Tales from the Neverbeens

A lonely tree stood in the middle of the field, a blanket of mist behind it. It stood twisted, silhouetted against the blanket of cloud behind. This tree has a history. It never broke. Kamini had always looked up at the tree, wondering how the tree had got twisted. As if an invisible hand turned it several times by its top and held it there eternally. Her life had got twisted in the same way, but she hoped life wasn't as adamant as the tree. She had both feared and hated the tree, until she had her first child. Little Sohail seemed to like to play around the tree quite a lot. There was nothing else to play with around anyways. The little boy grew up and had began his education, but he was always attached to the tree. The father had made a swing for him on the tree, and Sohail would spend most of his time swinging. But one day the branch that had bent down by the weight of the boy suddenly pulled up, and the boy, caught among the ropes, was pulled up too. The rope coiled around h...

I was talking with a very good friend at that time.  I was alone in my room, and she was on the other end of the line. It was past midnight and yet we weren't sleepy. We never were when we were talking with each other. She was the best company. It was then that I realized that the clock was still. It wasn't ticking. "My clock has stopped," I said to her with the hint of a laugh. "It never was running," she said, "Did you forget..." I was perplexed. This clock had been running quite fine from the day she had gifted it to me. Yes, it was gifted to me by her, just like every other time piece I have.  She is very particular about time and time pieces. And the ones that she chose were quite well built. It was as if she was connected to them. As if the sharp tickings were her heartbeat. I remember once when I had lost a watch, and she drove me mad asking me where I had dropped it. It seemed as if she couldn't breathe. And now she tells me that the...