Awake...

What if you wake up someday and gradually find out that everyone is fast asleep and not willing to wake up?? Roads are deserted, no policemen, no criminals, no doctors, no one to turn to take help of… Initially, you may just smile at your freedom. That you can buy whatever you wish to without paying, you may not have to work, and you can do whatever you wanted to. But when you realize that only humans are the ones who have fallen asleep and not the animals and that they are marching towards your city, what will you do? Oh, on top of that, the animals start talking to you in your language…

That's what Awake-by Egan Yip is all about. While searching randomly for some e-book to download, I came across this novel. Found the preface exciting so downloaded it. For grownups, who likes to read thriller or biographies, this novel may look kiddish (it actually may be for children below 15 years of age, but I enjoy being in this category at times J ). While reading this novel, I was constantly imagining that an animation movie is going on in front of my eyes. I wonder if any animation movie has been made on this, if not, it's a good plot.

Anyways, it's a story of two teen boys (Kevin and Andrew) who realize on a morning that everyone around them has fallen asleep mysteriously and not waking up. On top of that, the cats and dogs reveal that the animals understand human language and they can talk also but only in case of emergency like this. Normally, they pretend not to understand or speak human language for various reasons (to avoid becoming witnesses in criminal cases, for example). They tell these kids that there is an organization of animals (HPC) to take charge of the situation and know the reason for this sleeping epidemic. They decide to go to the nearest town to understand the situation and on their quest, they meet few more humans, many other animals (friendly animals). All of them try to keep themselves awake to avoid falling prey to this epidemic. Meanwhile, wild animals, who hate humans to the core, have started pouring in the city to take back their land. Kevin and team lands up in an underground lab to find that a scientist was doing experiment on whether people can connect with each other in their dreams while sleeping. The experiment turned wrong and the result outspread throughout the world leading to this epidemic. But now the scientist has also gone to sleep and so he cannot suggest any remedy to the problem.

When the kids and HPC are searching for a possible solution, they are continuously attacked by forest animals, who are controlled by a dragon who wants to kill all humans to take revenge against them for killing his bread to extinction. At this point, initially the fight between forest animals and kids was going good but it was over stretched. They were confronted over and over again. At one point, I thought that the fight is over and they will get back to reveal the solution to this sleeping epidemic but they were again attacked. In case, someone decides to make a movie out of this novel, please cut short this part…

On going back to the lab, a robot has designed a machine to let Kevin go into Dreamland and urge other people to wake up and come out of their dream (the ideal life that they want to lead and that they can do only in their dreams so, no one wants to wake up and Kevin got to make them realize that they cannot forever live in dreams). They finally succeed in waking up everyone and everything comes back to normal, without others knowing about the adventurous and horrible endeavor of these kids. The wild animals are back in forest, the dragon is dead and other animals are back to using their animal language, except with these kids. I enjoyed reading it, except the over stretched part of animals fighting with the kids. CHEERS!!!

OH GOD !!!!

It was a tiring day at office. It's almost 10 p.m. and thanks to one hour journey from my office to home, I could take a nap in my cab. But the bumpy roads guaranteed that it's not a sound sleep, just a small nap or a series of small naps.

I struggled to open the lock of my room. It is an old lock and the key had switched many hands and has lost its original shape. Old lock and twisted key made my life miserable each day. Right now, I could not think of anything but to lie down on my creaky bed as soon as possible. Every inch of my body is aching.

As soon as I managed to open the door to my almost empty apartment, I felt proud to have managed to keep it clean, specially the bed. I closed the door and crash landed on the bed. This bed also had switched many owners. My landlord decided to give it to me instead of giving it to the kabaadi-wala.

"Why do you want to throw money on a new bed? I have a spare one with me. Keep it. Young people like you won't settle down with any second hand thing. Look at us. Life is all about saving money. You need to compromise sometimes…", he had said.

That time I also thought that there is nothing wrong in taking a second hand bed only to realize later that it was not the second but close to 5-6 hands old bed. But I compromised.

As I lay on it staring at the ceiling, I didn't realize that I have not even put off my shoes and belt. My body won't move anymore. It needs rest. Desperately needs rest.

Suddenly, I felt suffocated and a thin drop of sweat trickled down from the back of my head and landed on the bed sheet. Though the street was usually empty at this time everyday but still I could hear some racing bikes and occasional trucks. But after the drop of sweat, I could feel the vacuum. No voice, no noise, no air, no oxygen. Do I need to open some windows? The apartment has been closed since last 16 hours. I had been in office since then.

Reluctant to move, I struggled to get up to open some windows. My body is not moving.

I have to get up or else I will choke myself to death…

But it won't budge. The ceiling is turning black. Suddenly, my left arm starts to pain and I start sweating profusely.

What's going on? I can't hear anything or see anything. Gosh, my arm… The pain is terrible… I need to get out of here…

I start searching for my mobile in space. I needed to call my friend-cum-local guardian immediately. I need hospital. I need a doctor…

Wait a minute… Where am I? I can see light. I can move now…

But this is not my apartment. Oh My God!!! Where is the floor? Where is the roof? I am standing on the clouds… What has happened to me??

"Relax dear. You are safe here… "

I turn to see an old man, real old man with long beard and wearing strange clothes. I have seen such costumes in mythological serials.

"Who are you? Where am I?"

"I am GOD…. You have reached heaven"

"WHAT???!!!! Ha ha ha, yes, GOD… You are God and I am dead, right?"

"Right. You died of a heart-attack"

"Listen uncle. I don't know if Ramleela auditions are going on in my area but you have failed in this audition. I am just 26 years old. How can I get a heart-attack?"

"Long working hours, no exercise, junk food, no rest, computers, stress… What else do you need for a heart-attack? You don't need the age but an unhealthy heart and life style to get one. Don't worry, you no longer have to work. You are in heaven now. Wait for some time and I will send you back to earth after a re-birth"

"But you can't kill me. I was doing my job. If my work demands me to work non-stop for 20 hours at a stretch, I have to, else I would be kicked out of my company. Why did you do this to me? I have so much to do… I did not even meet my parents, my family, my friends… How will they come to know that I m dead? You did not give me time to even call them…", I cried

"I have taken care of that. Your parents will call you and you won't respond till morning. They will send your friend to check you out. He will find you dead"

"DEAD… it looks so easy to you, as if a routine affair for my friend to find people dead in their apartments?"

"Calm down. I gave you enough time to speak to your family and meet your friends. But I guess, your job took priority over them"

"If you are God and you had given me enough time to spend with my family and friends, you only must have put my job on priority. Because you are the GOD…"

"Don't blame it on me. I don't decide your priority list and how exactly you are going to spend each minute of your life. I just make a path for you when you are born"

"Oh, in that case, why at this moment did you decide to make me suffer the heart attack and take my life?"

"But that's my job. Your life had to end at this moment. I had to call you up here"

"Who wrote my life?"

"I did"

"So, why didn't you write it properly? It should have been crisp, clear, detailed and step-by-step process should have been defined for me to follow. I never knew that my life will end at this moment like this and that I have such little time to spend with my family and friends"

"We cannot write it with such details else all of you will know when you will die and so will manage accordingly"

"What's the problem in that? After all, the bottom line is to live a good life. If I know that I am going to die at xyz time on abc day, I would have paid my loans, or not taken them at the first place, I would have stayed with my family rather than moving out for job, everyone would have been happy"

"But if everyone will be happy, how will you humans understand what is the pain, the sadness, the grief and the sorrow?"

"Why do we need to know these things? We would have known only happiness"

"But when you would have lost someone, you would have cried and that may have confused you as to why you were crying on the loss. Oh and how would you have learnt that you have lost someone?"

"I simply wouldn't have cried. If you would not have written crying in my life, I wouldn't have cried. You are making me confused now"

"What do you mean?"

"Simply that if you would have either written my life step-by-step and clearly, it would have been better or you would have introduced only happiness, then it would have been good"

Now he is confused. He is thinking…

"May I ask you something?"

"Yes, sure"

"What job did you have down there on earth?"

"Why? I was a Process Manager. I used to write Process documents and other technical documents"

"I understand. Can I hire you to write step-by-step processes for human beings, other races, planets and all?"

"Hmmm… What package will you offer me? According to industry standards, I expect a hike of 25% but since you are God and this would be a very high profile job with my direct reporting to you, I would want 40% hike"

He has closed his eyes…

"I have thought about it and I suggest, you better go back to your job on earth. I will write an updated version of your life and you may stay there till you are 80 years old. This much salary I cannot afford. I can't stand you anymore. GO BACK TO EARTH NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Tring tring tring…..

"Hello"

"Hey, how are you? I have been calling you since past 1 hour. Your mummy is getting hyper here. Talk to her"

"Ya dad. I was just…"

"Where were you? Don't you have time to talk to us??", it was my mom

I smiled…

"I have lot of time now mom…. Relax. I can talk to you till I am 80 years old…"

And we talked for another hour; I slept, woke up in the morning and went to work…

There I am my dear Processes…. You saved my life… J

The End...

I was working in my office at 4 p.m. when I got this mail on my official mail ID. It said “From: The GoI” and the content said to watch the news (on any National or International channel) sharply at 8 p.m. IST. I was puzzled. Then the same mail came in my other mail boxes as well. Alarmingly I asked my colleagues if they too have got such mails. They had. All of us were puzzled. But had no idea as to what this was all about. After office, we were going home in our cab, when all of us could see that everyone on the road is rushing somewhere. May be to watch the 8 p.m. news. This is serious, I thought. I reached my place and sat in front of the TV to get some clue. All the news channels were highlighting to watch the live telecast of something at 8 p.m. I called up my parents. The line was busy, but I got through. They too were tensed.
Finally 8 p.m. arrived and our common room was packed. The news channel directed us to NASA press conference which was packed with media persons from all over the world. The President of US and UK and other nations were there along-with NASA’s top authority. The Chairperson of NASA cleared his throat and the room felt silent. He said “THE WORLD IS COMING TO ITS END”. WHAT!!!! Did he actually say that? There was a sudden uproar everywhere. The man waited for next 2 minutes and started again. He explained that “our planet is going be hit by 3 meteors after 14 days and the impact will not be on one city or nation but the earth. This fact was checked and re-checked in the last one week and finally confirmed”. Each of his words were hitting our ears but making all of us deaf. The earth is going to collapse... How is this possible? 3 meteors and they were identified just a week back. And he said that we, supposedly the most intelligent race- mankind, cannot stop it from occurring. “So, do whatever you want to do. Don’t go to office, pray to God, stay with your parents, meet your friends, eat whatever you want and don’t bother to pay or collect your money since everything is going to end”.
My knees were becoming weak to support my body to get up and run to my parents and brother and bhabhi, my friends, who all were posted in different cities, to those people whom I was fond of. I could not think anything. I was sweating. Then suddenly I decided to call my parents and brother. That all of us should come to one place and die. But all the lines were jammed. Another idea clicked my mind. I decided to run to the nearest cyber cafe and book my and my brother and bhabhi’s tickets to home. I will take my friend’s credit card to book them; I anyway don’t have to pay her back. But the cafe was closed. I could see that the roads which had deserted a few minutes ago was flooded with mad rush from all the directions. Meanwhile, I was trying each second to make the call. I went back in my room to pack my bag and rush to the airport. I reached there in 5 hours. It was mid-night. The auto driver did not take money and I knew why. But there was a curfew at the airport. By that time phone lines were getting clear. I called up my local friend and asked him to lend his bike so that I can go to my brother. He did. I bid him goodbye and thanked him to lend me the bike. It was 5 a.m. when I started on my journey. Reached his place at 6 a.m. the other day. By that time he has already tied up with our cousin who too had to go to Jaipur to be with his parents by his own car. Without waiting or talking we started driving towards Jaipur, driving turn by turn and on the maximum safe speed. We reached there and bhabhi’s parents and brother had also come there and then we had nothing to worry. 4 out of 14 days had passed. We talked and talked; hardly slept. We met all our local relatives by calling them at one place. Bandwidth of phone lines and internet has been increased to maximum. So, daily would talk to all my friends for hours.
Finally, the day arrived. We prayed in the morning and waited. Then, we saw it coming. The sky went dark. The breeze was now a hurricane. We held each other tightly. It hit us and we saw each other for the last time.
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And then I woke up full of sweat and heart beating faster. It was my ugly dream which was the result of watching too many Hollywood movies like these.
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