She grabbed her coat hurriedly from the coat rack and rushed out. She was late. It wasn't really her fault, she thought angrily. Things could get crazy in the morning and she was just getting used to waking up early and making a meal for herself. Now if only she could beat the traffic and get to work fast.
Swinging her blue car out of her drive way, she hit 50 on the speedometer and raced past the other cars on the road. Her Identity card with a picture of her smiling to the camera and her name, E.Watson beneath it in bold , lay carelessly tossed on the dashboard where she had left it the previous day.
Traffic picked up some intensity and it was becoming increasingly difficult to weave past cars quickly. She cursed and switched on the radio. The Top 10 songs of the season were playing on and this cheered her up a bit. After all, she decided, she was being a little too nervous. There was no reason to panic and she could still reach work well within time. She adjusted the car mirror to check herself out and felt a little better. Yeah, smart, beautiful enthusiastic, shine in the eyes.. that was her. She was going to rock the world, yeah! She nodded her head to the music and sang along.
In sometime the radio jockeys voice rang out. It didn't sound like the regular RJ who hosted the show... this was someone with a deeper baritone and more serious sounding. Probably some stand in.
This voice said " Thanks for tuning in to us... and that is it for the day, now.. may I request you to pull over please?"
She jerked her head and looked incredulously at the radio for a second before focusing back on the road.
"I mean it.. now!! Can you pull over?" the voice persisted
"Yeah right!!" she giggled and pressed the accelerator harder and sped on.
"If you think this is a joke, then you are mistaken. I asked you to stop, not increase speed"
This time she was taken aback.... "Huh.... what the... who are you?" .. with one hand firmly on the steering wheel, she fiddled with the knobs on her player.
Wait, what? Someone called her by her name! She licked her lips and replied
"WHO ARE YOU??? And I'm in the middle of a freeway. Where on earth can I stop? Besides there is a lot of traffic.."
"Look around you Miss Watson... " the voice was calm
She looked around, and the cars that were honking and driving along with her till now had miraculously disappeared. She was eerily alone in her little blue car on a big wide road. Now she was scared. Really scared.
"Is this... is this a joke? is this some kind of a terrorism plot??" she asked
The voice laughed out .. "Terrorism plot? to kidnap you...?? Don't flatter yourself. You do take yourself too seriously don't you? Do you really think you are that important?"
Now she was bugged.. "OK what now? I am late to work and if this is some kind of a practical joke then you had it"
"Calm down will you? Look .. I am sorry...It was a joke. No, I don't mean what you are thinking. What was a joke was the quip I made about taking yourself seriously. To tell you the truth, you should take yourself seriously. You are.. important.. for us.. Now, for God's sake please pull over will you?"
She did pull over finally. Next the voice asked her to step out which she did.
Miraculously the voice transferred from her car radio to the open air.
"OK.. Now we are all set"..
"For what?" she demanded. She felt around her pocket for her mobile phone and fished it out. Rats, there was no signal. Seriously bad timing, she thought in despair.
"Watson. If you are looking to call someone, its not going to work. Your plan as well as your mobile phone. You will know soon why"
"Could I get my lawyer or someone in here?.. I mean, this is like crazy!!!"
" I want you to listen up carefully. Now first off, where do you think these cars that you saw earlier were racing on to?" Deep voice asked.
"To work, like me perhaps.. or to school.. who knows?"
"OK.. you are right... but after they leave your sight, what happens?"
" they go to wherever they are supposed to go and do whatever they are supposed to do.. what the ...honestly I am a little bugged"..
"That is where you are wrong! They dont"
She just raised her eyebrows like she didnt give a damn.. "OK.. so what?"
The voice continued.. "They just disappear"
She crossed her arms and looked away frustrated wondering when this ordeal would end. Where was this madman hiding anyway? She could spot a single human being in the vicinity.
The voice continued: "This world, these trees, these birds, all the species, all the events in the world were created just for one person. To make one person believe it is true... well correction its two.. but one of them, is you, my dear Watson!"
"Hahahaha.. excuse me while I laugh"
"You may laugh .. but sooner or later.. and sooner rather than later, you must realize that what I speak is the truth" the voice solemnly declared.
"OK" she said "Lets assume here that for a moment I believe you. Why am I made to work for a living? Why am I not the richest person on earth? I should be wallowing in luxury, right?"
"Good question. If you were, you would not know what life is all about. You are neither filthy rich, nor dirt poor. You have to earn a living and interact with people , to understand life forms better. You were made to appreciate the good things in life. And by that I do not mean just materially - I mean nature, species, emotions, technology .. "
"OK.. next question. If things were made just for me, then why bring a life and take it away? I know scores of people who have got ill or died. Old relatives, celebrities, neighbours.."
"Like I said earlier..all of them disappear anyway when they are out of your sight. Neither were they born not did they die. They were all a figment of your imagination"
"Are you suggesting that I am mad?"
"No, my dear Watson.."
"The name's E...."
"Regardless" He cut her off... "you are not mad.. but you were ignorant till now. I've just brought you upto speed. You have existed so far to understand how this world operates. What are the various life forms, what is summer, what is winter, what are the kind of equipments that can be used for various activities.. case in point your little blue car which you use for transportation.
“You are totally confusing me now”
“ All this will be confusing now. But you will realize some day why you have been chosen for this mission. The mission being creating a new world, a good world.. with prior knowledge of the various possibilities of development. You know to read and write a language. You are intelligent and can understand numbers. You know right from wrong. You know about corruption, evil, deceit. You know happiness, anger, fear, disappointment .It is important that you are aware of all of this. Because you – this world – has to start afresh.. and you will decide what you want and what to leave out. How you want your dream world to be.. its all in your hands now. Simply put, you have looked into the future. You know how things could become.. and you know how to steer it to the right path”
“But ..” she sputtered.. “If what you say is true , and I have to start afresh, how would I create a new world. I mean lets take this car as an example. How would I know how to make one? I have no technical knowledge required for it ..”
“I understand” the deep voice bellowed.. “You are not required to know how. But you know it can exist. Document it. None of the texts and manuals, books etc will be available for you anywhere in this world. As I said, everything is imaginary. But you are aware that cars can be manufactured. Internet is a possibility. Television can exist. Houses can be built. Use your imagination. Create a new world and bring forth the possibilities. Filter the right from wrong. You may not get to see anything immediately. But you will live for centuries to see a whole new world. Your dream world. Its all, like I said, in your hands now.”
The voice abrubtly stopped. As she looked around she saw her car disappear. The road, the buildings, the toll booths, everything around her disappeared. She was left standing on barren plains with some trees around.
“Hello.. hello.. voice man.. are you there??”
“I am here. But not for long”
“I am scared. Please get me back to reality’
“This is reality. What you thought of as reality was actually an illusion."
“You mentioned there is another person apart from me in this world now. Who is he or she?”
“You will soon meet him”
“Where?”
“Walk a bit further down. You should be able to see a stream. You would get thirsty by then. Drink some water. There are some fruit trees beyond that. He will be there. I am leaving now. So long”
“Wait.. wait.. don’t leave me..”
But all she heard was the wind. Scared she trudged along the rugged path until she reached the stream. Ignoring the water she walked further down. Sure enough there were the fruit trees. Hearing a crunch she turned behind. Supporting himself against an apple tree with one hand, was a tall good looking guy biting into an apple.
“Oh” she said.. ” it’s you. So .. this is it huh”. She had never met him before.
Taking another bite he said “Looks like the voice got you too”
She shrugged and gave a weak smile.
He put his hand forward and said “Anyway, here’s to a long future. I am Adam Smith”
She smiled and shook his hand..”Watson. Eve Watson”
"Look around you Miss Watson... " the voice was calm
She looked around, and the cars that were honking and driving along with her till now had miraculously disappeared. She was eerily alone in her little blue car on a big wide road. Now she was scared. Really scared.
"Is this... is this a joke? is this some kind of a terrorism plot??" she asked
The voice laughed out .. "Terrorism plot? to kidnap you...?? Don't flatter yourself. You do take yourself too seriously don't you? Do you really think you are that important?"
Now she was bugged.. "OK what now? I am late to work and if this is some kind of a practical joke then you had it"
"Calm down will you? Look .. I am sorry...It was a joke. No, I don't mean what you are thinking. What was a joke was the quip I made about taking yourself seriously. To tell you the truth, you should take yourself seriously. You are.. important.. for us.. Now, for God's sake please pull over will you?"
She did pull over finally. Next the voice asked her to step out which she did.
Miraculously the voice transferred from her car radio to the open air.
"OK.. Now we are all set"..
"For what?" she demanded. She felt around her pocket for her mobile phone and fished it out. Rats, there was no signal. Seriously bad timing, she thought in despair.
"Watson. If you are looking to call someone, its not going to work. Your plan as well as your mobile phone. You will know soon why"
"Could I get my lawyer or someone in here?.. I mean, this is like crazy!!!"
" I want you to listen up carefully. Now first off, where do you think these cars that you saw earlier were racing on to?" Deep voice asked.
"To work, like me perhaps.. or to school.. who knows?"
"OK.. you are right... but after they leave your sight, what happens?"
" they go to wherever they are supposed to go and do whatever they are supposed to do.. what the ...honestly I am a little bugged"..
"That is where you are wrong! They dont"
She just raised her eyebrows like she didnt give a damn.. "OK.. so what?"
The voice continued.. "They just disappear"
She crossed her arms and looked away frustrated wondering when this ordeal would end. Where was this madman hiding anyway? She could spot a single human being in the vicinity.
The voice continued: "This world, these trees, these birds, all the species, all the events in the world were created just for one person. To make one person believe it is true... well correction its two.. but one of them, is you, my dear Watson!"
"Hahahaha.. excuse me while I laugh"
"You may laugh .. but sooner or later.. and sooner rather than later, you must realize that what I speak is the truth" the voice solemnly declared.
"OK" she said "Lets assume here that for a moment I believe you. Why am I made to work for a living? Why am I not the richest person on earth? I should be wallowing in luxury, right?"
"Good question. If you were, you would not know what life is all about. You are neither filthy rich, nor dirt poor. You have to earn a living and interact with people , to understand life forms better. You were made to appreciate the good things in life. And by that I do not mean just materially - I mean nature, species, emotions, technology .. "
"OK.. next question. If things were made just for me, then why bring a life and take it away? I know scores of people who have got ill or died. Old relatives, celebrities, neighbours.."
"Like I said earlier..all of them disappear anyway when they are out of your sight. Neither were they born not did they die. They were all a figment of your imagination"
"Are you suggesting that I am mad?"
"No, my dear Watson.."
"The name's E...."
"Regardless" He cut her off... "you are not mad.. but you were ignorant till now. I've just brought you upto speed. You have existed so far to understand how this world operates. What are the various life forms, what is summer, what is winter, what are the kind of equipments that can be used for various activities.. case in point your little blue car which you use for transportation.
“You are totally confusing me now”
“ All this will be confusing now. But you will realize some day why you have been chosen for this mission. The mission being creating a new world, a good world.. with prior knowledge of the various possibilities of development. You know to read and write a language. You are intelligent and can understand numbers. You know right from wrong. You know about corruption, evil, deceit. You know happiness, anger, fear, disappointment .It is important that you are aware of all of this. Because you – this world – has to start afresh.. and you will decide what you want and what to leave out. How you want your dream world to be.. its all in your hands now. Simply put, you have looked into the future. You know how things could become.. and you know how to steer it to the right path”
“But ..” she sputtered.. “If what you say is true , and I have to start afresh, how would I create a new world. I mean lets take this car as an example. How would I know how to make one? I have no technical knowledge required for it ..”
“I understand” the deep voice bellowed.. “You are not required to know how. But you know it can exist. Document it. None of the texts and manuals, books etc will be available for you anywhere in this world. As I said, everything is imaginary. But you are aware that cars can be manufactured. Internet is a possibility. Television can exist. Houses can be built. Use your imagination. Create a new world and bring forth the possibilities. Filter the right from wrong. You may not get to see anything immediately. But you will live for centuries to see a whole new world. Your dream world. Its all, like I said, in your hands now.”
The voice abrubtly stopped. As she looked around she saw her car disappear. The road, the buildings, the toll booths, everything around her disappeared. She was left standing on barren plains with some trees around.
“Hello.. hello.. voice man.. are you there??”
“I am here. But not for long”
“I am scared. Please get me back to reality’
“This is reality. What you thought of as reality was actually an illusion."
“You mentioned there is another person apart from me in this world now. Who is he or she?”
“You will soon meet him”
“Where?”
“Walk a bit further down. You should be able to see a stream. You would get thirsty by then. Drink some water. There are some fruit trees beyond that. He will be there. I am leaving now. So long”
“Wait.. wait.. don’t leave me..”
But all she heard was the wind. Scared she trudged along the rugged path until she reached the stream. Ignoring the water she walked further down. Sure enough there were the fruit trees. Hearing a crunch she turned behind. Supporting himself against an apple tree with one hand, was a tall good looking guy biting into an apple.
“Oh” she said.. ” it’s you. So .. this is it huh”. She had never met him before.
Taking another bite he said “Looks like the voice got you too”
She shrugged and gave a weak smile.
He put his hand forward and said “Anyway, here’s to a long future. I am Adam Smith”
She smiled and shook his hand..”Watson. Eve Watson”
6 comments:
Wow...!! just wow!!
thz :)
Woman, you sure can spin a tale.. Enjoyed it.. :-))
you have a side back up career option... lol
serious note: you should consider writing for some online magazine..
Thx aarti.. K was also suggesting I get it published somewhere.not necessarily this one..but anything I write in the future
pretty long but entertaining :)
Thx raja
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