It has been a fun journey, trying my hand at writing short bits of stories that conjoin to form the bigger picture. An experiment of sorts, it has rather been a learning experience for myself. For all those who were waiting for the end. Here are the last three chapters of “Then Life Happened- A Collection of Micro stories”. Story so far:   
Chapter 1 –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/                                                                                 
Chapter 4-https://www.satpar.in/then-life-happened-micro-story-the-bystanders-shock/            
Chapter 5,6 &7- https://www.satpar.in/then-life-happened-micro-story-the-strange-encounter-more/  

THE EMERGENCY ROOM             

The hospital staff had already begun their work. Joe had called in ahead, to ensure that everything was ready. He even insisted on accompanying the team into the emergency room and stood in a corner keeping an eye on Hae Rin all along. The team of doctors who examined knew that saving both would be a miracle, but they had to try their best. The operation room was booked, the assistants, nurses all scrubbed in. The guardians and friends, which now included Joe and Kimbal too,who had rushed in a few minutes after Hae Rin had been admitted, were explained the condition.                       

And then began the excruciating hours of dilemma. After the initial minutes of calm, all eyes now rested on Joe. Who was he? How did he know Hae Rin? Kimbal was baffled the attention was directed towards someone else, and was equally puzzled by the presence of a total stranger in their midst.

“Well,I…ehm!.” Joe knew he had to answer, but confrontation usually scared him and made him stutter. He took a deep breath and said, “I am Hae Rin’s brother, if that’s the way to put it. Actually her aunt is my step mother, so, that’s that.”

Oh Really! The exclamation was  unanimous. It was a revelation indeed, even for Martha who thought she knew everything she had to know about Hae Rin.

AND THEN LIFE HAPPENED

In the meantime, the doctors were at work. Hae Rin was losing blood, so they had to stop the bleeding first and then proceed with the C-section. A few hours after,the infant was handed over to the pediatric ward, shifted to the NICU, while an unconscious Hae Rin was shifted to the recovery ward. The child was born premature and the complications called for Kangaroo Care.                                 

When Hae Rin woke up 3 days later, she was greeted by the cacophony of the machines. The emptiness in her womb tore her, and she let out a painful shriek. Joe who was right outside rushed in in panic. Seeing Hae Rin awake he rushed out to call the attending. After an hour of checkups, often interrupted by Hae Rin’s queries,she was pushed on a wheelchair to the NICU unit. Kimbal paced impatiently in the corridors, and through the glass Hae Rin saw Martha clutching a tiny infant close to her chest.  

EPILOGUE

Two-year-old Jia, ran tirelessly on the moved yard. “Jia, come back right now”, Hae Rin yelled from inside. Martha walked out casually, grabbed her by the waist and carried her inside. Martha’s country home that she had received as an alimony from her marriage was now a home to Hae Rin and Jia too. Martha was now a mother and a grandmother doting over them both. Post retirement, Hae Rin and Jia had become her world. For the first time in her life she experienced true contentment.

Hae Rin was now pursuing her post-doctoral studies. Kimbal had finally settled in a job and dropped in from time to time. Joe had decided to apply for medical school and was trying his best. He dropped by every now and then to play with little Jia and spent hours caring for the yard too when time permitted. Hae Rin finally had the family she always longed for. And as for Jia, she had all the love she could ever ask for. For Hae Rin the bonds that life had created were stronger  than blood, and now life just happened each day slowly and peacefully.  

—–THE END——

Thank you to all who read through this entire series. Hope that you enjoyed the read. Drop a message if you are looking forward to more stories. 

This is Satrangee Parachute signing off with the hope to bring more interesting stories. 

The post Then Life Happened (Micro Story)- EMERGENCY ROOM & More appeared first on .

Sincere apologies for my tardiness. So, here’s a bonus… Chapter 5,6,&7….

Then Life Happened-A Collection of Connected Short Stories

Story so far:

Chapter 1 –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/

Chapter 4-https://www.satpar.in/then-life-happened-micro-story-the-bystanders-shock/

THE STRANGE ENCOUNTER

Joe had asked for the day off, but they couldn’t find a replacement driver. That’s what the administration had informed, so reluctantly he was waiting for the shift to end. The day had been uneventful so far. One hour more and he could head home, shower, grab a beer and spend the evening with his girl. That’s when the radio buzzed. Emergency dispatch call to the university laboratory. Joe called Phil the EMT on duty and he had to find the lousy paramedic Lizzy too. He hated her guts.

Luckily Lizzy had been informed and reached the exit quite quickly for her standards. Phil too had managed to make it on time and so in minutes they were on the road. Apparently, a pregnant doctoral student had collapsed in the lab and the injuries were severe. Joe knew that time was of essence, so he drove as fast as he could. Joe, Phil and Lizzy ran towards the lab, a scared woman pointed towards the frail woman lying on the floor. Phil ran to do the patient assessment, Lizzy right behind, and as they turned the woman, Joe was shocked to the core. It was the Hae Rin, the nicest person he had ever met. Seeing her lying on the floor, a tangled mass, bulging belly and pool of blood, Joe just stood there, at the door transfixed.

THE MAD RUSH

Lizzy knew the drill, she quickly checked the pulse, they had to shift Hae Rin to a gurney. Hae Rin was bleeding, probably internally too and looking at the way she had fallen, Lizzy suspected rib injuries too. Her breathing was weak, she needed intubation. Phil had already taken out the equipment, but Joe was staring blankly at Hae Rin. This wasn’t the first time he was out on such an emergency. “Joe, snap out of it will ya”, Phil’s sound pulled Joe out of his trance.

“Will she be alright?”, Joe asked Lizzy as tears ran down his face. Lizzy was taken aback by the emotional outburst, but she knew she had lives to save and that each minute counted. Quickly she instructed Phil and Joe to shift Hae Rin to the gurney as she monitored the pulse and breathing. Intubation was needed, and she managed to do that in midst of Joe’s constant questioning, the overall hysteria in the lab, and the incoherent mumbling sounds that an older lady, named Martha as she came to know later created. They could transfer Hae Rin to the vehicle once the breathing was alright. Lizzy had attended a few pregnancy cases and so she checked for the immediate signs that the baby was safe. With all that done they quickly moved Hae Rin into the ambulance. Grant, the lab assistant, accompanied them, while Martha followed in the car accompanied by two of Hae Rin’s lab partners.

THE CHASE

Martha had heard about Hae Rin while she was just leaving for home. The news got her running crazily through the corridors her blood froze when she saw Hae Rin lying on the floor. Her instincts told her to check for pulse and breathing as the rest of the lab hovered around, some yelling, some sprinkling water and calling the hospital. This was a nightmare she wasn’t prepared for, and the baby, she really couldn’t tell.

The minutes spent waiting were painstaking and once the emergency team had arrived the frenzy just quadrupled. Martha had tried asking the lady in-charge about the situation, but none of them would answer and then there was the emergency staff who was weeping unconsolably. That was a baffling reaction, and deepened Martha’s fear.

Martha had called Kimbal immediately. Luckily, she had kept his contact details out of habit rather than interest. In her opinion Kimbal could never give Hae Rin a stable life, something that Martha always wished her protege would get unlike herself. But, this wasn’t the time to hold prejudices and Hae Rin probably needed all the prayers and support she could arrange for.

The emergency team were now busy rolling the gurney towards the ambulance. Grant, Martha and two of Hae Rin’s colleagues followed it closely. A few head nods later, Grant climbed into the ambulance with the paramedics and the rest scurried towards Martha’s car. Martha closely followed the emergency vehicle and passed the keys to one of the co-passengers as soon as they arrived and dashed in towards the emergency room.

Thanks for Reading Folks. And just so you know, I really appreciate feedback.

This is Satrangee Parachute signing off for now.

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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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How have you been? Not really sure about the impact of the story so far. But, I do hope someone out there in the vast interconnected web is waiting eagerly to read the stories I write. For anyone who has been reading, here’s the next part of the micro story series as promised.

THEN LIFE HAPPENED

A Collection of Connected Short Stories-Chapter 3

THE SILENT YEARNING

“Martha, please stop dozing off will you”, that was Hae Rin’s opening line almost every other day. She needed to work harder on her communication skills. Martha was the Clinical Research Program Coordinator and Hae Rin was a 4^th year doctoral student, somehow a bond had developed. There was something about Hae Rin that soothed Martha. She would forget her past, her pain when she saw the bright smile on the face of the petite girl, who often carried the weight of the world on her shoulders.

In the past four years, Martha had watched Hae Rin struggle through her financial crisis as she worked harder than anyone in the lab. She knew that her only living relative was an aunt, who would rather care for street dogs than look out for her own niece, and had supported Hae Rin time and again. Slowly and gradually they had confided in each other, shared their darkest secrets. Martha had been with Hae Rin during her medical checks and was the one who helped her take the decision to keep the baby. Martha had a purpose now, Hae Rin’s pregnancy filled the void that her infertility had created. Time that had once been too cruel seemed pleasant now.

That’s all for today..

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/

Hope you enjoy the read.

This is Satrangee Parachute, Over and Out!

The post Then Life Happened (Micro Story)-THE SILENT YEARNING appeared first on .

Short stories aren’t my forte. So, my micro story has a few more parts.

Then Life Happened is a Collection of Connected short stories. Here’s the next part.

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THE WAKE-UP CALL

Kimball’s short nap was broken by the blaring sirens outside and the ringing of his Mobile phone, both so simultaneous that there was no way he could ignore those. There was urgency in the voice on the other side. It was Martha from Hae Rin’s Lab and she wailed and as she talked and the only words that he could decipher were, “Hae Rin…University hospital…. baby.” Was it that day already? Is it the due date? The phone was disconnected before he could frame the right question. He changed into his tracks, the relatively sensible ones that he owned.

As he dashed towards the hospital, he remembered the day Hae Rin informed him about the pregnancy. He was out with his friends drinking, when she had called. He was annoyed that she even thought that he could be summoned at any time. But then when the words had hit him, he had freaked out, mumbled that he needed time to think it through and sprinted out of Hae Rin’s single room apartment. He needed time to prepare, to be capable enough. He needed time to earn, be a good partner and a reliable parent.

Will be sharing the next parts over the coming weeks. So keep reading!

This is Satrangee Parachute signing out for the day.

The post Then Life Happened (Micro Story)- THE WAKE-UP CALL appeared first on .

Most of you must be unaware of TOI’s Write India Contest. Let me explain briefly: An Initiative by Times of India, it features 11 Authors who set a preface each month based on which aspiring writers have to write a short story and send it across to the Write India team. I was able to meet the deadline for the first month, but this month I missed the chance to upload my story. So, I decided to post it on the blog for you guys to read and enjoy. Without further ado, here’s the story written based on the preface given by Chetan Bhagat.

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The Unexpected

-Linu Job

She sat in the Starbucks cafe, sipping her coffee and staring out of the window. The blood stained knife lay next to her handbag, covered with her blue silk scarf.

It hadn’t been long since she had come, ordered her drink and cautiously taken the seat next to the window at the Starbucks.

“Why isn’t Aman here yet?” she wondered.

Just then as if answering her thoughts her phone rang, breaking the silence.

She hurriedly grabbed her phone, the screen showed the caller’s identity. It was Aman.

“Aisha, come out right now”, he said.

Aisha could sense the urgency in his tone. She gathered her belongings, carefully took the wrapped knife and dumped it in her handbag without exposing it.

Aman was waiting in his car. He started the engine and drove off as soon as Aisha got in. In all the years that Aisha had known him, she had never seen him so tense and unnerved.

She could clearly remember the day they had met for the first time. It was at the same Starbucks. Aisha was a grad student then and had come there to relax with her friends and Aman used to draw caricatures of the people who visited. Aman often said that it was love at first sight. Life had been a bliss ever since.

Everything had been so perfect, and they were to be married in a couple of months. Why did things have to take such an ugly turn?

It had all started a couple of months back. Aman used to drop her home every day, but one day he was running a bit late and so Aisha had to walk home. She was almost nearing her home when she realised that someone had been following her all along. She turned around, but couldn’t find anyone. A bit perturbed she had gone home and narrated the incidence to her mother.

Sareena, Aisha’s mother never really paid attention to her daughter. And as usual had just nodded her head and continued reading the latest edition of Filmfare. Later in the evening Aman had called to check on her and Aisha discussed the incident with him. He laughed it off and asked her to keep her imagination at bay. The next couple of days had passed off peacefully as Aman was always with her.

A week later Aisha had gone to a shop nearby and was walking back home when she felt the eerie presence again. This time she was quick to turn back only to see a man hurrying away.

At first Aisha had dismissed it as a coincidence, but for the next few days she observed that a shadow constantly followed her. She could sense him hiding in the alleys, watching her as she arrived home. She had tried mentioning it to Aman, but it was as if her words wouldn’t penetrate his ears.

Mustering all her courage Aisha had even tried chasing the guy. It had to be a guy she had concluded, “How else could he run so fast?”

Her mind was in a chaos, old fears had started haunting her. As a child she had been molested by a distant relative, the incident had left her scarred and she often had nightmares about it. After years of therapy she had finally gained the confidence to live freely, but now she could no longer sleep.

One day, after hours of pleading Aman had finally listened to her and promised that he would look into it. Aman had asked her to walk home that day, and silently followed her. He had almost reached halfway when he suddenly heard the sound of heavy boots. He had turned around only to see the silhouette of a man on the wall. Assuring that Aisha was at a safe distance, he had started chasing the guy. From what Aman could see, he was a tall guy and was wearing a really large coat that covered him from head to toe. Aman couldn’t catch up and had to give up the chase midway. Worried he had run the whole way back to Aisha’s house checked all the doors and windows and called Karan, a friend of his who worked with the police department.

The next morning they had registered an official compliant at the nearest police station. Aisha was being stalked, but there was nothing to worry now as the police had been involved. However, Aman had taken her to a shop nearby and bought Pepper spray and a knife and asked her to keep it in her bag always.

Aisha had been shaken by the turn of events, there was a stalker! But, she was not even a celebrity.

“What did he want?” she wondered.

Days went by, she was mostly accompanied by Aman and so the stalker hardly appeared. Some days however she could see the man watching her room standing in the dark. A cold shiver ran down her spine. One day even Sareena felt that she was being followed, that however was her imagination.

For almost a week now, there had been no sign of the man and Aisha had finally felt at ease. Now that the stalker was no longer around, she could finally walk around without fear. She could now freely go to the shops in the neighbourhood without being stalked. Things had fallen back into place now.

Aman had called Aisha this morning, and asked her to meet him at the Starbucks nearby. She had been excited to meet him and was ready to leave in almost thirty minutes. She had just walked a few steps when she heard the footsteps behind her. The pattern sounded very familiar. Aisha held her handbag near her chest and started walking faster. The footsteps that followed her grew faster too. As she walked, she could feel the knife in her bag moving around.

Aisha was almost running now, but the man wouldn’t give up. Right ahead there was a corner. Impulsively and out of fear, Aisha pulled the knife out. She knew that the building at the corner had a huge pillar. She ran as fast as she could and hid behind it. The man followed her, but was perplexed on not finding her anywhere. He was a large man. His face was almost covered by the huge hat that he wore and his coat covered him from head to toe. Aisha held her breath and sat huddled behind the pillar. The man was looking around for her now. Anytime now he would find her, she had to make a run in the direction of her house before that.

Suddenly her phone started vibrating, Aisha had been caught. The man could hear the vibrations too. She held the knife in one hand and picked her phone with the other. It was Aman on the other end.

Voice failed her, the man was now standing in front of her. His eyes were bloodshot. Aisha waved the knife at him and tried to run towards the other side. The man was quicker. He blocked her path and cornered her. Now she was stuck between the wall and man’s huge frame. All she could do was cry out loud.

“Aman, Help!!!”

The man snatched her phone and threw it away. Aisha dropped the knife she was holding. The man picked the knife and started laughing. His teeth were all broken. Up close she could see his rugged face, the patched up clothes that he wore and the peculiar odour that emanated from his body.

Suddenly he held the knife up, Aisha closed her eyes in fear.

She stood like that for a long time. The sound of footsteps and a slow moaning sound brought her back to her senses. Aisha opened her eyes, to see the man lying in a pool of blood. Her feet trembled and she sat down, the man was alive and was trying to speak to her.

“You are not her, you are not her.” Is all that she could hear.

“Aisha….Aisha”, it was Aman’s voice. He had come for her.

Aman had been waiting for her at Starbucks and had called to ask her to hurry. The sound of Aisha’s shriek had paralysed him for a fraction of second. The next moment he was on his feet and had started running towards Aisha’s house. He prayed fervently that she be alright.

And then at the second corner near her house he found her huddled near the wall, a man next to her and a pool of blood. Afraid that Aisha was hurt, he ran to her. He had to almost pick her up. She was cold and was shivering.

“Aisha, are you alright? Are you hurt somewhere?” Aman asked, all at once.

Having seen Aman, Aisha was now able to think clearly. That’s when she recalled that the man was still alive.

“Dial 108” she said. The man is still alive.

Aman quickly sat down and checked if the man was breathing. The breathing was weak, but he still had chance. He saw the knife he had given to Aisha lying on the floor covered with blood. Quickly he pulled the blue scarf Aisha had around her neck and picked the knife carefully and wrapped it up and put it in her bag.

He hesitated in calling the ambulance, but Aisha asked him to hurry. So without really stating the cause he called for an ambulance and after giving them the directions motioned Aisha to walk with him. He decided to take her to Starbucks, a crowded place would help her gather her wits, and a cup of coffee would calm her. During the walk Aisha described to him what had happened.

Aman was relieved to know that Aisha had not stabbed the man, but the question now was the reason behind all of the events that had traversed. On reaching Starbucks he had ordered a coffee for Aisha and asked her to wait for him there.

Once outside Starbucks Aman called Karan and narrated the events to him. He then took his car and rushed towards the place where it had all happened. The ambulance arrived a few minutes later. Having assured that the man was still alive Aman went back to pick Aisha.

Aisha’s innocence was now in the hands of the man. He had to come back to his senses soon.

On the way to the hospital Aman instructed Aisha to be calm and explain the incident in detail to Karan who would meet them at the hospital.

Karan was waiting for them outside the hospital. He had gone ahead and confirmed the man’s identity.

The man’s name was Mohan. His ID card held the address of a village nearby. Karan had briefed the nearest police station and instructed them to run a background check. In the meantime doctors had managed to stop the bleeding. The injury was minor, but having lost a lot of blood Mohan was still unconscious.

Aman had called Sareena and asked her to come to the hospital. Aisha broke down in her mother’s arms. She was almost in the verge of a nervous breakdown.

The police had come and taken Aisha’s statement, the cross-questioning had drained her. She would be held a culprit until the Mohan gave his statement.

After a couple of hours the police station near Mohan’s Village had called Karan. They had found Mohan’s house, but he had no relatives. The neighbours had reported him to be missing a few months back. The records said that he was a widower and that his only daughter had been killed almost a year ago in the city.

The findings left them even more puzzled. Wondering what to do next, they all waited for Mohan to gain consciousness.

Aisha could feel the pain that a father must have felt on the loss of his only daughter. She watched Mohan through the glass window, and suddenly he stirred. Aisha called for the doctors immediately.

Mohan woke up to see a crowd around him. He was scared and tried to run, but was restrained by the tubes attached to him.

Scared he started yelling.

Aisha heard the commotion and ran in.

“They won’t hurt you Mohan”, she said soothingly.

On hearing her voice, Mohan looked up.

“Come behind me Sashi, I won’t let them hurt you…..I won’t let them hurt you.” Saying this Mohan collapsed.

In the meantime Karan had been investigating about Mohan and had asked for his daughter’s death report.

Mohan’s daughter Sashi, was an intelligent girl who had passed engineering entrance with high scores and had been admitted to a big college in the city. The proud father had reluctantly sent her away. Every vacation he would personally escort her home, but during her third year vacations Sashi had insisted on travelling with her friends. When Sashi had not arrived even after a day, Mohan had reported at the police station but the staff there had asked him to wait for a day or so. He had waited for two days, but on the third day he had been called by the police only to state that a girl had been found at the river nearby and he had to go for identifying the body.

Mohan’s life had ended then and there. Post-mortem reports stated that she had been raped and then drowned to death.

After months of isolation, Mohan had lost his senses and set out in search of his daughter’s killers.

Days passed and Mohan’s condition showed no change. The court declared Mohan to be mentally ill and unfit to act as a witness, and Aisha was exempted from any charges as the knife had Mohan’s fingerprints and her statements clearly matched the evidence and there were no witnesses to testify otherwise.

Sareena started to volunteer for helping children who had been abused. The incident had opened her eyes and made her aware of the negligence she had shown towards her duties so far.

Mohan’s story deeply touched their hearts and so, Aisha and Aman decided to get him treated. In the due course of treatment doctors were able to find that Mohan had started following Aisha because her voice resembled that of Sashi’s. In her voice he had found the hope to live and he followed her around.

Six months later, Aisha and Aman got married. Life was better now. The goodness of few had led to changing of many lives. Mohan had found his daughter again in Aisha, and had a reason to live now. Karan reopened Sashi’s murder case and was dedicatedly in lookout for the culprit. Sareena spent her days serving the society, and Aman & Aisha started a trust to take care of parents who had lost their children under unnatural circumstances.

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Hope you guys liked the story. Watch out this space for more stories!

This is Satrangee Parachute off to explore the fields of imagination.

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