More Short Stories
When I was a kid, I was a die-hard fan of GI Joes. I had so many of them. I used to visit hospitals a lot, so on every visit my mom bought me a toy as an incentive. That is how I amassed such a big collection. They had great flexibility, with wrist, elbow and knee movements, plus a bunch of weapons. I had so much fun playing with them. Obviously, I had a favourite one too. It is somewhere in the house right now, although I do not know exactly where.
I also had a lot of small toy cars. They were not Hot Wheels because Hot Wheels were very expensive. I remember a single piece was around INR 60 at Big Bazaar. I did have some Hot Wheels cars and tracks, but not many. I also had Lego-type toys, although they did not build anything specific. You could use them to build anything you wanted. I used to build planes and use those planes to support my GI Joe attacks on enemy lairs. It was so much fun.
When I first received pocket money, do you want to guess how much it was? It was INR 20 per month. I never actually used that money.
Once, I was walking back home from a shop when I heard a faint trumpet sound that grew louder. I turned around but saw nothing, so I looked up at the sky. There was a small plane-like object flying toward me. As it came closer, the image became clearer. It was a flying chariot being pulled by two gorgeous elephants. That was Indra Dev. I bowed as the chariot came to a halt in front of me and Indra Dev stepped out.
He greeted me with a Namaste and asked for directions to a house. I was confused at first, but I obliged and showed him the way. He noticed my confusion and explained that he was there to deliver a parcel. He had been getting bored in Dev Lok, so he had started a five-minute delivery company. Since he already had the flying chariot, he thought he might as well use it.
However, the network in Dev Lok was patchy, so I suggested he try Starlink. He also did not like using a mobile phone too much because GPS signals are unreliable in the sky. I told him he could raise money for his company and put some of his own high-power satellites into space. He said he would think about it. The world is modernising, so Dev Lok should modernise too. He even told me about his plans to hire a social media representative.
After this short conversation, he climbed back onto the chariot and sped away. It was a good interaction.
There was a lot of commotion at the Nuclear War Centre. People were rushing in and out, and everyone looked tense. Suddenly, the President’s motorcade entered the premises. The entire place shifted from walking to jogging as urgency filled the air.
There seemed to be a real threat. Satellites had detected a large launch from a friendly nation, but the warhead was heading toward our country. Calls were made, but nobody on the other side was picking up. The President had to decide whether this was an act of war or if the warhead should simply be intercepted.
Things were spiralling out of control as the warhead approached our airspace. An interceptor missile was launched. Moments later, satellites detected another launch from another friendly nation. The entire centre was confused. The President declared a high alert. All incoming warheads would be intercepted, but he also ordered aircraft carriers and destroyers to be deployed toward those nations. There would be no nuclear retaliation, but ground forces would be sent.
Sadaharu was looking at the sky when he saw a streak of purple light. He had never seen anything like it before. The sky was usually clear. He felt a tingle in his body, so he went inside and brought his mum and dad out. When they looked up, the purple streaks were gone and they were now red. Red as blood.
