The Eighth Shell

"...How was i different from them?, I thought, I pondered..."

I sat by my table, with a wine glass, half empty,
And on the table were lined seven shells,
Empty, for they had served their purpose,
And as I sat, the seven memories came to life.

The streets were washed in the yellow light,
As I saw him beat her to death, with bare hands,
His eyes burned with furry, and his hands did the deed,
And I emptied my first shell, as he came crashing down.

My sleep couldn't make peace with me, as the children cried,
They cried in heart chilling screams, as I entered the room,
The mother sat there, eating away, as the kids cried to hunger,
And I emptied my second shell, as her blood splattered the wall.

It was the great war, that made us leave our homes,
And I saw the old man push along his son, youth in his prime,
An able bodied man, but he had lost to slumber and laze,
And I emptied my third shell, and he slept for eternities to come.

He was a rich man, and his richness knew no end,
And at the slave market I saw him, I saw him with his little one,
As men quoted price for her tender skin, I saw the mammon in his eyes,
And I emptied my fourth shell, his riches he couldn't take along.

"Why do they love you more?", he screamed as with an ax he charged,
"Why do they not love me the same", and his envious blows found their mark,
His brother lay in a pool of blood as he cleaned the ax,
And I emptied my fifth shell, as he fell next to his brother.

"I am beautiful", She would chirp in every morning,
"My beauty, knows no boundaries", In the evening I would hear her say,
"You are no beauty", she smirked as she crashed acid on her lover's face,
And I emptied my sixth shell, and to dust her beauty was dethroned.

I loved her more than my life, she was my soul, my beloved,
Until I found her with men, men I had never known,
I found her with lust in her eyes, as she satisfied her carnal needs,
And I emptied my seventh shell, as her naked limp body soaked in blood.

And today I sit here, with a half filled glass in my hand,
And the seven empty shells that line my table,
"How was i different from them?", I thought, I pondered,
"Who will judge me?", I thought as I raised the gun to my head.

The First Kiss

Under the silence of the night,
Like the moonvine, the love blossomed,
The silver sheen, and the sweet fragrance,
Of an heavenly peace bloomed,
As her fingers slid into mine.

Her eyes told it all,
As I held her in my arms,
The winds played with her mane,
As her heart stopped for a while,
With the sweet embrace.

Her eyes drowned in mine,
As I held on to her,
And then under starry sky,
Her lips gently pressed onto mine,
And I wish the night stayed on forever.

The Traveler-5: The Time Trap.

Acknowledgement: I would like to thank my dearest Friend Nikhil Negi for the Time travel, and My dear sis D, for the Witch :D

The village held a gloomy charm,
Not a one that would sooth the heart,
And I wanted to know, to understand,
What made the clouds look so sad.

My answer came,
From a man in the village bar,
He told me the sorrow filled tale,
As he drank from his jar.

He said, with every sip,

She rides on her wind charriot, with a fire whip in her hand,
She rides to steal the smiles, steal the joy from our hearts.

She has cursed this land, so the sun never shines,
The clouds would linger along, but not a drop wets the ground.

She has cursed this land, so no child is ever born,
The mothers lost their hopes to live.

"Why does she torment all", I asked,
"I don't know, why don't you ask", he said.
So I set out to find her,
For, the sight had filled me with sorrow.

So I set out to find my answers,
To the old witch who lived by the river,
And around me I saw pain,
The village was dead on itself.

She sat on a velvet thron,

"Why do you torment the villagers?", My question startled her,
"Its my village, I do as it pleases me", she replied with scorn.

"I will do anything to help this village out", I swore an oath,
"Can you?" She replied as flew down to me with a cackle.

"Why would you, you are just a traveler, why soil your hands?"
"I love adventure, and helping these people promises me adventure."

She waved her wand, poof!!!!
Darkness covered me for an instance,
And then light, as we emerged again.
Emerged into a dungeon.

"I would like to test your spirit", she said
As she led me through the narrow lane,
Tombs of men lined the wall,
And floor was wet with slime.

She opened a giant door,

"Can you kill a stranger, without looking at his face?",
"Can you stab a man, without knowing his name".

I saw whom she was talking about, for he sat there,
His face covered and his hands chained, he sat there by the wall.

"One man's life for an entire village", I weighed in my head,
Then taking the dagger from her, I drove it down his heart.

"You clear my test, Traveler,
But you must travel to the past,
Down the alley of fear,
To the Forest of Gloom".

"I will send you twenty years back,
Search for me the three stones of life,
And once you find them, come back
To this village, to this house".

She raised her wand, mumbling a spell,

"But I lay a curse upon you, as you travel down the time,
If you shall ever raise a hand against me, you shall fall by the same"

A ball of fire engulfed my body, but it didn't burn my skin,
And slowly the witch faded from my sight, only the fire remained.

A pull of gravity, a pull of soul, I couldn't tell,
But I felt the time fly by me, and soon the fire died around.

The world was different,
The sky and sun felt different,
And I traveled in search of the stone of life,
I traveled to the darkest time.

In ten years I found two,
But then one day I learned the truth,
The witch had the third of the stone,
And she had just pushed me out.

I was lost, and shattered, captured in the past.

"Where can I find the village of gloom?", I would ask everyone,
"Where can I find the witch who masters time?", I lost it to time

Ten more years I wander around, with the two stones of life,
And one day I track her down, I found my way back to her.

"You deceived me oh evil witch", And I raised my sword to kill,
"You are just a mere mortal", she laughed, and captured me in a spell.

She took from me the two stones of life,
And locked me away in a place unknown,
And for three days I was kept there,
With no food for hunger, and no water for thirst.

And on the third day, I heard movements,
And the door opened behind me, footsteps I heard,
Faces I couldn't see, but knew they were two.
And then after a long pause, I heard her speak.

"Can you kill a stranger, without looking at his face?"

The Traveler-4: The Riders of the Dark Sand

I have traveled long and far, in search of things that the world has seldom heard of. The journeys I have taken in search of Fear, The Forest Nymphs, and the Devil himself have already been written about. My journeys have taken me to the ends of the world, from where there seemed no return. One such journey took me to the land, covered under a sea of sand. It was everywhere, it spanned from horizon to horizon, and it was here I heard about the Riders Of the Dark Sand.

I was part of the caravan, and we were to cross this great desert to reach the other side, to the green lush fertile land along the River Nile. The caravan was actually a transport for a precious jewel, guarded by an old priest. There were stories about him, and how he had always guarded the jewel from the desert robbers.

I walked over to him, eager to know what was so precious about the jewel, but before I could ask him, he started the tale.

Long ago, during the reign of Thoth,
The heaven was torn apart in war,
Horus in arms against Set, the God of sands.

Thoth conceived a jewel, of pure power,
Power to alter time, and resolve fights,
And handed the jewel to a man, priest in his temple.

But the greed in man's heart was strong,
And he yearned to be powerful,
He fought for this jewel, to control the time.

One such man was Hareb, a mighty warrior,
Who up with his four men, laid siege on the temple,
Killing the priests, and stealing the Jewel.

His insolence angered Thoth,
And this anger gave birth to a curse,
A curse to be captured within time.

And together with him, his men perished,
Only to be risen on the day of no moon,
When they fight to regain the Jewel.


Well it was an astounding story, and the old priest could see the glow on my face as I heard about the power of the Jewel.

"Stranger, be warned, no one has ever returned back from the desert nor has the jewel reached the temple by the Nile. Those who die in battle with the Riders, . . . ", his speech was cut off by the bull horn. The journey was about to commence.

I was a bit afraid, but still was determined to see the marvel that lay up ahead in the day.
We were fifty brave men, strong warriors to protect the Jewel, and I was confident that I would be able to set foot on the fertile land across this great desert.

So the journey began. . .


Fifty brave men, mounted on horses,
With swords drawn ready to fight,
Across the desert, they ride,
They ride along with the sun.

The hot days, take their tolls,
But the brave never give up,
For across the desert, lies their dream,
A dream of fertility and pride.

The priest travels along, guarding the jewel,
With fear in his heart he rides,
And as the sun dips towards the horizon,
His eyes betray his fear.

"I have traveled this sand, thousand times,
But never do I see the green land."
Sang the priest, as the skies darkened,
And darkness covered the land.

"They will come, and take all of you,
They will come, to enslave your souls,
But for me, I have the jewel, so I shall live,
The jewel shall set my times right."

And soon the sands turned dark,
And no moon shined in the sky,
Then we heard the sounds of hoofs,
As the Riders of the Dark Sands arrived.

Four men, and their horses breathing fire,
With swords drawn, ready to take the lives.
"If its four, we can take them", I thought,
But my hopes soon turned to despair.

With his hands the rider waved to air,
"I am Hareb, listen to me oh great sands,
I have been yours for many years,
Now give me what is mine"

Soon the earth shook and split
And our sights were blinded by the winds,
And then rose the many who had died,
Died protecting the Jewel of Thoth.

The undead, rose to their feet,
As my men charged ahead into them,
And I watched each of my men fall,
Fall to the swords of the undead.

It was me now, who stood afoot,
Between Hareb and his jewel, his desire,
And with a drawn sword I charged into the men,
Slicing the already dead to death.

"Its futile, that you may fight,
For your men are dead, and you stand alone,
Its futile, that you may fight,
For I still can summon the demons from hell"

And with a scream, Hareb leaped forward,
Knocking me off onto to the sands,
And as his cold sword pierced my chest,
I saw the priest stab the jewel with his staff.

I saw the life flash in front of me,
And the light shone bright, blinding me,
And then darkness followed for days to come,
Until I heard the call, and life ran through my veins.

I rose up again, with the sword in my hand,
And my men stood next to me, ready to fight,
But the fate had a different plan,
For now I was also the Rider of the Dark Sand.


Glossary:
Thoth: Wiki Page. Thoth is also the moon deity.
Set: Wiki Page.
Horus: Wiki Page.

The Autumn Sunset

"...The leaves fall, and the flowers wither, but the memory remains."
The tenderness of the leaves lost,
Lost to the tears of the sky,
Clouds that never saw light,
Shade our lives for ever.

The smile of the damsel fades,
Fades into an autumn sky,
The loving hug of mate,
Fades into a sad departure.

Winds that play with the flower,
Withered by the summer sun,
Skies still rain fire,
Burning down the forest of hope.

The sunset was my life,
The life I held onto for long,
But today the sun sets for ever,
Never to be seen again.

I wait for this autumn to fade,
A new winter and spring awaits.
I wait for a new dawn,
To light up, after this autumn sunset.

Enemy Of an Enemy

The little rat ran, ran for its life,
As the snake pursued its prey,
Around the field the rat ran,
And soon the snake fell behind.

An owl sitting on a nearby tree,
Was enjoying the show at hand,
When it saw the rat about to run,
Run into a borough and spoil its show.

"The borough won't be of much help",
Hearing the hoot, the rat looked up.
"The snake can always follow you,
Right into the hole, you see"

"So let me help", the Owl continued,
"Why should I trust you", the Rat squeaked,
"Well I am your enemy's enemy", retorted the Owl,
"Let me think, I will let you know soon"

The rat knew that owl was right,
"The snake would follow me into the hole,
And may be corner me and eat me,
But how can I trust the owl either?"

"The owl may eat me too, if I stay,
But I think he is for real,
For an enemy's enemy is a friend",
The rat was in a deep thought.

"Help me Mr Owl, for I find you wise,
Help me Mr Owl, for you are correct",
"Promise me you won't leave here, until,
until I come back with the dead snake"

"We can celebrate together", said the owl,
And the rat stood his promise, as the owl darted away,
And a snoop down, the snake writhed in its claws,
It writhed and died soon.

The rat was happy, prepared for a celebration,
When with a hoot, the owl scoped down again,
But this time, the rat was there in its claw.
"Why do you break the promise", asked the rat.

"I never made one", said the owl,
And it flapped along the horizon,
With the new catch, in its claws.
And as it flew it chuckled to itself.

I am for sure the enemy's enemy,
But I never claimed to be the friend.
And it flew, perching on a high branch,
and feasting on its grand catch.

The Story of the Night.

Long ago, there was no night, but just light,
And this light gave birth to an unending love,
A true love, that bound the Earth and the Sun.

They were together, nothing to separate them,
And their love was known across the universe,
Man was happy, for there was no darkness to fear.

There was a seer, who was enchanted by the beauty,
Enchanted by the beauty of the Earth, and he wanted her
But it was the Sun who stood in between him and his love.

His love turned to jealousy, and all he wanted was her,
He plotted days on end, plotted how to get rid of the Sun,
And one day he came up with a plan, plan to take his love.

The seer went to meet the Gods, "Does the human pray to you?",
"Does he come to you, praying for the well being?"
"Does he humour you with his thanksgiving?".

"He has long forgotten fear, so he forsakes thee",
"He has forgotten anguish, so he doesn't heed thee".
"Give him darkness, and he will come to you, you will see".

The Gods were impressed by what the seer said,
"So let it be, let there be night, let there be no light",
"Let the man fear me once again, and countinue to pray"

So came the night, and the sun was gone,
And the seer seizing the opportunity, pursued his love,
The Earth was frightened by the darkness, and afraid of the seer.

She ran to the Gods for help, and she begged them,
Now the Gods understood what was that what the seer wanted,
"You have deceived us oh great Seer, so you shall be punished"

The seer was cast into a bottom-less pit,
"And for you, oh Earth, we can't undo the night",
"But we can give you light in the night"

And saying thus, they placed the Moon in the sky,
And it shone bright, with the light from the sun,
While the Earth waited patiently for the dawn.

And to this day, the Moon shines,
Shines with the promise of love,
A true and eternal love, that would return one day.

The Aftershock - 2

continued from http://timjude.blogspot.com/2011/05/aftershock-1.html

"Dunno dude, I can hardly hear a thin'."

*BANG*

This time there was no mistaking, it was a gunshot. Soon the world came back into our senses, we were in some clearing or park. For all I could see was the green of the grass almost blackened under the darkness of the night and a thin cover of trees towards the boundaries.
Our hearts started to beat faster, well obviously we were supposed to be frightened, but I could't comprehend the gravity of the situation. My head slowly hummed, while my heart beat like a hammer against my chest.

"We should get outa' here". Ted pulled me up, I wobbled a bit.
We somehow managed to get each other up, but we were too late, for soon we saw two men with flash lights walking towards us. They were shining it in our eyes, so we could't get a glimpse of their faces.

"Whatcha' kids doin' up here in the night", Asked one of them. He was really tall, with a well built muscular body, and he had a really rough voice. He could have been easily mistaken for a giant.

"N'thin', we were just passin'by, thought we'd rest a bit before headin' home." I blurted out, somehow.

And it was then I saw the shot guns in their hands, and it was my feet that did the talking. I ran straight into the tree cover, I cared for no one at that moment, no one at all, not even the other three.

"Hey Kid waitup", I could hear the man shouting back at me.

I didn't stop, for all I cared was to save my sorry little ass. I ran into the trees.

*BANG*

I heard the gunshot behind me as I ducked in behind a tree, and flares brushed past me. One of them caught me in my left arm, It was like a pin prick, and then a quick spasm of pain, and I felt like my hand had been ripped off my body. I was scared, I could hear the other man shouting at the shooter for being clumsy, for missing his mark.

"I have to escape from these men, somehow I have to run away from them"

"What am I going to do with my arm?"

"What will happen if they catch me?"

Damn I was so confused and scared, I somehow scrambled back to my feet holding my left arm, trying to stop the bleeding. It was just a flesh wound, I breathed, a deep breath, before breaking into a run, I ran straight into the ever thickening foliage. It was dark, pitch black, I could just make out the outlines of the trees as I ran amidst them. I could see the long shadows cast by the flash light behind me.

"They are up on my heals, damn", I thought to my self.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I din't notice the ground sloping downwards. I stumbled upon a root and fell flat on the face. My nose hurt like hell, must have broken from the impact. A warm stream of blood rushed out of my nose, I got back up on my feet, rubbing off the blood as it streamed. I was really hurt this time, a bloodied arm and a broken nose. I waited, breathing heavily waiting for the pain to wade off. The faint light of the flash-light was growing thinner and thinner and soon it was dark again.

"They might have given up"

I slumped on to the nearest tree, hiding perfectly behind it, I was scared, dead scared, breathing heavily, and was just lost. It was dark, I din't know what to do. I didn't know what had happened to the other three, they would have been killed, and dumped in some swamp or taken hostages, hog tied and tortured. I sat there by the tree, and started crying. I felt helpless.

I don't know how long I had been under that tree. I was no longer high, everything was normal except for my beating heart. It was racing, it was beating as if it wanted to get out of my chest. I gathered enough courage and got up, I could hear vehicles, engines roaring. I walked towards the sound and soon emerged into a road. It had a long line of tree cover on both side of it, as it snaked through the green cover. I limped up to the road, hopping to get some help. From a distant curve I saw the two beams of light and soon two headlights came into sight. I limped forward and trying to flag it down, and as the car drew nearer, I felt a wave of relief passing through my body. I saw the beacon light, like the ones used in a police car. I was lucky. The car stopped in front me, and a middle aged cop stepped out of the drivers seat. I sighed.

"What happened son, You look terrible", His soft voice soothed my nerves.

I started to blurt out everything, what ever had happened that evening, about the shooting and how I had escaped, everything.

"Why don't you get in the car with me, I will hear your story, as I get you to a hospital". And as he said, he opened the rear door of the car. I was happy, and was not scared any more. I had got help at last. The door closed with a click.

He got back into the drivers seat, picked up his phone from the dashboard and dialled, and put the earpiece to his ears. I could hear the slow ringing sound, and then it stopped.

"I have got him, he is with me in the car."

To be Continued....

Memoir Of a Rose

"...A rose has a magic in itself, love it, live it."

I remember the day I saw her,
A babe in her mother's arm, sleeping,
As I sat adorning her table.

She grew into a maiden, a beauty,
And my fragrance covered her body,
And as a loving touch I danced with her.

I was gifted to her with a kiss,
And her lips impressed upon me,
As she embraced the man, her lover.

Its her marriage, and she walks down the aisle,
Timid and shy, her cheeks blush up, as of a princes,
And she holds onto me, as I sit embedded in her bouquet.

She grows old with her man,
With promises to live and die together,
I sit by her bed, with the card, in her sickness.

She is long gone, bidding farewell to the earth,
He wipes the tear, that has wet his cheeks,
And places me by her side, as he walks away.

I lay there by her side, for a new beginning,
I lay there unmoved, as she is lowered down.
To be one with the earth, where she would rest for ever.

The Aftershock - 1

It was my best day, finally I had graduated, and nothing could stop me from being what I wanted. Well I could say that, the world had a different plan.It was a pleasant day. A copper sky, which marked the sunset, a light breeze which made the trees sway along with it, a slight chill in the air, which said, "Hey people winters' at your doorstep".

"I suggest we go to the Blue diamond, free starters, disco and a lot of hot chicks", chirped in Bierty. Well I loved him for his head. A cheap bastard he was, but still I loved how his brain worked.

I think I missed out on a lot of details to begin with. Well we were the gang of four, Bierty, Mat, Greg, and of course me . We stood up for each other. We were the main brain behind our batch functioning properly, well I am allowed to boast, but truth is truth, we were the best at what we did. We had started with random hacks, then a main grid, and bang, we were popular all over the campus. "The four Owls", as we were so lovingly addressed. Nights were our days and the days were well of course our nights.

And yeah coming back to the incident, we all agreed to what Bierty had to offer, we were cheap bastards too. The night of our graduation, in some random disc by the name Blue Diamond, and we four hopping for some fun.

"300 bucks each", the bouncer at the gate, pointed at the board. We fished out enough, and much was left with us for a pretty decent night.

The world that emerged at us behind those black doors was something we would never forget.

"Dude, the blue light is already tripin' me m'man", I heard my self hiss in a low voice. The interior of the disc was electrifying, splendid and really ( well I would require a good word to describe it folks )

I saw Greg and Bierty go straight into the dance floor, may be they wanted to hook up, I don't know, but I took a corner seat with Mat, and within half an hour we were already down with seven vodka shots. I could feel the world dance along with me, as I head banged away to the marvellous music that was playing by. Mat sat there unmoved, for him seven were still less, and within another fifteen minutes, he joined me, 10 shots down.

Well we danced the night away, until Bierty came up to us with something.

"You should try this mate, this is some serious stuff.", Well we couldn't hold our horses, and jumped all over it as hungry pack of dogs. It was something out of this world, something marvelous. We were soon in our own world, splendid, everything slowed down, the music, the dancing, everything, except for time.

"This is the last one for the night, thanks for coming along", screamed in the DJ, and soon we were out.

"I can't feel m' leg mate".
"Keep walkin', ye'll start feeling it a' soon as ye get tired."

And so we walked, reached somewhere, and slumped to the ground. Peace. Silence. Quite.

!!BANG!!

"Was that a gunshot!!!!??" Greg sounded a bit scared.

To be continued...

Change

"...To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly..."

-Henri Bergson

I need to change. I need to change, and I will repeat it for one last time, "I need to Change".

Its really fun being me, change every six months and become a new person all together, and apparently the six months duration from my last change has come to an end. I actually overstayed the period. (Geeeesh, I am bored).

Ever wondered what change is actually.

Ever wondered why the things you did once upon a time seems to be lame, but were brilliant back then.

It all started one pleasant spring morning, It was my first day at school, obviously a new one. It was my first day as a Columban. Then two years just passed by, like couple of hours, It was there I learned to change.

It was here I learned about 42, answer to life, earth, universe and everything in it. 42 still remains in my memory.

Change started there, I changed from a dumb fellow into a more reserved person, I started giving priorities to people, I started thinking about life.

Then again came a really crucial phase, *boom* The Engineering phase.

It was a cloudy autumn day when I first stepped into the campus, a neatly folded piece of paper held my identification and my pass to everlasting change.

The time period of my change increased drastically, from two years to one year, 3-quarters and then half yearlies. I adapted well to the half yearlies, new semester, new things to look forward to and a bit of holidays in between so that people won't actually notice that you changed.

The latest one lasted a bit more, because of this one person, who actually did have a great deal of influence in my life.

Then again I am here, saying I need a change, its long since I experimented with my self.
I need to get rid of many things, like, the three imaginary friends I have ( Yes I need to grow up ). I need to be more mature, I need to "SPEAK UP" of all things.

Last Saturday, I was wondering why I skip my meal so often when I actually have a good source to order and eat properly according to my taste, well It dawned to me that, I am scared of ordering, BLAH, ( I just don't know why I am so scared, Maybe as D once said, "...I am not ready to face the consequences of my action, so I would rather like to run away from them, or avoid them altogether" ) Well ordering food from outside may seem lame, but for me, its important, It showed me that I was just plain afraid of the consequences of my action.

And again BLAH.

So, once again I say it, I need to change, and its high time, I am bored being me, I need to figure out a new outlook, may be a little talkative this time, or may be a little more serious and scary, or a little more jovial person, but for sure I need to change.

And to conclude this long monologue, I would like to quote Charles Darwin,
"...It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change."

And once again BLAH.