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KR Market.
You are Manu, a 6 year old boy.You walk aimlessly for quite some time in all the lanes and shortcuts you know like the back of your hand. You spend some time and take in the smell of fresh flowers, so you can think of it when sad.You wonder what to do next. You wonder what your best freind Meera is up to. Troubling her is always fun!
[[Look for meera]]
After wandering and getting distracted by things,you finally find little Meera wearing a pink dress at the cotton candy stall. She is holding her half eaten cotton candy.
You reach the stall.
[[Make fun of how Meera looks like a cotton candy herself]]
or
[[Ask Meera if she would like to share her cotton candy]]
or
[[Snatch the tempting cotton candy from little Meera]]
You make fun of Meera, and start laughing loudly.This makes Meera very sad, and she is now crying. The crying starts drawing a crowd and that is the last thing you want.
In the crowd is a lady who comes up to you saying,"Hey you, little boy. Making little girls cry. Is this what your Mumma and Pappa have taught you? Wait let them come, I'll tell them all about your behaviour.
You look down and shrug. "That lady sure does not know that my parents aren't coming back for me."
You spot Ram anna across the row of shops.
[[Talk to Ram anna]] She is happy to share it because it is too large for her to eat.
You are delighted by this. You take a chunk of the cotton candy, folding it to a bite size you eat it. As the strands dissolve on your tongue, it makes the candy disappear in your mouth almost like magic.
You see a lady scolding her son for eating too much candy and wonder if someday, your mumma would also scold you like that, worry about you, feed you, find you.You shrug that thought and remember that you had to do something.
[[Talk to Ram anna]] This makes Meera very sad, and she is now crying. The crying starts drawing a crowd and that is the last thing you want.
In the crowd is a lady who comes up to you saying,"Hey you, little boy. Making little girls cry. Is this what your Mumma and Pappa have taught you? Wait let them come, I'll tell them all about your behaviour.
You look down and shrug. "That lady sure does not know that my parents aren't coming back for me"
You spot Ram anna across the row of shops.
[[Talk to Ram anna]] Ram anna is the man who has taken care of you ever since the day your parents left you. He teaches you how to read, write and also how to fight. He is the leader of a big group that takes care of all little children who have gotten lost, just like you did 2 years ago. He asks for only one thing in return, blindly following instructions.
[[..]]But you don't mind following instructions because Ram anna once told you that he has found the secret to all life. It is stories.
Stories increase experiences and add to life.So he steals memories and fills spice jars with stories.He says it feels good because all their bad memories go away.
You believe him.
[[...]]You are now standing before him.
"Good Morning young man.
Which adventure does your curious little mind seek today?"
"Good morning Ram anna.I wanted to ask you something."
"And what would that be?"
[[Do you know where parents of lost children go?]]"Asking the difficult questions right away!
But yes I have wondered that all my life. Its funny how we humans just can't let go of the things that we lose and keep wondering, keep looking for it. Then there comes a point when we decide to stop looking. With things its easier because we can say that we stopped looking because we realised that we didn't need them anymore or that we found a replacement. But when it comes to people, its not that easy. I dont let that sit in my mind for long. If we knew where they go, we wouldn't be where we are. We wouldn't be lost would we now?"
[[What is my task for today]]
or
[[Nod and silently walk away, before chacha assigns you today's task]]
"Manu, do you see that man over there, he's a Gora. Do you know what his people did. They destroyed our country.They are disgusting and have no shame. Bring me that man."
[[Why]]
You wander through your usual route, through tents and stores.
You get bored in a while, wandering seamlessly.You realize that if you don't ask for your task, you will have nothing to do all day, and Ram anna will be upset.
You go back to Ram anna.
[[What is my task for today]]
"This place that we stand in, was a battle field in the 18th century. We fought the Anglo mysore war here. It was against his kind that people like my grandfather fought and they were as strong as they come.
The British army was scared to enter the fort so they tried to camp in the open area in front of the fort. The battle continued for 15 days with no result. Finally, the British army chief, Cornwallis planned to attack the fort at midnight. This was against the rules of war.
I hate his kind, but he does look like someone with a story.
Why dont you go get him for me."
[[Agree and leave]]
You look around and nod once you have spotted him.
You start thinking of what you can use that will do the job.
You know what the easiest and fastest way of getting such a job done.
You remember that you have some money in your pocket.
[[Use money]] You take out the money and count it. This is almost a daily ritual of yours, taking out money, counting and recounting it, in hope that maybe Goddess Lakshmi will be very happy with you someday and bless you with wealth.
[[....]]
Papa would say, “A simple fact that is hard to learn is that the time to save money is when you have some.”
You agree with him and wonder if you would even be in this place and situation if he had actually come back to the spot he asked you not to move from, to the spot you waited at for 4 days, crying, calling out to papa, and mumma. You shouted on the top of your voice, trying to get your voice heard over the sound of talking, laughing, louder than those vendors trying to sell their products.
Your screams sounded just like those of a child throwing tantrums over candy or a toy car, or a little boy getting beatings from his mom for misbehaving.
No one heard you. All you had was yourself.
[[You hate him for leaving you there]]
or
[[You still love him]]
Ram anna once said, “It doesn’t matter about money; having it, not having it. Or having clothes, or not having them. You’re still left alone with yourself in the end."
You dont really understand it.
You decide to complete your task on your own
[[Reach into pocket]] You waited in vain for so long. And when you finally convinced yourself that you were lost, you took it on yourself to find them.
Apperently beggars had devised a new method to earn money. They would leave their little children in the crowd and train them to act as if they have separated from parents. People who felt bad for them, among the crowd would feed them, give them money etc.
So along with you , there were atleast 20 other kids who claimed to be lost. No one believed you. And you terribly missed papa.
You decide to go with
[[What Ram anna once said]]
or
you try to think for yourself, and then remember that you have a few things in your pocket
[[Reach into pocket]] You still love him.
All you have left are his memories and his words. They have helped you so far and you believe that they will show you the right path in the future too. So you decide to save the money while you still have it.
You think of other tools you could use.
[[Reach into pocket]] Thanks to Ram anna, extra large pockets are stitched to all the boys' pants, you have pockets that could go almost deep till yor knees.
You reach into your pocket and have four objects in it.
Some money, a couple of cards,a toffee and top with a string.
[[cards]]
[[toffee]]
[[top]] You have a bunch of cards from the deck Buntoo the thug and his gang play with while they play loud music that does not feel good, hurts the ears and makes it difficult to sleep at night.
Ram anna once called you a deckless card and that was when you realised how important it was for all cards to be together.
Then you stole some of the cards so that they couldnt play anymore.
[[Throw card at the foreigner]]
or
You don't think that would work.But you do have 2 other things
[[toffee]]
[[top]] You don't feel so good after eating the chocolate. You keep the wraper anyway.
You realise that you got distracted and have a task at hand to complete.
You think of what you can do.
[[cards]]
[[top]]You are very skilled at spinning the top.
You become completely still for a moment and notice the direction and strenght of the current of the wind.
You place your top at an angle and then pull the string towards yourself. The top spins in the direction of the crowd, and dodges multiple people and hits your target, making the man trip and fall. You look at him.
He is wearing brown pants, which reminds of a dirty rag you used as a child to clean your bum. He also wears a shirt which is red in color, reminding you of the apple you once stole. He seems tired.
[[steal his wallet]]
or
[[wonder what may be wrong with him]]
or
[[Take him to Ram anna]]You realise that despite the dirty clothes much like your own, his wallet which is a little out of his back pocket seems quite thick.
"This man must have been rich, but lost for a really long time.
Either that or he is a great thief. Maybe he is. In that case I dont think stealing from him will be as bad as stealing from someone who worked hard and earned that money. Besides this money can be put to good use. "
[[steal it]]
[[rethink]]You wonder what may be wrong with him. As you see the man recollecting his composure, your train of thought breaks. His eyes meet yours and his smile freezes every moment in your body. Instead of following your natural instict of fleeing from the scene, for some reason you don't move. He gathers himself up and says, "Wow. That was quite some top-spinning! You taught that to yourself, boy?
[[Try to run away]]
[["I am sorry."]]Once you have taken him to Ram anna your job here is done.
[[leave]]
[[Wait to hear the foreigner's story]]You have practiced this many time with an apple to aim.
You aim at the man's ear becase you know that it will distract him, and you know that men carrying crates taller than their heads walk around and push anything in their way.
You take your shot but you miscalculated the wind.Your card hits a cart of bananas and Viri amma is angry.
You run away and start thinking of what you can do.
[[Reach into pocket]] Stealing is not one of your skills(You don't believe you are thinking this but you think that you should have learned this from Buntu, it would have come handy today) you fumble a little.
You are not fast enough with your hand and right when you are about to grab the wallet, the man gets hold of your hand. He pulls you so you are standing right in front of him.
[[.then.]][[wonder what may be wrong with him]]
or
[[Take him to Ram anna]] He looks at you for quite sometime, smiles and asks you," Why would a young man like you do that?"
You are startled by the question. By the fact that he didn't get angry, that he didn't look at your clothes and assume that you are a beggar or a thief and actually wanted to know why you did that.
It has been very long since someone other than Ram anna spoke to you in a voice and tone that made you feel like a child, that made you feel cared for.
You realise that he is waitig for you to reply.
[[Try to run away]]
[["I am sorry."]]
You laugh to yourself because you remember how Ram anna once saw you do that and said,
"The greatest of men have tried their luck at pleasing Goddess Lakshmi. If only any of those half witted fools would try pleasing the Goddess of knowledge and learning- Goddess Saraswati instead!"
[[then..]]Little you took the words as they were said and spend all your money on books. Everyone had a nice laugh and you sat there wondering what you did wrong and when exactly would Goddess Saraswati be pleased and when she would ask Goddess Lakshmi to bless you.
You later learned of life's funny ways of teaching you things.
You are now done counting. You have 2 creased old notes of 100 rupees each, one 20 rupees note and a couple of 1, 2 and 5 rupee coins.
You wonder if you should use it. In times of worry you wonder what he would do.
Then you remember,
[[What papa once said]]
or
[[What Ram anna once said]]
He tells you it s alright.
He tells you that his name is Jack and he cannot find hs way back.You see this as the perfect opportunity.
you tell him that you know the way.
[[Take him to Ram anna]]
[[warn him]] You are standing too close to him.
You try to run but he holds on to you. He tells you that his name is Jack and he cannot find hs way back.You see this as the perfect opportunity.
you tell him thata you know the way.
[[Take him to Ram anna]]
[[warn him]]As you begin telling him your name and how you ended up there, some of Ram anna's men see waht you are trying to do.
As they come closer, you try to tell Jack what is going to be done with him, but you end up speaking so fast that Jack does not understand.
Ram anna's men come close to you and one of them picks you up with one hand and another holds the foreigner by the neck.
You end up being locked in a stinky bathroom as punishment for your behaviour.
You regret trying to help the man because now you will never know his story.
The end.The end.Extraction of stories is your favourite part of the day. Its as close as you can have to a bedtime story.
you sit in a corner with your arms hugging yourself and wait for the story.
[[The story]]This one was about Jack
Jack loved a woman all his life and was always trying to make her happy. He would take flowers for her everyday. Roses,lilies,carnations and all the flowers he didn't know names of.
One fine day he had a bad day at work and forgot to get flowers back home.
That was just the beginning. They had a lot of fights and then one day she decided to leave. He knew she would wait at the train station and he knew what train she would take but he was really bad at numbers.
So he couldn't find the train and lost his love forever.
As the story ends, you are glad that you are so good with numbers and trains that you take metro rides back and forth like a merry go round.
[[leave]] (link-reveal: "Click me")[(live: 2s)
[ "Hello" (stop:)]]