The Cost of Values - 4

 In case you happen to just come over to this blog post 

and are wondering what this is all about, 

please do go to the earlier posts, and especially  

The Cost of Values - 1. 

The story starts there. 

This is the 4th Chapter in the serialized story that I am writing.

 

Thanks to all the readers who have followed this story. 

All of you commented, either in the blog, 

or directly to me, to continue with the story. So here goes.

CHAPTER - 4

The sudden appearance and subsequent disappearance of the restaurant like structure shook the three friends to the core. It was something so unexpected that it is no surprise that even technology savvy people were left dumbstruck. Vikrant was the first to recover from the shock of seeing the 'restaurant' disappear as if in thin air. It had also swallowed Akshay. Swallowed may be a wrong word to describe the events, but for Ganesh, Vikrant, and Amrutha it did feel that that is what had happened. All three were engineers and had a backing in science, but this phenomenon defied all known (at least known as of now to mankind) theories in science. How could a building vanish in front of their eyes? What had happened to it and where did Akshay go?

With some trepidation (fear of the unknown causes even the most scientific minds to be wary) the three of them walked gingerly, holding hands, to the exact spot where the building stood. Were there any signs of a building there from today morning? Any foundations? Any marks of the pillars? Was the grass bent? They could detect the places on the grass where Akshay's shoes made an impression. But suddenly there were no more impressions of Akshay's shoes.

 

Amrutha did a smart thing then. She took some photographs of the footprints and also shot a video of the footprints till the spot where the prints vanished. She took some photos of their camp location from the place where the building was seen. 

 

Ganesh was the first to say something. He posed a question uppermost in the others' mind. "What shall we do next?"

 

Amrutha said the most practical thing. "We should report to the police." 

Ganesh posed, "What shall we tell them? That Aks vanished into thin air! Will the police believe us? Won't they detain us and question us; probably use third degree methods on us thinking that we are the cause of his disappearance?"

Vikrant agreed with Ganesh on this, but being a bit more astute, he said, "If we do not go to the police and report Aks' disappearance, we will be under greater suspicion. The police will not have to go far to locate us since all our information would be with our employer."

Amrutha, ever the more practical, said, "I have shared the photos that we have taken over the three days, including today's, in a common album with you. You will be able to show the photos and video to the police inspector so that the police doesn't suspect you. You both go to the police station, whereas I will remain here, just in case the building and Aks appear again."

 

Amrutha further said, "I will also try and google to find out if something similar has happened anywhere else in India or the world. Surely, this must not be a one-off affair. What do you think happened just now? What are your first impressions?"

 

Ganesh and Vikrant shook their head and realized that they hadn't thought of any explanation as to what had happened. Surely the police would ask them their suspicions based on what they had seen first hand. They should be prepared with some logical explanation. Better to discuss this together so that they do not give contrary and confusing responses to the questions by the police.

 

Vikrant said, "I think the most logical explanation is that we have been hypnotized. It will be no surprise if a magician like P. C. Sorcar with a film crew were to appear now and bring Aks over and have a laugh at our expense."

 

Ganesh thought about this for a moment before asking, "Do you see any evidence of anyone in the vicinity? I don't see anyone for miles together. This is not a forested or a wooded area. It is a grassland, though among hills."

 

Amrutha thought for a while and said, "I think we should discount the magic mumbo-jumbo when talking to the police. This will not wash with them, even though I suspect they may also think along the same lines given what we see in Discovery and History Channels on TV." 

Vikrant asked, "So Amy, what do you think happened? What is your most logical explanation?"

Amrutha said, "I think we should all only say that the building disappeared in front of our eyes. That is a factual information. If asked by any authority, not only police, but any other authority of the government, we should express our ignorance of the matter."

Ganesh said, "I think people will ask our suspicions as to what happened. They will want us to describe how the weather was, whether it was a clear sky? Whether we saw any 'machine' in the sky or not? Did we hear any noise? If there was a noise, how clearly can we describe the noise to them. I think before leaving we should pool our information and speak as of one voice in these matters, else the authorities will likely suspect only us first."

Both Amrutha and Vikrant thought that was a good suggestion by Ganesh. They went back to their camp and sat separately. As per Vikrant's suggestion, it was decided that each of them will write their experience from the previous evening in as detailed a fashion as possible, and then compare notes. The next thirty minutes were spent in silence, broken only by the sound of birds in the sky that were going about their daily routine, blissfully unaware of the crisis developing below them.

Having completed their notes, they compared what each had written. But for a few minor changes in perception, each of them had the same experience as the other one had. So with more confidence in their ability to confront any charges that may be thrown at them by the police, Ganesh and Vikrant decided that they would leave in Ganesh's bike and leave Vikrant's bike near the camp site, just in case Amrutha needed any transport. Thankfully, each of them was careful not to go near Akshay's camp so that everything was left the same way as Akshay had left it in the morning. They were sure that it would be first thing the police would check when they came here to investigate.

Before leaving, Ganesh asked, "Does anyone among us have Aks' contact information? His home telephone, or his father's or mother's mobile number, so that we can inform them at least? We don't want the police to be first to inform."

 

Amrutha thought over this and said, "No, I don't think any of us has that information, but I will immediately call our HR and get that information from them and call either his mom or dad. You better get going. It is going to take some time to reach the nearest police station. The earlier we report this, the better it would be for all." 

After Ganesh and Vikrant had left, Amrutha did google for information on the disappearance of people in similar fashion; but she wasn't successful. Many were YouTube links where some dubious people were peddling fake information. She didn't believe any of these, but continued to look for credible sources. She didn't get any. Without wasting too much time on this endeavour, she decided to get the contact information of Akshay's parents. Instead of calling the HR department and getting questioned as to the need for her to call the company, when she could as well get it from Akshay himself, she called up Pronnoy, Akshay's roommate. Without checking why, Pronnoy gave that information to Amrutha.

Amrutha decided to call up Akshay's father Ramu, to tell him about what had just happened. She decided it would be better to be truthful, rather than beat around the bush. So she called up Ramu.

 

To be continued next Sunday - 6-August-2023.

The Cost of Values - 3

 I have been writing blogs that are generally events or my experiences.  

I have hardly ever attempted to write a story. 

However, for a change, I thought I should write a story -  

not a short story that can be completed within a blog post;  

but a 'serialized' story that I will continue every week. 

 

CHAPTER - 3

 

[In case you happen to reach here without reading the earlier parts of the serialized story, 

please go here........ Chapter - 1]

 

 A few days earlier.....

 

"Akshay, what are you planning to do during the weekend?", asked Pro (Pronnoy), Akshay's roommate.

"Not decided man. I may opt to just relax, if I do not have any backlog to be completed at work!" said Akshay with a sigh. 

Over the last couple of years that Akshay had been with DataLogix in Gurugram, he was always being swamped with work. He resented that overload during the weekends, since he seemed to be among the few who, like his father, completed his part of the project on time and with the quality that was expected of him. This resentment didn't appear on his face or demeanor when he was allotted that 'extra' work by his manager during office hours, since his nature was never to refuse work. Among the values inculcated in him by his parents - both mother and father always mentioned that 'hard work never killed anyone; hence accept the work and do your best' - this was something of a golden rule. Other values that they instilled in him were curiosity, respect for everyone, and honoring the commitment. Somehow, Akshay never questioned these aspects; though on quite a few other issues he could argue with his father till kingdom come.

It was raining in Gurugram and the city was a mess due to the traffic, water-logging, and general indiscipline on the roads. He made his way to the office, just a block away from his apartment and got into his cubicle. 

Just then Amy (Amrutha) came up to his cubicle and said, "Hey Aks, we three are planning a camping trip to Kumaon hills. Are you interested?"

"Yes, sure. I don't have a bike though."

"Not an issue. Vicky (Vikrant) is coming on his bike and Gan (Ganesh) is always ready to take any road trip. So there will be four of us on two bikes."

"Ok. Looks good. Let's do it. When do you leave?"

"We are leaving on Thursday morning. Take one day off and Friday is anyway a holiday. That makes it a three day camp. Hope you have your hiking boots and camping gear. Not given to anyone na?"

"No. I have that."

"Where are we going? Have you guys decided yet?"

"Gan was mentioning a camp site near a place called Kanatal, about 4 hours from Dehradun. We should be reaching there by late afternoon, if we leave this place early morning on Thursday."

Akshay decided that this trip would be 'off the radar' of his parents. His mother was of the worrying type and if he were to mention that he was planning a road trip, that too on a bike, to a hilly place, probably his mother would take the next flight from Bangalore and land up in Gurugram to prevent him from going. Better to talk to mom and dad after returning from the trip.

---------------

Saturday morning at Kanatal camp site

Akshay was thankful that the past two days were largely uneventful in terms of adverse weather. It was sunny and since the place was at an altitude, the weather was cool and nippy in the morning; but progressively warmer as the day progressed. It was a new experience to make tea or coffee and breakfast (mostly maggi noodles) before heading out for a trek. The sights were awe inspiring and since they were the only four campers in that area, they were largely left to themselves to enjoy the place. The site was a grassy land on a rise and even if it were to rain, the rainwater was not likely to cause any harm within the tent. Gan was anyway a pro in these matters and chose the place wisely.

The sun had just risen and Akshay saw that the others were also just getting up. But when they looked eastward, they found a building that resembled a small house that hadn't existed even yesterday evening. It was impossible that this building had been completed overnight.

The four of them decided to walk about a kilometer to check that out. Was it a shop? Or was it a cafe? Seemed to be a small restaurant. Could they escape the obligatory maggi noodles and instead get poori or aloo paratha? Akshay was the first one  to enter the cafe, with the others maintaining a safe distance behind him. Amy was busy taking photos of the morning sunrise, the building that had come up last night and a video of the three folks ahead of her. She was a 'photo-nerd' and had already taken a lot of photos over the last two days. In between she also took some selfies with Gan and Vicky with the building as a backdrop.

Akshay didn't find anyone inside the cafe. He looked around for a few seconds and then called, "Anyone here?"

Suddenly, the other three almost lost their balance. They were a good hundred yards behind Akshay. The cafe vanished in front of their eyes and with it Akshay too!

------------------------------------------------------

Note to readers: This story can end here with the suspense. Or it can be expanded. What do you think I should do? Please comment below.

 

The Cost of Values - 2

 I have been writing blogs that are generally events or my experiences. 

I have hardly ever attempted to write a story. 

However, for a change, I thought I should write a story - 

not a short story that can be completed within a blog post; 

but a 'serialized' story that I will continue every week. 

 

CHAPTER - 2

 

In case you happen to reach here without reading the earlier part of the serialized story, 

please go here........ Chapter-1

Prema rose from her sleep with a start. This was getting to be a usual occurrence of late, much to her growing consternation. She had been getting dreams of her college exam days or school monthly tests. She would awaken with a cold sweat; but feel relieved when she woke up to realize that now she is rid of those exam days.

Coffee was ready and she never forgot to silently thank Ramu for that morning ritual that he had taken upon himself many years ago. Today was a relaxed day and while sipping her coffee she turned on the TV to catch the latest business news. As a senior manager in a multinational company managing the finances and accounts, she took time to understand the economy and the way the policies were announced by various governments in the region. The weekly roundup was her favourite show since she did not find enough time to catch the news on a daily basis.

Prema took the newspaper from the magazine rack and started reading the news. She had her views on America, Russia, China, and India's foreign affairs with the Western powers, and engaged in a heated debate with her colleagues on how the Ministry should engage with those powers. Discussing with Ramu was futile, since he kept his views to himself on political matters - she suspected that it was because she was passionate in her views and rarely, if ever, acceded to contrary opinions. Ramu was more interested in tennis and cricket and watched the telecast of matches involving India and he had his strong views and opinions on team selection. Prema did not engage in those trivial matters. The world was her playground.

She was expecting a call from her son or daughter since they called up every weekend; but they hadn't called yet. Even if there was no call on any weekend, this did not cause any anxiety to her since it was quite possible that Akshay and Deepa were away to their friend's place. Even during their growing up years, Prema did not interfere in their studies, check their progress in class, supervise if they had done their homework or not, or signed their progress reports. Ramu took care of those matters and being very patient with their children, Prema realized that grooming their children was best left to the most competent person in the house! As a career oriented person, Prema routinely requested her parents or her parents-in-law to come over to take care of their grandchildren when they were young.

Akshay was three years older than Deepa and had a keen interest in chess and debating. On both he was active and had won competitions within their school and in inter-school competitions. Deepa was an extrovert and played badminton and cricket. To help with their passion in their hobbies, the grandparents came in handy since they would take the children to the training centres without fail.

Prema was extremely conscious of her health and did not miss the yoga classes every weekend that were held in the terrace of her yoga guru. But before going there, she needed to take care of Ramu's breakfast. Today would be dosa and she quickly prepared a few; ate a couple while other dosas were getting ready and changed into her yoga gear. She then picked up her car keys, locked the door, and took the elevator to the basement.

Prema opened the car door with her remote and glanced around to see Ramu walk towards the lift rather unsteadily. When he came nearer she thought she saw Ramu was not his usual self. Probably the long walk had tired him, who knows. Generally he would walk for about an hour on weekends, but today his walk was quite a long one. She thought she would inform him about his breakfast and approached him before he neared the elevator. It was then that she saw his ashen face.

"Ramu! What is wrong? Are you OK?"

To be continued next Sunday - 23-July-2023.

 

The Cost of Values - 1

 I have been writing blogs that are generally events or my experiences. I have hardly ever attempted to write a story. However, for a change, I thought I should write a story - not a short story that can be completed within a blog post; but a 'serialized' story that I will continue every week. 

I remember the serialized stories by accomplished writers in Tamil weeklies like Ananda Vikatan that were very popular decades ago, but have lost flavour since. Let this story be a serialized blog story! Hope the readers like the attempt and the story too!

----------------------------

CHAPTER - 1

Ramu decided that he would restart his morning walk on the first of the month and well, that day had arrived. He woke up at 5, as promised to himself, prepared coffee for himself, his wife, and the maid, and finished his morning ablutions and rituals. While sipping his coffee and admiring the view from his 15th floor balcony, he wondered whether he could delay resuming his walk by one more day. Such thoughts assailed Ramu often enough - not only in such mundane tasks, but also in important project activities and that had created quite a few problems for him in recent times. During project review meetings, he would get questioned about this; but his explanation that those activities couldn't be taken up on the planned day because of resource non-availability or some other constraints, would be accepted. Not without any reason, for Ramu was a diligent manager and projects under his watch would always get delivered on time and within budget and customers were always happy with Ramu and his management style.

Today was one of those days when Ramu felt lethargic and wanted to delay restarting his walk. Was it hot? Absolutely not. He lived in Bangalore and it was the first week of August, when the weather was balmy, the sun, though up in the sky, was being prevented by a blanket of clouds from peeping out and bathing the city in its warm glow. It was one of those mornings when even a conscientious person would be tempted to let go and relax, probably read a book, or do crossword, or attempt the Wordle of the day.

With some effort, Ramu conquered all the temptations and set out. Prema, his wife of 27 years, was still asleep. His two sons were in US, and the mornings weren't any longer the 'peak hour' in terms of 'traffic' at home. Things happened at a leisurely pace and the rest was well earned by Prema. Ramu remembered the hectic buzz at home when his two children - a boy and a girl - were young and in school. The morning hour from 5 am to 7.30 am when the school bus arrived at the gate, were called 'peak hour' by Ramu and many of his friends took that term and referred to the time similarly in their family circles. The preparation of snacks and packing their lunch boxes was the task specially delegated to Ramu by Prema and not without any reason. Ramu was good and accomplished the tasks with patience and sometimes inventiveness. If the vegetables to go with the roti were not ready that day, he would apply jam on one roti, and a bit of tomato ketchup on another; roll the roti and cut them into bite sized pieces and arrange them neatly in the tiffin boxes. The children, while having their breakfast, would observe these and Ramu would hope that they imbibed some of these qualities later in their life. Now his mornings were more relaxed and most days since he worked from home, the commute to workspot and back missing, the 'peak hour' had become a 'relaxed hour'.

But back to the present.... Ramu had a habit of walking alone and detested company. He preferred to listen to podcasts or songs on YouTube or Spotify and generally keep his mouth shut. That is why Prema and Ramu hardly ever went for their walks together. Suited both of them. Prema was gregarious and preferred chatting with friends and if there were no friends in sight, she had the capacity to make friends. In the society where Ramu and Prema lived, having moved here 5 years ago, Prema had made at least about 30 friends and Ramu by himself had 0. The only friends Ramu had were the husbands of Prema's friends.

He got a call from an unknown number. Generally Ramu disliked picking up calls from unknown numbers since most of the times they were marketing calls from some bank or insurance company trying to sell their products. However, on occasion, he needed to pick calls from unknown numbers since they could be from the client company by someone who had a problem to report. Should he pick the call or let it be? Wasn't the holiday well earned by him, he thought? If the person had a problem, he could call the office and someone would respond and redirect the call or let the concerned person know about the problem, whatever that problem was. But Ramu being Ramu, he took the call. Maybe he shouldn't have. That call was to change his life forever. What was the call about? Who was calling him on a holiday? Why?

To be continued next Sunday - 16-July-2023.