Chapter 4
I was 12 or maybe 10—I don't remember exactly. It was when my cousin sister from my father's side came to the city to study. She stayed with us for a few days, maybe weeks. We had a CD player at home, and she brought a CD with her. It had several horror films. One of them was RAAZ (if you're Indian, you know which movie I mean; if not, Google it).
We watched it at night after dinner. The whole family was there except my father, who usually comes home late from work. They turned off all the lights in the house to make the movie feel scarier. I was just a kid—it was my first horror film. And believe me, even today, I never watch horror movies alone. (I did watch them with my sister back then because we only had one TV and no smartphones, so I had nothing else to watch.)
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When I woke up, I expected everything to be back to normal. I got up, picked up my pillow and other things, and decided to go home, thinking everything must have returned to normal—or was about to.
But when I left the temple with my belongings, I saw the same scene as before I slept. The sun was still in the same position. No birds. No animals. Nothing. I was shocked and scared. I thought maybe it was just because it was morning, and not many people or animals were around yet.
I ran upstairs to my home. When I opened the gate, I was met with the same silence. Fear set in. Thoughts started racing through my head.
What if it's like this forever? What if it never goes back to normal? Or what if I get old and when everything becomes normal, my family won't even recognise me? How long will I be like this? How long will I be alone?
Will I die alone? Will I never see my mother again?
I miss my mom 😭!! IMiss my papa😭!!
Will I never see my sisters, my best friends?
I cried!! Cried while sitting in the hall on the floor,
Clenching my fist, crying my eyes out...
After a few moments, when I finally calmed down, I decided to think... What if there is a hint for how long it will take? Will I get old or will I be normal? Will I get fat or will my weight be the same? But my weight did increase yesterday... I went to the nearest gym, just 800–900 meters away, as fast as possible...
I measured my weight ,It was 74 kg—it became the same as it was before the time freeze. I sighed with relief. Maybe after every sleep, my body would reset to normal. I thought that if I get injured maybe I will be healed after a good night's sleep like my weight became the same... I came back home... I sat on the bed thinking... what's going to happen to me?
What can I do during this freeze? There was only one thing that came to my mind which comes to every teenager's mind (who are not rich)... what would you do if time stops?
"I will rob the bank" is what I also thought.
But I had doubts. What if I took all the money, but when everything returned to normal, it disappeared? All my effort would be wasted. Or worse—what if, while I was in the bank, time suddenly started again? I'd be dead ☠️.
Should I do it or not ? I didn't even know how long time would be stopped.
I set those thoughts aside and decided to freshen up and take a shower. Then I started making a plan—how, when, and which bank or place I could stea-Ahem "borrow" money 💰 from.
"Should I just go to the nearest bank and empty it? No- No 🙂↔️ I don't want innocent people to suffer. I remember a news story where a bank was robbed, and it wasn't the bank that lost money but the people whose savings were stolen. I wanted to borrow money without hurting anyone( I am so kind 🙂) ."
Should I BORROW some gold then?
No, I remember seeing that gold has a hallmark and in many manhwas I read, they ask for proof if you want to sell the gold... I think only cash is untraceable... so where should I BORROW money? 🤔
Maybe from a rich person who wouldn't notice if a few thousand dollars went missing—or someone who couldn't report it to the police 🚨maybe because it was black money or a bribe.
But in my city, there was no one that rich. And even if there was someone with black money, I didn't know where they lived maybe if he is a famous person or a high-ranking official I'll know about him. But I don't know anyone that famous in my city .
Maybe in Mumbai—India's most famous city—there would be someone like that. The richest person in India lives there, for sure.
But going to Mumbai on a scooty and that's also without Google Maps, would be tough. I'd need a map of my state, and one of Maharashtra. But is that really easy. Anyway what i need now is a map.
There is a school not far from my current rented house—about 800 meters away—where I studied until Class 10. I decided to go to school. After arriving i started searching for map , maybe they have in the staff room or the principal's office. I checked but no luck.
Then I slapped my forehead. "What an idiot I am! There's a stationery shop right in front of the school , why did I not think of that ?"
I went there and took two maps—one of India and one of my state. They were big, double or triple the size of an A4 sheet. I didn't know the price, so I just left two dollars on the counter.
After coming home,I tried to understand the map. We usually study maps in school and it was not that difficult to read and understand it. To go to Mumbai, I don't know how long it will take me to reach there with just a scooty... but one of my sisters did MBBS from Maharashtra and it usually took her about 20-25 hours to reach via train 🚆.
If I decide to go to Mumbai, it will probably take 2 days via a scooty. I had many worries: what if everything becomes normal while I'm on my way to Mumbai... or what if everything becomes normal after I reach Mumbai... or while I'm stea-I mean borrowing the money... there are so many risks. Still,if time stayed frozen , I can make a lot of money (of course I know it's a crime but who cares nobody will know anyway).
So, I decided to take the risk and go to Mumbai.