Skip to main content

The Balancing Act


A warm breeze swept across Ru’s face. For the tenth time, a lock of his wavy hair got into his eye. He jerked his head impatiently and tried to blow it away. As it didn’t work, he ran his fingers through his hair, even though they were moist and muddy. Without bothering the least, he resumed digging into the soil, removing stones and weeds with gusto. Occasionally, he stopped to wipe the perspiration over his lips, with his shirt’s sleeve. By the time he finished digging the hole, his shirt was soiled and stinking.

Although it was the end of June, there wasn’t the slightest trace of monsoon showers. With global warming and natural calamities on the rise, the cycle had now become unpredictable. In spite of all that, Ru was determined to grow petunias. Even though he was passionate about gardening, he wasn’t good at it. He relied on his instincts rather than science. Unfortunately, his instincts misguided him.

Ru took out the packet of petunia seeds to sow. Something caught his eye. A small creature with closely set eyes, peeped from the hole. He thought it was a rat and tried to shoo it away with his shovel. But it went deep inside the hole. He delved into the hole impatiently, trying to grab it with his own hands. The creature was quick, but somehow, he managed to get hold of its tail. As he tugged at it, he was surprised to see that its tail was quite longer than a rat, or any rodent in that case. The creature eased out of his grip and jumped out of the hole.

Ru’s face went white and his lips trembled. Standing in front of him, was a two-foot long creature with two heads and three pairs of hands. It looked green like a waterlogged tree and had smooth, slimy skin. Getting over his initial shock, Ru tried to run. He barely managed to take a few steps, before his leg tripped over the shovel and he fell inside a wheel barrow. Before he could get up, the creature jumped onto his chest. He closed his eyes and tried to pull the creature away from him. But it jumped on his head and bit his neck. A shock wave ran though Ru’s spine. His pupils shrunk in size and almost disappeared, making his eyes look eerily white. He gasped and fell unconscious. The creature grabbed Ru by his shoulder and vanished into thin air.

Andromeda Galaxy:

A red halo appeared and the creature materialised from it with Ru. Many creatures of all shapes and sizes gathered around them, making excited noises. Thrilled by the sight of a human, the crowd tried to touch, pinch and lick Ru. So, Ru’s captor kept him out of their reach. Suddenly, a deep and loud grunting noise startled them. The little crowd fell silent and stood in two columns, paving the way for their boss. The boss was enormous in size, with the same physical features as Ru’s captor. But in addition, it had three antennas on its head, which made it look like a crown. With a crooked smile, it looked at Ru’s captor.

‘Well, whom did you bring today?’
‘A man who had no idea that petunias don’t grow at this time of the year.’
‘Typical humans. They wreck the planet, alter the climate, but expect plants to grow.’
‘I bit him, as you said.’

The boss grabbed Ru and placed his hand on a giant computer. Earth’s population database displayed on the screen. Within a few nanoseconds, Ru’s name appeared in a highlighted red circle. The boss renamed Ru and a luminous streak of light passed through the room.

‘Job’s done. Send him back’, ordered the boss with satisfaction.

Ru’s captor dropped him back in the garden, erasing his memory and went back to Andromeda Galaxy. Ru woke up with absolutely no recollection of anything that had happened. He sowed the seeds and went back to his house to cook. As usual, he had forgotten to stack up his groceries. Sighing heavily, he left to the market. From a distance, he saw an old woman lying unconscious on the road. He rushed to help her but as he looked around, he gasped in horror. It wasn’t just the old woman who was lying unconscious but the whole neighbourhood. He blindly ran back to his home in terror.

A million thoughts rushed in his mind. Was this the beginning of an end?Was this a zombie apocalypse or an alien invasion? He turned on the TV. In a few minutes, he dropped the remote in disbelief. His photo was telecasted on all the news channels and people were asked to stay away from him. He tugged his hair and shouted on top of his lungs until he choked. 

Andromeda Galaxy, six weeks later:

Ru’s captor reported before its boss.
‘How’s everything now?’
‘Boss, the pollution in Earth has dropped down significantly. Water is clearer, animals are roaming freely and flora looks better. In short, Earth looks happier.’
‘Just what I expected. Renaming Ru as Corona has fetched great results. They’ve learnt their lesson. Now, they’ll know the importance of co-existence.’
‘But this situation is short-lived, boss. Humans are smart. They’ll overcome the pandemic soon. What if they go back to their old ways?’

The boss fell silent for a moment. After taking a deep breath, he replied, ‘Well, you brought a girl yesterday. I’ll name her “Hanta” and send her back to Earth.







Comments

  1. Sathya3 April 2020 at 22:03

    A very different plot of story...
    Good work...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Varun4 April 2020 at 02:53

    Wooah! Truly mind blowing!! The pinch of existentialism made all the difference.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Anonymous Exchange

          Yogi rubbed his hands in delight as he placed the parcel on his lap. The wrapper was nothing fancy, just the regular brown paper with a red bow tied in the middle. He untied the ribbon and tore the wrapper in a fit of excitement. This was his first experience with the book exchange program. People from around the country send one of their favourite books to someone and in return, they’ll receive one anonymously. Last night, he dreamt that he had received a copy of Gillian Flynn’s new book from the writer herself. He grinned as he looked at the hard-bound book. Out of habit, he opened the middle page and sniffed it. It lacked the musty smell as it looked brand new. “Anonymous” was the book’s title and holding true to its name, it neither had the writer’s nor the publisher’s name. He opened the first page to see if there was a special handwritten note from his sender. But there was none. He sighed in disappointment thinking why he had enrolled in the stupid book exchange pr
13 comments
Read more

Night of Madness

27 th March, 8.00 PM Home is where the heart is. It’s the only place where I can be myself. After a stressful day at work, I hopped onto my bed and stared at the ceiling for some time. Living alone has its perks. There’s no one to nag me when I come back home exhausted. I filled my bathtub with warm water and lit scented candles beside it. After grabbing my bath brush, I jumped into the bathtub. The aroma, bubbles and the warm water soothed my mind. I hummed an old tune and started singing the song. Once the song ended, I thanked my imaginary audience. ‘Wow! I didn’t know you were a singer’, a voice boomed behind me. My heart froze. - 28 th March, 7.00 AM My alarm rang and I woke up with a throbbing headache. I ran my fingers through my hair. There was a huge bump at the back of my head. Then, I noticed bruise marks on my face and wrists. My left eye was swollen. I wanted to shout on top of my lungs but all I managed was a hiccup. Tears welled up in my eyes. I tr
13 comments
Read more

The Gamble

 I clutched on to the wooden coffee table. It left wet blotches from my sweaty palms. I took a deep breath. So, this was the poignant moment. The moment that would decide my fate. I gathered my courage and looked him in the eye. He sat across the table, grinning at me. His yellow teeth disgusted me. ‘So, are you ready?’ he asked, laying back on his shiny leather chair. The yellow light bulb cast an eerie shadow on the wall. It looked larger and meaner than him. My throat closed. So, I nodded. He took a pair of dice in his hands. As he rolled them between his palms, I bit the inside of my right cheek. I tasted blood and it calmed me. I closed my eyes and heard the rattling of the dice against the golden ring on his index finger. He took his time, teasing and toying with my desperation. ‘Take it,’ he gave the dice to me. My hands shivered. I took a deep breath and dropped the dice on the coffee table. I saw them rolling on the wooden surface. The few seconds seemed an eternity.
8 comments
Read more