Monsoon Spirits - Part I

"It won't come out that easily."
"Why? Spirits don't have a brain do they?"
"Well..."
"See. This is a rather simple solution. Let's just do it."
"Bah! You don't know one thing about human emotion do you?"
"I have plenty. Now just do as I say and I promise you won't be late for your next date."
I sighed. How did I get into this situation?

==================

Thinking rationally, it was already two days since I got this ton of documents. There were a total of 15 people missing. They went missing during the evening when it becomes dark. "About 1900 hrs to 1930 hrs." or something of that sort was written in the 15 page brief report. I took a sip of coffee. There was no pattern of attacks. They happened very randomly and at random places. All the victims went missing on an near empty metro train, but strangely enough the metro card and the wallet or purse in which it was kept was found. Thanks to that we came to know about this abnormal activity.


Then the realization suddenly dawns upon me and I realize I've been made a fool by that vicious twin again. I sigh and decide not to think about it. Somehow, I was more interested in the puzzle in front of me... After about an hour of brain storming and decoding all the info I got. I couldn't think of anything. My phone rang and with perfect timing too. I picked it up. It was my girlfriend. She said if we could meet up tomorrow and I naturally said yes. Never let an opportunity slip by. I get up from my chair and turn around. A familiar looking girl in a black robe was standing in front of me.


"Just knock before entering dammit. You guys scare the shit out of me sometimes."
"You weren't scared this time?"
"No."
"Found anything?"
"Nothing."
"Need some help with something?"
I sighed. She was the only one who'd ask me if I needed any help. But that was the problem. I didn't know what step to take, so I didn't know what to ask her to help me with.
She waited queitly for my reply. I didn't really reply. However, something struck me.
"Hey. Your reports say nothing about the cards."
"We did mention it."
"No, I mean, data like how much money it had, or what was the serial number of the card and all that stuff."
She looked at me. "OK. I'll try and get all that info. For now you should rest. You have a date tomorrow." And then she gave me a freakish smile and walked away towards the balcony.

I slept peacefully that day and got up the next morning. I found a brown envelope with the morning newspaper. As I had thought, it had the details of all the cards found in the metro. And some points were neatly highlighted by a fluorescent marker. The figures were the balance remaining on the metro card. The balance on each card was exactly Rs. 99.90/-

It seems it was an obvious observation to even an amateur like her. However, what I was trying was to connect this value with the timings. Well, not much progress that way. So I forget all of it and prepare for my upcoming date.

It's now early afternoon and now I'm waiting for my girlfriend on Sector 18 metro station. She is about 15 minutes late. I mentally prepare myself to be angry at her. She comes with a sweet smile and even a sweeter voice she says "I'm sorry! There was too much crowd and traffic. Just couldn't get on an earlier train." That unfair amount of sweetness renders me weak and I find myself giving her unneeded sympathy.

"So where do you wanna go?"
"I wanna go to Palika"
"Huh? CP? OK. Let's go then."
"You have a card right?"
"Metro Card. Ya I have one."
"Let's go then!"
My girlfriend goes ahead first and flashes her card on the sensor. The path slides open and the display shows a balance Rs. 99.90/- in green. I feel a chill go down my spine. My stomach and chest feel a strange sense of uneasiness. I can't move. There are people lining up behind me. My girlfriend who has now run a few steps ahead suddenly turns back and then asks with a worried tone, "Something wrong sweety?"
"Ugh. Nothing." I flash my card. The balance is Rs. 2.23/-. This has to be a joke right? Am I really the one taking her on a date?

Well, I first relax myself thinking that it was afternoon. All the occurrences happened during the evening. Meaning that She should be in the safe zone. And out of the hundred thousand odd people traveling there have to be many who have such a balance left in their cards. Thinking this we got up on the next train to Rajiv Chowk Station, which was directly in CP.

But then my peace of mind was vanquished by a monotonous voice - 'You're wrong. There are only unlucky people with such balance.'
I turn around to see my nemesis right in front of me with a serious "I wanna Kill" expression on her face. With her red eyes more fiery than ever, she continued, 'And she may do something in broad daylight now. After having 15 people, she must have had enough spiritual energy to do something bad now.'
'You have to be joking right? There is nothing that can go wrong, at least not my girlfriend.'
The red eyes look behind my shoulder. I turn around to see my girlfriend. Her otherwise shining eyes were lifeless. "Hey! Akansha!! Are you OK."
"Yes. I'm just feeling..." and she fell on her knees and her forehead hit the train wall.

=====================
Part two of this story is Monsoon Spirits - Part II. (<- It's a link... you can click it... ^_^ )

================
Author's Note
-----------------------

For Once, I wanted to write a horror story, but then I guess it ain't easy to write horror in today's age of high visual effect movies and animations. :?

Yes, this story has a Part II, where I will hopefully conclude this. For now, I'm feeling lazy and sleepy *Yawns*. Guess the ending :)

P.S. Now I've also italicized the dialogs in this one too...

Finally, The Chosen One is Here...

Finally, The Chosen One the project that we worked on for so many days in studio has been copyrighted by "Finger Nozzle", our band of four/five people (...and to let you know, I never gave this name -_-; ). Now that it's under copyright, I can freely post it on the net. :)

Ah! Love the freedom...

Here is the song (also on Facebook and reverbnation.com) I embed from reverbnation.com. As I said before to other people, negative criticism is accepted, and if you're leaving comments about this, please speak your mind. That way, I'd know what we were missing here (and we are missing a lot I feel...). My only contribution to this project were the keyboards and some arranging... well... ok, just 5 seconds of it. -__-;







Lyrics
=====

He was born,

The day sun brightly shone.

He was welcomed as the king of kings,

When an angle held him; in her wings.

He was born,

Born as the Chosen One.

Destined to be in Pain,

Ordained to the suffering.

Finding the key to mortality,

Desperation seeking the truth.

He's foiled by loved,

Thwarted by belongingness.

He was born,

Born as the Chosen One.

Destined to be in Pain,

Ordained to the suffering.

He got something left undone,

Left deep within in his heart,

Got to ask before he's doomed,

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE ME!!

P.S ::> I just noticed. This becomes my 50th post. I wonder when will I get to a 100 :P

The Script - Alpha Edition...

Well... Like I said in my last post... I and my friend Mr. V were working on a script for a short movie we were planning to make. Like Mr. K (the person who'll direct this movie...) said... this script is a good mix of Warchosky Brothers and Cohen Brothers with the same unexpectedness of Hitchcock. Then Mr. V said that he intended to look into small details like Stanley Kubrick.

So, this is something I wrote after collecting our ideas. As of today, this is not a final script, but this is what our script would finally follow. Let's see (yes, it's an open challenge) how many understand what actually happened here. :D
=================================================

Chimera

=======

In Intro.... Heavy Atmospheric music.

Single bed Bedroom. Untidy table. Tidy room otherwise. An abstract painting hanging from the wall at one corner of the screen. A large sea map on the other corner of the screen, having many large and small red crosses and dotted and dark lines.

Alarm clock rings. Mr. M wakes up. Rubs his sleepy eyes and taps the alarm clock shut.

Bathroom Scene. Mr. M comes inside the bathroom and splashes his face in the sink.

Next scene. He sits on his untidy table. Grabs his expensive looking smart-phone/cellphone. Makes a call.

Mr. M - Hey. What's the news today. Heh? 40 120... any more coordinates... ya man... every one of them. Don't leave even one.... ya go on.

Mr. M begins to take notes

Phone rings. This time Mr. M is on the map hung on the wall.

Mr. M - Ya. Note the hot spots... ya... starts at 40 120 and...

Music goes louder/heavier and voice is muted.

Music continues and scene follows... (to be shown within 20 seconds) (It would be preferred from the authors point on view that Ms. A is shown in the background one way or the other.)

1. He takes home deliveries for lunch.

2. A scene where he is going down the staircase to a kiosk where he buys and smokes cigarettes.

3. He is shown smoking while marking on maps.

4. Shown taking home deliveries again.

5. Shown talking on phone while sitting on the table and smoking.

6. Shown taking home deliveries again.

The Music dies and the camera goes into the door and clips out into the corridor of the building focusing on the door in front. Out from the door comes out a girl. Same age group as Mr. M. She is shown having a bright smile on her face and tip toeing out of the door and down the stairs.

Chirpy and happy music starts.

Cellphone rings and she picks it up.

Ms. A - Hello? Ah yes sweetie I know I'm late. But you know Mrs. Sharma who lives on 2nd floor... ya the one with the fat black cat... he he he... well she came up and asked me to help her with something. I didn't feel like putting her down... oohh... no... don't worry. I'm on my way. I won't miss the fun... I promise.

She walks out of the building hand-waving the guard and he slightly bows down his head to return her greeting.

Music goes louder and scenes follow.... (To be shown within 20 seconds) (It would be preferred from the authors point on view that Mr. M is shown in the background one way or the other.)

1. She is shown talking on the phone while shopping.

2. Goes downstairs to the kiosk to buy cornetto.

3. Shown talking on phone with a cola in her hands.

4. Shown taking home deliveries

5. Shown saying hello, talking and then smiling with a light laugh, while going down stairs.

6. Shown taking home deliveries.

Music cuts back to a soft, preferably melancholic piano tone

Mr. M in bedroom on the table. Reaches out for a box of cigarettes and then looks at it, makes a frustrated expression while shaking the box.

Mr. M gets up and goes out. Next scene is of the Kiosk where he orders a whole pack. Mr. I who is also smoking intervenes.

Mr. I - Hello there. You live in No. XXX right?

Mr. M - Err... Yes?

Mr. I - Well, I'm your new neighbor. I moved in just yesterday. I had little time due to shifting and all, so I couldn't say hello to you earlier.

Mr. M - I see.

Mr. M doesn't say anything for 10 seconds and there is silence between the two.

Mr. M - You also have another neighbor. Keep away from that woman. She is very friendly but may have ulterior motives.

Mr. I - Is that so?

Another 5 seconds of silence

Ms. A comes into the scene

Ms. A - So, New neighbor. Set into the society yet?

Mr. I - Ah! Well, sort of. But I've yet to meet others living in this society. I hope to meet and know them soon.

Ms. A - Well. Here I am.

Mr. I - (Laughs) Well well. Indeed. So. Wanna join in for a cup of coffee or tea?

Ms. A - Ah! But I have some chores to do. I can't accept your invitation now.

Mr. I - Is that so? Well, don't worry. It won't take even 5 minutes to prepare and then, it's just a cup of tea. I won't hold you for any more than 15 minutes.

Ms. A - Hm... well. If you insist so much I think I'll come.

Mr. I - Good. I have some rare blend of coffee I'm sure you'll definitely enjoy. You won't regret it.

Ms. A - OK. Let's go.

Mr. M has his head hung low... face palming... and taking sideways glace at Ms. A.

Scene fades out

Scene fades in where Ms. A sits on the sofa and And scene follows Mr. I going into the kitchen.

Mr. I - I'll be with you in a minute.

Scene goes up-to the window where we see the silhouette or faint image of a man. Then the scene pans back and Ms. A is sitting on the sofa.

Ms. A - So. What do you do?

Mr. I - Make coffee for guests. (Laughs)

Ms. A - Ah! Yes. Indeed. (Laughs as well...)

Mr. I - But on a serious note. I'm a Senior Inspector.

Ms. A - Ah! Police. Must be a fun life.

Mr. I comes into the scene with a tray having two cups of steaming hot tea.

Mr. I - Not really. If it were criminals I had to chase, then for you it would have been fun. But really, I have a boring job of busting a smuggler's information network.

Ms. A - Smugglers. You don't chase them on seas?

Mr. I - No. It's the coast guards who do it. We just inform them.

Ms. A - Ah. But that reminds me.

Mr. I - What?

Ms. A - How do you know of people informing the smugglers when they must be informing their comrades about you?

Mr. I - How I do it is classified information. But I can tell you that I was sent here because there is one in this society. Very soon my informer spy from their gang is going to identify him for me. And then he'll go down. That'll be the exciting part won't it be.

Ms. A - I don't think so.

Ms. A gives an ultimate cruel smile

Mr. M attacks Mr. I with a flower vase. Mr. I faints to the ground and then Mr. M looks at Ms. A

Scene goes into Ms. A and with her cruel wicked smile

Ms. A - I think you already know it's dangerous to stay here any longer and that too leaving him unfinished.

Mr. M - Just what are you? Sitting there calm and cool?

Ms. A - I knew this was going to happen one day. I guess I was mentally prepared.

Mr. M runs into the kitchen and then comes out with a knife in hand... goes out of the scene and two seconds later the camera pans towards the dead body where Mr. M has already stabbed Mr. I and is now looking towards Ms. A with intent.

Ms. A - What now?

Silence

Ms. A - Uncomfortable? Come to my flat then. It's safe, and we can sort out this mess there.

Both Ms. A and Mr. M go out with Mr. M looking at Ms. A with killing intent

Scene fades out black. Heavy Music. Fades in or Pans in over the shoulder of a man reading a newspaper. In the newspaper, the focus goes into or zooms into a report

= COP AND CRIMINAL FOUND DEAD IN TWO SEPARATE FLATS =

DD/MM/YY, Location

On the evening of DAY, a Senior Inspector was found dead in his flat. He had just moved in this flat and was investigating a gang of smugglers. His death was due to multiple stabs with a knife, which surprisingly was found near the second dead body, which was identified as the informant of the smuggler network. However the flat, in which his body was found was empty for 4 years, while his own flat was next door. The cause of death of the criminal was idenified by the police as suicide....

(The following scene is in flashback mode using sepia, solarize, noisy TV effect or what ever)

Scene fades in where Mr.M sits on the sofa and And scene follows Mr. I going into the kitchen.

Mr. I - I'll be with you in a minute.

Scene goes up-to the window where Mr. M walks up-to the window. Then the scene pans back and no one is sitting on the sofa.

Mr. M - So. What do you do?

Mr. I - Make coffee for guests. (Laughs)

Mr. M - Ah! Yes. Indeed. (Laughs as well...)

Mr. I - But on a serious note. I'm a Senior Inspector.

Mr. M - Ah! Police. Must be a fun life.

Mr. I comes into the scene with a tray having two cups of steaming hot tea.

Mr. I - Not really. If it were criminals I had to chase, then for you it would have been fun. But really, I have a boring job of busting a smuggler's information network.

Mr. M - Smugglers. You don't chase them on seas?

Mr. I - No. It's the coast guards who do it. We just inform them.

Mr. M - Ah. But that reminds me.

Mr. I - What?

Mr. M - How do you know of people informing the smugglers when they may be spying on you?

Mr. I - How I do it is classified information. But I can tell you that I was sent here because there is one in this society. Very soon my informer spy from their gang is going to identify him for me. And then he'll go down. That'll be the exciting part won't it be.

Mr. M - I don't think so.

Mr. M gives an ultimate cruel smile

Back after a lot of things... like Studios!!

Initially, I was on Hiatus because I was having exams...

But soon, things turned ugly and my computer blew up (Once again... T_T) and had to spend 15 to 20 days without it.

Yes, I would have come here 15 days earlier, but fate had something else in store for me. So, my 15 days went by in a form of creativity I never imagined I'd involve myself into. First, I actually tried (despite all my laziness) completing all the stories I stored up in my mind. Second, a friend of mine wrote and authored a song. He then dragged me to a recording studio so that I can co-author and arrange the music for him. So, this became my first experience in a recording studio and though it was interesting, it wasn't pretty. Thirdly, finally the ultra lazy Mr. V decided to make a move and the two of us have co-authored a script for a short movie which he hopes to complete by the end of this semester.

For now, I'll stick to my Ordeal at the recording studio. :D

Studio Chronicles

My friend Arjit one day calls me up and says I have to come to his home with my keyboard. I was hesitant, but then I agreed. I went to his home (which is about 36 Kms away from my hostel and is a one hour bus ride + 15 mins on auto+10 mins of walking) carrying my keyboard. I enter and meet this girl from Delhi University (forgot which one...). "She will be the vocalist for our song." he said. "What song?" I reply back.

He takes out is new iPod Touch and then shows me a note. It's a poem. And then he plays a guitar riff. "So?" I ask. "So what?" he asks back. Then the day goes ahead, and by the end of the day, I had to understand the girl's scale (Her name was Neha Ella BTW :P forgot to mention it sorry...) and arrange chords according to her comfort and style. Amazingly they suited.

We then did a few Jam sessions in Jam Pads. And then one day he calls me saying that we were ready for studio. "What Studio." I ask him back. "Arey... the one I told you about." he replies back. Indeed. He did tell me he was interested in recording a song in some studio he told me about, but I never imagined in my dreams that he'd actually do it. But then, I was asking more question he could answer (like what software and hardware he was using, etc) so I simply agreed to come.

Then came the next trouble. Neha drops out at the last moment and she says that her mom won't let her do the recording. I'm unable to contact her directly so I ask Arjit. He says her mom refused because each of us had to pay Rs. 1500 for the studio recording. I look at him. I ask him "Meaning I had to pay too right." "Right." is what he replies. I grab him by the collar and shake him good. "You @#$%&~!!! You're supposed to tell this important stuff earlier!!"

Somehow, he decides he'll sing the song. Then we go on a monday and for the first time in my life, I entered a professional studio. "It's a small studio but it has all the professional equipments you'll need to record a song." is what Mr. Studio-wala says. Ah! yes. His name was Mr. Pradeep. A very nice fellow I must say.

But I could see the professional instruments he had. A Tama drumkit (the one Metallica uses for live shows.), A Yamaha Keyboard and synthesizer, recoding microphones (That cost over Rs. 90,000 or $1,900 a piece), a Mixing and effects kit of Yamaha, An 8 core Intel Xeon II based Apple Mac (2x2 Quad core Xeons) with a huge LCD screen and 4 External Hard Drives of 1 Terabyte each. He also had effects processors, compressors and High Grade Filters too.

If you didn't understand what I wrote in the para above, then in short and easy language, his recording equipment left me speechless and in complete awe.

The recording goes on for two days (read as sessions) and the first session, we only managed to record a dummy track and finalized only on the drum beats that our drummer recorded. (His name was Naman BTW. I'd let you know before I forgot his name as well.). We could only do this much on our first day because the drummer wasn't used to playing drums while listening to metronomes. And no matter what you record, you have to wear a headphone and play by the tempo of the metronome. If the timing or tempo wavered even a bit, we had to redo it from the beginning. The drummer had a hard time cause he's not trained by the metronome.

Then the next day, we record the keyboards and bass (Which was done by Mr. Prashant) separately using metronome. Then the electric and acoustic guitars. And finally my keyboarding.

And here I became were enthusiastic because I got to use a really old, but gorgeous Yamaha PSR 1000 Keyboard. I only gave some background ambiance and chords in the song. I was also asked to give an intro. I did give one but now I'm not at all happy with it cause both Mr. Pradeep and Naman said that it reminded them of some old Bollywood song. (I curse them for not letting me redo a new intro...). However, everyone liked it. So, I let it pass there.

Now all that was left was the vocals. Arjit sung the song. Being a total amateur at singing he did a fair job. Though I must confess he sounded like Micheal Jackson.

Here are some pics of the recording studios :D

 The main tools used in this :D

 A great TAMA drumkits...

 Mr. Pradeep and his delicious Mac :D and a Yamaha Mixing Station.

 The drummer... Naman.

 Mr. Pradeep and... eh... excuse my ultra serious expression...

 Arjit and his Guitar used for this recording. :D It's a Jackson.

After about 12 takes on the keyboard... we had to turn up the AC to more cooling.

After all this, our band (which was named "Finger Nozzle" and I came to know about it after we had finished recording.) officially finished recording and now all that is left is the mixing. Once the mixing is over, we will have our first demo track ready for release (of course after getting through all the copyright and stuff). Until all that is done, I won't be able to post it on this blog or youtube. But one day I will and hopefully it's not far off.

Until then, please allow me to post the lyrics of the song that Arjit wrote. (Even I saw a bit of grammatical error in this... but I don't give a damn about it... >:D )

The Chosen One

-----------------------

He was born,

The day sun brightly shone.

He was welcomed as the king of kings,

When an angle held him; in her wings.

He was born,

Born as the Chosen One.

Destined to be in Pain,

Ordained to the suffering.

Finding the key to mortality,

Desperation seeking the truth.

He's foiled by loved,

Thwarted by belongingness.

He was born,

Born as the Chosen One.

Destined to be in Pain,

Ordained to the suffering.

He got something left undone,

Left deep within in his heart,

Got to ask before he's doomed,

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE ME!!

P.S  Well, I never show my photos to anyone, cause I have this "Damn them all" kind of expression on my face all the time. It's scary...