Abhishek's Musings

  MISS PUSS IN BOOTS   I woke up one morning to a commotion in my room. I sat in bed and rubbed my eyes at the silhouette of a figure standing near the door. It took my mind a while to register what I was seeing.   Standing on its hind legs was my cat, Miss Puss in Boots, dressed in a cop’s uniform, complete with a badge and a baton in her hands. I noticed that she had dry-cleaned herself and was posing in the doorway. I was amazed and in disbelief.   “Miss Puss in Boots, what are you wearing?” I blurted out.   Miss Puss in Boots stared at me blankly as she straightened her uniform with her paw, adjusted it and stood there.   Before I could fully comprehend the situation, my young son burst into the room, eyes wide with shock and disbelief. “Is that a cat in a cop’s uniform, Dad?”   I managed to nod my head and felt like a dumbo at the absurdity of the situation. The extraordinary sight still shook me.   From the stairway to my apartment, I could ...

  MY FATHER   My father was my very first role model It was his face that I first doodled.     He was always there to guide Whenever I faltered in my stride.   He was my protector The man from the scientific sector.   He was my first superhero. In a world whole of zeroes. From him, I learned to talk. I also learned to walk.   He taught me to play cricket. And to always mind my wicket.   In football, he taught me how to dribble,  and to always keep fighting. He taught me the art of scribbling  in creative writing.   He taught me the value of hard work And to never be a jerk.   He taught me right from wrong. And to always hum the righteous song.   Sitting atop his shoulders, I saw the world Getting a glimpse of the big picture, I chuckled.   He will always be in my heart; He gave me my first start.  He taught me to rise. He is the person who made me wise.   May his soul rest in peace My love for him will never...

  ENCOUNTER ON PARK STREET   Mark was awakened from his deep sleep by an eerie glow from his neighbour's window in the middle of the night. He approached the window carefully and heard a strange "whup whup" noise coming from inside, which grew louder with each step closer to the window. When he looked through the glass, he was taken aback by a scene from Steven Spielberg's sci-fi movie. Five green-skinned Martians were gathered in his neighbour's room, chatting away. Their skin was casting a bluish-green light across the room. To Mark's surprise, his neighbour was pointing towards him and drawing the attention of the Martians to him.   Mark was abruptly interrupted from his attempt to comprehend the bizarre scene by a tap on his shoulder. He turned around, only to find himself face to face with an otherworldly being. Its penetrating gaze seemed to penetrate his very being, leaving him momentarily paralysed as he grappled with the sheer surrealism of the situat...

  THE NIGHTMARE OF THE FOGGY STORM DRAIN   Three days earlier, Antonio had come across an old journal in his attic that spoke of doing good deeds and helping people. He had spent many hours pouring over its weathered pages, trying to imbibe some of the goodness inscribed in it. The journal, written by a sage and kept by his family for ages, spoke of living a virtuous life spent helping others. It also spoke of educating those unable to get any education independently.   But he had also noticed that in between the journal, someone had tucked some mysterious pages that spoke of dark rituals and scary secrets of something sinister lurking in the shadows. Antonio also noticed that in the journal, his father had marked some warnings in bold letters in his meticulous handwriting. The warnings spoke of exercising caution while dealing with shady, dark characters and staying away from them. Antonio had thought nothing about it then and dismissed it as mere legend. But never in hi...

  THE FOGGY DRAIN   At dusk, Antonio was dropped off at the main road by his office cab. He had a long, tiring day at work, so he hurried home. He had to cover a stretch of one kilometre on foot to reach his apartment from his dropping point at the main road. At that hour, he found the streets full of open maintenance holes, which probably indicated some construction activities. As he walked alone, he approached a storm drain. A thick black fog was billowing out of it, and it seemed dark and dreary. His curiosity aroused, Antonio stepped closer to the storm drain, illuminated by dusk's light at that unearthly hour.   A robust and nauseating smell hit his nostrils. He noticed it emanating from the fog, leaving him gasping for breath. It had a strange, acidic smell, the unbearable stench. Throwing caution to the wind, he leaned forward. Suddenly, a pair of stone-cold hands grabbed his ankles, sending a chill down his body. He started shivering in fright at the touch of the ...

  THE FRUSTRATING DIALOGUE   BENJAMIN (angrily): “This is outrageous! Everything’s falling apart. I can’t believe this garbage!”.   MARY (trying to soothe): “Shh, take a deep breath, inhale, calm down. There must be some logical explanation. Let’s think rationally and not jump to any conclusions.”   BENJAMIN: “Rational? My Wi-Fi connection is not working, and neither is my phone's mobile data. I don’t know how to complete my pending work. It is a disaster.”   MARY: “Now, don’t blow your top, Benji. We’ll figure it out. Perhaps it might work if we close the systems and try again.”   Benjamin: “Restart! Are you for real, Mary? Even my radio, which operates on the battery, is not working. This is beyond frustrating!”   MARY: “Now, don’t get so worked up, Benji. Let’s think this through with a calm head. Maybe a manual check can throw some light on the problem.”   BENJAMIN: “Worked up? I’m going bonkers here. Nothing is working. My gadgets seem to hav...

  THE VOODOO TRAP   A strong breeze scattered papers in the air in the crowded, dimly lit alleyways of Paharganj market. Among them was a yellowed parchment with strange symbols and incantations written on it.   His curiosity piqued, and Mark picked up the parchment. As his fingers brushed its surface, a tingling sensation coursed through his body. Unfolding it, he was met with a list of enigmatic spells, their untold powers shrouded in mystery.   His eyes popped out of their sockets as he read, “Vermilion, chicken head, lemon, chillies, voodoo dolls, feathers, among other items.” His eyes rolled when he read the word “Voodoo dolls”. This was not something to be trifled over. This was deadly dark magic; whoever had written this list was a practitioner.  Suddenly, Mark felt like some dark forces had controlled him. The darkness had infiltrated his mind, and his whole body was wrecked in pain as he felt as if pins had pricked him.   Undeterred by the pai...