.

"Why not?" Gibli and Taro joined in on this.

"Guys, what will they think?" Thankappan pointed at their two hype bunnies, Lonappan and Gopan.

"Don't worry. I don't think they'll even notice. I mean, look at them enjoying while we're suffering here!" Kunjan scoffed.

"So, everyone in on this?" Taro asked.

"Yea!" Everyone replied simultaneously.

#

"Are you sure you know the way?" Thankappan asked to Kunjan. It had been around one hour since they got their asses out of the WPP convention. However, it seemed like they were nowhere near the destination—or they had lost their way.

"Calm down. You have to suffer a bit if you wanna reach paradise!" Kunjan replied, slightly annoyed by Thankappan's question.

"You're hyping it too much, you know? I hope it lives up to our expectation!" Gibli warned.

"Shut your trap and follow me." Kunjan ordered. After a few more minutes of walking, they finally reached their destination. "Here you go! We're here." Kunjan's eyes glimmered.

However, the others had doubts in their minds. "You sure this is the right spot?" Gibli asked. The other two had the same thought as well. What they saw before them was a mediocre restaurant that could be seen in every corner in the city of Thrissur.

"Idiots! Don't judge the book by its cover!" Kunjan scolded the four. Somehow, he sensed the thoughts of other two too.

Believing in Kunjan's words, they entered the restaurant. "Chetta, four plate shawarmas and one al fahm!" Kunjan ordered. "And now, we wait!"

They waited for fifteen minutes exact when the plates actually came in. "It seems like the food's coming." Gibli proclaimed the obvious.

Kunjan clicked his tongue. "Tch. Not food. Paradise is awaiting us, my man." Kunjan corrected him. The other three were surprised. They had never seen Kunjan so passionate about something.

And he wasn't wrong about his assessment in any way, shape or form. The shawarmas and al fahm had their own charm that made them irresistible for the patiently waiting crowd of four. As the food reached their table, they didn't even spare a word critiquing or praising it. Instead they began gobbling it up as whole. None of them spoke. They were so focused on consuming the literal masterpiece before them that they forgot to talk.

It took them exactly five minutes for them to consume the entire thing. By the end of it, they were in a perfect balance. Their bellies were full, however their taste buds wanted more of it. The simultaneous burp they gave out was music to their ears, but incredibly disgusting to the onlookers.

"That…was…amazing! Best thing I've eaten for a good while now!" Thankappan screamed out his satisfaction.

"I don't even have words to explain it." Gibli spoke.

"Indian cuisine is amazing! I can't get enough of it." Taro cried.

"It ain't Indian, it's Arabian. However, I understand your sentiment." Kunjan corrected him.

"Well, this makes me want to travel around this planet then. As much as I miss Wadorian food, I don't think it can top this!" Taro voiced his thoughts.

"See, what did I tell you before? Welcome to paradise [1]!" Kunjan smiled. "However, wait till you eat the desert! Chetta, a chocolate brownie." Kunjan ordered.

The brownie reached their table within seconds. They took a bite out of it and they felt like they were coursing through the heavens. "This is perfect. Easily consumed and cold. I suddenly feel like I can go one more round with all the food." Gibli shouted.

However, Kunjan barred him. "No, you'll ruin the perfect balance if you do that. Everything's perfect as it is. You try to do more, you'll end up upsetting your stomach or something."

"I'll heed your advice on that." Gibli agreed with Kunjan on that this time. He didn't want to intentionally ruin a perfectly great meal time.

"So, now that we're done here, shall we go back? The convention might be done by now." Taro suggested.

"Sure, let's not make Lonappan and Gopan wait." Kunjan got up, paid the bill and got out. The other three followed him as well. He was supposed to be their pathfinder, after all.

#

*[1] Hey, another song reference in there! This time, it is Green Day's hit song, 'Welcome to paradise'. Give it a listen if you're into Green Day.