Spirited Coffee
9.. 8.. 7.. 6.. the traffic signal timer beamed in the night showing
the countdown.
Ajay started his Bajaj Caliber 115,with just a kick in macho style,being at the edge of the traffic line,he had a panoramic view of the Adayar signal and the flyover that exists beside it. Hoards of people were walking along the pavement,some of them jay walking in the last few seconds,the share autos luring people from the bus stop,the buses filled with passengers and so on,but he riveted his eyes upon a Pulsar 180cc a few feet away from him,which was firing on all cylinders, all set to blast away.He gave a glancing look at the rider, who was wearing a leather jacket with boots and a helmet. He nodded at him in a maverick style and then focused on the timer.
4.. 3.. And then jet set go ! Ajay had his adrenaline rush and with this josh he wants to beat everybody on the road. His bike had a great pick-up and matched the pulsar and soon they left behind the cavalry of vehicles. Ajay knew that his bike is no match for that pulsar monster in the long run, he had to take risks in the corners and break very lately. The guy who was riding the pulsar knew that he had a race in hand and drove aggressively.
But one thing set apart Ajay from the other rider,in a way from everyone else : Ajay gave a damn to anything around him,a thrill seeker who would push himself to the brink.He proved himself, once again, with the bikes and cars he crisscrossed while driving, the sharp cuts and turns and the blind maneuvers he performed. The other rider thought that he could match him at first believing that his super powered vehicle could take him, but later on driving in the traffic, he got frightened a bit of this maddening pursuit and began backing off from the race. Ajay had the camera-finish at one signal when he fizzed past the signal with just 2 seconds to spare,leaving the other rider caught up in the signal.
So Ajay rode victorious, another unannounced race won by him, and began slowing down unusually.He was driving normally making way for the other bikes and cars which were speeding behind him. So from a fiery start to a pussycat finish, Ajay was crawling towards his home-the 'Star City' apartments,which was one of the mushrooming serviced apartments (where you can get your laundry done, to house keeping and of course provide you with meals if requested) in Chennai city, from work!
Ajay smiled at the watchman who saluted him as he entered the parking area. His Caliber 115 looked like the odd one out in the midst of Honda Citys,Sonatas and even some Mercs which were parked alongside it.Ajay was a strange man,a man of few words,a daring maverick, and was always composed.As he passed through the lobby, he met Singa, the errand-boy of the apartment.Singa admired Ajay,even adored him as a hero.He was very much servile to him, at times he will do errands just to get into his apartment and see him. Seeing Ajay in his denims and shades made him look in awe.Quickly he snapped out of his gaping stare and asked him,"Saar, laundry podringa na sollunga nan mela vanthu yaduthukiraen"(Sir, If u want laundry services, I will come upstairs to your room and fetch them).
Ajay replied back in one word,"Seri"(Okay) and walked to the lift.On his way up to the 4th floor in the lift,Ajay's cell phone vibrated sighting the arrival of the message.
Ajay opened the message : It was from Rohit ("I will be there in 5 mins"), his old friend from college. Ajay had called Rohit to pay a visit,which surprised Rohit, because Ajay disappeared from the radar for more than 3 years since graduating from college.
As his friend was arriving, Ajay came down in the same lift and sat in the lobby waiting for his friend. Ajay hated the lobby in the evenings, as he had to endure yapping conversations from old residents who had their meeting there.But now he had to sit next to Mr.Anbudurai, one of the oldies in the apartment.Ajay made sure that he would not make the mistake of opening an conversation with him,he kept himself busy by reading the papers and looked for Singa to chitchat. Ahem , Singa had gone out for some errand that might have been given by anyone of the 15 residents of that apartment.Time went by and it was 15 mins since that message and no sign of Rohit. "Late as usual" thought Ajay and then at last Rohit arrived in his bike.
"Wow .. Is it really Ajay?",an astounded Rohit remarked as he saw Ajay coming towards him.
Ajay's face broadened with a smile and went on to hug him and strangle his neck.
"oucch .. You are a body builder or what ?",said Rohit still struggling from Ajay's grip,"Man .. I thought u were an IT geek".
Finally, Ajay opened up and spoke,"U haven't changed , u still have your biiggg mouth and now with a flabby tummy too", and went on to punch his tummy.
Realizing that they were creating a scene on the lobby where other visitors and residents were present,seeing Mr.Anbudurai stare at them with contempt,they moved to the apartment, with Ajay leading the way.
On the way up in the lift,Rohit could not control himself,"Man.. U have changed a lot,I still cannot believe it,Mr.Team Leader",he said.
"Yea .. I have changed",said Ajay who was a typical one-liner when socializing.
Rohit was open-mouthed seeing the interior ambience of his luxury apartment. The tone, the texture,the furniture and the lighting made it look grandeur with vaulted ceilings and wide expanses of floor space.And the view from the balcony was splendid, the white sand from the marina coast, the boats, the catamaran, the light house trying to light up the sea,the St. Bede's school and the Russian Embassy.
Standing on the balcony,Rohit started the conversation,"Ajay, frankly speaking we never expected that you would get to this level".
Ajay patted him on his shoulder and leaned on the traditional Maltese column and said,"I had to change,I was fed up with myself being an under performer,running behind success,that drove me crazy moreover Deeps wanted me to be like this".
Rohit had tried right from the very start to avoid talking about Deeps altogether,but Ajay himself brought Deeps into the conversation,old memories had to be enlivened one more time.
"You still remember Deeps isn't it? I cannot forget anything",said Rohit in a serious tone.
"To tell you the truth I haven't tried to forget Deeps,I have made myself to carry on and live with sweet memories",said Ajay, his face got back the unknown misery that shadowed upon him,known only to him.
"Thats good, and u moved on and achieved lot of things,a new look,a new lifestyle, a girlfriend may be..",Rohit was going on and on and trying to tease Ajay.
"Enough, enough, let me bring the chairs, and then you could continue your unending list"said Ajay.
"Hey bring our college photos too .. I haven't cast a look upon them for a while"said Rohit as Ajay left the balcony to bring the chairs. "Okay",shouted Ajay from the living room.
With the cold breeze blowing over the sweet summer sweat, the two men stood watching the sea, how the undulating waves try to conquer land,but get back to the sea after each try.After a while with comfort of the chair,these two men as they turned the pages of the photo album,went back in time,smiling,remembering old friends,the pranks and their mischief. Rohit noticed that there were no photos of Deeps in this album,and asked,"Hey we took about 1000 snaps of me,you and Deeps, where are they?".
"They are here",said Ajay quickly taking him to the last page of the album and there it was.
Rohit smiled looking at it and asked him,"You just have one snap huh?",to which Ajay replied,"Yes" and turned to the previous page.
After rummaging through the album,and having loads of laughter,Ajay asked,"You want something to drink?".
Rohit retorted,"I want something special"."I make excellent coffees, u wanna try ?",said Ajay confidently.
Rohit looked at Ajay from head to toe and said,"Oh yea .. Give me your best cup", in an energetic mood. Ajay disappeared for a few minutes in the kitchen to bring a bottle of Champagne along with the coffee tray. Visibly surprised Rohit said,"Whoaa .. I wasn't expecting this one !", lifting the Champagne bottle from the tray.
"So what are these ?",he asked, lifting the wine bottle above his head,watching the bottle shine in moon's rays.
"Hey,buddy,cool down, we are not going to drink,we are going to make a cocktail .", said Ajay with a smug.
Seeing his friend even more surprised, Ajay rose up from his seat and began addressing an invisible gathering,"Monsieur, the coffee that I am making is called 'Spirited Coffee'. Don't think it as an outlandish,exotic one. It's very easy to make. All you need is cocoa, freshly grounded coffee powder, brew it double strength, rose syrup and generous french champagne. Add a few splashes of it to your cup of joy and suddenly your taste buds explode with the heady intensity of the aromatic alcohol and coffee".
Rohit who was laughing seeing Ajay do the theatrics,clapped his hands and said,"Ahaa .. You know how to drink, man .. I am fed up with the plain espresso, which our coffee machine spews out everyday in our office".
"Hey, this coffee is a bit strong,it will make you stay awake through out the night,do u still want it ?",asked Ajay in a serious tone.
"Sure, why not ..",said Rohit eying the champagne bottle.
Ajay, sat down,opened the Champagne bottle and added a few drops of it to both the cups.
"Hey, it tastes really well, I never thought, that the champagne and coffee would blend so well to taste ... ummm",said Rohit,with his senses charged up with cafeine.
Ajay sipping the coffee and looking at the moon said,"It tastes well till you dont add sugar", turning towards Rohit,he continued,"Sugar spoils everything".
"Okay, it tastes good without adding sugar,but I don't think sugar will spoil it",said Rohit.
"Beleive me, I have tried it a zillion times,you wont get the real taste of cocoa if you add sugar"said Ajay,speaking like an expert.
"Ahem .. The expert says so, do you drink this daily?,asked Rohit having another sip of it.
"Yea .. I have at least 3 or 4 cups at night", said Ajay callously.
"Hey dint you say that it keeps you awake, then how will you sleep?"enquired Rohit.
"I drink this so that I wont sleep and dream,I suffer from lucid dreams",said Ajay with a twink.
"Now what's that?",asked Rohit with a puzzled look,keeping the coffee mug on the table.
"Do you really want to know it?",asked Ajay,to which Rohit nodded with a smile.
"Well,lucid dreams are dreams when you know that you are actually dreaming .. Your sub concious mind takes over, the dream takes the path as you desire .." and Ajay stopped abruptly.
"It sounds interesting, do u mean that u could relish your desires while dreaming ? .. Its great .. I wish that I could have it too ..".
Ajay interrupted Rohit and said,"Hey feel lucky that u dont have it, not only it can make you fulfill your desires, think about nightmares .. the things that you would like to forget .. they pop up and haunt you, and the worse part is you know that you are in full control of it,yet you could not do a damn thing to stop it.."said Ajay in a forceful manner,his face showed fatigue,anger and desperation.
"I dont understand it",said Rohit with a puzzled look.
Ajay began explaining, "Look, in lucid dreams you dream and feel as you want to be ... For example, if u like particular dog, which you seen before,in a lucid dream, you could have that same dog or convert anyother dog into that one, provided you have strong sub conscious desire for it ...".
Rohit still looking confused,"So it creates an illusion of what you desire and what you want .. It's form of stress releival .. So what's the problem.".
Ajay smiled and sipped coffee,took some time,to compose himself and began, "In life we miss so many things, so many people come and go, we like some of them, we dislike some of them .. When conscious we have self control, over what we think and act, but in those dreams, our innermost desires, the things that we like to forget,come forth ... slowly it portrays your negative side .."
There was silence for a while,while in silence,the men felt the sanguine sea breeze blowing over them,and the waves, but this time it felt like the sea is waging a losing battle with the land, the waves return back to the sea, without conquering anything.
Rohit broke the silence,"So what haunts u?",said Rohit with an arm over Ajay's shoulder.
"Deeps ... ",said Ajay and paused, "I have tried myself to be occupied all the time when I am awake,but not when I am asleep .. It is funny isn't it .. Deeps falls in my dreams ...",laughed Ajay.
Rohit was looking worried, "Hey man, I know it's very hard, but think about the things u have, you got everything, a posh apartment,an excellent job, you look 100 times smarter than u did on college, live the life .."said Rohit passionately.
Rohit was watching Ajay, and when he smiled,"Why are u smiling?",he asked with anger in his voice.
"Cool down buddy,I am alright,this coffee will make me happy forever",said Ajay lifting the cup.
The doorbell rang,"It must be Singa ..,I will be back soon,stay here",said Ajay raising from the chair.Ajay went to see who it was, and it was Singa at the door with the trolley to collect laundry.
"Saar, Dhobi podringala?"(Do you have any clothes to be laundered?).
"Onnum illa pa ..(There is nothing)",said Ajay.
"Nan kodutha pant unakku nalla erukku da(The pant that I gave you fits well for u)",said Ajay pointing to Singa's trouser.
"Thank you,saar",said singa blushing with pride.
"Singa, inga vaa (Singa,come here)",said a voice,the two looked leftwards and there stood Mr.Anbudurai pointing his finger at Singa.
"Perusu kupiduthu nan varaen saar(The old man is calling me,I will come later,bye sir)said Singa and moved the heavy trolley towards Mr.Anbudurai's apartment. Ajay was watching Singa move towards him,he smiled at Mr.Anbudurai and gave him a flying kiss.Mr.Anbudurai was shocked and stupefied to believe his eyes. Laughing madly at the shell shocked man,Ajay came back into the living room laughing.
"Hey why are you laughing madly?"asked Rohit.
"I gave a flying kiss to my neighbor da",said Ajay controlling his laughter.
"Hey, is it your new .. new .. ",said Rohit trying to bring out the truth.
"Nope .. I gave a flying kiss to an 80-year-old man .. He stares at me all the time.."smirked Ajay.
"Ha ha .. Whatever .. so still playing pranks huh .. Luckily .. You dint change completely",said Rohit.
"Not only that .. I still have my Caliber 115,you remember it isn't it ?,I don't like to lose things da",said Ajay with a smile.
"Why are we standing, lets sit in the balcony,I left you in the balcony",said Ajay.
"Its ok .. I will be leaving in a few minutes",said Rohit.
"Hey dude,how are your parents?"asked Rohit.
"They are fine,I visited them last week.By the way I forgot to tell you,I resigned my job .. I am leaving Chennai",said Ajay.
"Ohh .. that's a shocker",said Rohit showing disappointment.
"Even my parent's did not believe me,when I told them,they asked me to come home",said Ajay in a philosophical tone.
"I thought I could have coffee with you once in a while ..",said Rohit still having the disappointment in his tone.
"Hey cheer up ... I told you the recipe, you prepare it and surprise your friends",said Ajay trying to cheer him up."Sure ..",said Rohit and hugged Ajay.
Ajay came downstairs to the parking lot, to send off his friend. Still feeling the gloom that surrounded them,he tried to change the mood by telling an anecdote.
"One of my past-times is throwing paper balls at the Russian embassy .."said Ajay and suddenly stopped waiting to see Rohit's reaction.
Rohit was amused,"What ? Do u really do that?",he asked Ajay.
"Yea .. when the sea breeze is very low,I throw paper balls from my balcony to the Russian Embassy courtyard and run for cover ..(laughs) .. Still they could not find out who it was ..",said Ajay and Rohit was in splits.With the mood changed all together,it was time to say good-bye.
Rohit started his bike,"Bye Ajay, I had a great time with you ..."he said passionately.
"Buddy .. I will never forget you .. thanks a lot for coming .. Bye da",said Ajay and hugged him one more time.Ajay stood alone, as he watched Rohit ride home.
Ajay went back to his room and closed the door,gently. He felt lonely,once again,but this time he had satisfaction,that he had accomplished something,the perennial Deeps was back in his mind,"Time for another coffee" he thought.He moved to the kitchen, took the open sugar jar on the table and began adding sugar to the coffee in the flask."one .. two .. three .. four .." he whispered as he added tablespoon after tablespoons of sugar to the coffee.Then he left to bring back Champagne bottle left in the Balcony.This time he drank some raw Champagne and added a few ounces of it to the coffee cocktail.
"Cheers .. Deeps", he said and began sipping the coffee slowly. The coffee tasted great,his senses at the zenith level in ecstasy.Ajay closed his eyes, and began to dream,"He was driving his Caliber 115, riding in a never ending road,going past pylons,with wind gushing at him.". He felt that something was wrong and that feeling was getting stronger and stronger, at one point strong enough to come out of the dream. He opened his eyes and saw the open sugar jar. His eyes became delirious, but his mind woke up to the situation."I did not leave the sugar jar open .. who did it ?"he thought and the sense that something wrong happened became frightening. His hands started to shiver, and his legs drool,he struggled to stand by leaning against the wall.He grabbed the mobile phone in his pocket, and had a hard time holding it. Somehow he was able to press the last dialed number option and held the phone in his shivering hand on his ear.Ajay began to sweat, his eyesight becoming darker by the moment.After some 10 rings, Rohit's mobile activated the automatic answering mode. Rohit who had his earphone plugged onto his mobile device,answered the call,"Hellloo Halalooya ..".
Ajay held the phone firm and began speaking , "Heell Heelllooo .. Rohit ..".
"Hello Ajay .. I know you would call me, man .. I am driving crazy",said Rohit his voice was faint with the noise of the traffic at the background.
"Llloookk .. DDDid you add sugar?",Ajay struggled to complete the sentence,his words stuttered and stumbled.
"Sugar? .. Why do u ask me ? Asshole .. I added half a spoon, I told u that I like sugar .. Are you going to spank me ..? No one can spank Rohit, I am God .. God .. God ..(Pointing at a car) You bastard if you come near me .. I will shovel your ass .. (begins to horn non-stop and drives very fast)".
"Stopp,youur bikkeek,thaat waas not jusst sugggaer,it hasss cocainnnee(cocaine,a powerful drug)" mumbled Ajay, the mobile phone slipped from his hand.
His eyesight was near blindness and unable to fight further, he gave up and fell on the floor.
On the floor lay Ajay, in consummate happiness in his dream, his senses were active in the other world,the lucid dreams that once punished him have come to sooth him.(In his lucid dream)"There he was riding on a road,in his bike. He was riding to a known place (Why can that be Deeps house thought Ajay) and immediately he was imagining himself riding to Deeps house, his heart filled with joy as he neared it. He parked the bike and walked towards her apartment. He saw an unnerving sight that has haunted him ever, he saw Deeps standing at the edge of her Balcony.
He knew exactly what is going to happen next, he shouted, "No Deeepika don't ..", as he ran towards it. He heard her scream a deathly howl, as she chose to fall from her balcony. He realized that she is dying once again in vain before his eyes. He summoned all the strength he got and paced to catch her.
Time froze. He saw nothing but Deepika falling from the balcony upon him with her eyes closed.
He felt helpless, but was determined to save her at all cost, but even at the expense of his life, this time around. He braced for impact and widened his arms. The earth shook below him under the impact, but his will to save her made him catch her and do the impossible. "Gotcha Deeps", Ajay said to her trying to revive her. Deepika still closing her eyes, because of fear, upon hearing his words, woke up .
"I know you would come for me ..",said Deepika.
Hearing those words and holding Deeps in his hands, Ajay felt bliss that filled him entirely.
Smiling, he began closing his inner eye, with the unknown happiness still with him, he began his eternal sleep ...
the countdown.
Ajay started his Bajaj Caliber 115,with just a kick in macho style,being at the edge of the traffic line,he had a panoramic view of the Adayar signal and the flyover that exists beside it. Hoards of people were walking along the pavement,some of them jay walking in the last few seconds,the share autos luring people from the bus stop,the buses filled with passengers and so on,but he riveted his eyes upon a Pulsar 180cc a few feet away from him,which was firing on all cylinders, all set to blast away.He gave a glancing look at the rider, who was wearing a leather jacket with boots and a helmet. He nodded at him in a maverick style and then focused on the timer.
4.. 3.. And then jet set go ! Ajay had his adrenaline rush and with this josh he wants to beat everybody on the road. His bike had a great pick-up and matched the pulsar and soon they left behind the cavalry of vehicles. Ajay knew that his bike is no match for that pulsar monster in the long run, he had to take risks in the corners and break very lately. The guy who was riding the pulsar knew that he had a race in hand and drove aggressively.
But one thing set apart Ajay from the other rider,in a way from everyone else : Ajay gave a damn to anything around him,a thrill seeker who would push himself to the brink.He proved himself, once again, with the bikes and cars he crisscrossed while driving, the sharp cuts and turns and the blind maneuvers he performed. The other rider thought that he could match him at first believing that his super powered vehicle could take him, but later on driving in the traffic, he got frightened a bit of this maddening pursuit and began backing off from the race. Ajay had the camera-finish at one signal when he fizzed past the signal with just 2 seconds to spare,leaving the other rider caught up in the signal.
So Ajay rode victorious, another unannounced race won by him, and began slowing down unusually.He was driving normally making way for the other bikes and cars which were speeding behind him. So from a fiery start to a pussycat finish, Ajay was crawling towards his home-the 'Star City' apartments,which was one of the mushrooming serviced apartments (where you can get your laundry done, to house keeping and of course provide you with meals if requested) in Chennai city, from work!
Ajay smiled at the watchman who saluted him as he entered the parking area. His Caliber 115 looked like the odd one out in the midst of Honda Citys,Sonatas and even some Mercs which were parked alongside it.Ajay was a strange man,a man of few words,a daring maverick, and was always composed.As he passed through the lobby, he met Singa, the errand-boy of the apartment.Singa admired Ajay,even adored him as a hero.He was very much servile to him, at times he will do errands just to get into his apartment and see him. Seeing Ajay in his denims and shades made him look in awe.Quickly he snapped out of his gaping stare and asked him,"Saar, laundry podringa na sollunga nan mela vanthu yaduthukiraen"(Sir, If u want laundry services, I will come upstairs to your room and fetch them).
Ajay replied back in one word,"Seri"(Okay) and walked to the lift.On his way up to the 4th floor in the lift,Ajay's cell phone vibrated sighting the arrival of the message.
Ajay opened the message : It was from Rohit ("I will be there in 5 mins"), his old friend from college. Ajay had called Rohit to pay a visit,which surprised Rohit, because Ajay disappeared from the radar for more than 3 years since graduating from college.
As his friend was arriving, Ajay came down in the same lift and sat in the lobby waiting for his friend. Ajay hated the lobby in the evenings, as he had to endure yapping conversations from old residents who had their meeting there.But now he had to sit next to Mr.Anbudurai, one of the oldies in the apartment.Ajay made sure that he would not make the mistake of opening an conversation with him,he kept himself busy by reading the papers and looked for Singa to chitchat. Ahem , Singa had gone out for some errand that might have been given by anyone of the 15 residents of that apartment.Time went by and it was 15 mins since that message and no sign of Rohit. "Late as usual" thought Ajay and then at last Rohit arrived in his bike.
"Wow .. Is it really Ajay?",an astounded Rohit remarked as he saw Ajay coming towards him.
Ajay's face broadened with a smile and went on to hug him and strangle his neck.
"oucch .. You are a body builder or what ?",said Rohit still struggling from Ajay's grip,"Man .. I thought u were an IT geek".
Finally, Ajay opened up and spoke,"U haven't changed , u still have your biiggg mouth and now with a flabby tummy too", and went on to punch his tummy.
Realizing that they were creating a scene on the lobby where other visitors and residents were present,seeing Mr.Anbudurai stare at them with contempt,they moved to the apartment, with Ajay leading the way.
On the way up in the lift,Rohit could not control himself,"Man.. U have changed a lot,I still cannot believe it,Mr.Team Leader",he said.
"Yea .. I have changed",said Ajay who was a typical one-liner when socializing.
Rohit was open-mouthed seeing the interior ambience of his luxury apartment. The tone, the texture,the furniture and the lighting made it look grandeur with vaulted ceilings and wide expanses of floor space.And the view from the balcony was splendid, the white sand from the marina coast, the boats, the catamaran, the light house trying to light up the sea,the St. Bede's school and the Russian Embassy.
Standing on the balcony,Rohit started the conversation,"Ajay, frankly speaking we never expected that you would get to this level".
Ajay patted him on his shoulder and leaned on the traditional Maltese column and said,"I had to change,I was fed up with myself being an under performer,running behind success,that drove me crazy moreover Deeps wanted me to be like this".
Rohit had tried right from the very start to avoid talking about Deeps altogether,but Ajay himself brought Deeps into the conversation,old memories had to be enlivened one more time.
"You still remember Deeps isn't it? I cannot forget anything",said Rohit in a serious tone.
"To tell you the truth I haven't tried to forget Deeps,I have made myself to carry on and live with sweet memories",said Ajay, his face got back the unknown misery that shadowed upon him,known only to him.
"Thats good, and u moved on and achieved lot of things,a new look,a new lifestyle, a girlfriend may be..",Rohit was going on and on and trying to tease Ajay.
"Enough, enough, let me bring the chairs, and then you could continue your unending list"said Ajay.
"Hey bring our college photos too .. I haven't cast a look upon them for a while"said Rohit as Ajay left the balcony to bring the chairs. "Okay",shouted Ajay from the living room.
With the cold breeze blowing over the sweet summer sweat, the two men stood watching the sea, how the undulating waves try to conquer land,but get back to the sea after each try.After a while with comfort of the chair,these two men as they turned the pages of the photo album,went back in time,smiling,remembering old friends,the pranks and their mischief. Rohit noticed that there were no photos of Deeps in this album,and asked,"Hey we took about 1000 snaps of me,you and Deeps, where are they?".
"They are here",said Ajay quickly taking him to the last page of the album and there it was.
Rohit smiled looking at it and asked him,"You just have one snap huh?",to which Ajay replied,"Yes" and turned to the previous page.
After rummaging through the album,and having loads of laughter,Ajay asked,"You want something to drink?".
Rohit retorted,"I want something special"."I make excellent coffees, u wanna try ?",said Ajay confidently.
Rohit looked at Ajay from head to toe and said,"Oh yea .. Give me your best cup", in an energetic mood. Ajay disappeared for a few minutes in the kitchen to bring a bottle of Champagne along with the coffee tray. Visibly surprised Rohit said,"Whoaa .. I wasn't expecting this one !", lifting the Champagne bottle from the tray.
"So what are these ?",he asked, lifting the wine bottle above his head,watching the bottle shine in moon's rays.
"Hey,buddy,cool down, we are not going to drink,we are going to make a cocktail .", said Ajay with a smug.
Seeing his friend even more surprised, Ajay rose up from his seat and began addressing an invisible gathering,"Monsieur, the coffee that I am making is called 'Spirited Coffee'. Don't think it as an outlandish,exotic one. It's very easy to make. All you need is cocoa, freshly grounded coffee powder, brew it double strength, rose syrup and generous french champagne. Add a few splashes of it to your cup of joy and suddenly your taste buds explode with the heady intensity of the aromatic alcohol and coffee".
Rohit who was laughing seeing Ajay do the theatrics,clapped his hands and said,"Ahaa .. You know how to drink, man .. I am fed up with the plain espresso, which our coffee machine spews out everyday in our office".
"Hey, this coffee is a bit strong,it will make you stay awake through out the night,do u still want it ?",asked Ajay in a serious tone.
"Sure, why not ..",said Rohit eying the champagne bottle.
Ajay, sat down,opened the Champagne bottle and added a few drops of it to both the cups.
"Hey, it tastes really well, I never thought, that the champagne and coffee would blend so well to taste ... ummm",said Rohit,with his senses charged up with cafeine.
Ajay sipping the coffee and looking at the moon said,"It tastes well till you dont add sugar", turning towards Rohit,he continued,"Sugar spoils everything".
"Okay, it tastes good without adding sugar,but I don't think sugar will spoil it",said Rohit.
"Beleive me, I have tried it a zillion times,you wont get the real taste of cocoa if you add sugar"said Ajay,speaking like an expert.
"Ahem .. The expert says so, do you drink this daily?,asked Rohit having another sip of it.
"Yea .. I have at least 3 or 4 cups at night", said Ajay callously.
"Hey dint you say that it keeps you awake, then how will you sleep?"enquired Rohit.
"I drink this so that I wont sleep and dream,I suffer from lucid dreams",said Ajay with a twink.
"Now what's that?",asked Rohit with a puzzled look,keeping the coffee mug on the table.
"Do you really want to know it?",asked Ajay,to which Rohit nodded with a smile.
"Well,lucid dreams are dreams when you know that you are actually dreaming .. Your sub concious mind takes over, the dream takes the path as you desire .." and Ajay stopped abruptly.
"It sounds interesting, do u mean that u could relish your desires while dreaming ? .. Its great .. I wish that I could have it too ..".
Ajay interrupted Rohit and said,"Hey feel lucky that u dont have it, not only it can make you fulfill your desires, think about nightmares .. the things that you would like to forget .. they pop up and haunt you, and the worse part is you know that you are in full control of it,yet you could not do a damn thing to stop it.."said Ajay in a forceful manner,his face showed fatigue,anger and desperation.
"I dont understand it",said Rohit with a puzzled look.
Ajay began explaining, "Look, in lucid dreams you dream and feel as you want to be ... For example, if u like particular dog, which you seen before,in a lucid dream, you could have that same dog or convert anyother dog into that one, provided you have strong sub conscious desire for it ...".
Rohit still looking confused,"So it creates an illusion of what you desire and what you want .. It's form of stress releival .. So what's the problem.".
Ajay smiled and sipped coffee,took some time,to compose himself and began, "In life we miss so many things, so many people come and go, we like some of them, we dislike some of them .. When conscious we have self control, over what we think and act, but in those dreams, our innermost desires, the things that we like to forget,come forth ... slowly it portrays your negative side .."
There was silence for a while,while in silence,the men felt the sanguine sea breeze blowing over them,and the waves, but this time it felt like the sea is waging a losing battle with the land, the waves return back to the sea, without conquering anything.
Rohit broke the silence,"So what haunts u?",said Rohit with an arm over Ajay's shoulder.
"Deeps ... ",said Ajay and paused, "I have tried myself to be occupied all the time when I am awake,but not when I am asleep .. It is funny isn't it .. Deeps falls in my dreams ...",laughed Ajay.
Rohit was looking worried, "Hey man, I know it's very hard, but think about the things u have, you got everything, a posh apartment,an excellent job, you look 100 times smarter than u did on college, live the life .."said Rohit passionately.
Rohit was watching Ajay, and when he smiled,"Why are u smiling?",he asked with anger in his voice.
"Cool down buddy,I am alright,this coffee will make me happy forever",said Ajay lifting the cup.
"Saar, Dhobi podringala?"(Do you have any clothes to be laundered?).
"Onnum illa pa ..(There is nothing)",said Ajay.
"Nan kodutha pant unakku nalla erukku da(The pant that I gave you fits well for u)",said Ajay pointing to Singa's trouser.
"Thank you,saar",said singa blushing with pride.
"Singa, inga vaa (Singa,come here)",said a voice,the two looked leftwards and there stood Mr.Anbudurai pointing his finger at Singa.
"Perusu kupiduthu nan varaen saar(The old man is calling me,I will come later,bye sir)said Singa and moved the heavy trolley towards Mr.Anbudurai's apartment. Ajay was watching Singa move towards him,he smiled at Mr.Anbudurai and gave him a flying kiss.Mr.Anbudurai was shocked and stupefied to believe his eyes. Laughing madly at the shell shocked man,Ajay came back into the living room laughing.
"Hey why are you laughing madly?"asked Rohit.
"I gave a flying kiss to my neighbor da",said Ajay controlling his laughter.
"Hey, is it your new .. new .. ",said Rohit trying to bring out the truth.
"Nope .. I gave a flying kiss to an 80-year-old man .. He stares at me all the time.."smirked Ajay.
"Ha ha .. Whatever .. so still playing pranks huh .. Luckily .. You dint change completely",said Rohit.
"Not only that .. I still have my Caliber 115,you remember it isn't it ?,I don't like to lose things da",said Ajay with a smile.
"Why are we standing, lets sit in the balcony,I left you in the balcony",said Ajay.
"Its ok .. I will be leaving in a few minutes",said Rohit.
"Hey dude,how are your parents?"asked Rohit.
"They are fine,I visited them last week.By the way I forgot to tell you,I resigned my job .. I am leaving Chennai",said Ajay.
"Ohh .. that's a shocker",said Rohit showing disappointment.
"Even my parent's did not believe me,when I told them,they asked me to come home",said Ajay in a philosophical tone.
"I thought I could have coffee with you once in a while ..",said Rohit still having the disappointment in his tone.
"Hey cheer up ... I told you the recipe, you prepare it and surprise your friends",said Ajay trying to cheer him up."Sure ..",said Rohit and hugged Ajay.
Ajay came downstairs to the parking lot, to send off his friend. Still feeling the gloom that surrounded them,he tried to change the mood by telling an anecdote.
"One of my past-times is throwing paper balls at the Russian embassy .."said Ajay and suddenly stopped waiting to see Rohit's reaction.
Rohit was amused,"What ? Do u really do that?",he asked Ajay.
"Yea .. when the sea breeze is very low,I throw paper balls from my balcony to the Russian Embassy courtyard and run for cover ..(laughs) .. Still they could not find out who it was ..",said Ajay and Rohit was in splits.With the mood changed all together,it was time to say good-bye.
Rohit started his bike,"Bye Ajay, I had a great time with you ..."he said passionately.
"Buddy .. I will never forget you .. thanks a lot for coming .. Bye da",said Ajay and hugged him one more time.Ajay stood alone, as he watched Rohit ride home.
Ajay went back to his room and closed the door,gently. He felt lonely,once again,but this time he had satisfaction,that he had accomplished something,the perennial Deeps was back in his mind,"Time for another coffee" he thought.He moved to the kitchen, took the open sugar jar on the table and began adding sugar to the coffee in the flask."one .. two .. three .. four .." he whispered as he added tablespoon after tablespoons of sugar to the coffee.Then he left to bring back Champagne bottle left in the Balcony.This time he drank some raw Champagne and added a few ounces of it to the coffee cocktail.
"Cheers .. Deeps", he said and began sipping the coffee slowly. The coffee tasted great,his senses at the zenith level in ecstasy.Ajay closed his eyes, and began to dream,"He was driving his Caliber 115, riding in a never ending road,going past pylons,with wind gushing at him.". He felt that something was wrong and that feeling was getting stronger and stronger, at one point strong enough to come out of the dream. He opened his eyes and saw the open sugar jar. His eyes became delirious, but his mind woke up to the situation."I did not leave the sugar jar open .. who did it ?"he thought and the sense that something wrong happened became frightening. His hands started to shiver, and his legs drool,he struggled to stand by leaning against the wall.He grabbed the mobile phone in his pocket, and had a hard time holding it. Somehow he was able to press the last dialed number option and held the phone in his shivering hand on his ear.Ajay began to sweat, his eyesight becoming darker by the moment.After some 10 rings, Rohit's mobile activated the automatic answering mode. Rohit who had his earphone plugged onto his mobile device,answered the call,"Hellloo Halalooya ..".
Ajay held the phone firm and began speaking , "Heell Heelllooo .. Rohit ..".
"Hello Ajay .. I know you would call me, man .. I am driving crazy",said Rohit his voice was faint with the noise of the traffic at the background.
"Llloookk .. DDDid you add sugar?",Ajay struggled to complete the sentence,his words stuttered and stumbled.
"Sugar? .. Why do u ask me ? Asshole .. I added half a spoon, I told u that I like sugar .. Are you going to spank me ..? No one can spank Rohit, I am God .. God .. God ..(Pointing at a car) You bastard if you come near me .. I will shovel your ass .. (begins to horn non-stop and drives very fast)".
"Stopp,youur bikkeek,thaat waas not jusst sugggaer,it hasss cocainnnee(cocaine,a powerful drug)" mumbled Ajay, the mobile phone slipped from his hand.
His eyesight was near blindness and unable to fight further, he gave up and fell on the floor.
On the floor lay Ajay, in consummate happiness in his dream, his senses were active in the other world,the lucid dreams that once punished him have come to sooth him.(In his lucid dream)"There he was riding on a road,in his bike. He was riding to a known place (Why can that be Deeps house thought Ajay) and immediately he was imagining himself riding to Deeps house, his heart filled with joy as he neared it. He parked the bike and walked towards her apartment. He saw an unnerving sight that has haunted him ever, he saw Deeps standing at the edge of her Balcony.
He knew exactly what is going to happen next, he shouted, "No Deeepika don't ..", as he ran towards it. He heard her scream a deathly howl, as she chose to fall from her balcony. He realized that she is dying once again in vain before his eyes. He summoned all the strength he got and paced to catch her.
Time froze. He saw nothing but Deepika falling from the balcony upon him with her eyes closed.
He felt helpless, but was determined to save her at all cost, but even at the expense of his life, this time around. He braced for impact and widened his arms. The earth shook below him under the impact, but his will to save her made him catch her and do the impossible. "Gotcha Deeps", Ajay said to her trying to revive her. Deepika still closing her eyes, because of fear, upon hearing his words, woke up .
"I know you would come for me ..",said Deepika.
Hearing those words and holding Deeps in his hands, Ajay felt bliss that filled him entirely.
Smiling, he began closing his inner eye, with the unknown happiness still with him, he began his eternal sleep ...
