Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Truth in Wine



A life’s work continues to conjure questions well past the funeral. Take Arthur’s case. His son was convinced that trash-can is the rightful place for his late father’s poetry while his wife didn’t see any harm in keeping the papers till the winter; the pile was large enough to keep the fire-grate burning for two nights.

Up in the sky, his afterlife trial began.

“My Lord, Arthur wrote too many lies. Take his poem ‘Post-Big-Bang Symphony’:

Eve had to eat the apple really soon
Adam was keen to sleep with the moon

Liar is a sinner. He belongs to Hell.”

“Romanticism needn’t be a sin. He was a kind fellow. Didn’t even pluck a flower after he turned ten. Let him be in Heaven please.”

Romantic souls were always hard to place. God adjourned the court for a break.

Post-break, God announced, “I’ve put Arthur’s words in that locker”.

The locker was labeled ‘Truth In Wine’ and carried five glasses of red wine atop it.

“To open, drink the glasses in a magical sequence. Else the wine gets refilled”.

No one, who managed to read his words, judged them lies.

Statistics reveal a 65% rise in romantic population in heaven after the T.I.W. constitutional amendment was established.

Back on earth, Arthur’s poetry was rescued before getting burnt. His grandson smuggled the stack to his school. That year, second-graders had paper boats whenever it rained, or as Arthur would have put it, whenever Juliet shed tears in heaven.
________________________________________________________________________________

PS : This is my entry to the Clarity Of Night Short-story contest(click here). 250-words limit was a challenge.

33 comments:

Meghana Naidu said...

eerie O_O
i was just thinking 'now wouldnt it be nice to read a little brownie somthing' went to my dashboard to go to your blog. and there it is!

EEriE


im.. just goining to go read your post now.

O_O

Meghana Naidu said...

You know you should have had a 'mobile casket' if you intended us mere mortals to read this one.
or atleast
you should have posted it on a saturday night.

*Hilarious extravagance!*
The way you dealt with the topic is frickin' unique, i dont believe i know/of anyone who thinks this way.

and *TOTALLY snort worthy*

oh and All the Best
hope the jurors are as intoxicated as they come.
:)

Shruthi said...

I love this.

Your story has a different outlook; a different concept that has hit the right note.. as I already said, I love it.

Thankfully your story does not indulge in blood or poison. Everybody seems to have related wine to death/anguish. Funny how one picture can churn so many stories.

After reading almost all the entries, I feel you are one of the front-runners my friend.

I wish you the best!

Me said...

"Bowled over"

I read it twice to understand it, I wont lie... :) and it is really worth winning entry... :)

Indyeah said...

Loved reading this. very unique.
I agree with Shruthi.

Most people associate and have associated wine with loss/tragedy/sorrow/indulgence...
this one is different.

beautifully written!
you really are a versatile writer.
humour/sarcasm and now this..:)

Mayuri Srivastava said...

Lovely :)

DPhatsez said...

Man win or no win;;

R.E.S.P.E.C.T! \m/

We should dope together one day, it would be frickin' surreal :)

Anonymous said...

This was too good! You really should win! :)

BrownPhantom said...

@Meghana,
You're funny :).And that must have been Eeerie since chances of a morning post are very little :).
Thank you so much for your extravagant praise :).

@Shruthi,
Thank you so much for your appreciation :). Yes, there was too much blood this time in the contest :).

BrownPhantom said...

@Harshita,
Yes, the word limit should be blamed for re-reading.
And there are many good write-ups over there. Still, I had fun :)

@Abhilasha,
Thanks a lot for the appreciations :). Words like these keep the blog going .

BrownPhantom said...

@Mayuri,
Thanks :)

@Dphat,
Sure man. Hop over to Bangalore sometime :). Always a joy to see you here .

@Choco,
Well there are a few technical flaws I am aware of. Mainly crept in due to the lofty idea in mere 250 words. But really thankful for your encouragement :).

ekta khetan said...

I am voting for you...Wonderful...I can't even imagine a thing.

Meghana Naidu said...

i didnt know we should vote :O
you should tell people to!

* Hyper link lazy*

BrownPhantom said...

Hold on Ekta & Meg :)
Only those who particitpated in the contest can vote :).

Thank you so much for the gesture though :).

Grayquill said...

Very enjoyable, unique, very well written, and suprising.
Thank you for sharing this amazing piece with us commoners.

ekta khetan said...

Hey You have been tagged...

http://ektakhetan.blogspot.com/2009/07/i-am-four-tagged-animal.html

Deepti said...

i just read ur post on preeti's blog..ROFL i must say....:D..i just love this thing 'bt siblings....no fear of being judged...bindaas maango...:))..i do the same with my yunger bro...he says.."didi..my friends say....abe tu poora didi se hi sponsered hai na.."....nyways loved the straight frwrd post..:))

cheers,
Deepti

Shanu said...

wow..lovely! thnk god i didnt enter my post for that contest..didnt stand a chance at all!

Stupidosaur said...

If somebody who doesn't have a life spends a part of it here, does it mean the person gets a life or part of it reading this blog?

(Hehe referring to your blog heading line ;) )

kunjal said...

Subtle, eloquent, wise.. lingers.. thank you for sharing..
kj.

BrownPhantom said...

@Grayquill,
Please don't be that flattering :).
Thank you so much.

@Deepti,
Thanks a lot for all of your comments on the blog. Really glad that you liked it.

BrownPhantom said...

@Shanu,
You really should have entered. It's a lot of fun too :).
Thanks.

@Kunjal,
Wow. Thanks for the kind words :).

@Stupidosaur,
That's tricky :). Thanks for dropping by.

Useless Bugger said...

Super stuff. You deserve to win
:-)

Anonymous said...

Loved it!! :) Good job!

Swaram said...

This is so well written n I hope u really do win ... U deserve it !!

Pesto Sauce said...

Written with imagination

Preeti Shenoy said...

Well written and creative. But now I expect no less from you :)

You have been chosen on my blog for my handmade card.Have updated my post. Please send your your address. :)
Cheers
preeti

Megha said...

Loved the ending. Well for Arthur, it's sad. Nice story, short and unique.

manoranjini said...

Absolutely loved it!Now that's what I call real creativity;your approach to the topic was very fresh.Pls do keep telling stories,u do that so wonderfully well...

BrownPhantom said...

@Megha,
Thanks for the kind words :)

@Manoranjini,
Welcome to the place and thank you so much for the appreciation :)

BrownPhantom said...

@Parikshith,
Shukriya dost. Made it to forties club :)

@thethoughfultrain,
Thanks a lot :).

@Swaram
So good to see you again. Thank you :).

@Pesto Sauce,
Thank you very much :).

BrownPhantom said...

@Preeti,
Once again, I am grateful :). Have acknowledged the card in the latest post.

tarjeta r4 para nintendo ds said...

Your story has a different outlook; a different concept that has hit the right note.. as I already said, I love it.