A Short Swim Away

Aalekh ran as fast as his legs could carry him - away from the frighteningly escalating voices, away from clatter of furniture and vases being thrown to the hard tiled floor as an act of fury, away from everything that he had been dreading to live around for three years now. The only thing preventing him from doubling over was the thought of FREEDOM and BELONGINGNESS – two endearing jewels that he would attain once he’d reach his destination.

He dashed through the arecanut plantation, slashed through the thorny hedges and leaped over barbed wire fences until he reached his haunt – a gleaming lake surrounded by lush greenery, at the opposite end of which there stood AALEKH’S OWN KINGDOM. The place he called home.

The fire-breathing dragons – who he had named Chutki, Raju and Jaggu (like his favourite TV show characters) – nodded their scaly heads and beckoned to him as they swerved around Aalekh’s great towering sandstone castle. Aalekh’s panting and heaving seemed to diminish at the very sight of HIS LAND, HIS FRIENDS, HIS WORLD!

But then, irrepressible wrath surged through him. He balled his fists so hard that his nails dug deep into his tiny palms at the very ignorance of his parents, who barely had any time for him. Work, status and money were everything to them. But Aalekh? He was nothing but a poster boy for the high-class life they led - adorning him with branded clothes, watches and what-not?! But did they ever have understanding? Unconditional love? A brief face-to-face, soul-to-soul talk, at least? None.

His kingdom does not exist? Chutki, Raju… all a figment of his imagination? Oh… just wait! He’d show what an amiable ruler he was! For once, he’d get the attention he deserved. And that excuse of a psychiatrist… diagnosed Aalekh as a “skee-tzo…” something - meaning delusional? He was bound to end up in the dungeons for every single time he compellingly made him swallow his medication (that tasted like his mother’s gross hard-boiled eggs) and put him to sleep for days on end.

Just a short swim across the lake and the world would be his oyster! No quarrelling parents to worry about! Hello to guilt-free days!

Every single day at his so-called “home” was like a shard of glass being penetrated into Aalekh’s fragile conscience. He was not so naïve. He knew his mother and father were having differences. He knew how eventually, they would separate and… and it would be all Aalekh’s fault. Punished are those who commit sins - wrongdoers. So he’d be at fault for his parents’ divorce too. And his punishment? He’d be nothing but an asset that his IT-class parents would bicker about in dark courtrooms and still, nothing would change. They would still have no time for him. Just like the long-drawn, monotonous eleven years of his life.

But…but, there’s hope! There’s a silver-lining! Aalekh could change his fate… could evade all that horror and agony just by reaching over to the greener, brighter side of life. His people love him! He belonged there – amidst his dragon buddies and the loyal and affectionate subjects of the kingdom who, unlike his wacko therapist, wouldn’t shove bits and pieces of experimental tablets into his mouth and let him take a siesta for a week or so!

And the best part, you ask? It was his grandmother. She’d be there, waiting for him at the castle gates!

Ayya was the vibrant flower in Aalekh’s topsy-turvy, miserable life which bloomed and bequeathed breaths of fresh air to him. But just a year back, she too deserted him. She’s in a better place? Then that ‘better place’ was undoubtedly his kingdom – the BEST place! He just couldn’t wait to hug her and bury his face deep in her snow-white hair that smelled of her freshly-plucked jasmines. He was fervent to see that wrinkly, yet effervescent smile of hers that made his life brighter – like switching on ginormous floodlights!

Aalekh looked down at his dusty feet. He balled his fists in riveting determination. This is it, he thought to himself. Meet you on the brighter side, Ayya.

And then, Aalekh lunged deep into the crystal-clear lake - with a heart brimming with hope, his mind bursting with vivid fantasies of a brighter future, sending big ripples across the otherwise calm surface of the pristine lake.

***

Manja and his new bride had heard of an alluring lake-side arecanut grove, which attracted sparse number of tourist. An ideal honeymoon spot, he thought! Geared with tents and the like, his wife and he reached their destination only to see a huge, bustling gathering of people.

This was rather unsettling, as Manja would now have to book some out-of-budget holiday destination that his wife had insisted on.

On seeing a pot-bellied police officer, Manja approached him to purge his curiosity.

“Inspector, what’s this whole crowd here for?”

The police officer shook his head in dismay and replied in a drawling voice, “Anna, don’t you know? A young boy committed suicide here a day back. He drowned in the 9ft deep lake. His parents informed that he had some mental problem. What’s in the minds of the youngsters today, God alone knows! These spoilt brats are denied of some branded item and there they go and commit suicide! What has the world come to..!?”