The Dozen -2

 Read how it all started! The first page of The Dozen

Brandon looked at Jeremy with one cruel look.

“It was just a bottle of champagne! That’s not even shoplifting, how can it be murder?” Jeremy whispered in a coarse voice. Brandon continued to hold his stare.

Meanwhile, the officers had cuffed him and gotten him into a weird police truck and driven off.

“He’s under observation. We’ll keep you posted” This was the only thing the two big guys spoke of. After they left, the receptionist scanned them and walked away. The eleven of them looked at each other in silence. Out stepped Briana and put her hands on her hips.

“Okay, spit it out. We know Neil wouldn’t do such a thing. So who did?” she asked.

“Did what? That isn’t clear to me in the first place.” Gary shook his head as a bee buzzed near his head.

“I’ll tell you.” They all turned to look at Mackenzie who hadn’t spoken a word in this trip.

“An old rich guy was found injured in the courtyard at 5 A.M this morning. He swears he saw someone who looked like Neil try to strangle him during his early jog.  And since we’re the ones who checked in last night, we’re like default suspects.” She went back to chewing her bubble gum.

“And how do you know all this?” asked Mark.

“I have my sources, being nocturnal helps you know?”

            Through the babble that followed Mackenzie’s announcement, Jeremy and Brandon stood still. Here were all of them, on an island, without Neil. Because he’d been arrested for some modification of the crime Jeremy committed. Jeremy sighed.

“Okay. I have a confession!” yelled Jeremy, hiding his face.

“You did it?” Fiona pushed others aside.

“I what? No?! I just stole a bottle of champagne in the corridor last night. That was all.” It just flowed out like a rhyme.

“Aww Jeremy? Can’t you keep your hands to yourself here at least?” Gary prayed to Jesus in silence.

“Give the damn thing back, lets het Neil back.” said Brandon.

“We’ll check the courtyard.” Mark, Gray, Mackenzie and a few others left to the scene of the crime. Jeremy went in for the bottle and Brandon and Fiona were out talking.

            “What complaint did this guy give anyway?” asked Fiona.

“That Neil wanted his money and we all plotted to murder him.”

“That doesn’t match. We are all here by coincidence. He just stated us as accessory to ‘attempted murder?’ He doesn’t have anything to prove that we did it.” Brandon finished.

Right at that time Jeremy burst out the cottage door.

“I’ve searched everywhere. I can’t find it. I’m doomed! We’re all doomed!” Jeremy was clearly panicking.

“You won’t!” said Mark. The other set had come back from the crime scene.

“Because it’s at the crime scene behind those yellow barrier tapes…broken and covered in blood.”

“There’s your link to the attempted murder” said Mackenzie.

            They all stood shocked. Neil was there without reason; taking the blame thinking it was for the dozen. They had to get him out. But the evidence was against them, and time was ticking. They majorly needed to get planning for a prison break… for Neil. 


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The Dozen- 1

The summer sun seared its way through the canopy of trees of the huge rainforest. From up above, one could barely make out a dozen dotted figures making their way into town. Their backpacks were just about their own size and the holiday t-shirts they wore clearly labeled them as foreigners.

“Are we there yet? My back is peeling from the tan!” Fiona looked up from her hat at the path ahead. The three boys turned to look at her.

“If you’re so worried then you didn’t have to join our adventure” replied Mark. The rest of the dozen kept squelching the mud under their boots, trying to make progress. A flood was wiping out the civilizations in the country; the hotel that was sheltering them politely asked them to make a move. However they gave directions and a map referring another hotel so maybe it was compensated. But the only path was walking, and the river routes were impossible to maneuver, they had ended up cutting through the dense forest, hoping it was the shortest route. Finally after a day’s travel, they crawled up the steps to the reception.

“Hi, six rooms please for a dozen” Neil the eldest of the twelve put down his card on the polished desk.

The receptionist lowered her glasses, looked past Neil’s shoulder at the dirty customers and back at her monitor. The ceiling fan croaked while she tapped their names into the list or at least pretended to.

“Do we have a problem?” Neil flaunted his thin plastic card. She paused and then like a switch turned on, her smile turned on. Meanwhile the rest of them were grazing in the lobby.

“Oh yes, of course… the dozen; Mr. Gibbs already told me.” She came out from her imprisoned desk.

“This way please…”  Neil turned to see that Fiona was the only one in the room.

“Guys we got the room, come on!” Neil sighed happily; being the shepherd to this crazy gang was fun.

            They trailed off behind the receptionist who was giving the tour of the place on her toes the whole time. The hotel was pretty cliché, but the cottages were done in really well. It was on top of a hill and they had a good feeling that the flood wasn’t going to reach up till here to grab them. The dozen chattered the whole way, so much that some guests opened their doors to check them out.

“Pretty nice huh?” Brandon asked digging his elbow into Jeremy. They both were the last of the lot, lagging behind to explore the place themselves.

“Wow man, check out this basket! Champagne fit for the king!” he said taking one and assessing it. Brandon whistled low.  Jeremy looked all around, and slowly unzipped his jersey, stifling the bottle inside.

“Dude what are you doing? Put it back man, you’re going to get us into some serious problems” said Brandon obviously worried for the rest of them.

“Chill out Brandon, think of it as… complimentary; laid out for the guests by the management of the hotel. Let’s hurry we’re losing them.”

            Next morning at 4 the six cottages heard a loud knock on their doors.  Neil stepped out wrapped in a robe. The receptionist was there, a stern look on her face. Gary popped out from behind just as two officers popped out from behind her.

“Woah…what’s all this about?” whispered Gary eyeing the guns strapped onto their belt. By now everyone was out on the lawn crowing around him.

“I have no damn clue…”replied Neil as the three approached.

“Neil?”

“Yes?”

“You are under arrest for attempted murder


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Dèjà Vu

Head's pounding with the echoes of voices
While the feeling of dèjà vu washes over me,
Even though I had made different choices,
I've come back to earth with harsh gravity.

I stood there while the accusations were made and,
I promised myself before that this wouldn't happen,
But still it has, because I keep lending a helping hand,
Never do I seem to learn from answers for how, why and when.

So again I hold my heart to keep it from breaking,
But it hurts more as the flashback pops in,
On comparing the scenario with this suffering,
I feel the grasp over my fragile heart loosen.

Last time, victim or criminal? I myself had the doubt,
But now I know and will stand up for myself,
And voice it out before my dignity comes crashing out,
Under the bricks of trust that I earned for myself.

So I won't lie to myself and admit these crimes,
So that the true criminal can walk free,
So that in his laughter I can burn many times,
And regret the blame I bore to keep him from being guilty.

No matter how you see it, the world is round,
And no matter who you trust they'll still keep reminding,
and assuming what you portray with your every sound,
Only to make everyday a dèjà vu that you're living.

Nursery Rhymes- Decoded Messages

We have all gone through that phase of life when nursery rhymes were so dear to us and every time we finished learning one, we felt like we had accomplished something. They were the only mountains in our kindergarten classes we had to climb. Nursery rhymes have been recited all over the world by children and hence handed down  by the word of mouth. They play an important role in introducing the child to the tools of the language.
Rhymes like the Itsy-Bitsy spider teach the child hand-eye so-ordination or multi-tasking. Even our favorite 'Baa Baa Black Sheep' is used to relate the sounds to the right animal. But did you know that Baa Baa Black Sheep and Twinkle Twinkle little star both had the same tune? Well, that's not all that's hidden.
                  Nursery Rhymes are forms of coded messages of the political events and historic eras. Some of them take a gruesome turn such as the simple Jack and Jill. Originally Jack is colloquial for King Louis who was beheaded in the ancient ages. This is symbolized in the poem by "lost his crown". His Queen is said to have followed the same fate and so does the poem go. "Came tumbling after". Ring a Ring a Roses preserves the memory of the great plague of England that lashed out many lives. The roses or posies were held under the person's nose to prevent them from catching the plague. 'A tishew' refers to sneezing or that the person has already got the plague. And soon afterwards?... we all know how it ends...'We all fall down' (fall down dead that is).
                   Similarly, Humpty Dumpty, London Bridge all have tragic histories behind them. Yet we teach our innocent children such complex and negative rhymes without realizing what we're putting into their head. Is it right? Well, i'll let you decide on that.

She'd Shed (Ebony & Ivory)

Glancing in each other's direction with doubt,
Across the crowd but they always stood out.
They were two worlds, impossible to find,
Two people who love wasn't supposed to bind.

She said "His beating heart was my lullaby,
As I walked the streets, his pace I tried to match.
Every night, I wanted to end in his voice,
But he never held my hand as tight as I did."

But he "Palest rose, turned red only under my touch, smile,
Sat speechless listening, craving for her voice,
Love to let her thin cold hands hold mine,
Hoping that I'd hold then forever, lost in thought."

She "My valiant hero, anyone against him a stranger to me,
Imagined happy endings over and over,
Each special song with him to spend,
As the notes struck my heart, so did his faint voice."

And he "Can't hold a sword, but will draw blood,
If anything, even the past comes to harm our future,
She forced on me her desperate wishes,
Why listen to a song when we created our own melody?"

 She said "He walked out like a midnight shadow,
Our of my, now starless sky and into unknown,
Where I lost him amongst that crowd there,
Only because I held him tight, little too much."

He "Well I let her go, for she didn't deserve this wait,
the cruelty of this coward who couldn't place,
the path to pave to make her mine forever,
and there she stands, smiling because of me."

She said "I smile to keep my promise,
'Whenever you shine, I'll shine for you'
And I smile because I let him survive alone.
Maybe 'we' were a fantasy that I believed in utterly."

He said "And I smile to see those eyes light up again,
Never thought she would exist without me by her side,
But somehow, deep inside regretting that I wouldn't be
the one who catches the tears she'd shed for me."

Human After All

A pair of brown hands silently crept up the glass window. Slowly, it fogged up with his uneven breathing. Outside, thunder rolled into the sky and he watched it silently as a few drops of rain seemed to fall on his hands. His eyes watered lightly at the corners as his hand bleed crimson…bleed with blood that was not his. A siren brought him back to the present and shook away his reoccurring vision of bloody hands. Time was scarce; he must leave at once before they close in on him.

            He recollected the last 30 minutes of his life while he stuffed his bare essentials into a bag and prepared to go. It seemed just like yesterday when he met her and time hadn’t flown with her around. She had kept him frozen in that moment they met for almost two years now. But lately she was acting different, and he felt time pass him by. What was not there in his life to lament about other than his own feelings...his curiosity and impatience to know more about her worries… or secrets? Every time he tried to sort it out, she would shake her head and dismiss the issue with a smile. But that would only make amends for a day or two before he popped up the same questions. Doubt crept in after a month…he was after all human. Tonight he just couldn’t take it. 

            He remembered himself, the way he stormed into the house and stood towering tall over her. She took a look at his loosened tie, un-tucked shirt and swaggering posture as she registered that he had come home to her drunk. Something she never liked. As she got up to leave, he asked her

“What is it that you’re hiding from me?” She maintained her space and still managed to smile when she replied.

“I was waiting till tonight to tell you, but I don’t want to tell anymore. Not like this. It’s not how I imagined it” She made a move but he blocked all her possible exits. She didn’t put up a fight but rather smiled again and tried to leave. But he wasn’t going to wait any longer. He was going to force it out of her, make her come back to him; be the way he was before someone new entered into their perfect life. Alarmed at his sudden behavior her eyebrows crinkled up as she tried to get away. He slowly pulled out a gun from the back of his belt and held it up to her temple.

            She struggled in his arms and gave up trying. Right when she was going to say it out and end all the confusion and impulsiveness in his head the trigger went off and there was blood on the new white walls. The shot drew him back into the world and left him ashen. What had gone wrong, she wasn’t supposed to die. The gun wasn’t to fire; he hadn’t loaded it…or did he? Afraid to look down he drew his eyes on her and quickly shut them.  She wasn’t to leave him with that painful look on her face. He went weak in his knees and bent down on the bloody floor. Her fingers pointed at something and wiping his tears he followed it to the couch. On it was a neat envelope that he smeared red while trying to pull out the contents. The doctor’s report only made him cry more and hate himself to the core. He pulled her to him and slowly caressed her stomach, where the second soul he killed lay unaware of existence. How could he have done such a crime? The lights went on in the opposite apartment for someone must have heard the shots.

That was what he watched as the guilt didn’t let him go. It kept reminding him of the blood that wouldn’t wash off from his hands. Kept reminding him of what he had lost with just his nature. He looked at her again, the way she sprawled over the carpet they picked out together. He had to leave; everything in this place reminded him of what a pathetic person he was. And moreover it reminded him that he was human after all an impulsive one at that. The siren kept him on this toes forever and he could run from that, but not from his guilt. Some say the case closed after he shot himself, some say her spirit haunted the life out of him. But there are very few who say,

“I wish I had his life, wish I had that love, but wish I’ll not be human enough to do what he did”

To be Young Again

I wonder what this is, that greatly perplexes me,
All the stars embark on a whizzing journey, I can't see,
Everything looks new, has a tinge of flavor to the world,
A brilliant crimson carpet to a new place is out, rolled.

The outside world is amazing, arcane and bewildering,
It urges me to explore it, abandoning other worries shouldering
Full of surprise and mysteries unraveled, all to me imploring,
Yet it does not look so friendly, sometimes even deploring.

All I've ever wanted was to be free and I thought,
Growing up was the way, at that age, wisdom couldn't be bought.
Waited impatiently to grow tall, double over the age,
Fluttered my wings about in ecstasy, all being in a cage.

It was not long before I realized what I had left,
The new faces bored into me, I was so deft,
Soon the wishes to be "free" vanished far out of sight
The steps I ascended seemed to increase in height.

The more I tried to run down, more rapid was the growth,
I couldn't be younger anymore, all I did was loathe,
For the life that I lived, it wasn't in a cage,
But was in serene heaven free from rage.