‘Whoa, Miss Luck-’
‘Mrs.- Married to Fortune.’
‘Okay, Mrs. Luck, I wanna know one thing: Where are you taking me?’
She threw a mischievous grin at me. ‘C’mon, Jake. This time, Evil does not escape under my watch.’
I was feeling like a goalie who couldn’t save a single goal. ‘Ok- I wanna know the details. The solid dirt.’
Before she could reply, a craft the size of a car had popped into view. It was shaped like a huge bus with wings. ‘You’ll get to know soon, son of Moral and Happiness, won’t you?’ I couldn’t digest this. ‘I’m a demigod?’
‘Nah. You’re a full god. Now, get through this hatch and we’ll talk.’
She pressed her palm against the door, and it disappeared. Just- Boom. She got in, and began adjusting a clock on the dashboard. Apart from the clock, the cabin had nothing except drinks, in-flight movies, recliner seats and lavish footies. I asked the question I had been burning to ask. ‘What’s this?’
‘This’, she said, ‘is my Ship of Time. You really need to know the story, and I don’t have a knack for narrating things as they were.’ Luck reclined on the couch, carefree.
‘Um, okay, I guess.’
That’s all she needed. She waved a lazy hand, and the craft initiated liftoff. I threw her a nervous glance. ‘With all this noise, Mom and Dad are chatting happily?’
‘Don’t forget the Churn. It’ll cover up these noises pretty good.’
I was getting annoyed. ‘Okay, too many confusing things in a row. What’s the Churn, now?’
‘So, the Churn is, like, what the Greek guys called ‘The Mist.’ It prevents mortals from seeing the world as it really is. Do you want to get a glimpse of the real world?’
‘Yeah!’ Another wave of her hand, and I could see the same ultra-bright colors I’d seen on her when she had revealed herself to me. Only, these colors were now all over the world. It was like someone had finally given me the correct power glasses.
‘There- Now you see the world as it is.’
‘Question,’ I said. ‘What about my Mom and Dad? Jane and William Warren? Are they Happiness and Moral or something?’
‘Of course! They’re our parents.’
‘Our? You’re my sister?’
‘Yeah. So?’
‘Listen, rewind to the gods being my pappy and mom?’
She shook her head. ‘Joy, our parents are gods. We create emotions all over the world. We keep each other in control. Now, the problem is that Evil and Sadness are uncontrolled. That’s why there are lots of deaths, murders. You’re the god Joy. Only you can bring joy to the world, helped by a little Luck.’
‘Two questions. First: For how long have you been working on that line?’ She grinned.
‘Second: My goddy self is called Joy?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Joy and happiness.’
‘Man, you can’t even be sarcastic without referring to Mom and Dad, can you?’
Before I could think of a snappy comeback, the craft settled down. ‘That,’ she said, pointing to a grubby old hag, ‘is Evil, our paternal grandmother. Watch what happens now.’ I was watching all right. What looked like Happiness was fighting with Evil. Unlike Evil, Happiness was beautiful- and looked happy. She couldn’t stop smiling at all, and even as she received blows and hacked apart her mother-in-law, she looked blissful. A few minutes later, Sadness came into focus. Moral was fighting her to his limits. Though his weapon - a stick - was lame, he fought bravely. Then the focus shifted on Happiness again. She was quickly losing her fight. Then, after a final stroke to her stomach, Happiness fell, retching and vomiting. In the spur of the moment, Evil turned into a bird and flew away, triumph blazing in her eyes.
‘That,’ Luck said, ‘is what gives you full understanding.’
I remained silent for some time. ‘So this happened centuries ago, and centuries of gods can’t solve it. Why-’
‘“-me?” You ask. See, Fortune plays a double role. He’s the god of fortune, as in good fortune, and He’s the god of fortune, as in predicting the future. He gave me a prophecy, you know. Wanna hear it?’
‘Yeah, I guess.’
‘‘Once the world burns in flames
And prophecies become hard to tame
Wrong people win riches and fame
Savior arrives Joy by name.’’
Rebuses:
1) -> SECRET
SECRET
SECRET
2) M1Y L1I1F1E
3) LINESREADLINES
Unscramble:
This edition’s theme: Beach Time!
1) eahreoss
2) nrpgis oattop
3) cie olga
4) heaslelss
5) dnays
Email your answers to
particle0221@gmail.com
A wonderful game is that of cards
Playing till now from the age of kings and bards.
Aces, Dicks, Rummy and Bank
It’s the inventor of our pack of fifty-two that you’ll have to thank.
It’s played from toshers to kings
Play with brains, and money goes ka-ching!
But if you make a bad move or choke
They’ll make you pay ‘til you’re broke!
Don’t ever lose Bank
They’ll make you pay all the way to the bank!
But in Aces, once you’ve learnt the style of it-
You’ll make the people pay, bit by bit!
Whatever you do, don’t lose rummy-
They’ll make you pay ‘til your legs are runny!
As for dicks, I have only one thing to say-
Keep your fingers crossed and play!
Last thing- Do not lose your calm while you play,
Or they’ll make you pay night and day!
You found a four-leaved clover?
Oh, those are ever so rare!
Ah, you don’t believe in luck?
Well, today’s “luck” overdose you’ll just have to bear.
Money flying in the air
Right under your nose!
All yours to take,
It’s something you don’t want to lose.
The teacher called you her favourite?
You got the top score in class???
Ah, still don’t believe in luck?
Wow, you’re unshakable as brass.
The one slice of pizza for lunch
That comes with toppings galore
Made it onto your plate,
And yet you’re against luck, to the core?
The four-leaved clover, still in your clutch
Comes with you, as you board the bus in a rush.
All the way to hospital you don’t let go,
Your hair, in a hurry, you brush
You’re about to meet your sister
Who’s been in hospital a week
With the clover leaf, still in reach
Your eyes have the slightest leak.
The leaf, again, tight in your grip,
Is nearly crushed as a doctor walks by.
Worried, you walk in, not knowing what to expect
The first thing you see is the twinkle back in her eyes.
The doctor says she’s free to leave,
You couldn’t be any happier.
Maybe the four-leaved clover did help.
Don’t you think so, dear?
Well, in all this time you’ve been
Quite a tough nut to crack
But now, I suppose, as a believer of luck
You’re on the right track.
After all, you knew that I, Goddess of Luck, had blessed you, right?
There’s isn’t much a little leaf can do on its own, is there?
No don't love me back
Don't even cut me a slack
Take me for granted
Forever I ve felt unwanted
No don't hold my hands
Or sing for me with the bands
Never will I ask for a ring
Nor a wedding in a zing
Let me love you from far
Life is not all that fair
Feel free to love, your choice
I ll stay without a noise
Love you, I will always
Even at the end of my days
Now, many of the loved ask me why
Cards said dangers underlie
As stupid as it sounds
Pain inside compounds
Decision it was difficult
Easy it is to judge
I ll let you on to a secret
I cry inside the blanket
At times mind is crooked
Expects love requited
But then the truth hits hard
He was very of me , fond
Why o why,
My best mate had his name carved!
I woke up today and read all of these and don’t remember writing any of these, should I be worried?
Has anyone noticed how letters’ pronunciations can be spelled with other letters? Like ‘A’ it makes the sound ‘ay’ and ‘B’ would bee (I can’t with the dad jokes) ‘bee.
People always tell me that all dreams have a meaning. My dreams consist of me feeding pigeons pieces of apple pie inside of a volcano, what does that mean?
Technically time travelling doesn’t exist because people from the future didn’t come to 2020 for their history field trip about Coronavirus right? And can we take a moment to say sorry for the future students, they have to learn all about Coronavirus and how crazy a year 2020 was. Rip their brain cells.
Apparently we shouldn’t be scared of spiders because “they’re small”. You know what else is small but we should be afraid of? Guns, grenades and a child crying non stop on an 8 hour plane. So “they’re small” isn’t a reason to not be scared of them. Though the fact that most of them are non-venomous and won’t harm you is.
Wind is sky farts, ketchup is acidic tomato blood and water is the product you get when you melt Olaf.
The word bed kind of looks like a bed.
You could define reading books as staring at blank ink splattered in a pattern on the pulp of dead trees. It really adds zest to studying for your English test doesn’t it?
How is 2021 going so fast? We’re more than 5 months in and I feel like I’ve done nothing at all. My brain hasn’t even clocked the fact that 2018 is 3 years ago-
Tea is essentially just leaves in water right? So if it rains and the water comes in contact with leaves does that mean all the water is just diluted tea? I have successfully confused myself.
Every time I listen to a song I remember where I was, what I was doing and wearing the last time I heard that song. Is it just me? ;-;
Who invented English? Apparently Shakespeare made up like 200 words in English but who created it and why did they have to make it so confusing?
I dare to say “You have pathetiquette” to someone who has pathetic etiquette. Bold, right?
I’ve evolved from Homo Sapien to Stay At Homo Sapien who makes cringe dad jokes.
Seeds are kind of a build your own plant kit.
Apparently your pupil becomes more dilated when you look at someone you like and smaller when you look at someone you hate. Why can I not see my pupils when I look in the mirror-
Wait, WHERE am I?!
“Who…who are you?! Why have Leo and I been summoned here?! And how do you all speak English?!”
“Calm down, calm down, Reylia, Amethius and I will explain everything.”
“So, in order to keep order and peace in the Solar System, the Council of Planet Leaders decided, a long time ago, to recruit three worthy Earth children every year around the same age to keep the peace and order in the System. You have been chosen- “
“B-b-but... do our parents know? Where the heck are we anyway? And what do we do? You said 3 of us will be recruited, and other than two of us I don’t see anyone else around our age. And what about- “
“I do not like being interrupted. I HATE IT! Anyway, yes, your parents have been informed- “
“Oh, so that’s why Mom and Dad were really bent on saying goodbye to me like a million times before the drive. Now I get it!” said Leo.
“WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT INTERRUPTING?! You will get to know where you are soon enough. You will get to see the other recruited person soon. You both are part of the ‘66 batch. We all were once blessed with powers. We are siblings, all the same age, more than 3 millennia old. Reylia turned into a warrior goddess, Amethius became a nature god, and I became an element wizard. Each batch recruits pick one of us to be their teacher and the trait we have. You also get to drink the Granting Juice which gives you powers related to the trait you picked.”
“But why do we need these?”
“Our System always needs a good defence system. We always have the risk of getting attacks from the other systems.”
“So you three are space gods?” said Leo, my humorous (NOT!) friend.
“Kind of. So, it’s time to pick your trait!”
“I always love ¬¬¬¬this.” Said Reylia, quite excited. “Though this time Warrior is already chosen.”
“By whom? The mysterious other 13-year-old?” Said Leo.
“Yes, now discuss which traits you’ll pick with each other.” Said Amethius, who had kept quiet the whole time.
“We’ll still get to meet each other, right?”
“Yes, yes, now decide fast!” Said Arbeal.
Finally, we decided that I take the path of Element Wizardry (Leo called it EW, which I actually found funny) and he take the part of Nature Control.
We both gave our choices, and they gave us our Granting Juice. Let me tell you it tasted horrible. It tasted like a mix of raw eggs and vinegar and ketchup. We both retched after drinking it, thankfully not puking anything out. We were told we were to find out our powers on our own.
We were taken to another green door at another end of the bioluminescent crystal cave. It looked like another huge lounge, but this one had better wallpaper, it had people in it, and there were more green doors leading to even more rooms.
“This is the living room.” said Arbeal.
We both stood amazed. Think of a 7 star’s hotel lobby, make it look really modern and then multiply it by a thousand times. That’s how stunning the room looked.
“Your rooms are in the cabin numbered “66” meaning you were born in 2866.” Said Amethius.
“Cool!” said Leo. “So when do we get to our training?”
“There’s no hurry,” said Reylia. “There’s still time. Go out and explore if you want, and take Amber with you.
“Who?”
“The ‘other’ chosen person.”
“Uh… sure. But before that, can I just open the door to see where we are?
“No problem.”
He opened the door. It looked so much like Earth, with grasslands and hills in the distance, I could see forests beyond, and I think I even saw a lake.
“Whoa. Where the heck are we?” said Leo.
Right when he spoke, I saw a girl who looked my age, though taller, walking towards us, along with Amethius, who I noticed disappeared when we came into the Living Room. “Hi.” she said. “I’m Amber. Pleased to meet you!”
Right then Reylia replied to Leo before we could answer Amber. “Well, Leo, you want to know where we are? We’re in the Sun’s Core!"
I recently read two books about the Indian Army - India’s Most Fearless, Part I and Part II authored by Shiv Aroor and Rahul Singh. These two books consist of stories of warriors who have risked their lives and shown unimaginable courage while fighting for India. After reading these books, I felt a surge of pride and honour for the soldiers who are ready to sacrifice their lives so that we civilians can live a peaceful life. I also got to know how hard the soldiers work throughout the day and night in places like Kashmir which are hotbeds of terrorism and places with rough terrain like Siachen.
I was particularly impressed by three stories – The first was the story of a young Major named Mohit Sharma who disguised himself as a militant, got into the secret camps of terrorists groups, got to know about their next plan of attack on Indian soil and then singlehandedly destroyed their camps.
The second was how a naval officer ventured out in the Arabian sea to war-torn Yemen to rescue thousands of stranded Indians and then sailed them back to India.
The third was how another Major named Preetam Singh carried out a surgical strike along the Line of Control in Kashmir against infiltrators in an area notorious for underground explosives and made sure that none of his teammates was injured.
I feel that such books are a must-read for all of us in this generation so that we get motivated to do something for our country, just like the Real Superheroes of India - The Indian Army.
JAI JAWAN!
Moukthika : Our Artist!!!! Her art skills are next level - Even buzzfeed agrees that she’s artsy and she cooks really well.
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Vedika :the one team member who’s up before the sun with a smile, she’s our motivator. She’s a part of our photography gang, and contributes art and articles every other edition too!
Aravind: Fellow youtube animator addict, he's known to be talkative and lighten the mood anywhere he goes! He contributes both articles and stories
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Sriram RC: A voracious reader with his interest in a variety of genres, his fingers can do magic with both pen and brush. He loves cooking and eats cricket for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Anhiti : The youngest here,she makes the website for the particle. Famous for convincing us to save the reefs – budding artist and author. (Don’t tell her, but she’s basically kpop spammer #2.)
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