“Here, give me the ball” I waved my hand and called for the ball.
“Take it…” Sam replied before sending a long ball towards me.
I controlled the ball with my chest and then brought it down at knee level and then took a right footed shot aiming at the top right corner… Louis dived in the same direction…
“Go in…” I said in a soft voice, audible only to me.
It didn’t go in… Louis easily caught it…
“Good effort but not good enough…” Louis said as he got up.
“That control of yours was good… it showed that your form is slowly returning…” Taylor commented on my effort.
“True… even under the pressure from Taylor you magnificently controlled the ball…” Louis seemed to be in agreement with Taylor.
“But you still couldn’t finish… it still wasn’t a goal…” Sam said.
“It is down to the goalkeeper’s prowess… Miroku can’t always beat the goalkeeper, can he?” Alex said.
“No, he can’t always beat a goalkeeper… sometimes the goalkeepers must get the credit for saving such shots…” Louis agreed to Alex’s comments.
“But I haven’t even beaten you once Louis, I must try to improve that…” I thought to myself.
A week ago I was at home recovering from yet another injury… Taylor inflicted it upon me that night… but that was the past… At the moment Taylor was training with us… helping me as well himself… his defensive skills were superb… he was one of the best defenders in England… only at the age of 19…
“Let’s resume training…” Louis said as he placed the ball in the centre spot.
“Yes, let’s start…” was the unanimous reply to Louis.
“No more straight forward shots… this time I will use something special…” I thought as I sent the ball towards Alex.
Alex passed the ball to Sam and Sam passed it back to Herbert… it was our usual passing game… Herbert passed the ball to Evan… and Evan to Alex… Danny tried to dispossess him of the ball but Paul provided him an option in the nick of time… Johnny did a sliding tackle to take the ball from Paul but he quickly lopped the ball to Sam… he was going to give me the long ball but with a wave of my hands I prevented him from doing that…
He understood that we were going into “Plan B” and passed the ball to Evan… then slowly we advanced as a team… and enveloped the opposition defense… Alex and Sam stood their ground in the centre of midfield… Paul took his position in the right wing and Evan in the left while I remained at the forefront of the attack, marked by Taylor…
Sam received the ball from Evan and gave a long pass to Paul on the right… Paul made his run drawing all the defenders towards him except Taylor. All the defenders being on the right the left was completely unguarded… Paul lopped the ball and it fell at Alex’s feet… he quickly passed the ball to Evan who had already started his run down the wings… I looked at Evan and he looked back… he neared the penalty box and rather than crossing the ball he entered the penalty box with the ball… just as I wanted him to…
The defenders had returned then… but it was as we planned… everyone expected Evan to take a shot but he didn’t he gave a back pass to Sam… and Sam instantly delivered a defense splitting through ball… a perfect through ball in front of the near post of the goalkeeper… I went after the ball and positioned myself to take a shot at the far post… I took the shot with my left foot…
As I kicked the ball, it rose and went in the direction I wanted it to… but somehow Louis got a fingertip to it even when he had lost his balance and before it could enter the goal Max cleared it…
“Darn it! Not even this worked! Then what can?” I thought to myself but the frustration was clear in my face……
Monday, February 22, 2010
Chapter 23: Lesson learned
When I woke up I saw that I was on a bed… my head still hurt a bit and body was in tremendous pain… I tried to sit up and see where I was but I couldn’t… I was too pain stricken to even sit properly… But still I managed to see what or rather who was beside me… it was Evie… she was still sleeping or rather she was unconscious… slowly I recalled the incidents of the previous night… a terrible thought crossed my mind… Taylor had struck her with a chain… was she alive? I hoped she was because I couldn’t do anything but hope…
“So, how are you doing Miroku?” It was Louis’s voice.
“I am fine…” I replied, still worried about Evie.
“Don’t worry; Evie is alright… the doctor was called last night…” Louis read my mind.
I didn’t notice before but I had bandages all over my arms and body… and also around my head…
“Don’t try to get up now… you need rest… I am going now… I have to check the other guy…” Louis got up.
“Other guy?” I asked him.
“Taylor…” Louis replied.
“It would have been better had I finished him off last night… but now that you have brought him with you I will kill him here…” I told him rather loudly.
“Stop it! Everyone makes mistakes… it’s about time you forgave him…”
“Forgive him!! Are you serious… after all he has done, you want me to forgive him? Never!”
“I know he has done some great deal of damage to you… I know he almost ended your career and I also know what he did to Evie…”
“And even after knowing those you want me to forgive him…”
“What he did wasn’t at all good, it was a terrible thing to do but please you must think about it…”
“No, there is nothing else left to think…”
“Sam told me what happened in that pub…”
“I was under the influence of alcohol…”
“So maybe Taylor was also under the influence of alcohol when he did that…”
The last part got me thinking…
“So what if he was under the influence of alcohol… he had every intention to do that…” I told recalling the comments Taylor had made that night.
“Alcohol brings out the beast from within a human…”
“Maybe it does, but Taylor is beyond forgiving…”
“Do as you please then, but Taylor has promised he won’t bother you guys again so, you must also promise the same…”
“I can’t do that… Taylor must pay for his deeds…”
“Let me make this one thing very much clear to you… Taylor almost ended your career but it was during a match… anything can happen during a match, players have even died while playing, but you didn’t do anything different did you? No, you did something different you almost ended his career but not during a match…”
“What you are trying to say is that we are very much equal?”
“No, not that… what I want to convey is that you must forget the past…”
“I never hurt anyone in my life… I didn’t beat him up for injuring me, I beat him for laying his hands on Evie… if Evie can forgive him then definitely I can too…”
“I have forgiven him Miroku, please listen to Louis…” Evie spoke after hearing our conversation.
“See Miroku, Evie has forgiven Taylor… now please try to forget about those incidents…”
“I am forgiving him… but not on a permanent basis, if he ever decides to hurt us again he will get killed…”
“I have learned my lesson Miroku, I was wrong in doing whatever I did… and I am apologizing for it… and if I again repeat those mistakes you can do whatever you like…” Taylor came inside the room.
His state was better than mine though he was hurt… those chains I hit him with had left their marks on his body… he couldn’t stand straight and also walked with a limp…
“So it’s settled then…” Louis said.
“Yes…” I told.
I can’t deny the fact that although I forgave Taylor I didn’t forget everything he did to me and Evie… so I decided to keep an eye on him… no, I didn’t trust him at all… after all those incidents who would have??
“So, how are you doing Miroku?” It was Louis’s voice.
“I am fine…” I replied, still worried about Evie.
“Don’t worry; Evie is alright… the doctor was called last night…” Louis read my mind.
I didn’t notice before but I had bandages all over my arms and body… and also around my head…
“Don’t try to get up now… you need rest… I am going now… I have to check the other guy…” Louis got up.
“Other guy?” I asked him.
“Taylor…” Louis replied.
“It would have been better had I finished him off last night… but now that you have brought him with you I will kill him here…” I told him rather loudly.
“Stop it! Everyone makes mistakes… it’s about time you forgave him…”
“Forgive him!! Are you serious… after all he has done, you want me to forgive him? Never!”
“I know he has done some great deal of damage to you… I know he almost ended your career and I also know what he did to Evie…”
“And even after knowing those you want me to forgive him…”
“What he did wasn’t at all good, it was a terrible thing to do but please you must think about it…”
“No, there is nothing else left to think…”
“Sam told me what happened in that pub…”
“I was under the influence of alcohol…”
“So maybe Taylor was also under the influence of alcohol when he did that…”
The last part got me thinking…
“So what if he was under the influence of alcohol… he had every intention to do that…” I told recalling the comments Taylor had made that night.
“Alcohol brings out the beast from within a human…”
“Maybe it does, but Taylor is beyond forgiving…”
“Do as you please then, but Taylor has promised he won’t bother you guys again so, you must also promise the same…”
“I can’t do that… Taylor must pay for his deeds…”
“Let me make this one thing very much clear to you… Taylor almost ended your career but it was during a match… anything can happen during a match, players have even died while playing, but you didn’t do anything different did you? No, you did something different you almost ended his career but not during a match…”
“What you are trying to say is that we are very much equal?”
“No, not that… what I want to convey is that you must forget the past…”
“I never hurt anyone in my life… I didn’t beat him up for injuring me, I beat him for laying his hands on Evie… if Evie can forgive him then definitely I can too…”
“I have forgiven him Miroku, please listen to Louis…” Evie spoke after hearing our conversation.
“See Miroku, Evie has forgiven Taylor… now please try to forget about those incidents…”
“I am forgiving him… but not on a permanent basis, if he ever decides to hurt us again he will get killed…”
“I have learned my lesson Miroku, I was wrong in doing whatever I did… and I am apologizing for it… and if I again repeat those mistakes you can do whatever you like…” Taylor came inside the room.
His state was better than mine though he was hurt… those chains I hit him with had left their marks on his body… he couldn’t stand straight and also walked with a limp…
“So it’s settled then…” Louis said.
“Yes…” I told.
I can’t deny the fact that although I forgave Taylor I didn’t forget everything he did to me and Evie… so I decided to keep an eye on him… no, I didn’t trust him at all… after all those incidents who would have??
Friday, February 19, 2010
Chapter 22: Lesson not learnt – Part 2
Taylor’s car was closing in on us… I didn’t notice before but there were two more cars behind Taylor’s…
“What is he up to? What does he want?” I thought to myself.
Random thoughts were coming to my mind… drops of perspiration were forming on my forehead and then dripping down my temple to my cheeks and then further down… the sweat was going down but I couldn’t drown those thoughts… those thoughts were wreaking havoc in my mind… if I was alone it would have been a different scenario but the person whom I loved the most was beside me… and I knew that soon the lurking danger would come after her… the thought of that and also the flashbacks of the previous encounters with Taylor was getting the better of me…
“Faster Miroku, Faster, he will catch us …” Evie was much tensed.
“Don’t worry…”
That was all I could tell her… she still thought that only Taylor was following us… she didn’t notice the other two cars… at least she was less tensed than me… I pretty much had the idea of what would happen to us if we were to get caught by the following lot… I dreaded at the thought of it… more drops of sweat fell down and fresh drops formed…
I was going at 100kmph… my pursuers were going at more speed… I placed my foot on the accelerator and pressed it down and kept it in that way… we flashed past the buildings… everything was blurred around us… everything out of the car was distorted in shape, only Evie wasn’t… the street lamps seemed to be interconnected, their lights to be precise… the red, green, yellow and blue lights of the streets completely intermixed to give white light and at places everything went black… I saw the speedometer… the marker was pointing at 120 then 125… no I couldn’t go more…
“Have we lost them Miroku? I don’t see anyone behind us… we must have been faster than them…” Evie sounded calm but still had signs of tension.
“Didn’t I tell you not to worry?”
“Yeah…”
I slowed down but before doing that I looked into the looking glass once more… no car was behind us… I heaped a sigh of relief…
“Look ahead Miroku…”
“What the…”
The three cars were right in front of us… we were still going at a good speed… I removed my foot from the accelerator and placed it on the brake and pressed it down…
“We will die if we collide with those cars… it will be better if we are caught…at least we will have some chance of survival…” I reassured myself but didn’t utter a single word.
“Miroku, what will happen now? We will surely be caught…” Evie started crying.
“Evie, jump out of the car” I firmly told her.
“No, I won’t…” she firmly replied rubbing her tears.
“Do as I say… we are going at a lower speed now… if you jump you can escape…”
“I don’t want to… I will go with you… I promised I will always be with you so how can I break that promise now?”
“Please Evie… Taylor isn’t alone he has companions I can’t take the risk of taking you with me…”
“I don’t care… as long as you are with me I will go wherever fate leads us to… even if that means I have to suffer…”
“Don’t argue… do as I say…”
“I am staying put…”
“In that case I will protect you with my life… but if I die…”
“Don’t speak like that; don’t ever speak like that…”
Our car stopped and we were surrounded by at least six people… they had chains and rods in their hands… every single one of them had sinister look in their eyes and each of them grinned… the dog like devilish grin made me mad…I got down from the car…
“Where is Taylor?” I asked them.
“Here…” Taylor got down from his car.
“What is it that you want from me now?” I boldly shouted out those words.
“Revenge…” Taylor gave me a glare like that of a hungry dog.
“What for? You got what you deserved…”
“I will show you what I deserved… tonight I will show you…”
Saying that he looked towards my car and started laughing.
“So you have brought her along… don’t worry, I won’t do a thing to her… I have business with you and not that girl of yours…”
I was quite relieved after hearing that… all my concerns were only for Evie… I didn’t care for myself…
“Guys!” Taylor waved at those goons just as a master does to his dogs.
As soon as Taylor called for them they surrounded me and tied me with the chains they had… and after that there was relentless punching and kicking… they mercilessly beat me with their iron rods… I lost my consciousness…
When I woke up I saw that both my hands were tied to two pillars on both my sides… I couldn’t feel anything… my legs went numb… not only my legs but my full body… my shirt was torn at places and if one saw through it they could have noticed red marks all over my body… those were the wounds inflicted on me by those goons of Taylor… I was pretty much sure that more was in store for me… but I something was bothering me…
“Evie… where are you?” I suddenly gathered all my strength and shouted.
“She is here, don’t worry, I haven’t touched her… I promised you, didn’t I?” It was Taylor’s voice mixed with anger and satisfaction.
“Why don’t you leave us alone? What have we done to you?” It was Evie’s voice.
“You bitch…” Saying that Taylor thrashed Evie and she fell down…
“Taylor, what business do you have with me? I am here deal with me… leave her alone…”
“I will definitely deal with you…” Saying that he came towards me.
He had an iron rod in his hand but something was different about it… I didn’t know what but it wasn’t an ordinary rod…
Taylor brought down that rod upon my back… then I understood what was different about that rod… it was red hot… at the moment it made contact with my body I screamed… he pulled up the rod and with it a part of my shirt went away leaving my body bare against that hot iron…
“Today I will beat you so much that you won’t be able to play anymore… I will break every bone in your body…” Taylor was very angry.
“Please stop… please don’t hurt him like this… please Taylor, do whatever you wish to with me… but don’t beat him…” Evie came in between us and shielded my defenseless body by embracing it.
“Move away Evie… you will get hurt…” I tried to push her aside but didn’t have enough strength left in me.
“Damn you!” Taylor threw down that rod and brought out a chain, “here let me beat both of you…”
Taylor brought that down but I didn’t feel anything… Evie took the blow on herself… and left me and became unconscious…
“I will never forgive you for this, Taylor… Never…” I tried to free myself from my shackles.
Another blow… but I still tried to break free… I pulled the chains and tried to break it from its concrete bounds… Taylor mercilessly whipped me with that chain… but rather than screaming in pain I tried to break the chains… I knew that it was the only way… the unconscious body of Evie enraged me… it filled me with anger and the feeling of vengeance was getting the better of me… I didn’t feel the pain from Taylor’s whipping… I pulled the chains more and more and at last I succeeded in doing the impossible…
“Now let’s end this once and for all…” I said after breaking free.
I dual wielded the chains and started whirling it in the air… I could see that the fear in Taylor’s mind had shown itself in his face… I waited no more… I proceeded towards Taylor and Taylor started backing away… soon Taylor had his back against a wall… I didn’t hesitate before lashing one of the chains against one of his shoulders… then I brought down the other one… Taylor was almost finished… I could see that he was losing his consciousness… I threw down the chains… I caught his neck and pushed him against the wall… my force lifted him up… he was strangling…
“Stop!” it was Louis’s voice.
I went ahead with my plans of killing Taylor… he was choking… his face had gone pale… eyes had become red…
“Stop! Don’t do this…” the voice of Louis came closer.
“Today I will finish you off…” I didn’t look at Louis.
“I will stop you…”
Saying that Louis came from behind and struck me on my head... everything went black…………
“What is he up to? What does he want?” I thought to myself.
Random thoughts were coming to my mind… drops of perspiration were forming on my forehead and then dripping down my temple to my cheeks and then further down… the sweat was going down but I couldn’t drown those thoughts… those thoughts were wreaking havoc in my mind… if I was alone it would have been a different scenario but the person whom I loved the most was beside me… and I knew that soon the lurking danger would come after her… the thought of that and also the flashbacks of the previous encounters with Taylor was getting the better of me…
“Faster Miroku, Faster, he will catch us …” Evie was much tensed.
“Don’t worry…”
That was all I could tell her… she still thought that only Taylor was following us… she didn’t notice the other two cars… at least she was less tensed than me… I pretty much had the idea of what would happen to us if we were to get caught by the following lot… I dreaded at the thought of it… more drops of sweat fell down and fresh drops formed…
I was going at 100kmph… my pursuers were going at more speed… I placed my foot on the accelerator and pressed it down and kept it in that way… we flashed past the buildings… everything was blurred around us… everything out of the car was distorted in shape, only Evie wasn’t… the street lamps seemed to be interconnected, their lights to be precise… the red, green, yellow and blue lights of the streets completely intermixed to give white light and at places everything went black… I saw the speedometer… the marker was pointing at 120 then 125… no I couldn’t go more…
“Have we lost them Miroku? I don’t see anyone behind us… we must have been faster than them…” Evie sounded calm but still had signs of tension.
“Didn’t I tell you not to worry?”
“Yeah…”
I slowed down but before doing that I looked into the looking glass once more… no car was behind us… I heaped a sigh of relief…
“Look ahead Miroku…”
“What the…”
The three cars were right in front of us… we were still going at a good speed… I removed my foot from the accelerator and placed it on the brake and pressed it down…
“We will die if we collide with those cars… it will be better if we are caught…at least we will have some chance of survival…” I reassured myself but didn’t utter a single word.
“Miroku, what will happen now? We will surely be caught…” Evie started crying.
“Evie, jump out of the car” I firmly told her.
“No, I won’t…” she firmly replied rubbing her tears.
“Do as I say… we are going at a lower speed now… if you jump you can escape…”
“I don’t want to… I will go with you… I promised I will always be with you so how can I break that promise now?”
“Please Evie… Taylor isn’t alone he has companions I can’t take the risk of taking you with me…”
“I don’t care… as long as you are with me I will go wherever fate leads us to… even if that means I have to suffer…”
“Don’t argue… do as I say…”
“I am staying put…”
“In that case I will protect you with my life… but if I die…”
“Don’t speak like that; don’t ever speak like that…”
Our car stopped and we were surrounded by at least six people… they had chains and rods in their hands… every single one of them had sinister look in their eyes and each of them grinned… the dog like devilish grin made me mad…I got down from the car…
“Where is Taylor?” I asked them.
“Here…” Taylor got down from his car.
“What is it that you want from me now?” I boldly shouted out those words.
“Revenge…” Taylor gave me a glare like that of a hungry dog.
“What for? You got what you deserved…”
“I will show you what I deserved… tonight I will show you…”
Saying that he looked towards my car and started laughing.
“So you have brought her along… don’t worry, I won’t do a thing to her… I have business with you and not that girl of yours…”
I was quite relieved after hearing that… all my concerns were only for Evie… I didn’t care for myself…
“Guys!” Taylor waved at those goons just as a master does to his dogs.
As soon as Taylor called for them they surrounded me and tied me with the chains they had… and after that there was relentless punching and kicking… they mercilessly beat me with their iron rods… I lost my consciousness…
When I woke up I saw that both my hands were tied to two pillars on both my sides… I couldn’t feel anything… my legs went numb… not only my legs but my full body… my shirt was torn at places and if one saw through it they could have noticed red marks all over my body… those were the wounds inflicted on me by those goons of Taylor… I was pretty much sure that more was in store for me… but I something was bothering me…
“Evie… where are you?” I suddenly gathered all my strength and shouted.
“She is here, don’t worry, I haven’t touched her… I promised you, didn’t I?” It was Taylor’s voice mixed with anger and satisfaction.
“Why don’t you leave us alone? What have we done to you?” It was Evie’s voice.
“You bitch…” Saying that Taylor thrashed Evie and she fell down…
“Taylor, what business do you have with me? I am here deal with me… leave her alone…”
“I will definitely deal with you…” Saying that he came towards me.
He had an iron rod in his hand but something was different about it… I didn’t know what but it wasn’t an ordinary rod…
Taylor brought down that rod upon my back… then I understood what was different about that rod… it was red hot… at the moment it made contact with my body I screamed… he pulled up the rod and with it a part of my shirt went away leaving my body bare against that hot iron…
“Today I will beat you so much that you won’t be able to play anymore… I will break every bone in your body…” Taylor was very angry.
“Please stop… please don’t hurt him like this… please Taylor, do whatever you wish to with me… but don’t beat him…” Evie came in between us and shielded my defenseless body by embracing it.
“Move away Evie… you will get hurt…” I tried to push her aside but didn’t have enough strength left in me.
“Damn you!” Taylor threw down that rod and brought out a chain, “here let me beat both of you…”
Taylor brought that down but I didn’t feel anything… Evie took the blow on herself… and left me and became unconscious…
“I will never forgive you for this, Taylor… Never…” I tried to free myself from my shackles.
Another blow… but I still tried to break free… I pulled the chains and tried to break it from its concrete bounds… Taylor mercilessly whipped me with that chain… but rather than screaming in pain I tried to break the chains… I knew that it was the only way… the unconscious body of Evie enraged me… it filled me with anger and the feeling of vengeance was getting the better of me… I didn’t feel the pain from Taylor’s whipping… I pulled the chains more and more and at last I succeeded in doing the impossible…
“Now let’s end this once and for all…” I said after breaking free.
I dual wielded the chains and started whirling it in the air… I could see that the fear in Taylor’s mind had shown itself in his face… I waited no more… I proceeded towards Taylor and Taylor started backing away… soon Taylor had his back against a wall… I didn’t hesitate before lashing one of the chains against one of his shoulders… then I brought down the other one… Taylor was almost finished… I could see that he was losing his consciousness… I threw down the chains… I caught his neck and pushed him against the wall… my force lifted him up… he was strangling…
“Stop!” it was Louis’s voice.
I went ahead with my plans of killing Taylor… he was choking… his face had gone pale… eyes had become red…
“Stop! Don’t do this…” the voice of Louis came closer.
“Today I will finish you off…” I didn’t look at Louis.
“I will stop you…”
Saying that Louis came from behind and struck me on my head... everything went black…………
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Chapter 21: Lesson not learnt – Part I
After returning home that day I kept on pondering over Louis’s goalkeeping abilities… he had some exceptional skills… saving a long ranger was a different thing but saving a penalty was another … I got yelled at by Evie thrice during lunch… she was talking about her exams and expecting me to reply to her immediately but my mind was preoccupied with other thoughts… in my mind I was trying to figure out Louis’s weaknesses… but the more I thought about it the less I seemed to figure out… so I left that thought altogether, I decided to train more with him… and also thought that if I played more with him I would be able to understand his game play and then probably score against him…
“Are you listening???” Evie again started yelling.
“Yeah…” I replied.
“From lunch I am seeing that you are lost in your thoughts. What has gotten into you today?”
“I am absolutely fine Evie, don’t worry…”
“Let me check your temperature…”
Saying that she put her right palm on my forehead and the left palm on her own forehead…
“Your temperature seems to be normal…” Evie said after checking my temperature.
“Leave it Evie, come lets go shopping and then we will dine out tonight…”
“Oh I love shopping! After so many days we are going out together…” the frown on her face completely disappeared.
Girls are strange indeed… they yell, and get angry often without any reason but if the term “Shopping” comes up and if it is brought out along with the words “eating out” then their anger totally vanishes and they become a different person altogether… suddenly they start showing their love and affection… It was the same with Evie… suddenly I became so good that she forgot all my faults…
“So then let’s go…”
Saying that I put my hand forward and Evie held it and we went of the house… hand in hand…
Shopping with Evie was extremely exhausting… she wasn’t able to choose properly… once she chose a skirt and then after seeing another she decided to abandon her previous choice for the new one and the cycle continued… she took more than five hours to buy just five dresses… after shopping we went for dinner in an eatery…
“We finally finished shopping; I am so satisfied with my stuffs…” Evie left a sigh of satisfaction while at the table waiting for our food to be served.
“You took five hours to buy those!! Other than being satisfied what else can you be?!”
“And what about those jeans of yours? We spent two hours over there…”
I was caught off guard but I didn’t give up…
“It was the fault of that old man… whatever I chose he was refusing to give me…”
“It was your fault… you chose things what other people had already chosen…”
“If they had chosen them then they could have carried those with them rather than leaving them in the hangers…”
“But you should have left them and bought other things…”
“But I was right wasn’t I? The old fool didn’t know a thing…”
“Don’t blame the old man…”
Evie was going to say more but seeing the waiter waiting for us to finish our quarrel she stopped. I was embarrassed too… we were fighting like little kids…
“Enough fighting let’s eat now…” I said while putting in a sushi piece in my mouth.
The food was really good… Whenever Evie and I ate out we either took Sushi or Noodles and soup…
We finished our food and ordered coffee… while drinking coffee we talked with each other… we didn’t quarrel anymore…
“Did you like this?” I asked Evie about our evening in the Shopping Mall and the sushi.
“Of course I did” Evie replied.
“Evie…” I held her hands, “It feels great to make you happy…”
Evie started blushing…
“Now let’s go back it’s getting late…” Evie said.
She was still blushing.
“Alright let’s go back now…”
Saying that we left the eatery and were on the streets… we were walking on the pavements… it was some minutes walk to the parking area where we had parked our car… We were talking about the various incidents of the day… I told her about Louis… how he had saved my goal bound shot and also my penalty… she talked about a new girl she met while hanging out in the café with her friends… the girl was Spanish her name was Bella… the coincidence was astonishing… but still I didn’t think Louis and Bella had anything to do with each other… I told Evie about the Old Man and the incident with Johnny and Danny… and we shared a laugh… Johnny and Danny always managed to make every one laugh at their silly acts… They were nicknamed the “Clowns of the fall” in school…
We were at gate of the parking zone… I paid the usual parking fare and went ahead to get the car while Evie stayed behind…
As I got in the car and turned the ignition key the front lights penetrated the darkness and showed Evie running towards my car… She reached the car and entered it and spoke only two words… “Let’s leave” …
She was panting. I could see fear in her eyes…
“What’s the matter Evie? Why are you so worked up?” I asked her.
“After you left me I saw Taylor with a group of goons… they were ruffians…”
“So he is again after you… didn’t learn his lesson then…”
“Let’s leave immediately Miroku… ”
“Alright…”
Saying that I started to drive… in some moments we left the parking zone and were on the road… I looked in the looking glass… a Black Land Rover was behind us… it was the same car… the same car from which Taylor came out THAT night… how could I forget?! I could never forget that night… it was fate that had sent me to Evie’s house or else I would have lost Evie forever…
“Are you listening???” Evie again started yelling.
“Yeah…” I replied.
“From lunch I am seeing that you are lost in your thoughts. What has gotten into you today?”
“I am absolutely fine Evie, don’t worry…”
“Let me check your temperature…”
Saying that she put her right palm on my forehead and the left palm on her own forehead…
“Your temperature seems to be normal…” Evie said after checking my temperature.
“Leave it Evie, come lets go shopping and then we will dine out tonight…”
“Oh I love shopping! After so many days we are going out together…” the frown on her face completely disappeared.
Girls are strange indeed… they yell, and get angry often without any reason but if the term “Shopping” comes up and if it is brought out along with the words “eating out” then their anger totally vanishes and they become a different person altogether… suddenly they start showing their love and affection… It was the same with Evie… suddenly I became so good that she forgot all my faults…
“So then let’s go…”
Saying that I put my hand forward and Evie held it and we went of the house… hand in hand…
Shopping with Evie was extremely exhausting… she wasn’t able to choose properly… once she chose a skirt and then after seeing another she decided to abandon her previous choice for the new one and the cycle continued… she took more than five hours to buy just five dresses… after shopping we went for dinner in an eatery…
“We finally finished shopping; I am so satisfied with my stuffs…” Evie left a sigh of satisfaction while at the table waiting for our food to be served.
“You took five hours to buy those!! Other than being satisfied what else can you be?!”
“And what about those jeans of yours? We spent two hours over there…”
I was caught off guard but I didn’t give up…
“It was the fault of that old man… whatever I chose he was refusing to give me…”
“It was your fault… you chose things what other people had already chosen…”
“If they had chosen them then they could have carried those with them rather than leaving them in the hangers…”
“But you should have left them and bought other things…”
“But I was right wasn’t I? The old fool didn’t know a thing…”
“Don’t blame the old man…”
Evie was going to say more but seeing the waiter waiting for us to finish our quarrel she stopped. I was embarrassed too… we were fighting like little kids…
“Enough fighting let’s eat now…” I said while putting in a sushi piece in my mouth.
The food was really good… Whenever Evie and I ate out we either took Sushi or Noodles and soup…
We finished our food and ordered coffee… while drinking coffee we talked with each other… we didn’t quarrel anymore…
“Did you like this?” I asked Evie about our evening in the Shopping Mall and the sushi.
“Of course I did” Evie replied.
“Evie…” I held her hands, “It feels great to make you happy…”
Evie started blushing…
“Now let’s go back it’s getting late…” Evie said.
She was still blushing.
“Alright let’s go back now…”
Saying that we left the eatery and were on the streets… we were walking on the pavements… it was some minutes walk to the parking area where we had parked our car… We were talking about the various incidents of the day… I told her about Louis… how he had saved my goal bound shot and also my penalty… she talked about a new girl she met while hanging out in the café with her friends… the girl was Spanish her name was Bella… the coincidence was astonishing… but still I didn’t think Louis and Bella had anything to do with each other… I told Evie about the Old Man and the incident with Johnny and Danny… and we shared a laugh… Johnny and Danny always managed to make every one laugh at their silly acts… They were nicknamed the “Clowns of the fall” in school…
We were at gate of the parking zone… I paid the usual parking fare and went ahead to get the car while Evie stayed behind…
As I got in the car and turned the ignition key the front lights penetrated the darkness and showed Evie running towards my car… She reached the car and entered it and spoke only two words… “Let’s leave” …
She was panting. I could see fear in her eyes…
“What’s the matter Evie? Why are you so worked up?” I asked her.
“After you left me I saw Taylor with a group of goons… they were ruffians…”
“So he is again after you… didn’t learn his lesson then…”
“Let’s leave immediately Miroku… ”
“Alright…”
Saying that I started to drive… in some moments we left the parking zone and were on the road… I looked in the looking glass… a Black Land Rover was behind us… it was the same car… the same car from which Taylor came out THAT night… how could I forget?! I could never forget that night… it was fate that had sent me to Evie’s house or else I would have lost Evie forever…
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Chapter 20: The brick wall
“Wanna try some more?” the boy said again as he threw the ball towards me.
“Definitely, but by what name shall we call you?” I asked him.
“Call me ‘muro infranqueable’…”
“Can’t we shorten it??” Sam asked him before I could.
“Ok call me Louis…” he replied.
“What language was it?” Danny asked.
“Not English definitely…” Johnny added.
“No definitely not… Do I look like being English?” Louis said.
“Then?!” Max asked.
“I am Spanish… I came here last week and play for…” he didn’t say more.
“Play for??!!” Sam almost fell down from his bench.
“Later dudes… I will tell you later… Let’s get back to training shall we?” Saying that Luis brought us to the field.
“What I saw from your game was that you guys do like the passing game but lack the craft, you guys are not skilful enough to penetrate the opposition defense…” Our new friend gave us his view about our playing style.
“And what makes you say that??” Sam interrupted him.
“I watched everything, whatever you guys were trying to do…”Louis replied.
“So what must we do to improve?” Sam asked again.
“It’s simple you can’t improve… the reason I came here was for Miroku, I have to help him get back his clinical finishing…”
“Miroku?! You came to help Miroku?! But how do you know that he requires your help???!!!” Sam asked again, this time he was very much eager to know.
“Miroku wouldn’t have been training with you guys if he was alright… Besides I know what happened to him… I know it all…”
“And may I know how??!!” This time Max joined the interrogation.
“Am I some thief or some terrorist that you guys are asking me so many things? I won’t answer any of your questions; at least not now… anyways let’s get back to training… Miroku now you try to put in a goal from the penalty spot…”
“But…” Danny was going to ask something but everyone ignored him.
I placed the ball on the penalty spot and went back a few steps… I saw Louis’s face before starting the run up… he wasn’t looking at me but at the ball… his confidence and concentration could be seen easily in his face… the look in his face was very much familiar… it was almost like Jack’s… that same level of concentration I saw in Jack’s face years back was there in his face…
I kicked the ball aiming at the top right corner… I kicked with all my power…
“Looks like you have totally lost your finishing skills” Louis said after saving my shot.
“Yeah, you are right… I have lost all my skills but surely it isn’t too late is it?! It can’t be too late…” I consoled myself after thinking about my sorry state.
“No, there is still time… you just have to keep the faith in your abilities only then you will rediscover yourself as a player… as the poacher…” Louis read my mind.
“Enough you guys… now I wanna have a go at you…” Danny snatched the ball from Louis.
“Me too…” Johnny joined the queue of penalty takers after Danny.
“Ok… try as much as you can…”
Danny was going to shoot but Johnny came from behind and stopped him… and both of them started fighting for the ball…
“Here we go again… Johnny and Danny simply can’t stop fighting…” Alex told the eternal truth.
“Can’t you guys quit this? You have passed out of high school now… about time you guys grew up…” Sam tried to stop them.
“Sam, we haven’t received our results yet…” Danny and Johnny together gave Sam his answer.
“You guys fight and when you have decided… let me know…” Louis was opening his gloves.
“We both will take the shot…” Danny said.
“Alright make it quick…”Louis again pulled on his gloves.
Danny and Johnny had already done weirder stuffs in school as well as while playing… they didn’t leave any other weird stuff to be done… starting from entering the girls toilet while fighting with each other to kicking the headmaster’s head instead of the football during training we have seen it all… another one of those acts were going to be added… the guys were holding their breath to see Danny and Johnny back in action…
Danny ran up from the left while Johnny ran up from the right for kicking the ball… they connected superbly… but the ball flew over the bar…
“WHAT THE??!! AY YOU FOOLISH BOYS, WAT IS YOU DOING HERE?? CAN’T YOU SEE I IS DRINKING??!! IS YOU BLIND??!!” it was the voice of Mr. Arkus Buros.
Arkus was supposedly the Greek sailor who was said to have been found in the English shores after his ship, the “DRUKEN” had sunk in the English Channel…
“Run guys it’s the OLD FOOL… run or he will catch us…” Sam already started to run.
“WHO IS YOU CALLING THE OLD FOOL? I IS BUROS THE GREAT… A MASTER SAILOR… A LEGENDARY MAN OF THE SEAS… HERE TAKE YOUR BALL… I HAS GOT BETTER…”
“Take the ball and run guys… run we still have time…”
“WAIT! LISTEN TO ME POEM…”
Saying that Arkus again started his same old poem…
“WHEN THE OCEANS RISE,
WHEN THE THUNDERS STRIKE,
WHEN BALLS FALL,
WHEN STONES ROLL,
WHEN DRAGONS FLY,
WHEN WOMEN CRY,
THAT IS THE TIME WHEN PEOPLE DIE,
BUT STILL I SAY ‘WHAT CARE I!!’
‘CAUSE INDEED WHAT CARE I!!
WHAT CARE I!! WHAT CARE I!!
WHY CARE I?!”
“SO YOU YOUNG PEOPLE SAY HOW YOU LIKES ME POEM??”
“Good poem… but we have to go now… good bye…” Sam was almost out of the field when he said that.
We ran away too… we could hear the old man talking rubbish as usual… he was indeed the OLD FOOL!! Always dead drunk…
“Definitely, but by what name shall we call you?” I asked him.
“Call me ‘muro infranqueable’…”
“Can’t we shorten it??” Sam asked him before I could.
“Ok call me Louis…” he replied.
“What language was it?” Danny asked.
“Not English definitely…” Johnny added.
“No definitely not… Do I look like being English?” Louis said.
“Then?!” Max asked.
“I am Spanish… I came here last week and play for…” he didn’t say more.
“Play for??!!” Sam almost fell down from his bench.
“Later dudes… I will tell you later… Let’s get back to training shall we?” Saying that Luis brought us to the field.
“What I saw from your game was that you guys do like the passing game but lack the craft, you guys are not skilful enough to penetrate the opposition defense…” Our new friend gave us his view about our playing style.
“And what makes you say that??” Sam interrupted him.
“I watched everything, whatever you guys were trying to do…”Louis replied.
“So what must we do to improve?” Sam asked again.
“It’s simple you can’t improve… the reason I came here was for Miroku, I have to help him get back his clinical finishing…”
“Miroku?! You came to help Miroku?! But how do you know that he requires your help???!!!” Sam asked again, this time he was very much eager to know.
“Miroku wouldn’t have been training with you guys if he was alright… Besides I know what happened to him… I know it all…”
“And may I know how??!!” This time Max joined the interrogation.
“Am I some thief or some terrorist that you guys are asking me so many things? I won’t answer any of your questions; at least not now… anyways let’s get back to training… Miroku now you try to put in a goal from the penalty spot…”
“But…” Danny was going to ask something but everyone ignored him.
I placed the ball on the penalty spot and went back a few steps… I saw Louis’s face before starting the run up… he wasn’t looking at me but at the ball… his confidence and concentration could be seen easily in his face… the look in his face was very much familiar… it was almost like Jack’s… that same level of concentration I saw in Jack’s face years back was there in his face…
I kicked the ball aiming at the top right corner… I kicked with all my power…
“Looks like you have totally lost your finishing skills” Louis said after saving my shot.
“Yeah, you are right… I have lost all my skills but surely it isn’t too late is it?! It can’t be too late…” I consoled myself after thinking about my sorry state.
“No, there is still time… you just have to keep the faith in your abilities only then you will rediscover yourself as a player… as the poacher…” Louis read my mind.
“Enough you guys… now I wanna have a go at you…” Danny snatched the ball from Louis.
“Me too…” Johnny joined the queue of penalty takers after Danny.
“Ok… try as much as you can…”
Danny was going to shoot but Johnny came from behind and stopped him… and both of them started fighting for the ball…
“Here we go again… Johnny and Danny simply can’t stop fighting…” Alex told the eternal truth.
“Can’t you guys quit this? You have passed out of high school now… about time you guys grew up…” Sam tried to stop them.
“Sam, we haven’t received our results yet…” Danny and Johnny together gave Sam his answer.
“You guys fight and when you have decided… let me know…” Louis was opening his gloves.
“We both will take the shot…” Danny said.
“Alright make it quick…”Louis again pulled on his gloves.
Danny and Johnny had already done weirder stuffs in school as well as while playing… they didn’t leave any other weird stuff to be done… starting from entering the girls toilet while fighting with each other to kicking the headmaster’s head instead of the football during training we have seen it all… another one of those acts were going to be added… the guys were holding their breath to see Danny and Johnny back in action…
Danny ran up from the left while Johnny ran up from the right for kicking the ball… they connected superbly… but the ball flew over the bar…
“WHAT THE??!! AY YOU FOOLISH BOYS, WAT IS YOU DOING HERE?? CAN’T YOU SEE I IS DRINKING??!! IS YOU BLIND??!!” it was the voice of Mr. Arkus Buros.
Arkus was supposedly the Greek sailor who was said to have been found in the English shores after his ship, the “DRUKEN” had sunk in the English Channel…
“Run guys it’s the OLD FOOL… run or he will catch us…” Sam already started to run.
“WHO IS YOU CALLING THE OLD FOOL? I IS BUROS THE GREAT… A MASTER SAILOR… A LEGENDARY MAN OF THE SEAS… HERE TAKE YOUR BALL… I HAS GOT BETTER…”
“Take the ball and run guys… run we still have time…”
“WAIT! LISTEN TO ME POEM…”
Saying that Arkus again started his same old poem…
“WHEN THE OCEANS RISE,
WHEN THE THUNDERS STRIKE,
WHEN BALLS FALL,
WHEN STONES ROLL,
WHEN DRAGONS FLY,
WHEN WOMEN CRY,
THAT IS THE TIME WHEN PEOPLE DIE,
BUT STILL I SAY ‘WHAT CARE I!!’
‘CAUSE INDEED WHAT CARE I!!
WHAT CARE I!! WHAT CARE I!!
WHY CARE I?!”
“SO YOU YOUNG PEOPLE SAY HOW YOU LIKES ME POEM??”
“Good poem… but we have to go now… good bye…” Sam was almost out of the field when he said that.
We ran away too… we could hear the old man talking rubbish as usual… he was indeed the OLD FOOL!! Always dead drunk…
muro infranqueable - brick wall (figurative meaning: insurmountable obstacle)
Chapter 19: Probably a friend
“All right we are all here now… let’s start the training…”
As soon as Sam said that everyone went into the field.
“I will be the goalkeeper” Saying that Herbert, the goalkeeper of our school wore his gloves and took his position.
10 of us were there, all my school mates… they had come to help me with my training… Alex, Paul, Evan, Shaun and I formed our team which had only one task that was to pass the ball among ourselves and try to break through the defense… the other team had Sam, Max, Johnny, Danny and Herbert…
The training got underway, and our team had much possession of the ball but the defense held and we couldn’t break through… the five of us had cornered their defense but still we didn’t get the chance to score a goal… we passed and passed but still didn’t find any loopholes in the opposition defense… very much like what Arsenal face nowadays against strong defensive sides like Chelsea and Manchester United… in a professional game it was only one individual moment of magic that could give a breakthrough…
All of us tried many things starting from long range efforts to crosses… but the result was the same… Sam would always stop any of us from scoring… if it was a long range effort he would block it and if it was a cross he would always rise up and meet it before any of us and then would head it clear…
“Darn it! Why can’t we score?? Am I really that rusty??” I thought to myself.
“Hey Miroku, try harder buddy… you can do it…” Sam tried to cheer me up.
“Can I really do it? Or have I become an ordinary footballer whereas my friends have improved…” I wondered.
Alex took a long range effort… a drive from 20 yards out… it was terribly wayward… it completely missed the target and flew over the bar…
“You call that a shot! That is goddamned average… no below that even…”
The voice came from a stranger, a boy of our age but we didn’t see him in our area before.
“And who the hell are you?!” Alex was quick to respond.
“That is none of your business… I am only here to see HIM…”
Saying that he pointed towards me.
“Me? Who is this guy?” I wondered.
“Show me your skills…”
“Show him my skills… I am yet to find my rhythm, I can’t show him any skills… but why should I even bother about him??” I thought to myself.
“I am sitting down here while you guys play… let’s see what that poacher of yours can do…” Saying that the boy sat down on one of the benches kept beside the field.
That was my nickname… but I was nowhere near my best… “Poacher” was a far cry for me…
“Well, let’s begin once more…” Sam said as he brought the ball from the bushes behind the goal post.
We all began again. The same story, passing and no penetration. Crosses but no headers…
“I am fed up of you guys… let Miroku shoot from distance…” that guy spoke again.
“I think he is right Miroku, you take the shot from distance this time…” Sam handed me the ball.
I placed the ball 20 yards out of the penalty box… and readied myself for the shot…
“Here goes…” I said as I started my run.
I saw that guy getting up from his seat and looking intently at my run up…
I drove the ball for a goal…
“That was lousy… a toothless strike… pretty easy to score against an average goalkeeper but up against a good goal keeper… u can’t score…” that guy commented on my shot.
“Hey, we aren’t listening to your rubbish! Just get lost ok…” Sam was quick to come to my defense.
“Stop it Sam, he is right…” I said to Sam.
“Now Miroku, try that same shot against me…” Saying that he went and literally snatched the gloves from Herbert and took his place in front of the goal.
“Can I really beat that guy?” I thought to myself.
His confidence was absorbing whatever confidence I had in my abilities… I felt powerless…
He threw the ball towards me…
“Go give it a shot… I am ready for it…”
“Can I do this??” I thought to myself.
“Teach him a lesson Miroku, we know you can…” Everyone started backing me up.
I didn’t know what to do… I was absolutely dumbfounded… the sudden approach by that guy totally undid me…
“I will try to score against you… But I know I will fail…” I thought to myself.
As I prepared my run up only one thought came to my mind… the thought that I will fail to score… the negativity totally consumed my positive belief in my abilities… as it is I wasn’t the same player I was before being injured… I had completely lost my touch…
I hit the ball with the same power and in the same direction… and as I had thought it didn’t go in… that guy saved it…
“See I told you can’t score against a good goalkeeper…” the boy bounced the ball while saying that.
“A good goalkeeper?” I wondered to myself.
“Who are you?” Sam stole that from my mouth.
“A good goalkeeper…just know that for now… you will come to know everything later on…”
That wasn’t the answer I was looking for… that wasn’t the answer anyone expected…
I smiled…
“You are smiling, Miroku?” Sam asked me astonished.
I didn’t answer him but I knew in my mind that the guy whoever he was, was really someone with great abilities… if I could train with him I could regain my former self…
As soon as Sam said that everyone went into the field.
“I will be the goalkeeper” Saying that Herbert, the goalkeeper of our school wore his gloves and took his position.
10 of us were there, all my school mates… they had come to help me with my training… Alex, Paul, Evan, Shaun and I formed our team which had only one task that was to pass the ball among ourselves and try to break through the defense… the other team had Sam, Max, Johnny, Danny and Herbert…
The training got underway, and our team had much possession of the ball but the defense held and we couldn’t break through… the five of us had cornered their defense but still we didn’t get the chance to score a goal… we passed and passed but still didn’t find any loopholes in the opposition defense… very much like what Arsenal face nowadays against strong defensive sides like Chelsea and Manchester United… in a professional game it was only one individual moment of magic that could give a breakthrough…
All of us tried many things starting from long range efforts to crosses… but the result was the same… Sam would always stop any of us from scoring… if it was a long range effort he would block it and if it was a cross he would always rise up and meet it before any of us and then would head it clear…
“Darn it! Why can’t we score?? Am I really that rusty??” I thought to myself.
“Hey Miroku, try harder buddy… you can do it…” Sam tried to cheer me up.
“Can I really do it? Or have I become an ordinary footballer whereas my friends have improved…” I wondered.
Alex took a long range effort… a drive from 20 yards out… it was terribly wayward… it completely missed the target and flew over the bar…
“You call that a shot! That is goddamned average… no below that even…”
The voice came from a stranger, a boy of our age but we didn’t see him in our area before.
“And who the hell are you?!” Alex was quick to respond.
“That is none of your business… I am only here to see HIM…”
Saying that he pointed towards me.
“Me? Who is this guy?” I wondered.
“Show me your skills…”
“Show him my skills… I am yet to find my rhythm, I can’t show him any skills… but why should I even bother about him??” I thought to myself.
“I am sitting down here while you guys play… let’s see what that poacher of yours can do…” Saying that the boy sat down on one of the benches kept beside the field.
That was my nickname… but I was nowhere near my best… “Poacher” was a far cry for me…
“Well, let’s begin once more…” Sam said as he brought the ball from the bushes behind the goal post.
We all began again. The same story, passing and no penetration. Crosses but no headers…
“I am fed up of you guys… let Miroku shoot from distance…” that guy spoke again.
“I think he is right Miroku, you take the shot from distance this time…” Sam handed me the ball.
I placed the ball 20 yards out of the penalty box… and readied myself for the shot…
“Here goes…” I said as I started my run.
I saw that guy getting up from his seat and looking intently at my run up…
I drove the ball for a goal…
“That was lousy… a toothless strike… pretty easy to score against an average goalkeeper but up against a good goal keeper… u can’t score…” that guy commented on my shot.
“Hey, we aren’t listening to your rubbish! Just get lost ok…” Sam was quick to come to my defense.
“Stop it Sam, he is right…” I said to Sam.
“Now Miroku, try that same shot against me…” Saying that he went and literally snatched the gloves from Herbert and took his place in front of the goal.
“Can I really beat that guy?” I thought to myself.
His confidence was absorbing whatever confidence I had in my abilities… I felt powerless…
He threw the ball towards me…
“Go give it a shot… I am ready for it…”
“Can I do this??” I thought to myself.
“Teach him a lesson Miroku, we know you can…” Everyone started backing me up.
I didn’t know what to do… I was absolutely dumbfounded… the sudden approach by that guy totally undid me…
“I will try to score against you… But I know I will fail…” I thought to myself.
As I prepared my run up only one thought came to my mind… the thought that I will fail to score… the negativity totally consumed my positive belief in my abilities… as it is I wasn’t the same player I was before being injured… I had completely lost my touch…
I hit the ball with the same power and in the same direction… and as I had thought it didn’t go in… that guy saved it…
“See I told you can’t score against a good goalkeeper…” the boy bounced the ball while saying that.
“A good goalkeeper?” I wondered to myself.
“Who are you?” Sam stole that from my mouth.
“A good goalkeeper…just know that for now… you will come to know everything later on…”
That wasn’t the answer I was looking for… that wasn’t the answer anyone expected…
I smiled…
“You are smiling, Miroku?” Sam asked me astonished.
I didn’t answer him but I knew in my mind that the guy whoever he was, was really someone with great abilities… if I could train with him I could regain my former self…
Friday, February 12, 2010
Chapter 18: All in a day
After a grueling training session Sam and I went to our favorite place… it wouldn’t be so special for anyone else but for us it was really special… It was a place by the canal… to be precise it was below the bridge over the canal…
As kids Sam, Paul, Alex, Max, Jack and I would go there every day after playing … we didn’t go there for fishing or other usual stuffs like smoking… we went there for just staring at the sky… yeah we just did that and nothing else… the bank of the canal was not a plain ground but was slanting… we usually went there in the afternoons… we used to lie down with our arms acting as our pillows… and then it was only staring at the sky…
The clouds flew over us casting their shadows on us and the canal… we cracked many a jokes while lying down… silly jokes as termed by grownups… were they really silly? Oh no. They weren’t. They might have been silly for the elderly but not definitely for us… the moments we shared… they were definitely the best…
“Do you remember buddy, the last time we came here, what Alex did to you?” Sam broke our silence and spoke.
“Yeah I do remember it…”
“He got so jealous that he pushed you in the canal…”
We started laughing… yeah after Jack left me and then my parents I rarely laughed liked that…
“You are laughing dude!”
“Yes I am laughing Sam…”
What happened was that on one fine afternoon all of us were lying down… the girls’ school got over and Evie was returning from her school… she saw me with my friends and waved her hands at me… I waved back… she came up to me and sat beside me… Now Alex had a crush on Evie… seeing her sitting beside me Alex got mad and pushed me into the canal… and hurled abuses at me… I knew how to swim but the suddenness of the incident caught me off guard… seeing me getting drowned Evie started crying… I can’t deny the fact that I enjoyed seeing her cry… I really liked it… after Alex understood that Evie really cared for me he gave her up and jumped into the canal to save me, despite not knowing how to swim… in the end it was me who saved Alex from drowning and not the other way round…
“Old memories pal…” Sam said.
“Good memories…” I replied.
“But let’s get going now… Evie must be back from school now…she must be waiting for you…”
“Yeah…Lets go then but tomorrow we are again coming back here…”
Saying that we went on our separate paths…
When I returned home I saw that the front door was locked… I thought that Evie would be late so I waited in front of the house…
1 hour passed and there was no sign of Evie… where could she be? I was really getting tensed… all sorts of thoughts were coming to my mind… I went towards the door again and checked the lock… it was perfectly locked… I checked again but couldn’t find any difference… I sat down on the steps and kept my hand on one of the steps… I felt something there… it was a piece of cloth… it was a part of Evie’s handkerchief… it had blood stains…
I rang the doorbell but no reply came… then I went to the garden… there was no one… I was going to get out of the garden but then I saw an open window… I thought of nothing else and entered my house through the open window…
Blood was there on the floor… it had dried up… I was really getting desperate then… I was just thinking of Evie’s safety…I ran about the full house checking every room… but I couldn’t find her anywhere… only one place was left to be checked… the bathroom… I didn’t think twice… I went towards the bathroom door and then with my full force I barged against the door…
“What the….” It was Evie’s voice…
The bathroom door wasn’t locked and Evie was in the shower… I collided with the door with my full force but as it was not locked my momentum made me crash with the curtain of the shower… the curtain fell and with it I fell in front of Evie…
“Oh thank God you’re here…”
Before I could finish my sentence I got hit by a cake of soap…then by the shampoo bottle…
“What was that for?!” I shouted at Evie.
“You foolish boy… where do you think you are at the moment?”
“In the bathroom…why? Oh! I am really sorry… I was so worried…”
Again Evie hit me with the Shampoo bottle…
“Now mind telling me what is the reason this time?!”
“You idiot! You locked the front door and went out in the morning… I had to go out by that window… see I also got a cut in my foot…”
She showed her cut…
“And now again after returning back from school I got another cut…”
“Where? Let me see…”
“Here see for yourself…”
There was a slight bruise in her ankle…
“That little cut over there is making you so mad…”
Again I got hit…
“All right… I am sorry… But where is the key of the front door now?”
“Check your pocket…”
“It is not there… Oh wait… yeah… I found it…”
Silly me I never checked my pocket… the key was there all along…
“But to say the truth Evie, I was really scared today… I thought that…”
Another time I got hit… this time a punch on my head…
“Now what was THAT for?!”
“This is the bathroom and I am taking my bath…”
“So?”
“You fool! Is a boy supposed to be in the bathroom when a girl is in the shower?!”
“Oh! I am so sorry I am leaving… but… make it quick… I am too exhausted… I also have to get in the shower… or…”
“OR?!”
“If you don’t mind we can do this together…”
This time Evie picked up the shampoo bottle again…
“Whoa… I am leaving…”
I was really in a very good mood… never before did I say such naughty things to her… But Evie had got down from the bathtub… she was coming towards me… I ran towards the door… that scary look on her face gave me goose bumps…
“I will get out of this room then surely you can’t come out like that and beat me…”
Evie threw down the bottle… she was going red… she was blushing… she realized that she was talking to me the whole time without having any sort of clothing…
“All right I am going…”
As I was going out Evie held my hand and pulled me back…and then closed the door with a bang…
As kids Sam, Paul, Alex, Max, Jack and I would go there every day after playing … we didn’t go there for fishing or other usual stuffs like smoking… we went there for just staring at the sky… yeah we just did that and nothing else… the bank of the canal was not a plain ground but was slanting… we usually went there in the afternoons… we used to lie down with our arms acting as our pillows… and then it was only staring at the sky…
The clouds flew over us casting their shadows on us and the canal… we cracked many a jokes while lying down… silly jokes as termed by grownups… were they really silly? Oh no. They weren’t. They might have been silly for the elderly but not definitely for us… the moments we shared… they were definitely the best…
“Do you remember buddy, the last time we came here, what Alex did to you?” Sam broke our silence and spoke.
“Yeah I do remember it…”
“He got so jealous that he pushed you in the canal…”
We started laughing… yeah after Jack left me and then my parents I rarely laughed liked that…
“You are laughing dude!”
“Yes I am laughing Sam…”
What happened was that on one fine afternoon all of us were lying down… the girls’ school got over and Evie was returning from her school… she saw me with my friends and waved her hands at me… I waved back… she came up to me and sat beside me… Now Alex had a crush on Evie… seeing her sitting beside me Alex got mad and pushed me into the canal… and hurled abuses at me… I knew how to swim but the suddenness of the incident caught me off guard… seeing me getting drowned Evie started crying… I can’t deny the fact that I enjoyed seeing her cry… I really liked it… after Alex understood that Evie really cared for me he gave her up and jumped into the canal to save me, despite not knowing how to swim… in the end it was me who saved Alex from drowning and not the other way round…
“Old memories pal…” Sam said.
“Good memories…” I replied.
“But let’s get going now… Evie must be back from school now…she must be waiting for you…”
“Yeah…Lets go then but tomorrow we are again coming back here…”
Saying that we went on our separate paths…
When I returned home I saw that the front door was locked… I thought that Evie would be late so I waited in front of the house…
1 hour passed and there was no sign of Evie… where could she be? I was really getting tensed… all sorts of thoughts were coming to my mind… I went towards the door again and checked the lock… it was perfectly locked… I checked again but couldn’t find any difference… I sat down on the steps and kept my hand on one of the steps… I felt something there… it was a piece of cloth… it was a part of Evie’s handkerchief… it had blood stains…
I rang the doorbell but no reply came… then I went to the garden… there was no one… I was going to get out of the garden but then I saw an open window… I thought of nothing else and entered my house through the open window…
Blood was there on the floor… it had dried up… I was really getting desperate then… I was just thinking of Evie’s safety…I ran about the full house checking every room… but I couldn’t find her anywhere… only one place was left to be checked… the bathroom… I didn’t think twice… I went towards the bathroom door and then with my full force I barged against the door…
“What the….” It was Evie’s voice…
The bathroom door wasn’t locked and Evie was in the shower… I collided with the door with my full force but as it was not locked my momentum made me crash with the curtain of the shower… the curtain fell and with it I fell in front of Evie…
“Oh thank God you’re here…”
Before I could finish my sentence I got hit by a cake of soap…then by the shampoo bottle…
“What was that for?!” I shouted at Evie.
“You foolish boy… where do you think you are at the moment?”
“In the bathroom…why? Oh! I am really sorry… I was so worried…”
Again Evie hit me with the Shampoo bottle…
“Now mind telling me what is the reason this time?!”
“You idiot! You locked the front door and went out in the morning… I had to go out by that window… see I also got a cut in my foot…”
She showed her cut…
“And now again after returning back from school I got another cut…”
“Where? Let me see…”
“Here see for yourself…”
There was a slight bruise in her ankle…
“That little cut over there is making you so mad…”
Again I got hit…
“All right… I am sorry… But where is the key of the front door now?”
“Check your pocket…”
“It is not there… Oh wait… yeah… I found it…”
Silly me I never checked my pocket… the key was there all along…
“But to say the truth Evie, I was really scared today… I thought that…”
Another time I got hit… this time a punch on my head…
“Now what was THAT for?!”
“This is the bathroom and I am taking my bath…”
“So?”
“You fool! Is a boy supposed to be in the bathroom when a girl is in the shower?!”
“Oh! I am so sorry I am leaving… but… make it quick… I am too exhausted… I also have to get in the shower… or…”
“OR?!”
“If you don’t mind we can do this together…”
This time Evie picked up the shampoo bottle again…
“Whoa… I am leaving…”
I was really in a very good mood… never before did I say such naughty things to her… But Evie had got down from the bathtub… she was coming towards me… I ran towards the door… that scary look on her face gave me goose bumps…
“I will get out of this room then surely you can’t come out like that and beat me…”
Evie threw down the bottle… she was going red… she was blushing… she realized that she was talking to me the whole time without having any sort of clothing…
“All right I am going…”
As I was going out Evie held my hand and pulled me back…and then closed the door with a bang…
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Chapter 17: Training
It’s the month of May and in August the transfer window opens… I must definitely get into a club then… As of now I am only a free player, any club can buy me… but I have to regain my match fitness and also play more for any offer to come…
Like any other morning I am out for a jog around the field where I used to play as a kid… Sam, Max, Alex, I and … Jack… I used to beat all of them with my dribbling skills but it was Jack who always stopped me from scoring goals… I can’t deny the fact that often I got mad at him… but training with him helped me a lot… although we were little kids then but we were very much passionate about football… and all of us loved to watch Arsenal in action… we never missed any matches… often did we get scolded by our parents but that wouldn’t stop us… After all which gunners fan wouldn’t like to watch the likes of Bergkamp, Vieira, Henry, Pires and Petit in action… even if we got beaten up by our parents we would still watch the games… there was class, elegance and beauty in the style of the gunners…and the architect was none other than “Le Prof”, Arsene Wenger, the man who revolutionized English football…
Any player playing in England or coming from a foreign country will always have a dream to play in the English Premier League, the most prestigious league in the whole of Britain. In the upper echelons of English football, 4 teams always stood out and still stand out from the rest… they are called the Big 4… formed by Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. Whatever trophies are there to be won are won among these 4 teams… these teams are unique in their style of play.
The Red Devils, by far the most successful, have the Italian style of counter-attacking football and also the skillful approach of Brazilian football, Arsenal form the Spanish accent of English football with slick passing and fast movement off the ball, Chelsea on the other hand are power personified, their football is more about graft than craft and approach more physical than elegant passing, like the German football. As for Liverpool they have a combination of all the above… Liverpool is the embodiment of “Helter-skelter” football, almost a combination of Argentina and The Netherlands, at their best they can defeat any team but when the going gets tough they fall apart and lose to even lesser teams…
But it’s the spirit of these 4 teams that is commendable… every season this gang of 4 represent England in the Champions League, the most prestigious football tournament in Europe, thereby always ending every season in the top 4 slots… they get challenged by impostors like Tottenham Hotspurs, Aston Villa, Everton and recently Manchester City but they manage to retain their places…
I am no different from other players, I always had dreams of playing for Arsenal… but only in my dreams did I play for them… But now is the time, I must establish myself again as an accomplished footballer… a real pro…
And for that to happen I must start from scratch and no other place than the same playground where it all began, can be fitter…
As I set my foot on the field memories of my past started flooding in, memories of my childhood… memories of those football matches I played with or without Jack… they were all returning… those memories of playing with my best pals were returning to me… those moments we shared, both of joy and sorrow although a long time ago but nonetheless sweet were coming back…
I could see football matches unfolding in front my eyes… my brain as if the projector was playing the videos of those matches… beautiful memories of my past…
But it is the present that should concern me… I must attract attention of scouts who always keep tabs on players…
Suddenly a ball dropped in front of me… I turned back, it was Sam…
“Mind if I train with you Miroku?” Sam asked while coming towards the field.
“Join me, Sam; I can train with a proper defender then…” I replied.
“A PROPER DEFENDER!!!! That’s a huge complement dude!!!” Sam excitedly said.
Sam and I started off with some light drills and after that I had to win back the ball from him… It wasn’t easy… but I managed to get the ball most of the time…
“You look rusty dude” Sam told me as we sat down for some time, “previously you could take away the ball with so much ease but now…”
“That’s why I need you to train with me, if you provide this sort of challenge then it will help me regain my former skills…”
“In that case buddy, from tomorrow I will tell Alex and Max to join us too… we will all help you…”
“Thanks…that’s all I can say for what you are doing for me…”
“Never mention that buddy; we were always good pals…”
“And pals we will remain forever… but now let’s return to training shall we?”
“Of course… so what do I have to do now?”
“I will have some shooting practice…”
“Understood… I get to become the goalkeeper now… but dude, I can never replace Jack…”
I didn’t reply. I needed Jack’s assistance… but he wasn’t there anymore… and won’t be in the future…
“Be ready my first shot is coming up…” I said as I prepared for the shot.
In my mind I could see a little boy preparing to shoot… and another kid standing in front of the goal to stop the ball from going in… Only one difference… the little boy had grown up but the other kid was still small, still young, still had that smile across his face… but was he really there? No. He wasn’t. It was just his shadow… only a shadow…
“I am ready…” it was Sam’s voice and not Jack’s…
Like any other morning I am out for a jog around the field where I used to play as a kid… Sam, Max, Alex, I and … Jack… I used to beat all of them with my dribbling skills but it was Jack who always stopped me from scoring goals… I can’t deny the fact that often I got mad at him… but training with him helped me a lot… although we were little kids then but we were very much passionate about football… and all of us loved to watch Arsenal in action… we never missed any matches… often did we get scolded by our parents but that wouldn’t stop us… After all which gunners fan wouldn’t like to watch the likes of Bergkamp, Vieira, Henry, Pires and Petit in action… even if we got beaten up by our parents we would still watch the games… there was class, elegance and beauty in the style of the gunners…and the architect was none other than “Le Prof”, Arsene Wenger, the man who revolutionized English football…
Any player playing in England or coming from a foreign country will always have a dream to play in the English Premier League, the most prestigious league in the whole of Britain. In the upper echelons of English football, 4 teams always stood out and still stand out from the rest… they are called the Big 4… formed by Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. Whatever trophies are there to be won are won among these 4 teams… these teams are unique in their style of play.
The Red Devils, by far the most successful, have the Italian style of counter-attacking football and also the skillful approach of Brazilian football, Arsenal form the Spanish accent of English football with slick passing and fast movement off the ball, Chelsea on the other hand are power personified, their football is more about graft than craft and approach more physical than elegant passing, like the German football. As for Liverpool they have a combination of all the above… Liverpool is the embodiment of “Helter-skelter” football, almost a combination of Argentina and The Netherlands, at their best they can defeat any team but when the going gets tough they fall apart and lose to even lesser teams…
But it’s the spirit of these 4 teams that is commendable… every season this gang of 4 represent England in the Champions League, the most prestigious football tournament in Europe, thereby always ending every season in the top 4 slots… they get challenged by impostors like Tottenham Hotspurs, Aston Villa, Everton and recently Manchester City but they manage to retain their places…
I am no different from other players, I always had dreams of playing for Arsenal… but only in my dreams did I play for them… But now is the time, I must establish myself again as an accomplished footballer… a real pro…
And for that to happen I must start from scratch and no other place than the same playground where it all began, can be fitter…
As I set my foot on the field memories of my past started flooding in, memories of my childhood… memories of those football matches I played with or without Jack… they were all returning… those memories of playing with my best pals were returning to me… those moments we shared, both of joy and sorrow although a long time ago but nonetheless sweet were coming back…
I could see football matches unfolding in front my eyes… my brain as if the projector was playing the videos of those matches… beautiful memories of my past…
But it is the present that should concern me… I must attract attention of scouts who always keep tabs on players…
Suddenly a ball dropped in front of me… I turned back, it was Sam…
“Mind if I train with you Miroku?” Sam asked while coming towards the field.
“Join me, Sam; I can train with a proper defender then…” I replied.
“A PROPER DEFENDER!!!! That’s a huge complement dude!!!” Sam excitedly said.
Sam and I started off with some light drills and after that I had to win back the ball from him… It wasn’t easy… but I managed to get the ball most of the time…
“You look rusty dude” Sam told me as we sat down for some time, “previously you could take away the ball with so much ease but now…”
“That’s why I need you to train with me, if you provide this sort of challenge then it will help me regain my former skills…”
“In that case buddy, from tomorrow I will tell Alex and Max to join us too… we will all help you…”
“Thanks…that’s all I can say for what you are doing for me…”
“Never mention that buddy; we were always good pals…”
“And pals we will remain forever… but now let’s return to training shall we?”
“Of course… so what do I have to do now?”
“I will have some shooting practice…”
“Understood… I get to become the goalkeeper now… but dude, I can never replace Jack…”
I didn’t reply. I needed Jack’s assistance… but he wasn’t there anymore… and won’t be in the future…
“Be ready my first shot is coming up…” I said as I prepared for the shot.
In my mind I could see a little boy preparing to shoot… and another kid standing in front of the goal to stop the ball from going in… Only one difference… the little boy had grown up but the other kid was still small, still young, still had that smile across his face… but was he really there? No. He wasn’t. It was just his shadow… only a shadow…
“I am ready…” it was Sam’s voice and not Jack’s…
Monday, February 8, 2010
Chapter 16: The Warmth of two hearts
I reached the pub… the neon lights gracing the front wall were still on… it was 3:00 am… Even though it was April, it was still quite chilly outside… I didn’t have my jacket so, the cold wind combined with the sleet was making me shiver… but I hoped that the one who was wearing my jacket didn’t feel the same chill…
“Miroku, you are still here… and who's that there with you?” It was Sam’s voice.
As I looked back I saw Sam… he was dead drunk.
“Sam, this is Evie… I am taking her to my house…”
“Evie, who?! What?! EVIE!!!!!!! You finally found her!!!” Sam still couldn’t stand straight but the sudden nature of the fact got the better of his drunken head.
“Good thing you found her Miroku, but can I spend the rest of the night in your house?”
“Ok came along…”
“Thanks bro…”
Sam started walking, with wayward steps, often stumbling but we reached our house without any incident. It was decided that Sam would stay in the drawing room while Evie and I in my room…
Evie was still very much exhausted to talk and move… she was just watching everything.
I laid her down on my bed… and covered her with a warm blanket… I could sense her discomfort in my jacket… so I removed it… she didn’t have any need for it… the room was warm enough…
“Now you should be able to sleep… I won’t disturb you” I said and sat down beside her.
Then suddenly a song started playing…
Let me be your hero
Would you dance if I asked you to dance?
Would you run and never look back
Would you cry if you saw me crying
Would you save my soul tonight?
“This must be Sam’s doing, I will return in a moment wait…”
Saying that I rose up… but Evie held my hand… I looked at her… her eyes said it all… She didn’t want me to leave her… I sat down again.
Would you tremble if I touched your lips?
Would you laugh oh please tell me these
Now would you die for the one you love?
Hold me in your arms tonight?
“Listen to the song, Miroku” Evie spoke for the first time since that incident in her house.
“Yes, I am listening…”
Although Evie spoke, it was still very hard for her to speak… she was holding my hand but the grasp had loosened…
“Don’t say a word, Evie, please…”
I can be you hero baby
I can kiss away the pain
I will stand by you forever
You can take my breath away
I kissed her forehead… She looked at me and tried to smile… she succeeded in smiling…
Would you swear that you'll always be mine?
Would you lie would you run away
Am I in too deep?
Have I lost my mind?
I don't care you're here tonight
“Evie, I am glad to have you back…” I said as I held her hands tightly…
Her hands were cold… but it would not remain cold for long… slowly but surely the warmth of her body would return…
I just want to hold you
Am I in too deep?
Have I lost my mind?
Well I don't care you're here tonight
Evie and I were looking at each other; we were in a trance… I was lost in her and she in me… the world around us had ceased to exist… the cold dawn suddenly became as warm as a summer’s afternoon…
“I won’t let you go away from me, Evie…”
She was trying to say something but I stopped her…
“Shhhh… Don’t speak… ” I said as I put my finger on her lips.
You can take my breath my breath away
I can be your hero
I embraced her… I could feel the warmth from my body flowing into her… we both were lost in each other… none of us spoke anymore… only some moments were left for the sun to come up… but we didn’t need the warmth of those golden rays anymore… the feeling of love emanating from our hearts had done enough to keep us warm…
Once the sun came up, the rays fell upon us through the windows and casted a shadow on the wall… the shadow of two bodies embracing each other… but the two bodies were too close to each other to be distinguished separately…
“Miroku, you are still here… and who's that there with you?” It was Sam’s voice.
As I looked back I saw Sam… he was dead drunk.
“Sam, this is Evie… I am taking her to my house…”
“Evie, who?! What?! EVIE!!!!!!! You finally found her!!!” Sam still couldn’t stand straight but the sudden nature of the fact got the better of his drunken head.
“Good thing you found her Miroku, but can I spend the rest of the night in your house?”
“Ok came along…”
“Thanks bro…”
Sam started walking, with wayward steps, often stumbling but we reached our house without any incident. It was decided that Sam would stay in the drawing room while Evie and I in my room…
Evie was still very much exhausted to talk and move… she was just watching everything.
I laid her down on my bed… and covered her with a warm blanket… I could sense her discomfort in my jacket… so I removed it… she didn’t have any need for it… the room was warm enough…
“Now you should be able to sleep… I won’t disturb you” I said and sat down beside her.
Then suddenly a song started playing…
Let me be your hero
Would you dance if I asked you to dance?
Would you run and never look back
Would you cry if you saw me crying
Would you save my soul tonight?
“This must be Sam’s doing, I will return in a moment wait…”
Saying that I rose up… but Evie held my hand… I looked at her… her eyes said it all… She didn’t want me to leave her… I sat down again.
Would you tremble if I touched your lips?
Would you laugh oh please tell me these
Now would you die for the one you love?
Hold me in your arms tonight?
“Listen to the song, Miroku” Evie spoke for the first time since that incident in her house.
“Yes, I am listening…”
Although Evie spoke, it was still very hard for her to speak… she was holding my hand but the grasp had loosened…
“Don’t say a word, Evie, please…”
I can be you hero baby
I can kiss away the pain
I will stand by you forever
You can take my breath away
I kissed her forehead… She looked at me and tried to smile… she succeeded in smiling…
Would you swear that you'll always be mine?
Would you lie would you run away
Am I in too deep?
Have I lost my mind?
I don't care you're here tonight
“Evie, I am glad to have you back…” I said as I held her hands tightly…
Her hands were cold… but it would not remain cold for long… slowly but surely the warmth of her body would return…
I just want to hold you
Am I in too deep?
Have I lost my mind?
Well I don't care you're here tonight
Evie and I were looking at each other; we were in a trance… I was lost in her and she in me… the world around us had ceased to exist… the cold dawn suddenly became as warm as a summer’s afternoon…
“I won’t let you go away from me, Evie…”
She was trying to say something but I stopped her…
“Shhhh… Don’t speak… ” I said as I put my finger on her lips.
You can take my breath my breath away
I can be your hero
I embraced her… I could feel the warmth from my body flowing into her… we both were lost in each other… none of us spoke anymore… only some moments were left for the sun to come up… but we didn’t need the warmth of those golden rays anymore… the feeling of love emanating from our hearts had done enough to keep us warm…
Once the sun came up, the rays fell upon us through the windows and casted a shadow on the wall… the shadow of two bodies embracing each other… but the two bodies were too close to each other to be distinguished separately…
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Chapter 15: Miroku's Resolve
I went towards the door and saw that it was locked. I didn’t have anything with which I could open the door. I kicked the door but it didn’t open. I kicked it again but the result was same… the screams of Evie was making me desperate… I kicked again and it opened in the third try.
I went inside the house but no one was there. The first room led to 3 more rooms… one on my left, one on the right and third one in front of me. I checked the doors clockwise. The first 2 were open but the third was locked. Evie must be in that room…
“Stop, don’t get any closer…” It was Evie’s voice.
“I have paid your father for this and you want me to stay away…” Taylor started laughing.
“Please don’t do this, Taylor…”
“No one can stop me today… ”
“Help! Father… please“
“Your Father will help you!!!! That greedy old man doesn’t know a thing except Alcohol and money…”
“Help me please someone… anyone…”
“Call as much as you want, you bitch but no one will come, we are the only ones present in this house… your father has gone to the pub…” Taylor laughed again.
“There must be something with which I can open this door…” I searched the whole room.
Nothing was there, nothing except some shoes and broken utensils. I went and checked the first room… the room had nothing....nothing i could use to break the darn door…
“There must be something… must be…” I said as I entered the middle room.
There it was… a hatchet… I picked it up and made for the third room… the screams of Evie had stopped… I could only hear sobs… no signs of resistance any more… I was really desperate… I let the hatchet do the talking… three strikes on the door and it fell apart… the room was dark… but silhouettes of two bodies were visible… one body on top of the other… one seemed to be lifeless and the other constantly moving… like a snake, on top of the other body… It was clear that Evie had given up…
“Leave her alone bastard.” I shouted and threw down the hatchet.
The sudden noise seemed to have had some effect on Taylor. He looked towards the door…
“Miroku! Is it really you?” It was Evie’s voice.
“Yes it’s me.”
“Good thing you came, you can see my little game…” saying that Taylor turned on the light.
Being in the darkness for so long I took a little time to adjust… but the darkness was better for me than this light…
“Look for yourself what I did to your little girl…” I could see the sinister smile on Taylor’s face.
Evie laid on the bed… her legs and hands stretched… all her limbs tied to the bed… she did not have a bit of cloth on her body… I could see red scars on her white skin… and at some parts of her chest pink blotches… Taylor was again getting on top of her…
“I am not yet done Miroku, first she will have to repay me with her body… and then I get my bonus…”
“You will pay for this…”
“Now c’mon baby… this will definitely relieve you of the pain…let me press a little more…” Taylor moved his hands over Evie’s chest…
I couldn’t take it anymore… I went towards the bed and punched Taylor on the face, he fell down on the floor… but before he could get up I kicked in his groin… not once but thrice… there was blood on the floor… but I showed no respite and kicked again. Taylor didn’t have anything to say… I didn’t leave him in any position to say a thing… from the groin I moved on to the chest… my boots must have been waiting for such a day…
“Even if my legs can’t kick a ball because of you, it can definitely kick your balls…” I didn’t stop kicking as I said those words.
“Stop it Miroku, you will kill him…” Evie’s voice was becoming weaker and weaker.
“I am sorry Miroku, please forgive me… ” Taylor coughed up blood after saying those words.
“Forgive you? Forgive YOU ? YOU DESTROYED MY LIFE!! Now you beg for forgiveness ?!?! that word isn’t there in my dictionary now…I won’t forgive you…” I pulled him up and punched him again.
Taylor fell down and became unconscious… I looked at the hatchet I had used to break the door… I picked it up…
“This is your end Taylor…”
“No don’t do it stop… please stop…” Evie’s voice stopped me…
I threw down the hatchet and went towards her… I untied her… she couldn’t get up…
“I am too weak Miroku… please leave me and go…my father can return any moment…”
“I will take you with me…” saying that I took off my jacket and made her wear it.
Evie couldn’t walk; I carried her in my arms and went out of the room leaving Taylor in a pool of blood.
As I was going out of the house I saw Evie’s father at the entrance…
“Where do you thinks you are taking her? She isn’t going anywhere, you gets that…” Evie’s father yelled in his usual tone.
“You should be ashamed of yourself… I don’t know what else you made her do… but to take money from other people and to use your own daughter for their lust… you should simply go and jump into the Thames…”
Saying that I moved past him without giving any sort of attention to him… but he didn’t reply to me… he must have realized what mistake he had done…
“I thinks you are right…” Evie’s father spoke, but the tone was different.
He was as if repenting… regretting his decision to side with money and not his own daughter…to use his own daughter for money … he is after all a human no matter how much poison he must have taken in to taint his heart, it was after all a human heart… which knew the cost of near ones… but it was late… realization did dawn upon him… but it was late… might be too late…
As I went ahead I saw the man fall to his knees… crying… and maybe apologizing to Evie as well as to her dead Mother, Lisa.
“Take care of her, Miroku” Evie’s father said still on his knees with his head bent down in shame.
“I will…” I replied, stopping a bit but again started to walk.
But I wasn’t alone… Evie was again with me… I had her in my arms… she looked at me and tried to smile… tears rolled down her eyes…
“Everything will be alright… I am with you now…never again will I let go off you” I said and smiled.
She couldn’t speak but her eyes said it all… Taylor had made her suffer more than what was visible… he left those scars on her body… those bites on her chest… but they would definitely heal with time…but could the scar on her heart ever be healed? The bruise, Taylor left on her mind could it heal?
“It will heal… I will root out all sorrows from her mind… and that’s a promise…” I made the resolve to myself and went through the same path that had brought me to Evie…
I went inside the house but no one was there. The first room led to 3 more rooms… one on my left, one on the right and third one in front of me. I checked the doors clockwise. The first 2 were open but the third was locked. Evie must be in that room…
“Stop, don’t get any closer…” It was Evie’s voice.
“I have paid your father for this and you want me to stay away…” Taylor started laughing.
“Please don’t do this, Taylor…”
“No one can stop me today… ”
“Help! Father… please“
“Your Father will help you!!!! That greedy old man doesn’t know a thing except Alcohol and money…”
“Help me please someone… anyone…”
“Call as much as you want, you bitch but no one will come, we are the only ones present in this house… your father has gone to the pub…” Taylor laughed again.
“There must be something with which I can open this door…” I searched the whole room.
Nothing was there, nothing except some shoes and broken utensils. I went and checked the first room… the room had nothing....nothing i could use to break the darn door…
“There must be something… must be…” I said as I entered the middle room.
There it was… a hatchet… I picked it up and made for the third room… the screams of Evie had stopped… I could only hear sobs… no signs of resistance any more… I was really desperate… I let the hatchet do the talking… three strikes on the door and it fell apart… the room was dark… but silhouettes of two bodies were visible… one body on top of the other… one seemed to be lifeless and the other constantly moving… like a snake, on top of the other body… It was clear that Evie had given up…
“Leave her alone bastard.” I shouted and threw down the hatchet.
The sudden noise seemed to have had some effect on Taylor. He looked towards the door…
“Miroku! Is it really you?” It was Evie’s voice.
“Yes it’s me.”
“Good thing you came, you can see my little game…” saying that Taylor turned on the light.
Being in the darkness for so long I took a little time to adjust… but the darkness was better for me than this light…
“Look for yourself what I did to your little girl…” I could see the sinister smile on Taylor’s face.
Evie laid on the bed… her legs and hands stretched… all her limbs tied to the bed… she did not have a bit of cloth on her body… I could see red scars on her white skin… and at some parts of her chest pink blotches… Taylor was again getting on top of her…
“I am not yet done Miroku, first she will have to repay me with her body… and then I get my bonus…”
“You will pay for this…”
“Now c’mon baby… this will definitely relieve you of the pain…let me press a little more…” Taylor moved his hands over Evie’s chest…
I couldn’t take it anymore… I went towards the bed and punched Taylor on the face, he fell down on the floor… but before he could get up I kicked in his groin… not once but thrice… there was blood on the floor… but I showed no respite and kicked again. Taylor didn’t have anything to say… I didn’t leave him in any position to say a thing… from the groin I moved on to the chest… my boots must have been waiting for such a day…
“Even if my legs can’t kick a ball because of you, it can definitely kick your balls…” I didn’t stop kicking as I said those words.
“Stop it Miroku, you will kill him…” Evie’s voice was becoming weaker and weaker.
“I am sorry Miroku, please forgive me… ” Taylor coughed up blood after saying those words.
“Forgive you? Forgive YOU ? YOU DESTROYED MY LIFE!! Now you beg for forgiveness ?!?! that word isn’t there in my dictionary now…I won’t forgive you…” I pulled him up and punched him again.
Taylor fell down and became unconscious… I looked at the hatchet I had used to break the door… I picked it up…
“This is your end Taylor…”
“No don’t do it stop… please stop…” Evie’s voice stopped me…
I threw down the hatchet and went towards her… I untied her… she couldn’t get up…
“I am too weak Miroku… please leave me and go…my father can return any moment…”
“I will take you with me…” saying that I took off my jacket and made her wear it.
Evie couldn’t walk; I carried her in my arms and went out of the room leaving Taylor in a pool of blood.
As I was going out of the house I saw Evie’s father at the entrance…
“Where do you thinks you are taking her? She isn’t going anywhere, you gets that…” Evie’s father yelled in his usual tone.
“You should be ashamed of yourself… I don’t know what else you made her do… but to take money from other people and to use your own daughter for their lust… you should simply go and jump into the Thames…”
Saying that I moved past him without giving any sort of attention to him… but he didn’t reply to me… he must have realized what mistake he had done…
“I thinks you are right…” Evie’s father spoke, but the tone was different.
He was as if repenting… regretting his decision to side with money and not his own daughter…to use his own daughter for money … he is after all a human no matter how much poison he must have taken in to taint his heart, it was after all a human heart… which knew the cost of near ones… but it was late… realization did dawn upon him… but it was late… might be too late…
As I went ahead I saw the man fall to his knees… crying… and maybe apologizing to Evie as well as to her dead Mother, Lisa.
“Take care of her, Miroku” Evie’s father said still on his knees with his head bent down in shame.
“I will…” I replied, stopping a bit but again started to walk.
But I wasn’t alone… Evie was again with me… I had her in my arms… she looked at me and tried to smile… tears rolled down her eyes…
“Everything will be alright… I am with you now…never again will I let go off you” I said and smiled.
She couldn’t speak but her eyes said it all… Taylor had made her suffer more than what was visible… he left those scars on her body… those bites on her chest… but they would definitely heal with time…but could the scar on her heart ever be healed? The bruise, Taylor left on her mind could it heal?
“It will heal… I will root out all sorrows from her mind… and that’s a promise…” I made the resolve to myself and went through the same path that had brought me to Evie…
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Chapter 14: Provocation
“Miroku what will you have?” Sam asked when the waiter in the pub came with the bill of fares.
“It’s just scotch for now” I replied.
“Same for me…”
The waiter went away and after a while returned with 2 mugs of scotch.
“Here it is Miroku, have this and drown all your sorrows.”
I drank the contents of the mug at one go and ordered for another one.
The dancers started their dance. Three were there… My 2nd mug arrived and without stopping for Sam I finished that.
The girl in the middle was looking very familiar… Evie!!! Here… who knows her father must have employed her in such trade to earn money… I got up from my place… alcohol provoked my desire to have Evie back in my life…
“Wait up dude, where are you going?” Sam asked as I got up…
I didn’t reply. I went towards Evie… that beer I had, really got me going… I clutched her hands and brought her down from the dancing platform… The others seemed less interested in my actions… but who cares about that?
“What are you up to?” Sam again started asking.
I didn’t pay any heed to Sam and simply dragged Evie to a room…
I locked the door from inside… and started undressing Evie… she didn’t resist… but I must admit she did have a perfect body… perfect in everything… everything that could get even the most naive man excited…
“You are mine! Only mine! Do you get that?” I shouted out those words.
“For tonight you are free to do whatever you want with me” she replied.
“Not only for tonight but for always, Evie…”
“I am no Evie.”
“You are my Evie, don’t deny it… I have suffered a lot without you… now no more…” I said as I forced her down on the bed.
I gazed at the beautiful body that lay before me… waiting to be ruined by me… constant shouts of “Miroku” and banging on the door continued outside… I didn’t bother… I simply looked on… never before did I look at the private parts of a woman as intently as I was doing then…
Alcohol… it was only alcohol that provoked the lechery within me… was it only alcohol? It couldn’t be, after all it was Evie… we already had sex before… but somehow it was different… I have touched Evie before but definitely not in the same way… but why? I felt so different then…
“It can’t be! How can I stoop so low?” I got up from the bed.
It was the emotion that was missing… the feelings I had for Evie, I never had for any other woman…
“Done, already…” the girl asked as she got up from the bed.
I didn’t reply and left the room and the girl… she was laughing, not caring that I had torn her clothes… maybe she wanted me to… may be she was accustomed to these…
“Sam, let’s leave… now” I didn’t wait for Sam and got out of the pub.
“I tried to stop you, Miroku but you never listened…”
“Forget about it… and please go home…”
“What about you?”
“Just go Sam I want to be alone now.”
“But… ”
“Just do as I say and leave me alone…” saying that I ran away.
Sam shouted my name but I didn’t answer his call and simply ran away.
The darkness of the night… the moonless sky… was a reflection of my heart… the darkness…within me almost came out, provoked by alcohol… but in the end it didn’t undo everything…
I must have run a lot… I was feeling the pain in my right ankle… the scar that Taylor gave me was gone but the scar on my heart… it remained.
I still ran… as if wanting to run away from everything…
“I am with you… ”, “don’t lose hope…” those words of Evie were so distant now… so far away from me…
“Hope, I have lost all hope, Evie, please come back to me and help me regain it…” I ran on.
At last I stopped. I couldn’t go on anymore… My legs gave up… I still wanted to run on… I got up mustering all my strength but I simply couldn’t go on anymore… I went on for a few paces before giving up… lying on the pavements… I remembered my past… those same painful words were being repeated over and again…
“You bitch what do you mean by you won’t do it? You have to do it.” Suddenly I heard a very familiar voice…
That same tone, that same cursing, it must be… it has to be…
“No I won’t do it father, up till now I did whatever you wanted me to do… but this I will not do… I can’t do…”
It has to be Evie… her father must be forcing her to do something.
“There is no choice for you… he will be here any moment…”
“But there is only one person whom I love… I can’t agree with this…”
“What are they talking about? What does her father want from her?” I thought as I got up.
A car pulled in just then… a silver colored land rover… someone got down from the car. It was a boy of my age. He went towards the house from which Evie and her father’s conversation could be heard. I tried to look at the boy’s face… the darkness was too much for my eyes to penetrate… I couldn’t see a thing…
He went ahead and knocked the door…and when the door opened the light from inside the house fell on his face…
“Taylor!!! What is he doing here?” I couldn’t understand what was happening…
“No father please don’t do this to me… please don’t, I beg of you, please...” Evie was screaming.
“Do whatever you please to… she is all yours…” Her father said those words before every other word was drowned by Evie’s heart wrenching scream…
I understood what was going on… Evie’s father must have been paid by Taylor…
“I won’t allow you to do that. I won’t…” I said to myself as I proceeded towards the door.
As I walked towards the door I recalled the incidents at the pub… Alcohol does provoke lust and lechery… but it also provokes anger… I knew it was sheer anger that was driving me then… I had only one thing in my mind… my and Evie’s relation… I have to save it… I have to save her… Alcohol does undo all good works done by men… but I will use the alcoholic rage in my favour… I will…
“It’s just scotch for now” I replied.
“Same for me…”
The waiter went away and after a while returned with 2 mugs of scotch.
“Here it is Miroku, have this and drown all your sorrows.”
I drank the contents of the mug at one go and ordered for another one.
The dancers started their dance. Three were there… My 2nd mug arrived and without stopping for Sam I finished that.
The girl in the middle was looking very familiar… Evie!!! Here… who knows her father must have employed her in such trade to earn money… I got up from my place… alcohol provoked my desire to have Evie back in my life…
“Wait up dude, where are you going?” Sam asked as I got up…
I didn’t reply. I went towards Evie… that beer I had, really got me going… I clutched her hands and brought her down from the dancing platform… The others seemed less interested in my actions… but who cares about that?
“What are you up to?” Sam again started asking.
I didn’t pay any heed to Sam and simply dragged Evie to a room…
I locked the door from inside… and started undressing Evie… she didn’t resist… but I must admit she did have a perfect body… perfect in everything… everything that could get even the most naive man excited…
“You are mine! Only mine! Do you get that?” I shouted out those words.
“For tonight you are free to do whatever you want with me” she replied.
“Not only for tonight but for always, Evie…”
“I am no Evie.”
“You are my Evie, don’t deny it… I have suffered a lot without you… now no more…” I said as I forced her down on the bed.
I gazed at the beautiful body that lay before me… waiting to be ruined by me… constant shouts of “Miroku” and banging on the door continued outside… I didn’t bother… I simply looked on… never before did I look at the private parts of a woman as intently as I was doing then…
Alcohol… it was only alcohol that provoked the lechery within me… was it only alcohol? It couldn’t be, after all it was Evie… we already had sex before… but somehow it was different… I have touched Evie before but definitely not in the same way… but why? I felt so different then…
“It can’t be! How can I stoop so low?” I got up from the bed.
It was the emotion that was missing… the feelings I had for Evie, I never had for any other woman…
“Done, already…” the girl asked as she got up from the bed.
I didn’t reply and left the room and the girl… she was laughing, not caring that I had torn her clothes… maybe she wanted me to… may be she was accustomed to these…
“Sam, let’s leave… now” I didn’t wait for Sam and got out of the pub.
“I tried to stop you, Miroku but you never listened…”
“Forget about it… and please go home…”
“What about you?”
“Just go Sam I want to be alone now.”
“But… ”
“Just do as I say and leave me alone…” saying that I ran away.
Sam shouted my name but I didn’t answer his call and simply ran away.
The darkness of the night… the moonless sky… was a reflection of my heart… the darkness…within me almost came out, provoked by alcohol… but in the end it didn’t undo everything…
I must have run a lot… I was feeling the pain in my right ankle… the scar that Taylor gave me was gone but the scar on my heart… it remained.
I still ran… as if wanting to run away from everything…
“I am with you… ”, “don’t lose hope…” those words of Evie were so distant now… so far away from me…
“Hope, I have lost all hope, Evie, please come back to me and help me regain it…” I ran on.
At last I stopped. I couldn’t go on anymore… My legs gave up… I still wanted to run on… I got up mustering all my strength but I simply couldn’t go on anymore… I went on for a few paces before giving up… lying on the pavements… I remembered my past… those same painful words were being repeated over and again…
“You bitch what do you mean by you won’t do it? You have to do it.” Suddenly I heard a very familiar voice…
That same tone, that same cursing, it must be… it has to be…
“No I won’t do it father, up till now I did whatever you wanted me to do… but this I will not do… I can’t do…”
It has to be Evie… her father must be forcing her to do something.
“There is no choice for you… he will be here any moment…”
“But there is only one person whom I love… I can’t agree with this…”
“What are they talking about? What does her father want from her?” I thought as I got up.
A car pulled in just then… a silver colored land rover… someone got down from the car. It was a boy of my age. He went towards the house from which Evie and her father’s conversation could be heard. I tried to look at the boy’s face… the darkness was too much for my eyes to penetrate… I couldn’t see a thing…
He went ahead and knocked the door…and when the door opened the light from inside the house fell on his face…
“Taylor!!! What is he doing here?” I couldn’t understand what was happening…
“No father please don’t do this to me… please don’t, I beg of you, please...” Evie was screaming.
“Do whatever you please to… she is all yours…” Her father said those words before every other word was drowned by Evie’s heart wrenching scream…
I understood what was going on… Evie’s father must have been paid by Taylor…
“I won’t allow you to do that. I won’t…” I said to myself as I proceeded towards the door.
As I walked towards the door I recalled the incidents at the pub… Alcohol does provoke lust and lechery… but it also provokes anger… I knew it was sheer anger that was driving me then… I had only one thing in my mind… my and Evie’s relation… I have to save it… I have to save her… Alcohol does undo all good works done by men… but I will use the alcoholic rage in my favour… I will…
i am sorry if have hurt anyone by the vulgar things in this chapter, especially girls.
Chapter 13: Promise
Three months have passed still there was no sign of Evie… I had tried her on the cell everyday practically but it just kept on ringing without anyone answering my call…I went through those days… alone… my final exams are over… I can start training again… but must I do so alone?
“How was the exam dude?” Sam asked just as I went out of the School gate.
“Good.”
“It was terrible...”
“The paper was easy, wasn’t it?”
“It was… but in order to see the gunners in action last night I didn’t study for long enough.”
“Did they win?”
“They did… do you expect them lose against duds like Blackburn?”
“No.”
“But I will pass nevertheless.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“But it’s all over now… so how about a little drink tonight?”
“Ok…”
“That’s the spirit bro… so let’s meet up at your place and then we are off to the nightclub.”
“Fine…”
“Bye, dude, see you in the evening.”
Sam went with Max and Alex towards the KFC outlet, located 2 lanes to the left of our school while I went to the opposite side of the road.
Alexandra Park School… I reached the school gates and looked at the tree over there… memories of that day when Evie gave the proposal to stay with me, flooded into my mind… I waited for some time but didn’t get a glimpse of the person for whom I came…I walked on… alone… the cars flashed by, the sound of the people walking beside me, the cars, the young boys playing soccer, everything was there but still I felt lonely… I looked beside me, everyone was there, doing their usual work… but I didn’t find the person for whom I was looking… where can she be? Is she even alive? Or has her cruel father killed her? I looked up to the heavens… clouds fleeting by, birds flying, all seems to be right with them… because they are together and I… I am alone…
“God if you really exist then please, make her come back to me, please help her to break free from all that is binding her and return to me…” silently I prayed to god for the first time.
I kept on walking… walked past the café where Evie and I spent many evenings… will those days never return? They will… I will find her and bring her back… I will…
“How was the exam dude?” Sam asked just as I went out of the School gate.
“Good.”
“It was terrible...”
“The paper was easy, wasn’t it?”
“It was… but in order to see the gunners in action last night I didn’t study for long enough.”
“Did they win?”
“They did… do you expect them lose against duds like Blackburn?”
“No.”
“But I will pass nevertheless.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“But it’s all over now… so how about a little drink tonight?”
“Ok…”
“That’s the spirit bro… so let’s meet up at your place and then we are off to the nightclub.”
“Fine…”
“Bye, dude, see you in the evening.”
Sam went with Max and Alex towards the KFC outlet, located 2 lanes to the left of our school while I went to the opposite side of the road.
Alexandra Park School… I reached the school gates and looked at the tree over there… memories of that day when Evie gave the proposal to stay with me, flooded into my mind… I waited for some time but didn’t get a glimpse of the person for whom I came…I walked on… alone… the cars flashed by, the sound of the people walking beside me, the cars, the young boys playing soccer, everything was there but still I felt lonely… I looked beside me, everyone was there, doing their usual work… but I didn’t find the person for whom I was looking… where can she be? Is she even alive? Or has her cruel father killed her? I looked up to the heavens… clouds fleeting by, birds flying, all seems to be right with them… because they are together and I… I am alone…
“God if you really exist then please, make her come back to me, please help her to break free from all that is binding her and return to me…” silently I prayed to god for the first time.
I kept on walking… walked past the café where Evie and I spent many evenings… will those days never return? They will… I will find her and bring her back… I will…
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Chapter 12: Despair
It is 7:00 and still Evie hasn’t come back. Where can she be? I have been trying to reach her on her cell but it just goes on ringing…
The door bell rang. It must be Evie.
“Coming”
It was Evie.
“You are late, Evie” I said as I looked at the clock.
“I know that” she replied.
“A strange old man came today…”
“Oh Miroku…”
She interrupted me and hugged me. She was crying. I could feel her tears on my bare shoulders.
“What happened to you?”
“Don’t ask me anything Miroku, this might be our last night together…”
“Last night?! But….”
She interrupted me and kissed me. A passionate kiss…
“I have to go if he comes here looking for me… ”
Just then someone knocked at the door.
“It must be him…” Evie said.
I opened the door. It was that old man again.
“You have come again… Go away at once.” I said rather loudly.
“I hasn’t come for going away. I has come to kill you… I will kill you.”
Saying that he brought out a knife.
“No father, wait, I am here. I will go with you”
“FATHER!!!!” I was shocked to know that he was Evie’s father.
“So here you are… you bitch, running off with other dogs! Tonight I will make you pay for that” The old man said as he grabbed Evie’s hands.
“Evie is going nowhere” I went ahead and punched the man in the face.
“Stop! Enough of this, I have had enough… Good bye Miroku, don’t come after me, please”
Saying those words she went with her father… That man constantly cursed her and even beat her but I couldn’t see any sort of resistance from Evie… both of them gradually vanished into the darkness…
“Will I never get to see her again?” I asked myself as the empty feeling again started to take over my soul.
With Evie gone I was the only one capable of breathing in the house… but how long can I breathe without Evie? Will I ever be able to breathe freely without her? Didn’t she promise me that she would always be with me? So why must she break that promise now? WHY?
The door bell rang. It must be Evie.
“Coming”
It was Evie.
“You are late, Evie” I said as I looked at the clock.
“I know that” she replied.
“A strange old man came today…”
“Oh Miroku…”
She interrupted me and hugged me. She was crying. I could feel her tears on my bare shoulders.
“What happened to you?”
“Don’t ask me anything Miroku, this might be our last night together…”
“Last night?! But….”
She interrupted me and kissed me. A passionate kiss…
“I have to go if he comes here looking for me… ”
Just then someone knocked at the door.
“It must be him…” Evie said.
I opened the door. It was that old man again.
“You have come again… Go away at once.” I said rather loudly.
“I hasn’t come for going away. I has come to kill you… I will kill you.”
Saying that he brought out a knife.
“No father, wait, I am here. I will go with you”
“FATHER!!!!” I was shocked to know that he was Evie’s father.
“So here you are… you bitch, running off with other dogs! Tonight I will make you pay for that” The old man said as he grabbed Evie’s hands.
“Evie is going nowhere” I went ahead and punched the man in the face.
“Stop! Enough of this, I have had enough… Good bye Miroku, don’t come after me, please”
Saying those words she went with her father… That man constantly cursed her and even beat her but I couldn’t see any sort of resistance from Evie… both of them gradually vanished into the darkness…
“Will I never get to see her again?” I asked myself as the empty feeling again started to take over my soul.
With Evie gone I was the only one capable of breathing in the house… but how long can I breathe without Evie? Will I ever be able to breathe freely without her? Didn’t she promise me that she would always be with me? So why must she break that promise now? WHY?
Chapter 11: A Stranger
“Bye Miroku, see you in the evening.” Evie said those words while on the street.
“Don’t be late ok… I’ll be waiting for you”
“I won’t be late.”
Evie left for school. I was all alone in the house… I came back from the main door to the drawing room. I sat with my books again… History book, 1st chapter, Medieval Europe… damn boring!
“Must I read such utter rubbish things?” I was disgusted “these are simply a wastage of time nothing else”.
The door bell rang.
“Coming”
I opened the door and saw a man, dead drunk with torn clothes, unkempt grey hair with grey beard and a face resembling one who has not slept for days, standing.
“Where is she? Is you not Miroku? Tell me where have u kept that bitch?”
I was shocked. Whom can he be referring to?
“I didn’t quite get you old man.”
“You bastard, son of a bitch, you has hidden that bitch here? I will kill you”
“I just don’t know what you are talking about. Please go away.”
“I tells you… I am here for Evie… tell me now where has you kept her? I will kill her and then I will kill you.”
“Who are you?”
“That bitch ran off to you only to have fun… so that you can fuck her and satisfy her…”
“You are too damn drunk. Do you understand?”
“You is drunk. I will cut off your balls and kill you then you will not be able to fuck her.”
This is getting too far.
“Go away.” Saying that I shut the door at his face.
Throughout the day that man cursed me and Evie but who is he? I couldn’t read a thing… Clock ticked away and soon it was 5:00 pm. Time for Evie to come back… I will surely ask her about that old fellow…
“Don’t be late ok… I’ll be waiting for you”
“I won’t be late.”
Evie left for school. I was all alone in the house… I came back from the main door to the drawing room. I sat with my books again… History book, 1st chapter, Medieval Europe… damn boring!
“Must I read such utter rubbish things?” I was disgusted “these are simply a wastage of time nothing else”.
The door bell rang.
“Coming”
I opened the door and saw a man, dead drunk with torn clothes, unkempt grey hair with grey beard and a face resembling one who has not slept for days, standing.
“Where is she? Is you not Miroku? Tell me where have u kept that bitch?”
I was shocked. Whom can he be referring to?
“I didn’t quite get you old man.”
“You bastard, son of a bitch, you has hidden that bitch here? I will kill you”
“I just don’t know what you are talking about. Please go away.”
“I tells you… I am here for Evie… tell me now where has you kept her? I will kill her and then I will kill you.”
“Who are you?”
“That bitch ran off to you only to have fun… so that you can fuck her and satisfy her…”
“You are too damn drunk. Do you understand?”
“You is drunk. I will cut off your balls and kill you then you will not be able to fuck her.”
This is getting too far.
“Go away.” Saying that I shut the door at his face.
Throughout the day that man cursed me and Evie but who is he? I couldn’t read a thing… Clock ticked away and soon it was 5:00 pm. Time for Evie to come back… I will surely ask her about that old fellow…
i have used wrong english speeches here and also in chap 12 to show the illiteracy of the man and also to show the fact that the man was drunk.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Chapter 10: Remembering an old Pal
“So tell me Miroku, why did Macbeth fear Banquo?” Evie was asking me questions from Macbeth.
“Absolutely no idea” I replied.
“You will surely fail. No doubt about that.”
“I have been studying all morning now please give me a break.”
“No breaks for you”
“Please only for an hour”
“Ok but only for AN hour”
“Make that 2 hours.”
“You need to study more Miroku or you will never make it out of High School”
“Ok just give me 2 hours break and I will get back to studying.”
“Have your break then.”
“Thanks Evie”
It was really becoming boring for me… I kept all those notes from Sam beside me and went to sleep…
“Where am I? Why is this place so misty?”
“Miroku come here boy.” A woman said those words.
“Coming mommy” A small boy of 6 or 7 years of age replied to his mother’s call.
“Look who has come to meet you”
“Who? Mommy”
“Jack has come to play with you dear”
“Come Jack let’s play soccer”
“I will be the goalkeeper Miroku” another boy of the same age as the first one said.
“What is this? Jack? Jack was my childhood friend… but…How?”
“I will score against you Jack” It was that first child again.
“No. I will stop your shot” Jack replied.
“Hey you kids over there” I shouted to the kids “come here and tell me what this place is?”
“Jack I am taking the shot be ready”
“I am ready”
Those children didn’t answer me. They continued their game.
“Look I stopped your shot” It was Jack who spoke.
“You are not stopping me next time”
“Hello little ones mind if I join your game?” It was the voice of an adult.
“Daddy!!” shouted the first kid and ran up to the man who was perhaps 40 years old.
He picked up the child and walked up to the other kid.
“Who are these people? And what am I doing here?” I wondered to myself….
“Wake up Miroku; your 2 hours are over”
“Where am I?”
“You are in your home Miroku, are you dreaming?”
I woke up. It must have been a dream. But that was Jack my childhood pal. It’s been 11 years since he died. I never saw him in my dreams before so why now?
“Miroku get back to your books now.” Evie was really serious.
“Alright”
Saying that I picked up the Short stories and started reading the first story.
“Read now I am going to the kitchen and when I am back I will ask you” Evie went away after saying this.
I was just turning the pages mindlessly nothing was going inside my head. I was constantly thinking about the dream I just had… Jack was a very good friend of mine. He had cancer. He died on his seventh birthday 11 years ago, on 9th February…
“Absolutely no idea” I replied.
“You will surely fail. No doubt about that.”
“I have been studying all morning now please give me a break.”
“No breaks for you”
“Please only for an hour”
“Ok but only for AN hour”
“Make that 2 hours.”
“You need to study more Miroku or you will never make it out of High School”
“Ok just give me 2 hours break and I will get back to studying.”
“Have your break then.”
“Thanks Evie”
It was really becoming boring for me… I kept all those notes from Sam beside me and went to sleep…
“Where am I? Why is this place so misty?”
“Miroku come here boy.” A woman said those words.
“Coming mommy” A small boy of 6 or 7 years of age replied to his mother’s call.
“Look who has come to meet you”
“Who? Mommy”
“Jack has come to play with you dear”
“Come Jack let’s play soccer”
“I will be the goalkeeper Miroku” another boy of the same age as the first one said.
“What is this? Jack? Jack was my childhood friend… but…How?”
“I will score against you Jack” It was that first child again.
“No. I will stop your shot” Jack replied.
“Hey you kids over there” I shouted to the kids “come here and tell me what this place is?”
“Jack I am taking the shot be ready”
“I am ready”
Those children didn’t answer me. They continued their game.
“Look I stopped your shot” It was Jack who spoke.
“You are not stopping me next time”
“Hello little ones mind if I join your game?” It was the voice of an adult.
“Daddy!!” shouted the first kid and ran up to the man who was perhaps 40 years old.
He picked up the child and walked up to the other kid.
“Who are these people? And what am I doing here?” I wondered to myself….
“Wake up Miroku; your 2 hours are over”
“Where am I?”
“You are in your home Miroku, are you dreaming?”
I woke up. It must have been a dream. But that was Jack my childhood pal. It’s been 11 years since he died. I never saw him in my dreams before so why now?
“Miroku get back to your books now.” Evie was really serious.
“Alright”
Saying that I picked up the Short stories and started reading the first story.
“Read now I am going to the kitchen and when I am back I will ask you” Evie went away after saying this.
I was just turning the pages mindlessly nothing was going inside my head. I was constantly thinking about the dream I just had… Jack was a very good friend of mine. He had cancer. He died on his seventh birthday 11 years ago, on 9th February…
Chapter 9: Rescue
It’s the 5th of Feb and four days from now is my birthday. But first it’s my surgery which is more important.
“Are you ready for this?” Evie asked.
“Yes I am” I replied.
“Best of luck dude” Sam told as I was taken into the operation theatre.
It was my ankle that was touched by Taylor’s boots… I still remember that day…
“Everything will be fine in some minutes, boy…” It was the doctor’s last words before he began the surgery.
It took exactly 5 hours to complete the operation. After that my right ankle was kept in a fibre cast.
Previously it was thought that I would recover in 4 months however the doctor told that in 6 months I would be match fit.
“6 months!” Sam almost jumped up from the couch.
“After 3 months Miroku will be able to walk and then after another month he will be able to sprint and the rest 2 months he will train…” Evie explained the full thing to Sam.
“But that’s a lot of time… how will you…”Sam was going to ask something.
“Don’t worry Sam” I interrupted Sam.
Is there indeed nothing to worry about? Evie must go to her school… What then? I will be all alone in the house… What will I do?
“Notes” Sam suddenly said.
“Notes?” almost astonished by Sam’s voice, I asked.
“Read these notes Miroku, these are for our final exams”
“Final exams?”
“What has gotten into you? Have you forgotten all about the school and exams?”
“Oh…”
“Read these notes or you will surely fail in the exams”
“I will”
Just when I was again going to be engulfed by the empty feeling within me, Sam came to my rescue. I thanked him silently…not expressing my emotions…Now I have something to do. It’s a matter of few months before my final exams begin. Once I get through that I can fully concentrate on soccer.
“Are you ready for this?” Evie asked.
“Yes I am” I replied.
“Best of luck dude” Sam told as I was taken into the operation theatre.
It was my ankle that was touched by Taylor’s boots… I still remember that day…
“Everything will be fine in some minutes, boy…” It was the doctor’s last words before he began the surgery.
It took exactly 5 hours to complete the operation. After that my right ankle was kept in a fibre cast.
Previously it was thought that I would recover in 4 months however the doctor told that in 6 months I would be match fit.
“6 months!” Sam almost jumped up from the couch.
“After 3 months Miroku will be able to walk and then after another month he will be able to sprint and the rest 2 months he will train…” Evie explained the full thing to Sam.
“But that’s a lot of time… how will you…”Sam was going to ask something.
“Don’t worry Sam” I interrupted Sam.
Is there indeed nothing to worry about? Evie must go to her school… What then? I will be all alone in the house… What will I do?
“Notes” Sam suddenly said.
“Notes?” almost astonished by Sam’s voice, I asked.
“Read these notes Miroku, these are for our final exams”
“Final exams?”
“What has gotten into you? Have you forgotten all about the school and exams?”
“Oh…”
“Read these notes or you will surely fail in the exams”
“I will”
Just when I was again going to be engulfed by the empty feeling within me, Sam came to my rescue. I thanked him silently…not expressing my emotions…Now I have something to do. It’s a matter of few months before my final exams begin. Once I get through that I can fully concentrate on soccer.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Chapter 8: Fixing things
“London Bridge Hospital” I told Sam when he asked me about the hospital I chose.
“Well buddy did you get an appointment with the doctor?”
“Yeah”
“Which doctor?”
“Jason Auld.”
“I simply hope that you come back to the training ground as soon as possible.”
I told the same thing to the doctor.
“Don’t worry young man you will make it… I assure you of that…” was the doctor’s reply.
“Oh thank you doctor thanks a lot…” Evie became emotional and tears rolled down.
“Doc please make it fast, I can’t wait to have him back in the ground” Sam said in his usual tone.
“So, coming Friday that is 5th of Feb we are having your surgery…” said the doctor.
“Ok” I replied.
It was late in the evening when Sam left us. Evie and I were alone in the house.
“Evie…” I called her.
“Yeah”
“That thing last night… I am sorry”
“Don’t be… it was mutual wasn’t it?”
“Mutual?”
“Yes it was mutual I had willingly done it…”
“After all this is over Evie….”
“Don’t say a thing….we will be together…”
“Thank you for everything you are doing for me…”
“Now now don’t start it all over again”
“Start what?”
“You naughty boy…acting as if you don’t know a thing…”
“Oh that thing…. I’d love to have it as many times as you would like.”
“Alright I give up… but see didn’t I tell you that everything would be alright?”
“You were right…”
“But let go of me now… I have to prepare dinner”
“Go you are free.”
She left…
After dinner we talked a bit and then we fell asleep…
“Well buddy did you get an appointment with the doctor?”
“Yeah”
“Which doctor?”
“Jason Auld.”
“I simply hope that you come back to the training ground as soon as possible.”
I told the same thing to the doctor.
“Don’t worry young man you will make it… I assure you of that…” was the doctor’s reply.
“Oh thank you doctor thanks a lot…” Evie became emotional and tears rolled down.
“Doc please make it fast, I can’t wait to have him back in the ground” Sam said in his usual tone.
“So, coming Friday that is 5th of Feb we are having your surgery…” said the doctor.
“Ok” I replied.
It was late in the evening when Sam left us. Evie and I were alone in the house.
“Evie…” I called her.
“Yeah”
“That thing last night… I am sorry”
“Don’t be… it was mutual wasn’t it?”
“Mutual?”
“Yes it was mutual I had willingly done it…”
“After all this is over Evie….”
“Don’t say a thing….we will be together…”
“Thank you for everything you are doing for me…”
“Now now don’t start it all over again”
“Start what?”
“You naughty boy…acting as if you don’t know a thing…”
“Oh that thing…. I’d love to have it as many times as you would like.”
“Alright I give up… but see didn’t I tell you that everything would be alright?”
“You were right…”
“But let go of me now… I have to prepare dinner”
“Go you are free.”
She left…
After dinner we talked a bit and then we fell asleep…
Chapter 7: Free
“Although loneliness has always been a friend of mine
I’m leavin’ my life in your hands
People say I’m crazy and that I am blind
Risking it all in a glance…”
Such a beautiful song the car’s radio was playing…
“We are here Miroku…” Evie said as she got down from the car.
Now I wasn’t totally disabled, I could walk with support from Evie and Sam. Playing soccer was a far cry for me.
The club President was there when I went to meet him.
“Miroku, how are you feeling now?” as I entered the President’s room Mr. Bradshaw asked.
Bradshaw was the President. 50 years of age, with grey hair. My team mates call him Old dude.
“I am ok… you know that I must have a surgery immediately…don’t you?”
“I do know about it…”
“So, will you help me with that?”
“As you know Miroku … this damn recession is get to our nerves…we are having a hell lot of trouble maintaining this club….”
“So, I guess your answer is NO.”
“I am sorry but you have to understand our problem as well.”
“Ok then just pay the money that I was contracted for including image rights and other things…”
“That I can do but won’t that mean you would become free from our contract…. A FREE AGENT player.”
“I know…but I must have that money to do my surgery…”
“So, is this your final decision?”
“No doubt about that… I know what I am doing.”
“Alright here you go.”
Saying that he gave me my money and the required papers.
“Good Bye Mr. Bradshaw….”
Saying that I left the room, the club that had taught me so many things.
Just as Sam drove us out of the Club complex a black Volkswagen arrived.
I’m leavin’ my life in your hands
People say I’m crazy and that I am blind
Risking it all in a glance…”
Such a beautiful song the car’s radio was playing…
“We are here Miroku…” Evie said as she got down from the car.
Now I wasn’t totally disabled, I could walk with support from Evie and Sam. Playing soccer was a far cry for me.
The club President was there when I went to meet him.
“Miroku, how are you feeling now?” as I entered the President’s room Mr. Bradshaw asked.
Bradshaw was the President. 50 years of age, with grey hair. My team mates call him Old dude.
“I am ok… you know that I must have a surgery immediately…don’t you?”
“I do know about it…”
“So, will you help me with that?”
“As you know Miroku … this damn recession is get to our nerves…we are having a hell lot of trouble maintaining this club….”
“So, I guess your answer is NO.”
“I am sorry but you have to understand our problem as well.”
“Ok then just pay the money that I was contracted for including image rights and other things…”
“That I can do but won’t that mean you would become free from our contract…. A FREE AGENT player.”
“I know…but I must have that money to do my surgery…”
“So, is this your final decision?”
“No doubt about that… I know what I am doing.”
“Alright here you go.”
Saying that he gave me my money and the required papers.
“Good Bye Mr. Bradshaw….”
Saying that I left the room, the club that had taught me so many things.
Just as Sam drove us out of the Club complex a black Volkswagen arrived.
Chapter 6: Help from a Pal
“I am coming with you guys” Sam’s voice could be heard
“Thank you Sam…thank you very much…” Evie and Sam were talking in the drawing room.
“Don’t mention it Evie… I am glad that I can help you at this time.”
“Miroku must have woken up Sam, you sit here I am coming in a moment”
Evie came to my room.
“Sam tells he will go with us to the doctor Miroku…”
“That will be good”
Evie went to get ready and Sam came into my room.
“I will make that Taylor pay for what he did to you dude…I swear it…” Sam was really angry.
“Cool down Sam, don’t worry… next time I play him he won’t be able to touch me…”
“Look at what he has done to you. Your career could have ended.”
“I know that.”
“But Miroku, Evie told me that you will go to your club for financial matters do you think they will budge?”
“I hope they do”
“But dude our final exams are coming how are you going to pass if you don’t come to school??”
“Aren’t you there to get the notes for me?”
“Yeah I am but….”
“Stop thinking so much everything will fall in place…”
Sam kept on talking but I remembered about last night….man that was something. Never before did I feel that way for Evie…
“Sam everything will be alright…trust me…” I smiled
“What has happened to you dude… you are not the same person anymore…”
“You see last night….”
Evie came to the room. We saw each other. She blushed.
“Yeah last night??” Sam asked.
“No nothing….nothing to amuse you…” I stammered out these words.
I got ready and left for my club.
“Thank you Sam…thank you very much…” Evie and Sam were talking in the drawing room.
“Don’t mention it Evie… I am glad that I can help you at this time.”
“Miroku must have woken up Sam, you sit here I am coming in a moment”
Evie came to my room.
“Sam tells he will go with us to the doctor Miroku…”
“That will be good”
Evie went to get ready and Sam came into my room.
“I will make that Taylor pay for what he did to you dude…I swear it…” Sam was really angry.
“Cool down Sam, don’t worry… next time I play him he won’t be able to touch me…”
“Look at what he has done to you. Your career could have ended.”
“I know that.”
“But Miroku, Evie told me that you will go to your club for financial matters do you think they will budge?”
“I hope they do”
“But dude our final exams are coming how are you going to pass if you don’t come to school??”
“Aren’t you there to get the notes for me?”
“Yeah I am but….”
“Stop thinking so much everything will fall in place…”
Sam kept on talking but I remembered about last night….man that was something. Never before did I feel that way for Evie…
“Sam everything will be alright…trust me…” I smiled
“What has happened to you dude… you are not the same person anymore…”
“You see last night….”
Evie came to the room. We saw each other. She blushed.
“Yeah last night??” Sam asked.
“No nothing….nothing to amuse you…” I stammered out these words.
I got ready and left for my club.
Chapter 5: Hope
“Miroku, I have brought some noodles for you and myself…let’s eat together” Evie said as she entered the room.
“Oh yeah sure…” I hid the picture.
“Are you hiding something from me?”
“No absolutely not…”
“You are…”
“Ok then I will tell you…”
“Let’s talk while eating”
“I was thinking about my parents while looking at their picture.”
“Miroku, don’t think of that fateful incident please… it will only make you sadder…”
I couldn’t talk anymore.
That night I went to sleep with only one thing in mind that…I must have the surgery and again train hard to regain my former playing level.
“Are you asleep Miroku?” Evie spoke.
“No… not yet”
“Don’t lose hope….everything will be alright… I am with you…”
“You are with me…” those words of Evie said it all.
I held her close to me and the whole night we spent by showing our love for each other… we did all that would make a soft-core porn film but unlike the actors… we had real feelings backing us… real emotions…
“Evie thank you for everything”
“Don’t say a thing…” we kissed again…
That night I became so close to her that… I thought really if she was with me then nothing would be impossible. It was as if hope was rekindled in my heart…
“Evie I have decided… tomorrow I am going to meet the doctor but before that I will talk to the club officials…”
“I will go with you…”
“Thanks again Evie”
And the whole night we spent clinging to each other.
“Oh yeah sure…” I hid the picture.
“Are you hiding something from me?”
“No absolutely not…”
“You are…”
“Ok then I will tell you…”
“Let’s talk while eating”
“I was thinking about my parents while looking at their picture.”
“Miroku, don’t think of that fateful incident please… it will only make you sadder…”
I couldn’t talk anymore.
That night I went to sleep with only one thing in mind that…I must have the surgery and again train hard to regain my former playing level.
“Are you asleep Miroku?” Evie spoke.
“No… not yet”
“Don’t lose hope….everything will be alright… I am with you…”
“You are with me…” those words of Evie said it all.
I held her close to me and the whole night we spent by showing our love for each other… we did all that would make a soft-core porn film but unlike the actors… we had real feelings backing us… real emotions…
“Evie thank you for everything”
“Don’t say a thing…” we kissed again…
That night I became so close to her that… I thought really if she was with me then nothing would be impossible. It was as if hope was rekindled in my heart…
“Evie I have decided… tomorrow I am going to meet the doctor but before that I will talk to the club officials…”
“I will go with you…”
“Thanks again Evie”
And the whole night we spent clinging to each other.
Chapter 4: Hollow
“Miroku the doctor said you can’t play soccer for 4 months…” Evie said as tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Don’t cry…I am alright…” I replied
“I can see you are not alright okay… I can clearly see that…”
Saying that she hugged me and I didn’t know how to respond to that.
“Miroku, I love you and I can understand what you are going through right now.” More sobs from Evie
“I am ok now… really…”
“But still you ran the risk of….”
“Don’t think about it anymore… perhaps now I can give you more time…”
“I would love you to be on the pitch than at home…I know what your dream is”
My Dream….I had no words to reply to that.
“I have taken leave from school for a few days to look after you.”
“I can do that myself… you should go to school.”
“No I am not leaving you… I am not going to school and that’s final…”
Saying that she left the room and went to the kitchen.
I looked at the picture of my parents… the frame was on the table beside my bed. It has been a year since my parents had passed away in a plane crash… from that day I immersed myself into soccer so that I could forget about that incident but fate has brought me face to face with that incident again…
“How are you feeling today dude?” Sam’s voice astonished me and I quickly hid the picture under the blanket.
“I am alright Sam but tell me did we win the match??”
“Yeah we did win the match thanks to those 2 goals by you and later a third goal by Paul.”
“You surely raised my spirit buddy….thanks for that.”
“Don’t mention it… you are the one who should be thanked.”
After some time when Sam left, I again brought out the picture of my parents. Father always dreamt that I would grow up to be a great footballer… that dream has always been my own after father passed away… I trained hard in rain and snow with my buddies…night and day I played.
In the morning for my school and at night for 2nd division club Macclesfield town. I earned money on my own by playing soccer…but how good can a 2nd division club offer for my surgery?
“So is it all over for me… everything…my trainings… all were in vain…can I never achieve my dream?” tears rolled down my cheek.
“Don’t cry…I am alright…” I replied
“I can see you are not alright okay… I can clearly see that…”
Saying that she hugged me and I didn’t know how to respond to that.
“Miroku, I love you and I can understand what you are going through right now.” More sobs from Evie
“I am ok now… really…”
“But still you ran the risk of….”
“Don’t think about it anymore… perhaps now I can give you more time…”
“I would love you to be on the pitch than at home…I know what your dream is”
My Dream….I had no words to reply to that.
“I have taken leave from school for a few days to look after you.”
“I can do that myself… you should go to school.”
“No I am not leaving you… I am not going to school and that’s final…”
Saying that she left the room and went to the kitchen.
I looked at the picture of my parents… the frame was on the table beside my bed. It has been a year since my parents had passed away in a plane crash… from that day I immersed myself into soccer so that I could forget about that incident but fate has brought me face to face with that incident again…
“How are you feeling today dude?” Sam’s voice astonished me and I quickly hid the picture under the blanket.
“I am alright Sam but tell me did we win the match??”
“Yeah we did win the match thanks to those 2 goals by you and later a third goal by Paul.”
“You surely raised my spirit buddy….thanks for that.”
“Don’t mention it… you are the one who should be thanked.”
After some time when Sam left, I again brought out the picture of my parents. Father always dreamt that I would grow up to be a great footballer… that dream has always been my own after father passed away… I trained hard in rain and snow with my buddies…night and day I played.
In the morning for my school and at night for 2nd division club Macclesfield town. I earned money on my own by playing soccer…but how good can a 2nd division club offer for my surgery?
“So is it all over for me… everything…my trainings… all were in vain…can I never achieve my dream?” tears rolled down my cheek.
Chapter 3: The Match
“Folks this is the much awaited match...yeah you can call this the match of the season….” Alan Green was starting the commentary.
“It’s the clash of the irresistible force and the immovable object…” added Stuart Hall.
“That was well said… good job guys” Sam was brimming with excitement.
“Yeah dude…we are the irresistible force” now Max joined Sam.
“Maxie…do me proud…my boy” Max’s mother Mrs. Jones shouted from the stands
“Oh mommy why can’t you stop embarrassing me like that” Max was going red.
“Hey Maxie!!” a girl shouted this time.
“Jamie! You came to watch my match…” Max was astonished.
“Let the match end Maxie…”
“Oh Yeah there’s no turning back now”
“Save up your excitement sweetie”
Now Max was blushing.
“(Sound of the referee’s whistle)”
The match got underway.
“This is my last year in this school and I will give the trophy to my school as a parting gift” I thought to myself.
“Let’s do it Miroku” my fellow striker Paul said.
I touched the ball with my feet and Paul sent it back to the midfielders. Alex got the ball and we started our usual passing game.
“Here we go… Orange High boys have started their passing game again…” Alan Green commented
“It’s Sam. Now Max. Max to Alex…Highlands boys are really having a tough time out there” Stuart Hall added to his partner’s comment.
“It looks like Highlands School is going to take a real battering today”
The ball was with Sam.
“Sam” I waved my hand.
Sam was in the centre of midfield then and I straight in front of the penalty box with none other than Taylor as my marker.
Sam launched the ball and it crossed the midfield and landed in front of me. A perfect pass. I looked around and saw Taylor he was aiming for my feet.
“I won’t let you do that” I told myself.
I got the ball in my control and stood my ground. Taylor’s “much dreaded” legs were nearing me. I pushed the ball in front and jumped. Taylor missed my leg and the ball too.
“You can’t catch me buddy…you simply can’t…” I told Taylor as I went ahead.
The goalkeeper seemed to be nervous. It was one on one, me against him. I aimed for the top left corner. Goalkeeper noticed it. But I still took my shot.
“1-0 to Orange High…” an excited Alan Green shouted to the equally excited audience.
“30 minutes on the clock… 15 minutes to go for Half-time can Highlands School Bounce back or will Miroku add to their misery…” Stuart Hall made the picture clear.
“Damn you… scum… you ain’t escaping next time…” Taylor grumbled.
“Fuck off!” Sam was quick to react.
The match went on for the 15 minutes without any team coming close to score a goal. We got a corner but Paul’s miscued corner was easily dealt with.
“Miroku, you surely taught that Taylor a lesson” coach sounded very happy.
“I just did my job coach”
“If you go on doing this my boy, Arsene will surely give you a contract.”
“Arsene?!”
“My boy… Wenger himself has come to see your match… he has spoken to me.”
Half-time break was over and I was going to the turf with only one thing in my mind….
“It’s time for the 2nd half folks… both teams are on the field and Highlands School is now attacking from right to left.” Alan Green made everyone aware of that fact.
“So the final day of the season has reached its final half…who will take the trophy this year??”
“Orange High….”came the unanimous reply from the audience.
“Arsene Wenger came to see my match…” I thought about the coach’s words.
Referee got the match underway by blowing the whistle.
The Highlands boys had surely got some tough words from their coach. They seemed to have found their rhythm in play and craft in passing.
“It’s a different Highlands team that we see folks…” All Green summed up the situation.
“But the clock is ticking away…can they still find the equalizer?” Stuart Hall responded to his partner.
“No they can’t, I won’t let them…” I said as I looked for someone in the crowd.
Sam won back the ball from Mathews the Highlands Striker and passed it to Alex. Paul had already started his run on the wings. Alex passed it to Paul and we eyed each other.
“This time you are not escaping…” it was Taylor.
“Yes I am” I responded.
I made my run and met with Paul’s aerial pass…
“Now you go in” I said to myself as I headed the ball.
The ball went in but I felt a terrible pain in my right leg…I couldn’t get up…tears were automatically streaming down my cheeks…
“Was I caught by Taylor’s sliding tackle as I got down after heading the ball?” I thought to myself.
“Who has the last laugh now Miroku?” Taylor was grinning.
“Back off Taylor” Sam ran up to the penalty box.
“Taylor clearly fouled him ref…show him red ref…” Max told the referee.
“Show him the red ref show him the red” our full squad shouted.
The ref showed red but I couldn’t play on, he had indeed “ripped my leg apart”. A thought crossed my mind as I was stretchered out of the field…
“It’s the clash of the irresistible force and the immovable object…” added Stuart Hall.
“That was well said… good job guys” Sam was brimming with excitement.
“Yeah dude…we are the irresistible force” now Max joined Sam.
“Maxie…do me proud…my boy” Max’s mother Mrs. Jones shouted from the stands
“Oh mommy why can’t you stop embarrassing me like that” Max was going red.
“Hey Maxie!!” a girl shouted this time.
“Jamie! You came to watch my match…” Max was astonished.
“Let the match end Maxie…”
“Oh Yeah there’s no turning back now”
“Save up your excitement sweetie”
Now Max was blushing.
“(Sound of the referee’s whistle)”
The match got underway.
“This is my last year in this school and I will give the trophy to my school as a parting gift” I thought to myself.
“Let’s do it Miroku” my fellow striker Paul said.
I touched the ball with my feet and Paul sent it back to the midfielders. Alex got the ball and we started our usual passing game.
“Here we go… Orange High boys have started their passing game again…” Alan Green commented
“It’s Sam. Now Max. Max to Alex…Highlands boys are really having a tough time out there” Stuart Hall added to his partner’s comment.
“It looks like Highlands School is going to take a real battering today”
The ball was with Sam.
“Sam” I waved my hand.
Sam was in the centre of midfield then and I straight in front of the penalty box with none other than Taylor as my marker.
Sam launched the ball and it crossed the midfield and landed in front of me. A perfect pass. I looked around and saw Taylor he was aiming for my feet.
“I won’t let you do that” I told myself.
I got the ball in my control and stood my ground. Taylor’s “much dreaded” legs were nearing me. I pushed the ball in front and jumped. Taylor missed my leg and the ball too.
“You can’t catch me buddy…you simply can’t…” I told Taylor as I went ahead.
The goalkeeper seemed to be nervous. It was one on one, me against him. I aimed for the top left corner. Goalkeeper noticed it. But I still took my shot.
“1-0 to Orange High…” an excited Alan Green shouted to the equally excited audience.
“30 minutes on the clock… 15 minutes to go for Half-time can Highlands School Bounce back or will Miroku add to their misery…” Stuart Hall made the picture clear.
“Damn you… scum… you ain’t escaping next time…” Taylor grumbled.
“Fuck off!” Sam was quick to react.
The match went on for the 15 minutes without any team coming close to score a goal. We got a corner but Paul’s miscued corner was easily dealt with.
“Miroku, you surely taught that Taylor a lesson” coach sounded very happy.
“I just did my job coach”
“If you go on doing this my boy, Arsene will surely give you a contract.”
“Arsene?!”
“My boy… Wenger himself has come to see your match… he has spoken to me.”
Half-time break was over and I was going to the turf with only one thing in my mind….
“It’s time for the 2nd half folks… both teams are on the field and Highlands School is now attacking from right to left.” Alan Green made everyone aware of that fact.
“So the final day of the season has reached its final half…who will take the trophy this year??”
“Orange High….”came the unanimous reply from the audience.
“Arsene Wenger came to see my match…” I thought about the coach’s words.
Referee got the match underway by blowing the whistle.
The Highlands boys had surely got some tough words from their coach. They seemed to have found their rhythm in play and craft in passing.
“It’s a different Highlands team that we see folks…” All Green summed up the situation.
“But the clock is ticking away…can they still find the equalizer?” Stuart Hall responded to his partner.
“No they can’t, I won’t let them…” I said as I looked for someone in the crowd.
Sam won back the ball from Mathews the Highlands Striker and passed it to Alex. Paul had already started his run on the wings. Alex passed it to Paul and we eyed each other.
“This time you are not escaping…” it was Taylor.
“Yes I am” I responded.
I made my run and met with Paul’s aerial pass…
“Now you go in” I said to myself as I headed the ball.
The ball went in but I felt a terrible pain in my right leg…I couldn’t get up…tears were automatically streaming down my cheeks…
“Was I caught by Taylor’s sliding tackle as I got down after heading the ball?” I thought to myself.
“Who has the last laugh now Miroku?” Taylor was grinning.
“Back off Taylor” Sam ran up to the penalty box.
“Taylor clearly fouled him ref…show him red ref…” Max told the referee.
“Show him the red ref show him the red” our full squad shouted.
The ref showed red but I couldn’t play on, he had indeed “ripped my leg apart”. A thought crossed my mind as I was stretchered out of the field…
Chapter 2: Matchday
“I heard that she is staying with you…is it true?” Sam asked
“Yeah”
“You are one lucky chap”
“Lucky?”
“You idiot it’s a girl who is staying with you…imagine what not you can do”
“What can I do?”
“You are a lost case…whatever let’s focus on the match now, a win today and this year’s title is ours”
“Don’t worry we will win this together…after all this is our last year in school”
“We are gonna beat the hell out of those Highlands suckers”
“Hello there boys” it was our coach Mr. Adams “are you guys ready for the match?”
“Yes” we all shouted.
“Miroku come over here” Mr. Adams called me to his room.
“Yes Coach?”
“You know right… that Taylor guy”
“Yeah”
“He is a mean customer….he won’t flinch from using his much dreaded legs on you”
“I know that”
“I just want you to be safe… don’t give him any scope”
I went back to my team mates. An hour or two was left before the match.
“There is someone waiting for you Miroku” Ms. Shelly our Medic called me.
“Sam told me about that Taylor guy… please be safe…don’t overdo it” Evie was worried.
“Don’t worry…”
“If you win today I will give you something…or rather…”
“Rather???”
“Forget it….concentrate on your match….you must win it…”
“I will”
Time for the match arrived. We all headed for the tunnel.
“Miroku…” it was the voice of Matt Taylor.
“Taylor…”
“I am going to rip apart your leg today!!!”
“Best of luck for the match”
I left Taylor and stood with my mates. The lads were all pumped up. So was I.
“Yeah”
“You are one lucky chap”
“Lucky?”
“You idiot it’s a girl who is staying with you…imagine what not you can do”
“What can I do?”
“You are a lost case…whatever let’s focus on the match now, a win today and this year’s title is ours”
“Don’t worry we will win this together…after all this is our last year in school”
“We are gonna beat the hell out of those Highlands suckers”
“Hello there boys” it was our coach Mr. Adams “are you guys ready for the match?”
“Yes” we all shouted.
“Miroku come over here” Mr. Adams called me to his room.
“Yes Coach?”
“You know right… that Taylor guy”
“Yeah”
“He is a mean customer….he won’t flinch from using his much dreaded legs on you”
“I know that”
“I just want you to be safe… don’t give him any scope”
I went back to my team mates. An hour or two was left before the match.
“There is someone waiting for you Miroku” Ms. Shelly our Medic called me.
“Sam told me about that Taylor guy… please be safe…don’t overdo it” Evie was worried.
“Don’t worry…”
“If you win today I will give you something…or rather…”
“Rather???”
“Forget it….concentrate on your match….you must win it…”
“I will”
Time for the match arrived. We all headed for the tunnel.
“Miroku…” it was the voice of Matt Taylor.
“Taylor…”
“I am going to rip apart your leg today!!!”
“Best of luck for the match”
I left Taylor and stood with my mates. The lads were all pumped up. So was I.
Chapter 1: Pre-match
“Mate tomorrow is our match…” my pal Sam shouted from the other side of the road.
“I know Sam… we are gonna win that” I shouted back and started to walk.
“Wait up dude…wait for me I am coming” the signal changed and Sam started crossing the road.
Sam and I have been friends from Middle School and we are together in High School too. Both of us play for our school in the Sunday league.
“Why are you in such a hurry pal?” Sam asked.
“Why do you ask?”
“See dude I know that this girl of yours is quite demanding…So is she coming to the match tomorrow?”
“Yeah”
“Then you have got your hands full…you have to make us win the game tomorrow”
“You are also playing aren’t you?”
“Of course I am”
“So you should be equally responsible”
“That I am dude…but who else gets a chance to play the poacher in front of one’s girl friend…”
“I know my role tomorrow”
“Opponents fear you man, they know how destructive you can be in front of goal”
“Old man has already told me that”
“Alright then it’s Adios for now”
“Okay Bye”
Sam left. I was walking alone. I came at the entrance of Alexandra Park School and stood by the tree in front of the school gate.
“Miroku” it was Evie’s voice.
Evie is my girlfriend. We are in a long standing relationship. She was the most beautiful girl in her school. Most of the boys craved for her physical attributes rather than anything else. That is quite natural with boys. But apart from her feminine characteristics i liked her eyes. Those brown eyes of her spoke volumes about her. Many a times I spent gazing at them. We used to hang out with each other a lot before our relationship began. During one such occasion, she caught me staring at her. She was used to it. Every boy of the area liked to gaze upon such beauty. But their viewpoint and mine were different. Maybe Evie understood that and that's why she chose to be with me.
“Hi!” I greeted her.
“Let’s go Miroku.” She said as she gently pulled my arm.
“Where?” I asked.
“To your home of course” She replied.
“Oh!”
“I have something to tell you today.” Anxiety clear in her tone.
“Go on,” I said carelessly.
“Mind if I stay with you from now on?”
“Stay with me?” I was startled at her question.
“Yeah...you know right…the living together and all that…will you not let me stay with you?” Her tone became more anxious.
“I don’t have any problem…” I said.
“That’s Great…that is why I love you so much!” Evie's tone became overjoyed at my reply.
She kissed me on my cheeks and we went back home together.
“I know Sam… we are gonna win that” I shouted back and started to walk.
“Wait up dude…wait for me I am coming” the signal changed and Sam started crossing the road.
Sam and I have been friends from Middle School and we are together in High School too. Both of us play for our school in the Sunday league.
“Why are you in such a hurry pal?” Sam asked.
“Why do you ask?”
“See dude I know that this girl of yours is quite demanding…So is she coming to the match tomorrow?”
“Yeah”
“Then you have got your hands full…you have to make us win the game tomorrow”
“You are also playing aren’t you?”
“Of course I am”
“So you should be equally responsible”
“That I am dude…but who else gets a chance to play the poacher in front of one’s girl friend…”
“I know my role tomorrow”
“Opponents fear you man, they know how destructive you can be in front of goal”
“Old man has already told me that”
“Alright then it’s Adios for now”
“Okay Bye”
Sam left. I was walking alone. I came at the entrance of Alexandra Park School and stood by the tree in front of the school gate.
“Miroku” it was Evie’s voice.
Evie is my girlfriend. We are in a long standing relationship. She was the most beautiful girl in her school. Most of the boys craved for her physical attributes rather than anything else. That is quite natural with boys. But apart from her feminine characteristics i liked her eyes. Those brown eyes of her spoke volumes about her. Many a times I spent gazing at them. We used to hang out with each other a lot before our relationship began. During one such occasion, she caught me staring at her. She was used to it. Every boy of the area liked to gaze upon such beauty. But their viewpoint and mine were different. Maybe Evie understood that and that's why she chose to be with me.
“Hi!” I greeted her.
“Let’s go Miroku.” She said as she gently pulled my arm.
“Where?” I asked.
“To your home of course” She replied.
“Oh!”
“I have something to tell you today.” Anxiety clear in her tone.
“Go on,” I said carelessly.
“Mind if I stay with you from now on?”
“Stay with me?” I was startled at her question.
“Yeah...you know right…the living together and all that…will you not let me stay with you?” Her tone became more anxious.
“I don’t have any problem…” I said.
“That’s Great…that is why I love you so much!” Evie's tone became overjoyed at my reply.
She kissed me on my cheeks and we went back home together.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)