Reality Check

'He was touted to be the greatest prodigy ever. At the age of 5, he could find the square root of any number less than 100,000 or tell the capital or currency of any country in the world. At 8 he claimed to have understood the theory of relativity. Thus the decline of his intellect at 16 sent shockwaves around the world. Before he got his voting rights, his IQ had fallen to a measly 53. What a shame !!'

Aneesh walked into the kitchen and poured himself some more coffee. He was having tough time getting his thoughts straightened out tonite.

'Bowling the last over of a game is a tough ask in any ODI, but if that ODI turns out to be the World Cup finals, then the stakes don't get any higher. He mopped the sweat of his forehead and tried to stare straight ahead. The stadium had fallen into a deathly silence and his shoulders were laden with the expectations of 1 bn ppl. But what transpired the next minute, shocked the entire sporting world.'

As thoughts flooded his brain, Aneesh thought his head might explode. But he continued....

'He had dated Smita for more than 4 years now. It was a foregone conclusion that their courtship would end in one of those 'they-lived-happily-ever-after endings'. But he would never forget the Valentine's day of 2001. With a diamond ring in one hand, he stood in the portico ringing the doorbell unaware of tragic spate of events that were to unfold.'

Aneesh could now hear various voices in his head. The noise got so loud that he could hardly hear himself think. But he had to go on.....

'Even though he joined as a lowly engineer, people saw a composition of dense management material in him. He knew that his dream Porsche 911 was not far away. 7 years of perseverance and he was closing the deal on the 911 turbo. With a smug smile he sat in his fantasy machine ,but an illegal backing and an unforgiving pick-up truck would shatter not only his dreams but also his bones.'

Aneesh looked at the clock one last time. 2:33 am. He scratched and tore the last page on his letter pad and dunked it into the overflowing trash can. Resigned to failure, he retired to bed. Writing short stories is hard, but tonite it seemed harder....