Rebirth

Rebirth

Shell shocked she tried to regain her balance. She sat down heavily on the corner of her bed as past twenty years of their marriage flashed by.  Sam had cheated on her all along.  The second mobile phone with its messages from a string of nymphets was proof enough.  She had to get a grip on self and a new life now.  She had to prepare carefully.

~~

Demi aka Damini and Samir Shroff were well known socialite couple, much sought after by high society and numerous ribbon cutting ceremonies.  Both hailed from well to do business families and it was a union of bodies, minds and businesses.  The formula had worked or so it had seemed.  Now it was unraveling.

~~

Sam was a charmer with classic Adonis looks, smooth tongue and a body kept shipshape and in perfect health by personal trainers and nutritionists.  Everyone doted on him including his wife Demi and two college going kids.  He was clueless about the crack in this perfect family portrait.  He loved his family to the extent he was capable of, no more no less.

~~

Demi was beautiful but not a beauty.  She had a perfect body and her pliant face was capable of being gorgeous or not by mere clever strokes of makeup.  She was a makeup man’s dream come true as it could be transformed at will.  She had mastered this skill well and looked her best in Sam’s company.  They featured in Page 3 often as fodder for gossip and rumor’s grist mill.   Strangely, this family was unspoilt and down to earth.

This knowledge of Sam’s betrayal cut her to the quick and she decided to emerge from his shadow and come into her own.  She no longer cared to bask in his limelight.  Enough was enough.

~~

Demi created a new persona taking the latter half of her name “mini” and her parental last name of Mittal.  She created Mini Mittal and brought her to life by slowly adding substance, blood, bones, and sinew to this persona.  She got an affidavit from her maternal grandma regarding her birth date and applied for a new birth certificate under name of Mini Mittal along with new passport, bank account and PAN number for filing income taxes.  Mini was finally born.  Demi celebrated this event with her childhood bosom buddy MK and grandma.  They were sworn to secrecy about this.  MK too had married a social butterfly and had soon realized he did not love her anymore.  The children were another thing though as he loved his two sons dearly and consequently stayed put.  

MK’s family owned newspapers and he decided to offer her an advice column.  This idea had been tossed around recently and she would be a perfect fit.  He knew about her secret passion for creative writing.  Granny transferred a good amount of her trust to Mini’s account after taking her trustees into confidence.  Demi/Mini was determined about not taking any money from Sam.  She had to make it on her own.  Her dual life commenced.  She continued to shine wine and dine with her philandering husband.  In spare time she started writing for the column.  She also purchased a small apartment with a sea view and hired a live in housekeeper.

~~

The advice column slowly built up a good readership and the trickle of letters to the paper soon became a flood.  Circulation increased by leaps and bounds.  Paper was forced to hire couple of eager beaver wannabe journalists to sift through the mail and pick out the juicy ones.  Twenty questions were answered in each column.  In the meantime, Mini Mittal (MM) published her first novel aptly called “Makeover”.  Backed by a reputable publishing house that loved her column and reviewed by the mainstream newspapers, it became an overnight hit.  She attended book readings and signings setup by her publisher within the city.  She left her hair as is with an early cowlick of grey and understated makeup that lent an aura of mystery and solidity to her new persona. Mini Mittal had finally arrived. It was a year today since her new self had been born.  To complete her makeover, she wore padded inner garments to affect a fuller figure.  Now she was ready to walk away from her old self.

~~

Dinner was over and as whole family was present – she called them to the study.

Then, she dropped her bombshell.    She said that she was leaving Sam for good.  In order to preserve the family image she was going to fake her own death by drowning.   She had already created a new life for herself.  Then she informed them that they already knew her under her new name!  Everyone was flabbergasted.   Within few minutes she effected a change and returned as Mini Mittal.  Their collective gasp and jaw drop cut the silence sharply.   The kids and Sam bombarded her with questions.  Her accusing hurt look at Sam aborted his questions and then she told the kids that she was tired of her shallow life and wanted time for herself.  Henceforth she would like them to call her aunt Mini and never mom. She set the date of funeral of former Mrs. Demi Shroff socialite as first of following month.  Next she left to fake her own death.

Demi was gone and Mini was born.

(picture from internet)

With Hope and Prayer

With Hope and Prayer

Shaurya lay on the hospital bed, a broken man.  His grandpa had brought him up his way in the village unlike his siblings in Mumbai. His head was full of principles of honesty, hard work, and filial duty.  Now when he returned home, he was an alien there.  Everyone laughed at him exploiting mercilessly.  Whistling happily he did their bidding until one day he overheard them talking about him with derision.  He was heart broken.

His own kith and kin did not value him.  He lost his appetite and became ill.  His listlessness and lethargy finally hurled him towards suicide.  Just when he was ready to jump off into the Arabian Sea at the Gateway of India, Mumbai, a strong hand grabbed him and held him in a vice like grip.  Angrily he told him” let go of me please, I do not wish to live!”    The savior who was a psychologist had just emerged from nearby Taj Hotel for a walk and fresh air.  He was shocked at this handsome young man of barely twenty five wanting to end his life.  He decided to help him. 

**

Shaurya agreed to be hypnotized by Dr. Homi Mistry.  Gradually step by step doctor took him back towards his
 various births until they came to ancient India and he realized that in one of his previous lives, he was indeed Acharya Charaka!  That startled Dr. Mistry.  He slowly brought him back.  Then he made him hear his own taped voice.  Shaurya was amazed at this revelation.  He was quite familiar with ayurvedic medicines as his grandpa was an ayurvedic practitioner.  Grandpa had already told him that he had the makings of a great healer.  Now Dr. Mistry encouraged him to forget all else and become a master healer!  Shaurya started recalling ancient texts and scriptures and it was as though the floodgates had been opened.    He forgot all about ending his life and started devoting his time to honing his healing skills.  He left home and moved into the jungle and built a cottage for himself.  Wildlife did not scare him as they sensed he was not a threat.  During his brief encounter with Dr. Mistry and world at large, he had realized that the India of today was corrupt with no real values. 

Shaurya/

**Charaka believed that a physician who fails to enter the body of

a patient with the lamp of knowledge and understanding can never treat

diseases. He should first study all the factors, including environment,

 which influence a patient’s disease, and then prescribe treatment. It is

more important to prevent the occurrence of disease than to seek a cure.

He decided to develop a truth virus along the lines of  Truth Serum

used by intelligence wing of government and release this virus in the food and water supply of the country for wider and quick spread. 

**

After lots of trial and error and sleepless nights and back breaking,

finally the virus was ready for testing.  He quickly contacted Dr Mistry

and sought his help.  Dr. Mistry agreed to help test this “truth virus”. 

**

Dr. Mistry had many bollywood stars as patients.

 He decided to test it on them first.

The results were startling.  The truth virus created mayhem and literally wrecked Bollywood.  The stars had infected all those who came in contact with them.  Now all these people started speaking truth resulting in broken marriages, new couplings, real culprits came forward to confess, innocent people was reluctantly released.  Many corrupt politicians and cops became honest.  After the dust had settled, the change for the better could be seen tangibly.  In places where there were roads and running water and wells on paper only now had all those available in reality.  Everyone gradually cleaned up their acts.  Even the polluted air became pure. 

Meanwhile all politicians and corrupt officials were declaring their ill gotten gains and repatriating Swiss bank and offshore accounts.  The treasury was now full to bursting.  All the self aggrandizement statues were removed and only parks and playgrounds were built.  The divide between the haves and have-nots was less startling.

India once again became the” Golden Sparrow” of olden times.

In the meantime, both Shaurya and Dr. Mistry wondered, “how long will it be before a super bug /virus overpowers the truth virus…..  their fingers  crossed in great fervor.

**sourced from internet

The Pink Ballet Shoe- Oxymora replete Micro Fiction

 

Five 55 Word Emotional Micro Fiction Tales

Cloud Nine

(picture is from internet)

Dom and Louisa were inseparable. Coming from diverse backgrounds this miracle occurred with head bumps.friendship sprouted. Both were good in their studies and in a healthy spirit of rivalry, their relationship flourished. The only cloud in their lives was the green eyed monster. Both were wildly popular and had many friends of both sexes. This made each one jealous of the other’s close friends. Being of volatile Latin blood, their anger did not take long to boil over. They would not talk to each other for days. Then they would kiss and make up.

In an experiment undertaken by the city’s Education dept, economically weak kids were bused to affluent neighborhoods. Louisa was one such kid and Dom came from an aristocratic background. She was made to sit with Dom. They were both eight years old.

Their relationship began with a bang on their heads and dislike. But gradually they became aware of each other and when Dom rescued Louisa from being mercilessly teased by a bunch of boys, their

When this liking turned to love was hard to pinpoint. Both families were unhappy about this alliance but seeing their determination, they gave in grudgingly.

It is wedding rehearsal day. Elders from both families wil be meeting for first time. Only the parents had met before. Then a miracle happened. When everyone gathered, Louisa’s grandmother stared at an elderly gentleman across the table. It was Dominic’s great uncle David Vargas. Then she asked “Are your parents Louisa and David Souza?’ Seeing the uncle’s nod, she squealed delightfully tears streaming down her cheeks. David realizes he was staring at his long lost sister Louisa. Louisa had runaway from home at the age of seventeen because her family was forcing her to join the convent. She had no desire to become a bride of Christ. So she ran away to America. Luckily on the boat she met a fellow Spaniard and together they found a place to stay and later got married. Now there were no qualms as far as this alliance was concerned. In fact everyone said Louisa was lucky for them. She was the spitting image of her grandma. It became a family affair. Everyone beamed.

The bride and groom said their vows and kissed. The cake was cut. Suddenly, Dominic pulls out a knife from his pocket! Everyone is shocked and stare at him. Louisa’s mouth opens and eyes quizz. Dominic calls out to his best man to bring out the surprise. The best man lays down two green dolls on the table. With great fanfare a boy and girl doll in green color were produced. With a flourish, Dom presents the knife to Louisa and asks her to stab the girl doll to put an end to all their petty jealousies. He does likewise. There is a burst of applause. He starts their marriage without a single dark cloud.

Now they are truly gliding on cloud nine.

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