Here’s the 4th chapter of Then Life Happened- A Collection of Short Stories.

THE BYSTANDER’S SHOCK

Grant worked as a Lab Assistant in Hae Rin’s Lab. All that he knew, he had learnt over the years from different scholars who came and had gone. He was still learning. Hae Rin was a patient tutor when it came to explaining things. Grant had taken a liking for the soft-spoken girl and was quite taken aback when he found that she was pregnant and was planning on keeping the baby. He had tried to explain about the hardships of being a single mother and the kind of harassments she would have to face. She was adamant and wouldn’t hear a word. Gradually he had stopped talking to her, though it pained him to watch her struggle.

This day was eventful. They had couple of demos, a few elaborate experiments too that kept everyone on their toes. Reluctantly, he had coerced Hae Rin to take some time to rest instead of running around. The girl looked exhausted, what was she thinking working in this condition. But, who could beat sense into that girl. And then there she was a few hours later, lying in a pool of reddish distilled water. Grant was shell shocked. For him time stood still as Hae Rin crashed into the distillation machine and dropped down splaying water and shards of glass all around.

Read Chapter 1 here-https://www.satpar.in/then-life-happened-micro-story/

Chapter 2-https://www.satpar.in/then-life-happened-micro-story-the-wake-up-call/

Chapter 3-https://www.satpar.in/then-life-happened-micro-story-the-silent-yearning/

Watch out this space for the rest of the story. Would love to hear from you. So do post your comments/feedback.

Adios for now.

This is Satrangee Parachute signing out for now.

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A lot has happened since I last published the post, “Then Life Happened“, that’s because life hit us real hard the very next day. It’s been 5 months now, but the pain remains raw and fresh as it was on that evening, on 10 of January 2018. And to think that he never really read anything that I wrote, except for the short stories I wrote back in school. This is for you Papa.

2018, a year that began with great hopes, wasn’t as sweet and smooth as I had hoped it to be. Was it me leaving the keys behind the locked doors or was it something else? I kept looking for positive notes, for some sign that would say that the year would be good. It took just 10 days to burst the bubble, shatter every ounce of hope I had. Who would have imagined that, just 10 days after I happily said Happy New Year to the people I love, I would lose the person to whom I never could really say it all.

Were we close? Not much, but we weren’t distant either. We did talk, about this and that. A bit less than when I was younger, but more than when I was going through my turbulent teens and early twenties. Marriage had kind of renewed our Father-daughter relationship. Brought us closer. I had started to visit home more often than before, thanks to the job flexibility too. We talked, at times about stuff we like, the general dislikes. As always, I never failed to put my thoughts across either as a backlash or as a vocal opinion. At times he would stomp out angrily, the patriarch in him would never bow down.  While on other occasions he would listen, debate, and be open to discussions. He was a man with different faces, different moods, different habits. And in all those years I had come to know him, the reasons, the familial conditions, the situations that had made him the person that he was.

We knew each other. But, he was never really the person to remember dates and stuff. So, be it birthdays or his own wedding Anniversary, he needed constant reminders. But that was him, and we had come to accept him the way he was. But, yet at times we failed to fathom what he constantly pondered upon, where his thoughts took him. But then again, we are just humans, and not even psychologists at that to know a person in and out. Goes without saying, that the people who claim to know me, know just a part of me.

In all that knowing, understanding, loving, caring, planning and all the stuff that we do, nothing prepared me for the time when I lost him forever. It’s just the physical presence that has gone, his memories will forever be etched in my heart and mind. But, what about the things that I failed to say, what about things he wanted to say?

It’s those unsaid words, the things we omit or fail to say out loud, that leaves this huge gap in your heart. A void that stays with you, for how long? I don’t really know. And, a lingering thought that always begins with “I wish, I had….”

And though I never really said that out loud, “Papa, I do Love you.” And I know that, “I am, because you were.”

I wish you had read the blogs I posted, I wish you had seen the learning content I designed, I wish you could watch me drive, i wish ….I wish…i wish….

I have to live with the words buried in my heart, all the things that I never said. Hope from somewhere out there you can hear it all, the spoken and the unspoken. Some day when I pour out my heart on the paper, will the pain be eased?

With turbulent thoughts, this is Satrangee Parachute wandering through the memory skies.

Adios until next time Amigos.

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Most of us grew up watching Rescue Rangers– Chip, Dale, Gadget, Monty & Zipper….Well I used to be a huge fan, and must say that I still am..The interesting gadgets the amazing episodes.One can never forget those lovely hours spent in front of the television praying that the episode ends before dad comes back from work. The most important thing that still hangs to our minds is their spirit to help, rescue and be active at all times, even if it meant dragging Monty away from his precious CHEESE….:)

Well now that I have managed to create the mood let me continue with my story which is the story of a boy and a girl. The very characters from one of my post for those who remember…Kids can be really active at times & their minds are capable of imagining beyond boundaries….

One Saturday morning the boy and the girl were as usual busy playing. It was a holiday for some unknown reason. They had set up their things in the veranda and as usual the boy was busy tinkering and the girl moved around talking continuously. The boy as you know is very curious and restless he needs action, so after playing for sometime he decided that cycling would be a better option. He headed towards his bicycle closely followed by the girl who clearly thought that whatever the boy did was cool…:)

They cycled on the cemented path for some time and found that at few places the cement had worn out and so the path was not very smooth. This seemed to annoy the boy a lot. He parked his bicycle at the spot he had assigned for himself, and walked o the spot where there was a hole in the pavement. Having inspected the depth and damage he now walked in search of a proper tool. He found a cardboard piece which seemed apt for his current endeavor. The girl was assigned the task of gathering mud and depositing it in the holes, the boy would then level it with his leveling equipment. While this work was in progress they heard an unusual sound. Concerned, they left their work behind and set out in search of this sudden gushing sound.

Questions arose in the tiny minds…where was this sound was coming from? After walking around the quarters they found that a large amount of water was falling down from the terrace. “What should we do?”, they asked each other. Panic stricken they decided to alert everyone that the terrace had flooded and soon their homes would be drowned…. The Boy decided to alert the people downstairs and the girl was sent upstairs…Huffing and Puffing the Boy ran into his house and yelled at the top of his voice “Maa, bohut saara paani aa raha hai, baadh aa rahi hai” (there’s lot of water, its a flood). His mother was worried to hear her son’s declaration, flood?? She calmly held the screaming child and asked him where the water was coming from, “terrace se maa (from the terrace mom)”, he replied half screaming and crying…..Upstairs the girl was yelling at a similar pitch, describing the water falling from above….

It didn’t take much time for the elders to realize that the water tank had been filled and the excess water was falling down through the overflow. The motor was switched off and slowly the flow stopped. The boy and the girl were overjoyed, their timely action had saved the quarters from drowning. The Rescue Rangers had succeeded again….Little did they understand that what they had considered to be a threat to their lives was a normal overflow quite common in most apartments…It may be a child’s perception of danger that fueled their action, but the fact that they actually did something that most of us would have failed to even notice is commendable and ought to be appreciated. And if we look closely, what they did in latent manifestation is save WATER.

How many of us actually try to save water? The taps remain open most of the time irrespective of whether it is needed or not. Leaks hardly bother us because water is abundant and almost free. One part of India nearly faced droughts this year and the other parts were flooded with excess…It is the latent effects of our callousness towards nature. Global warming, Ozone depletion, rising of ocean level etc,etc are real issues not mere speculations. Why not think like little children for a while…embrace nature and do something in return for all that mother nature has given us, after all it is OUR EARTH….

Friends let us pledge to save nature in our own little ways, plant a tree, save water, avoid throwing plastic wastes in open, save electricity and so on…Let us take a small step towards a better tomorrow. Let us be our nature’s Rescue Rangers…With these thoughts this is Satrangee Parachute flying towards a greener Earth…

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Stanley the protagonist is a Class IV student, a common boy with big dreams and a lively attitude. What wins your heart is the mere innocence, the smile that eases every strained nerve.Though I watched the movie a few months back the innocence of the movie stays fresh in my mind…In the sweet explanations about parents whom he had long lost, there is longing to be with them. Why did I remember Stanley today??? The reason is a discussion I had with few of my friends. The youth of today I could term, is quite deep in respect to thoughts, and always in search of something different. The topic was social service, we were actually planning on helping orphaned children, all inspired by the work of yet another friend who runs a quite successful band of orphaned children. One thing I must add is the fact that they created the Jingle ” Har ek friend Zaroori hota hai”. They are Stanley’s in one way or the other, making best of their lives. Living it and loving it…

India has over 25 million orphaned children or as termed by the government “Street Children”. In ‘http://indg.in/social-sector/social-vulnerable-groups/orphan-and-street-children’ – Street children is a term used to refer to children who live on the streets of a city. They are deprived of family care and protection. Most children on the streets are between the ages of about 5 and 17 years old, and their population between different cities is varied. Street children live in abandoned buildings, cardboard boxes, parks or on the street itself. A great deal has been written defining street children, but the primary difficulty is that there are no precise categories, but rather a continuum, ranging from children who spend some time in the streets and sleep in a house with ill-prepared adults, to those who live entirely in the streets and have no adult supervision or care. A widely accepted set of definitions, commonly attributed to UNICEF, divides street children into two main categories: Children on the street are those engaged in some kind of economic activity ranging from begging to vending. Most go home at the end of the day and contribute their earnings to their family. They may be attending school and retain a sense of belonging to a family. Because of the economic fragility of the family, these children may eventually opt for a permanent life on the streets. Children of the street actually live on the street (or outside of a normal family environment). Family ties may exist but are tenuous and are maintained only casually or occasionally.

What can we as youths do today??  “Donate to Orphanages !”- Do you believe the system??
Or would you prefer to be the system?? Create a group or join a group, help those children in your own small ways.. If they are depressed , cheer them up.. Be a elder Brother/Sister, hold their hands and lead them into our world of joy, knowledge and friends…. Be a Stanley and make them all Stanley’s of tommorow….Children who can inspire to live. Let them know the true meaning of ” Har ek friend zaroori hota hai”…………………

All of you tired of the rush, take a break and watch “Stanley ka Dabba”, think of how to be a part of a better society. If it gives you joy…then go for it. Believe me it will make you feel alive….”make a wish, take a chance, make a change; And breakaway ,Out of the darkness and into the sun……”The world is so beautiful from my Satrangee Parachute.

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