The train became airborne and sped spiraling along the steel pipe, never moving more than a foot away. The people were running helter- skelter to their tiny refuges and staring at the massive bodies moving in the air with mouths agape and eyes full of horror.
It was yet another day in the city of Amritsar. Yet another day, till this happened. Amarjeet was sitting on the floor looking at her mother making aam ka achar (mango pickle) with that content concentration. She had always seen her like that, content in the routine of routine things. It was her world, her own little world, well removed from the games of the WORLD. She saw the Phulkari (embroidery) hanging from the wall which her mother had made for her 2 months back.
Her dad was watching the special news feed on the Indo - Pak crisis. Two days earlier, the Pak Army had started marching inside the Indian territory, crossing the LOC into Rajasthan's remote villages. The whole country was ablaze with anger. Her dad came out of the room, blurting abuses and curses for the Pakistani administration. Her mother said " Calm Down! You will ruin your health. What do we common people have to do about the doings of these Vadde Loki (Big People). " She picked up her container of pickle and climbed the terrace to put it out in the sun to ripen up. Her dad also went to the terrace to have a look at the freshly made pickle.
Amarjeet decided to stay back and savour the taste of the mango which couldn't make it to the pickle. She heard her mother and father talk about random routine things and then came the distant hum of the train which used to move about in that part of the town with its steel pipe running just next to Amarjeet 's house.
It was the year 2104 and trains no longer ran on tracks. They ran in the air apparently. The steel pipes housed huge electromagnets which made the train float in the air. It was a routine thing. But there was immense hue and cry. She went upstairs to check it out and just couldn't believe her eyes.
This time the train was not alone. It was far away and there was another thing flying behind it. The train left its normal tread, of going straight and started taking gigantic confusing spirals around the steel pipe. Just when it came near Amarjeet's house, a thing emerged from inside the steel pipe and engulfed the train. The thing which was coming behind the train was a missile. As soon as the train entered that huge shield- like thing , two mini missiles came out and blew away the bigger missiles. There was a huge explosion and bits of shrapnel flew in all directions.
She saw her mother and father die in front of her screaming in agony and despair. She got a tiny piece in her left arm but was just injured. The pain was great but the loss greater.
However remote the things may look, they will always affect us in the end. We have to act for anything that is happening to any person on this planet because one day or the other, we may have to face it.
P.S. All the characters and places mentioned above are fictitious. Any relation to any person, thing or place is purely co-incidental.
It was yet another day in the city of Amritsar. Yet another day, till this happened. Amarjeet was sitting on the floor looking at her mother making aam ka achar (mango pickle) with that content concentration. She had always seen her like that, content in the routine of routine things. It was her world, her own little world, well removed from the games of the WORLD. She saw the Phulkari (embroidery) hanging from the wall which her mother had made for her 2 months back.
Her dad was watching the special news feed on the Indo - Pak crisis. Two days earlier, the Pak Army had started marching inside the Indian territory, crossing the LOC into Rajasthan's remote villages. The whole country was ablaze with anger. Her dad came out of the room, blurting abuses and curses for the Pakistani administration. Her mother said " Calm Down! You will ruin your health. What do we common people have to do about the doings of these Vadde Loki (Big People). " She picked up her container of pickle and climbed the terrace to put it out in the sun to ripen up. Her dad also went to the terrace to have a look at the freshly made pickle.
Amarjeet decided to stay back and savour the taste of the mango which couldn't make it to the pickle. She heard her mother and father talk about random routine things and then came the distant hum of the train which used to move about in that part of the town with its steel pipe running just next to Amarjeet 's house.
It was the year 2104 and trains no longer ran on tracks. They ran in the air apparently. The steel pipes housed huge electromagnets which made the train float in the air. It was a routine thing. But there was immense hue and cry. She went upstairs to check it out and just couldn't believe her eyes.
This time the train was not alone. It was far away and there was another thing flying behind it. The train left its normal tread, of going straight and started taking gigantic confusing spirals around the steel pipe. Just when it came near Amarjeet's house, a thing emerged from inside the steel pipe and engulfed the train. The thing which was coming behind the train was a missile. As soon as the train entered that huge shield- like thing , two mini missiles came out and blew away the bigger missiles. There was a huge explosion and bits of shrapnel flew in all directions.
She saw her mother and father die in front of her screaming in agony and despair. She got a tiny piece in her left arm but was just injured. The pain was great but the loss greater.
However remote the things may look, they will always affect us in the end. We have to act for anything that is happening to any person on this planet because one day or the other, we may have to face it.
P.S. All the characters and places mentioned above are fictitious. Any relation to any person, thing or place is purely co-incidental.
