STARDUST (Short story)

STARDUST

‘Premjeeee,’ my wife began to shout from the kitchen.

‘Please don't eat my brains in the morning...dear… You know, I am writing a story.’

‘You can keep on writing stories to astonish your readers! But, don't forget that 'you' have two small boys... If you don't take care of them right now, leave them forever,’ she couldn't control her anger. (Yes... she is right... Most artists never care their families! An unfortunate universal truth!)

‘Dad, get us Flintstones,’ my younger son started shouting.

‘Idiot… who are you to command me? See... I am your Dad... Add ‘please’ before that ‘get’. Understand?’ I poured the same anger upon him.

‘Yes Dad.’

‘O.K... What's that?’

‘A cartoon DVD... Gloria Aunt has a copy.’

‘Anger is a dirty form of energy, which will retrace the origin. Don't you know that?’ my elder son asked.

‘What?’

‘You only taught us!’

‘Is that so?’

♥           

Gloria aunt, an Anglo-Indian woman, is living all alone in a beautiful heritage home in Fort-Cochin. Arabian Sea is at a stone-throw distance from her home. Her father, a heavily paid employee of Kolar Gold Mines, purchased that beautiful building way back in the forties. Her twin-sons Wilfred and Alfred, now residing in US, force her to join them almost every day. But, she never cares!

Being her next-door neighbor, I have a very special place in her heart. Sometimes, she calls me either ‘Alfred’ or ‘Wilfred’ and I call her ‘Mamma’. She loves me a lot since I am an ardent listener of her well-crafted stories. I love her a lot since she has the biggest collection of movies: DVD's of classics from almost every language on earth to local disasters! Whenever Alfred or Wilfred visits her, they bring an aircraft full of movies and she keeps them in a very orderly manner. But, now-a-days, she prefers cartoons and I am afraid, my sons would replace me soon from her heart!

‘Everybody will become a child in the fag-end of their lives!’ she laughed.

♥           

Two months back...

We were celebrating her seventieth birthday. Her sons too joined from US through ‘skype.’ Internet kills distance and time too! That's why every Airline company across the world is sinking! If they come to know about this fact, sure they would contact some criminal gangs to cut those thick Internet cables laid under the sea, connecting continents! World is just a small playground now! Tomorrow, it's going to be the biggest jail!

Some rare DVDs of ‘Shyam,’ a local ‘heavy-head-weight champion’ superstar, was my birthday present to her since he was her favorite local actor.

‘Premji... Shyam is a terrific actor... I have decided to give him a treat someday... I love his dreamy... romantic... eyes... real ‘Stardust!’’

‘Mamma... One day... Sure, I will try to bring him here as a surprise... Together, you both can enact an old love song.’

‘You naughty,’ Mamma got angry.

Woman looks so beautiful when she is angry! Try to make her laugh then! If possible, she will never leave you!

♥                              

Shyam, the aging superstar, was traveling in his brand new BMW 7 series car, the latest addition to his fleet. The soothing music, that too from one of his blockbusters, dissolved into the ears of his driver.

He tried to cover the wrinkles around his neck by a colorful muffler. Repeated injections of Botox, made his facial wrinkles improved. If the effect of that muscle relaxant could last for two years at least, he wished sincerely. He cursed the poor quality make-up materials of yesteryears, which added infinite amount of toxins to his body, silently.

‘Maintaining one's own popularity is a real burden,’ he touched his arc-light-tanned hands. ‘It could disfigure me some day,’ he told himself while closing the expensive mirror fixed behind the front seat.

‘Sam, pull over the car that side.’

He jumped out immediately after the car made an abrupt stop and started walking swiftly toward that heritage home adjacent to the sea. His aged knees, not ready to agree with his stardom, had begun to pain. What to do? The show must go on!

♥              

‘Crazy idiot,’ Sam thought while standing beside the luxury car. Poor man desperately wanted to become an actor. He even changed him name to 'Sam', a word having close resemblance to 'Shyam'. But, unfortunately he could only get transformed to a 'driver with star value!'.

‘Someday, he will give me also a chance,’ it was the most repeated dialogue in his life.

‘Get lost,’ he started pelting stones at the crows resting peacefully on the branches of trees near-by.

‘Single dropping on his car... lousy bastard will make me eat that,’ he told himself. ‘Every Car dealer gives him cars almost half the rate as a reward for 'hidden reference' and he gets enough margin when he sells it off with a new branding: 'a car used by Shyam'

A very beautiful teenage girl passed by.

‘O! This is Shyam Sir's car,’ a lovely sentence escaped from her beautiful mouth. ‘Will you please introduce me to him?’ she asked innocently.

‘Sure... but,’ Sam stopped in the middle.

‘But?’

‘What is my benefit?’ His eyes started crawling down through her well-shaped body.

‘Get lost...you....,’ she walked away and the crows started making horrible noise as if they were congratulating her!

♥             

‘Shyam,’ Gloria Aunt couldn't believe her eyes. ‘Premji is a wonderful guy... He kept his promise’

‘Who is Premji?’

‘My next door neighbor and a writer himself... He promised me to bring you here!’

‘I am afraid; I do not know any Premji. I just dropped in... That's all,’ he smiled

‘Please take your seat,’ Gloria Aunt requested him while searching for the remote control to switch off the T.V. The movie, running, was one of his blockbusters of yesteryears!

‘No need to switch that off... Just reduce the volume a little,’ the Narcissus in him told. He was desperately in need of another super-hit like that to survive in the most unstable industry ever: ‘The Cinema’. A causeless uneasiness started creeping through his soul.

‘O.K... Let me get you some chilled French Wine?’

‘That will be a wonderful choice!’

‘By that time, if you want, you can freshen up there,’ Aunt showed her expensive toilet.

Shyam left happily, that too after thirty minutes long conversation with 'the fan of his life'!

♥                                                                     

‘Mamma, you could have called me,’ I couldn't hide my disappointment.

‘Sorry Premji... You know... at that time... I thought... that... I was in cloud-nine,’ Mamma replied innocently.

‘O.K... Then... what did he talk with you? I like the authentic way, he talks to the media... Please... tell in detail’

‘O... there was nothing important,’ she told, uninterested.

‘Mamma... you disappoint me.’

‘He is not ‘Stardust,’ my son, as I thought earlier.’

‘Then?’

‘Bloody star-waste!’

It was the first time in my life; I heard a rough word from her mouth.

‘Mammaaa.’

‘Yes... Mamma only... Do you know, what did he say... immediately after handing over this visiting card, before he had left?’

‘No.’

‘If I am ready to sell this house, anytime, I am free enough to contact him! Real estate is his main business... it seems... and he would give me the best offer... Cunning bastards, who debaucherize art, are roaming in expensive cars to befool poor people... Premji... You... You should write this for the sake of me, ’Mamma commanded like Queen Victoria!

Premji