Beyond the tale

     Lily unlocked the back door of the thrift store using a key that didn't belong to her. She entered the store with silent footsteps. It was late at night, and the only people in the store were security guards stationed outside. Lily had entered the store from the backyard as both security guards were on the front side dealing with a psycho client who was yelling at the business for poor product quality. She dashed towards the processing portion of the business, where donated items are accepted, verified, and refurbished. There were several cameras, wires, and other items that were kept discretely. She instantly began looking in the midst of the mayhem. She found the camera after some searching. There was some data on the camera chip that may assist Lily save her boyfriend. While the data was being collected, Lily began visualising the beginning of this narrative. Lily had just received her first pay check as a schoolteacher. She had set up a date with her...

Once upon a time, there was a jungle. A deer couple lived in the jungle. It had two kids.  However, one was a fawn and the other was a fox cub. The event occurred in such a way that this fox was orphaned only during its birth. So it was raised solely by the dear pair.  These kids were now adults, and the deer had fawns and the fox had fox cubs.  They were staying together. Playing together, exploring the jungle together.  They believed they were all members of the same animal species.  In one incident, lions killed all the fathers of the family.  Only the grandmother deer, the fox mother, the deer mother, and all the fawns & cubs remained in the family.  Tiger believed that, given the current situation, he could easily capture the family's young fawns & cubs. But looking at the mother’s aggressiveness, the tiger went back. He got afraid of them. But now he decided that he should break the family first. Then he plotted a wolf to support the fox ...

 I was employed by one company. The company had 50 employees. It is a partnership firm. They used to get job work from well-known OEM firms. Customers used to provide the raw materials, and we would process the parts. Then the customers would take back the finished products. In their logistic arrangements, the customer had a system for sending raw material as well as picking up processed material. So our job was to work efficiently because our efficiency was a direct profit to the owner. We used to have a very strict environment in the workplace. There would be a deafening silence when the owner arrived at the company. Nobody dared to say anything in front of him. Everyone used to be afraid of him. People who were new to the company initially despised him. But he had four old employees in whom he had great faith. They used to hold him in high regard. From them, I got to know that the owner is like a coconut. Though outside, he is an  extremely tough person,   he is a...

 It was a typical workday. I was always on time. As a department head, I used to have a very busy schedule for the day. In my department, there was a group of female employees. The company had provided them with accommodation in a hostel. One day, Preet, from Chandigarh, came to me and said, "Sir, I want to leave the job. My family is being migrated to Canada. " "OK, but have you or anyone in your family received a job offer from there?" I inquired with great care. "Where in Canada are you relocating?" I asked. "No, but my father has received approval for a PR Visa," she responded. I said, "You are a permanent employee of this company. This is one of India's good companies. Please think about it and consult with your parents before resigning from your job. " "Sir, I have already decided," she replied. "Then you need to go to the HR department and submit your resignation for your formal exit procedur...

 For my company's party, my boss and I wanted to go to a party hall. We started from the company itself, in his car. Everyone else left first. We were late because we had some work to do. Those were the days when I was extremely fortunate to work for the ideal company, ideal boss, and ideal location. Everything felt like a dream. My boss used to be very nice to us. He knew the name of the party hall but not the exact location. I asked him if he knew the address. But he was confident that we would figure out the location once we reached there. What can a subordinate do? I nodded my head.  We arrived at the location. There were no lights in the vicinity. He was certain that the Party hall was nearby, but we couldn't pinpoint the exact location. We continued our search on the road for some time. But we couldn't figure out where it was. So I suggested calling HR to confirm the location. "Don't worry, gentleman," he said. "We'll find out." M...

For my friend, it was the happiest day of his life. My friend has been married for a long time, but they were unable to have biological children. I never inquired about the real issue because it was a very personal topic for them. They had had extensive therapy in order to have a kid. However, luck was not on their side. They both were unsure about their chances of having a kid. IVF trials were unsuccessful. Richa had reached the end of her patience. "Dear, Raman," she said. "Please accept it with open arms. I want to start a family of our own. But the difficulties of therapy have become unbearable for me. You are witnessing my plight." He was likewise aware of the issue and shared the same level of worry. "I know, you tell me; what should we do?" he inquired, his tone concerned. "Can we adopt a child?" she said, almost as if she had been waiting to say it. "Are you sure?" he said, with an enigmatic smile. "I mean, ser...

  My first year of college was in full swing. Today, I simply accept that I was dumb at that time. One of our lecturers entered the classroom. "Do you want to know who will be your class's representative?" he inquired. "Yes," all of the students responded. "So let's pick the most likely individual who can be your CR," he remarked. "You all stand up," he ordered. As all the students were standing in the classroom, he said, "So now, the students who scored less than 80% in the maths group can sit down." Some students sat quietly. After that, he said, "All students who scored 85% in the maths group can sit down." Many of the students had taken a seat. Now we were a few students standing in the classroom. Everyone was as intrigued as I was. Everyone was staring at us. Actually, our class had students who scored below 90% in the maths group. He then invited students who scored 86 percent,...

   Life is full of surprises. We never know what surprises will be in store for us. When an issue arises, it appears from all directions, trapping you in a scenario. My life was likewise turned upside down when my father suffered a heart attack. This circumstance upset me because all of my wages had ceased and there was no free money available for therapy. Fortunately, he was covered by our medical insurance. To some extent, it has endured. We chose the government scheme since the surgeons who would conduct the procedure were well-known surgeons. The operation went well. He was no longer in danger. I remembered another woman who had undergone open-heart surgery at the same time. All of these patients were confined to the ICU. For over three days, only nurses and physicians were permitted to enter. In the ICU, families could see their loved ones through a glass partition. However, the glass would be covered for the whole day and only exposed in the morning to see the patients o...

It was an exam day. I was well-prepared for the examination. In the morning, I got ready. My Aunt, who was living with me, happened to have a doctor's appointment near my college. As a result, we began our journey together in an auto-rickshaw. Stress used to get the best of me during exam time. I was just going over some lessons with myself in my head. There was an unexpected jolt for me. For a brief moment, I felt completely blind. Something unexpected happened. I was on road and my Aunt gave me hand to stand up. Yes, our rickshaw was involved in an accident. Some scratches were visible on the hands and legs. Apparently, there was no significant injury to both of us.  My aunt advised that we should rush to your exam first. So she called a second rickshaw, and we arrived at my college. My aunt stated that she was OK and that she had anyway a doctor's appointment. Slowly, I began walking. I had foot pain but was able to get to my exam room. While I was writing, I saw that blood ...

¶¶¶We got ready on the bank of the river. Hunger is one thing which keeps on coming day after day. We cannot avoid and we cannot neglect. We satisfied our hunger today doesn’t mean it will not come again. After all, this walk on fire was done due to hunger only. Nobody fears death but fell for hunger. It is the only thing kept us move on as we were aware that there was nobody to feed us here. During the journey, I kept remembering one adorable lady whom I respect very much. Her name as I know is “ Sindhutai Sapkal”.¶¶¶ From Book Lockdown: A Journey On Fire

  The human resource associate came to me for immediate help. There was an injury to an operator working on a machine. His one finger got stuck into the machine and got a serious injury. I was heading quality and was not having any responsibility for such incidents. I asked him, “What happened?”  He replied, “One of our employees had an injury. Will you please help me to take him to the hospital in your car?  As it is the early morning shift, neither the Plant head nor HR manager has come yet. Thankfully you are here.” As it was not the time to argue about why the Company ambulance is not in working condition, I ran towards my car immediately. I brought my car in front of the gate of the office. One production associate came with the injured associate to help him. They sat in the back seat. I started driving. The associate’s name and my name were the same. It was a mere coincidence. He had started crying. I said to him, “Don’t worry! Nothing will happen.” I had broken my ...

The body of Param was lying on the bed.   Strict lockdown had been implemented in the town. Param had a big family which included three sons, three daughters-in-law, five grandsons.   Such a big family it was. All were at home. The home was quite big. Every subfamily was having separate rooms. Only the kitchen was one. Two weeks before one of his grandsons was sick and he came out Covid-19 positive. After him, all men came out positive. Fortunately, nobody was serious. They were all asked to stay quarantined in their rooms. Medicines were provided. Param’s age was a worry. He had crossed, 85. All others got okay within two weeks except Param. All others reports came out negative except Param. Now everybody was worried for their “Pa”. Yes, everybody used to call him 'Pa'. They all were treated by their old family doctor and best friend of Param named Dr. Rahul. As Param was Covid-19 Positive, nobody was going in the room of Param except one oldest servant and Dr. Rahul. S...