Deep Purple

"I have often told you stories
About the way I lived the life of a drifter
Waiting for the day
When I'd take your hand
And sing you songs
Then maybe you would say
Come lay with me love me
And I would surely stay... "

"Like hell!" she giggled, "it doesnt happen that way...Deep Purple sings about it only because it doesnt happen!' "What doesnt happen?"he asked, puzzled. "Gosh...all these sick things that they sing about and stuff they write about in poems. It's all so weird, they give me a horrid feeling in the gut!" He looked away sadly not knowing what to say. Songs are beautiful... poems are beautiful, stories are beautiful only because they are not real.. anything unreal is beautiful because they are distant..beyond the comprehension of the normal mind! "Come let's grab a chocolate,"he said presuming that cocoa would raise his spirits as well as hers. His bike was decidedly defunct and funny...it made funny screeches, stopped at the wrong places and refused to stop at crossings. But it remained with him because it always gave them a jolly good ride. Each time it bumped, they screamed with laughter....each time it screeched, life seemed more amusing than ever. That was the charm of youth, that was affection perhaps. They never thought about it... and anyway...was there any need? The bike was old and good enough to be thrown away...but it served them fine and they wouldnt part with it for all the gold in the world! A chocolate did them good. They began to grin once again, cracking stupid meaningless jokes and sat under the evening sky singing songs which either made no sense or very little of it.

"Dont go!"he said as she rose and dusted her jeans,"not this evening atleast. Stay with me... I feel cold...I feel lonely!" "You fool!"she laughed, "let go off my hand. I cant stay... you know full well I cant stay. Mike's waiting for me and he'll be cross if I dont turn up.I cant stay!" She left, taking away with her the warmth which her aura radiated. "Why does she do this?"he thought aloud,"what does she achieve?" He rode back home on the bike... no longer funny now,realising that someone was missing. He saw her climb onto Mike's car,flashy and dolled up, laughing like a wanton. "That bitch!" he smirked angrily,"I'm not going to have anything to do with her anymore!" He never had anything to do with her...they belonged to different worlds. Yet neither of them realised or even tried to realise why they spent most of their time with each other. How much he wanted to hate her and how miserably he failed... it frustrated his efforts, defeated his spontaneous male truculence. It was a very blue morning the following day and she was at his door looking prettier than any angel in the fairy tale books. "Oh you can hate me later!"she giggled,"I need your goddamn bike! Come lets go...we're getting late!" "I'm not coming,"he replied drily,"you get going and you can take my bike if you can ride it yourself." "Off course not! You know full well that I'm tired... I've had a late night and you'll take me on your bike, wont you?" He glanced at her angelic face, her eyes were so pristine, they could put a saint to shame and he could feel his knees begin to shake. Why was it so impossible to hate this loathsome woman? And he was very certain that he did not love her...not in the least. There was no emotion in his heart akin to love. Why could he not slap her with all his might when that was the only thing he wanted to do? "Look here,"he began curtly,"get out! I dont particularly enjoy looking at your face in the morning. You're dreadfully ugly and I cant tolerate you. Go!" She laughed her wanton laughter once again. "Come on! You're being hopelessly jealous. I have always spent my evenings like I spent the last evening. What's wrong with that? It's fun and I have nothing to worry about." She drifted away...the damned drifter! He sank into the sofa sadly. She was his only friend, he knew that full well. His parents had separated and abandoned him... he was nineteen and old enough to fend for himself. Is any tenderness at all left in this world? Something wrenched at his heart... what is so impossible about love that all should run away from it?What was so frightful?

"The sky is red, I don't understand,
past midnight I still see the land.
People are sayin' the woman is damned,
she makes you burn with a wave of her hand.
The city's a blaze, the town's on fire.
The woman's flames are reaching higher.
We were fools, we called her liar.
All I hear is "Burn!"
He usually listened to Deep Purple at this hour of the day,when the sun sank below the horizon leaving behind a gorgeous mess of purple on the sky. "BURN!" He almost jumped out of his skin as she came in screaming. "Hey turn it on louder...it's fun!" He gave her a weak smile. "I'm tired, he said,"I cannot argue with you. Leave me alone!" "Burn!"she screamed even louder and pranced around the room munching on a bar of chocolate. Having had enough of the amusement, she came and sat down on the floor in front of him, ramming a peice of chocolate into his eager mouth. "You bitch!"he laughed and put his arms around her. Perhaps it was not always necessary to be in love to enjoy someone's company, he thought to himself. "Why do you think so much?"she rejoined,laughing,"it's not needed. Live for the moment...do what you think will make you enjoy the moment. Right now I'm enjoying my time with you, I wont remember this when I see John later this evening. This wont mean much at that time. Remember, you can be happy only if you live for the moment...not think of what you'd done earlier or what you'd be doing later on. Just relish the moment as the largest molecule of time!" He nodded his head wisely, not quite agreeing to the philosophy of life that she preached. Yet strangely enough, that moment felt so good, so celestial..he wished it would last a little longer than a moment knowing full well that it was the greatest paradox of life. The moment is the largest molecule of time and yet all too short to relish the essence. He looked at her sadly once more, wishing that perhaps she would stay with him a little longer this evening. And before he realised what he was upto, he held her hands and entreated once more,"Perhaps you can spend this evening with me...Please!" She wrung her hands free. "Oh come on...you're such a bore. A helpless nineteen year old kid. It's fun hanging around with you sometimes, but an entire evening...heavens help me! And yes..." she still hadnt said it all,"dont tell me things like you love me and stuff. I dont understand all that nonsense. I know what you're looking for, but sorry child...I'm already booked for the evening!" She picked up her purse and slung it across her shoulders. Her forbidden beauty appeared all the more lethal. He could not understand the sudden welling up of tenderness in his heart as he saw her pack up to leave, something like he wanted to wrap her in his arms, rock her like a baby, kiss her forehead and show her how beautiful life could be!

"Wait a minute,"he said,"I'll drop you on my bike. You can tell me where you want to get dropped. Meanwhile we'll have a great ride on the way...whaddya say?" "Groovy!"she screamed with excitement, "I'd love a ride...I love that ridiculous bike of yours. Yup gimme a ride..who knows, I might not be able to ride it again." They bumped away together, laughing in wild abandon. Minutes later,the laughter converted into the frightened shrieks of a woman and finally all noise stopped altogether. There was just the roar of the bike's engine and his breath as he climbed down the cliff precariously..................................................................................................
He kissed her on the forehead the following morning after she woke up from the slumber of sedatives and the aftermath of a surgery. Her face was swollen with resentment and a hurt ego. "What's all this?'she screamed as soon as she saw him. "Calm down,"he said quietly,"there's been an accident. They're all trying to fix you up.you shall be fine soon." "You damned liar!"she screamed furiously,"why dont you tell me that I wont be able to walk again? why dont you tell me that I'm stuck in this wheelchair for life? why dont you tell me that I look ugly and that no one will ever look at me again?" He wiped the hot tears that streamed down her cheeks leaving ugly streaks on her amazingly soft skin. "I've come to take you home,"he said,"and to tell you that you're staying there with me, now that you have nowhere else to go." "I'm not coming,"she said, her eyes filled with her broken self pride. He wheeled her away, patiently wiping her tears and kissing her head. "Can you play me 'Child in time'?"she told him as they sat by the window under a purple evening sky. The hue had descended from the sky on her lovely face and he wrapped her in his arms like he always wanted to. "Sweet child in time you'll see the line... The line that's drawn between the good and the bad..." Deep Purple's exquisite brand of rock music began to play. And as they sat silhouetted against the evening sky, as he stroked her hair and looked tenderly into her eyes, life could not be prettier. As he tucked her into bed that night, and watched her face scrunched against the pillow, he whispered almost inaudibly,"I'm sorry...but there was no other way in which I could keep you with me, to show you how much I can care for you. I hope you never know that I had pushed you into the cliff. You're safely snuggled in my arms....sweet child in time, you'll see the line...." He sang to himself in the deep purple of the night!

Rendezvous with Death

Pluto is a splendidly handsome guy... nothing like those weirdly virile males in shapeless robes on the pages of mythology books. He was wearing a smart tuxedo the night he visited my house and my heart popped out in my mouth. "Hey dude!" I said, "you looking for someone?' I looked up at him with an eager smile, wishing he would say that he had come looking for me. "What's your name?" I asked. "Pluto..."his reply was brusque and careless. He was in a hurry. "Come on... that's what Mickey Mouse calls his...er... his dog! I've never met any human being named Pluto!" "I'm not a human being,"he said calmly. My brows knitted. "Not a human being?"was all I could ask. "I am a god, dear child. I am Pluto, the god of Death!" Upon hearing this, I looked at him sympathetically. He needed help...psychiatric help. I offered him a glass of water, asked him to sit down and assured him that he could spend the night in my house in case he had nowhere else to go. "You are not getting me," he said patiently, "I AM the god of Death and I do not have much time." I felt sorry for him at that point of time... he could not be sane. Which man with a man to call his own would go around the town at that hour claiming to be Pluto, the God of Death? I insisted that he sit down and drink some water. At this, he was furious. "I have not come here for water," he shouted,"I have come here for your father." As far as I knew my Dad and his acquaintances, he'd never known a man named Pluto...rather never known such a handsome man. All of my Dad's friends were pot-bellied and bald or near about getting there. "What business can you possibly have with my Dad?" I frowned. He laughed at me scornfully. "I dont argue with kids. Its in my rule book. I treat them gently and leave them alone unless Jupiter orders me that he needs more kids up there." "Now who's Jupiter? Why do all you guys have names like dogs?" "Jupiter is the king of gods," he was patient and calm once again. "You mean your boss or something?" "We dont have bosses up there. We operate in a different system. Jupiter is my lord...i must obey him." "Ya whatever. However I'm pleased to tell you that my Dad's sleeping and is not interested in seeing you now....not at this hour." "Jupiter wants him and sent me here to get him. There's nothing I can do, neither can you. He has to come with me. Dont worry...I wont disturb him. I'm strong enough to carry him on my shoulders." "What the.... "I stopped short, "Dont you think I've had enough of this nonsense. Now if you will please leave, I think I can get back to bed. It's near to midnight." He still had a polite smile on his face. "You can go back to bed,"he said,"just dont interfere with my work."

God of Death? Who is this man? Maybe a robber.... oh God! should I call the police? An army of thoughts raced across my mind. What occured to me then was to indulge him in small talk and distract him out of the house and then shut the door upon him. "You dont look like Pluto,"I said. "How is that?"he enquired back. "Pluto wears a robe,"I said,"and he's got a beard and wears a ridiculous crown on his head. Infact you dont look like a God at all. I'd have mistaken you for Pierce Brosnan if I were somewhere in America." "This is what Jupiter asked me to wear. He said people would stare at me if I came in that attire that you mentioned. He's the most fashionable man up there... so he knows about the latest trends here on earth." I burst into a paroxysm of laughter, then slightly purple with the exercise, I asked him,"Jupiter got them stitched for you, right?" "Perhaps.... well you're delaying me. Jupiter wants me back soon." "Hey! you guys got mobile phones as well? How can Jupiter call you now. I'm sure he's fast asleep on a lotus. I've read that he's a very lazy guy." "We dont have lotuses up there. Those flowers on which we sleep are called asphodels. And dont abuse Jupiter. He is an angry god." "Oh yeah... Jupiter is very short tempered. All he does is strike peoplw with his thunder. I dont like him at all. Why is he a god..he appears like a demon to me!" All that i said now was true. Aphrodite was my favourite goddess in Greek mythology and I was always very disapproving of Jupiter. Pluto shifted uneasily on his feet. He was clenching his fists. I was sleepy and wanted to ask him to please get out of my house. At this point, I couldnt be more polite.

"It's a minute to midnight," he said,"I have to leave and I have to take your father along with me." "He's going nowhere,"I replied in a no-nonsense tone. "It's already decided,"he said,"Jupiter will strike me with thunder if I fail to accomplish ths task." "Oh f*** Jupiter. Get the hell out of here, will you? And stop bullying me. Moreover you're a god, an immortal. What can Jupiter's thunder do to you?You wont get killed, will you?" I was shaking with rage. "I wont be killed, but I might be maimed."he replied tersely. "Fine... I'll get crutches delivered to your doorstep... or perhaps you can describe the flower you sleep on. It's really smoky up there...the courier might not find you..." "I have no more time to reason with you... I have to leave and I have to take your father with me," he replied as calmly as before. "No... no...nooooooo..."I shouted, "he's my Dad! I love him. Dont you dare touch him!" There was a sudden explosion, a cloud of smoke and a strange smell. The bed on which my Dad slept was empty. "Papa... Papa!"I screamed. I peeped underneath the bed.... like the old days when we played hide and seek. "Papa.... where are you?"I shouted again. He was nowhere. Pluto was gone and so was my Dad. I felt sick in the gut. I felt like punching Pluto's face with all the strength in my body... I wanted to mutilate it forever. Life's not the same since the night Pluto visited me. I've seen the God of Death enter my house. I've become fearless, ruthless, undaunted. And yet the truth remains.... Pluto is a splendidly handsome guy and had it not been for his profession, I'd have become his official consort!