Outside the box--the Short Cut Series

Laya raised her head until it touched the cover of the box and tried to peep through the little hole. She was looking for the Big Dipper and the North star. The combination helped her keep track of time. It seemed she might have dozed off a little longer than she should have after the blow to her head. She could feel something wet on her forehead where Frank had hit her with the rake. She knew it was blood and that probably explained why she found it hard to raise her head. She had planned and waited for this night for the last 37 days. She looked towards the farmhouse and found the lights had switched off in Franks room. It was past the time she had to start to make it to the highway to catch the bus towards city.She knew the exact time it took cause she had already once practiced her breakout and she was almost about to hitch hike a ride to the city on a tractor when she feared for what would happen to Aily and Paily. When Frank finds of his captives escaped he would kill the other girls and dispose off all evidence. He was the most monstrous “thing” she had ever come across in her life. He has hardly any bit human hence the “thing”.

 Her frail fingers reached for the hinges and slowly worked its way to open the box.The moment the box opened, she ran across the field to where the other girls boxes were. She had never asked them for their real names but Frank called them Aily and Paily and that had become their name.She tapped twice on their boxes before opening just to prevent them from screaming. The girls usually screamed in fear of what awaits them whenever their box was opened. Laya had developed a special unexplainable connection with these girls.They were bonded in misery and suffering. It felt the wounds in their bodies were connected,everytime he beat one of them the rest felt the pain too.Aily had a particularly painful day,her leg was bleeding profusely and Laya was hoping she can still make it to the highway.The girls ran past Bull,Franks equally monstrous dog.Laya had managed to sedate him and the other dogs. Her major in botany had finally come to help here in identifying and making the perfect mix of herbs from the stuff she found around the farm.

Their bare legs ached as they ran through the dense forest. The other two girls had spent too much time in the box that their legs had almost forgotten what it was to run and they needed to be helped back onto their feet.They could hear the howling of some animal.They also knew the forest might have snakes but nothing seemed as fearful as being back in the farm.37 days ago Laya was on a hike in the nearby mountains when she ran into Franks truck. She was in a hurry to get back home before it gets dark and then she heard a moan from within the truck. Her heart stopped beating for a moment when she peeped into the truck and saw a wounded young girl lieing in the back seat with her hands and mouth tied.She could have called 911 but instead she tried to open the truck.She then felt a huge blow to her head. Next thing she remembered she was in a box,her hands and mouth were tied. What had followed would be things she really wished she could forget.

Laya turned around and saw the girls had a lot of catching up to do.Ailys hurt leg was really slowing her down.She looked up at the sky and guessed they probably had about an hour before dawn.Their plans were at great risk if they didn’t cross the county borders by bus before Frank wakes up. From all the things she had seen on Franks farms,she has come to believe the law enforcement within the county would side with Frank. If they are to get caught in the county,they might be sent back to the farm.Aily had falled down on the floor. It was too dark for Laya to see the condition of her legs but she knew she probably would not make it running by herself. Laya and Paily helped her up and put her hands over their shoulder. The girls had to now run as real sisters in arms.They had never asked each other their names but had always been there to provide each other with a comforting word and after Laya learnt to open the box from within a kind hand to tend to their wounds.Laya had instantly become their only longing at night-someone to open up the box and give them a breather.She had never asked them long they had been on the farm but she knew it would not be too long before they got out.

Paily was praying hard that they make it on time to the highway.They should probably be close to the highway cause now she could hear the sound of vehicles.Aily was crying miserably as she finally saw the light from the cars on the highway. Her leg seemed like it was cut off from the rest of her body,she could hardly feel it anymore.Laya got to the edge of the road and she could see the city bus heading towards them.She pulled down her torn and tattered skirt and waved frantically at the bus.She hoped the driver would see her in time and stop.

The driver on the bus,Mona was horrified when she saw three ghastly looking girls standing on the highway and waving at the bus. For a second she thought she had dozed off  and swerved past them.She could see through the side mirrors that the girls had falled down on the side of the road and had broken down into tears and she instinctively brought the bus to a hault.She knew something was terribly wrong and she could not drive past these girls.She would then watch these girls look at the haulted bus in disbelief and then hug each other.

The girls looked out through the window as their bus crossed the county lines and they looked at each others shabby faces.Tears trickled down their faces and for the first time in a really long time,they were tears of relief.Laya lifted Ailys wounded legs and cleaned it with the first aid kit Mona had provided.Something that seemed like a smile came upong Ailys face and she said “I am Maria,whats your name?”.

In the spin of a globe---the Short Cut series

What are the chances that one of the world’s richest women spends a month living with the world’s poorest? Zilch you might say but for Rhea Kumar the chances were very high. When her ex-husband and business partner Naresh ousted her and the 10 year legacy she created at the world’s largest communication enterprise Collab Communications by winning the Collab Board in their long pending power struggle, her career was written off. Who knew the closing of one door would open up her entire life to a much higher purpose? That day Rhea returned home sad and depressed. Her little angel-her 5 year old daughter Tara who was playing Super Girl would ask her mom if she can spin the globe so her little fingers can touch one little spot on the Planet that she would fly to. For a split second Rhea wanted to fly far away too to whichever spot her pretend Super Girl flies. It was so surprise that little Tara’s fingers would reach out for a African country and specifically the Central African Republic. While Tara flew around the living room in her Super Girl costume, so did her mother’s thoughts. Rhea had always dreamed of helping communities and making a greater social impact.

As the CEO of Collab Communications she did initiate a number of social projects to connect the world better and to bring affordable higher education to rural India. She also made Collab City, the township around her company’s headquarters a completely zero waste town. However, it was often that she felt she could do more. While the rest of the world pitied on how a woman had lost her entire life legacy to her ex-husband, she called her closest staff and planned a trip. Neither the media nor her family would be aware of how one of the most powerful entrepreneurs in the country would fly out unnoticed.

Navigating a war zone would not be as easy and Rhea realized that the moment she arrived at the border through Chad. For a moment she doubted the spontaneity of her decision. Her daughter clutched her moms arms as she saw all the armed men. Her daughter would then watch her mom freeze as her staff and the border patrol would warn her one final time against undertaking this dangerous journey especially with a child. But Rhea who had always courted danger in both her professional and personal life, would turn a deaf ear to their pleas. Rhea and her daughter very quickly realized they had checked out of heaven and checked into hell. They visited a number of humanitarian organizations and talked to many of the local war victims. Rhea worried if her little girl was being exposed to too much misery and if it will impact her negatively. Strangely, it worked wonders for her. One night, the until then petrified Tara picked up  her dinner(sandwich and soup) and walked across the camp to where the refugees were lining up to pick up food. She eyed one particularly frail little girl who was wailing clinging onto an older sibling. She walked over to her and handed her the food plate and her little pink teddy. She told the little girl largely non verbally that the pink teddy was going to keep her safe. Rhea felt a lump on her throat as she watched this. 12 years of international schooling would not have given her daughter that confidence to spread a little joy in another life when she herself was submerged in fear.

 From there on, Rhea went on to build multiple shelters that also doubled as a schooling facility for the young. With ideas from her daughter Tara, who loves to paint and read,the curriculum was structured to focus more on the creative arts with an emphasis on learning to read.Tara believes that at the most desperate of times, hope can be found in a little story somewhere and reading would unlock that hope for all. The focus on art did add a lot of color to these kids otherwise dark world. Rhea later expanded her efforts in other parts of the world few people would even dare to travel. There are no super heroes in these parts of the world. Only ordinary people with a brave heart who would give their everything to make an iota of difference. So next time someone asks a probability question and the odds are less, remember it’s always high in a story.