The greeks awaken

[the following is a story I wrote in one of my phases ... It is a re-working of a greek tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice]

As the lights came on in the darkened conference room Orpheus knew he had done it. The long nights at the office, the endless conferences , the untiring effort had finally paid off. The king and Queen seemed pleased. The Shades Perfume Company was going to be a household name. Not that it wasn’t but he had ensured that it would stay that way for the next 10 years.

Obsession was going to be the one. A sweet floral fragrance which had got rave reviews from all the testers, one which had driven him mad like the elite few he had tested it on.

After ‘Passion’ which had ruled his and his company’s life for so long ‘Obsession’ was the brand which would drive him forward.

The Shades Perfume Company had been formed by Lucifer Harbinger during the 1950s. From that time onwards the King as he was called had worked unflinching in the laboratories, where new fragrances were developed. He had been instrumental in making his fragrances wanted by all, film stars , heads of state. Not that they had any choice. The Haven Company which was the major competitor had some really amazing fragrances but then it did not suit every one. There were complains of skin infections and allergies. Haven had tried and tried, they had their own prophets but then they too failed to woo the users away.

Shades was on the other hand widely available and suited everyone. Though they knew that most of them would rather not use it, they dared not for fear of social ostracism. Hence this sect of un-perfumed ones was growing, people seeking salvation from the fight between Lucifer of Shades and Jehovah of Haven to control this market. But everyone knew they were treading a fine line because falling prey to the temptation of Shades was so easy. It was there everywhere! All shops , mall, supermarkets. Anything you bought would give you a free Shades Perfume. It was impossible to get away from it. Lucifer seemed to have won the war.

But then came the heart attack. The King was bed-ridden for some time. It had stuck him on Christmas day and left him hapless as he saw his empire start to crumble. The new marketing manager recruited from Bethlehem had been able to nearly destroy the Shades. Lucifer had fought hard, he had made him offers , which had been refused. Weak from his heart attack Lucifer had nearly given up when luck came at his side. While traveling on the company jet, the pilot had a stroke crashing the plane into field of thistles. All the passengers were crucified. It was this freak accident which gave Shades a second chance.

Lucifer’s daughter had taken over the reins. With her father by her side for advice she managed to steady the ship and gain foothold once again. As he recovered he seemed to become even more and more powerful finally regaining his position as the King, ruling besides his Queen over Shades.

Orpheus had been with shades for a long time. Son of a small farmer in Oklahoma, he had worked hard to prove himself. He had played with a band at night to pay for his college fees. While in college he had spent his time in the library and the small recording studio his friend ran as a session musician. He used to sing background vocals on records and accompany bands whose vocalists had not turned up or were too drunk or doped to sing properly. He used to be paid 10$ an hour, virtually peanuts but for him it was an fortune, enough for his 75$ a week boarding and food. He dreamed of the big stage where he would one day profess his skills. But that was not to be, he was too poor to risk it. He hoped for some decent hard-working job after college which would help him sustain himself. He dreamed of his father and how he worked nights with the sandy soil to create food for many. He dreamed of love.

And she walked in then. She looked like a goddess, long dark hair, the perfect business suit. The Queen they called her. He called her Eurydice. She had come down to record a jingle for the Shades Advertisement when they had met. And it was love at first sound. As he sang with passion like he always did, she fell in love with him.

They hung about all over town . They visited the piers the small restaurants. She took him to palaces where it took 5 waiters to serve a glass of water. He took her to his apartment.

She persuaded her father to give him a job as a salesman in the company. As he went door to door selling his wares, she sat in her thousand dollar suits and dreamed of him. They dreamed of themselves, their children and their futures and they made love passionately.

But Fate intervened. He was the manager for Orpheus and could not stand this closeness of Eurydice and him. All it took him was a couple of phone calls and Orpheus was accused of trying to cheat the company and lie to his supervisors. He was called up infront of the livid King. Lucifer was furious about his daughter going out with some country hick and this was his chance. He had his revenge.

Eurydice’s pleading made sure he kept his job but was transferred to the farthest corner of the empire, while she was suddenly given newer charges. Her father made sure that they couldn’t meet Orpheus was kept so busy with his job he couldn’t find time to contact Eurydice. The Kings agents had worked overtime to ensure that Orpheus had become tainted and no other firm was willing to recruit him. Eurydice was kept so occupied that pleadings to her father had no effect, she was locked up in work and met potential husbands selected by her father for dinner. She was unhappy and miserable but time passed and things grew no better. She started having flings and affairs and became involved in a couple of unhappy marriages. Orpheus became a bad memory.

Orpheus meanwhile was working hard and making a family. He had a wife and three kids , he was becoming a big-shot in the company. His passion , his hatred all channeled towards his work and he led the creation of the “obsession” perfume. His dream had been fulfilled. HE was invited to present it before the king and Queen. He would meet Eurydice again.

He had spent days in his preparation. He had gone out and got a $150 hair-cut and a $500 suit. His wife had not suspected anything.

Nor should she, said he. I have no feelings for her he told himself. She could have done some much for me but didn’t. She was so beautiful and powerful and could have had me transferred but didn’t.

She could have flown down and they would have met during weekends and gone around making love and doing the beautiful things they did.

Oh ! How badly he wanted her to be part of his life.

I’ll give a presentation that will shake the foundation of Shades and move Lucifer he told himself during his flight. I will make sure I win her back. I will. She will succumb to me so will her father.

Epilogue:

She knew he had done it when Lucifer said “Nice Work ,Son.” And embraced him.

Eurydice knew she was still madly in love with him the moment she saw him walk in. His voice had struck the chords at the bottom of her heart and Lucifer had seen it.

As her father grew older she saw him yielding and she knew that she could get whatever she wanted from him now.

She weighed the gun in her hand (it felt cold and heavy) as she thought so.

She recalled that day when Orpheus had given the presentation. Her father had embraced him and looked at her. Then he had said
“ Son, Tell your wife she is now married to the youngest General Manager in the history of Shades. Now I must leave , but meet with my Daughter and go through the presentation once again, there are things that needed to be sorted out so old mistakes are not repeated.”

She knew that he knew he had got her but her father had told her in not so many words not to do the same ‘mistake’ again. And sure as ever they did it. On the boardroom table itself. They made love like they were supposed to , they were meant to . They gave no care to their lives and future and had done it like they used to when they were together and care-free.

And then they walked in, the entire senior management.

Her father must have planned it, that bastard. Ever since Daniel was there she was being sidelined and this was the ultimate blow. That bastard knew that we couldn’t be able to keep our hands off and so he invited the senior team to the boardroom to meet us after giving us enough time to screw ourselves, and so we did.

The next few days were like a nightmare. She was forced to resign, so was he. Obsession was taken from him as was all his other ideas. He had left the Head office disgraced but had left her a plane ticket to Greece.

There was also a note.
“ I shouldn’t have looked back at you. We could have been so happy if I had some patience.”

She weighed the gun and the ticket in her hands. She could hear Daniel’s voice on the Television.

“ I am delighted to take over as the CEO of the Shades perfume Company and will try to be a worthy successor to Ms. Eurydice who had to quit her post due to personal reasons.”

The sly smile on the face of her father said it all

She brought it to her head and pressed the trigger.

In another part of the World as Orpheus was driving his car to the airport to meet Eurydice’s flight, he hoped; he couldn’t wait. He gave her a call.

“Hello!”
“Hello ! Who is this ?”
“This is Orpheus , may I speak to Eurydice please ?”
“This is Lucifer Harbinger, my daughter shot herself last night. Her suicide note mentioned you so the police will be giving you a call. Son, don’t worry , I am handling it , there shouldn’t be any problem.”
Silence
“Orpheus , you there . Don’t worry son. As I told you don’t look back and all will be fine with your life.”
Sound of an explosion.
Phone hangs up

The mobile phone you are trying to reach is currently unavailable please try again later.

The inception of conception

I think the first thing that people will ask once I have published by blog will basically be the question of how I of all people, who swear about how blogging is killing the web started one. Well lemme tell you...

Its a rather long story. It all started one day...

OK no more bullshitting. There's no story, I always felt that blogs were the best way of making oneself heard and giving vent to creative juices but was too busy or too not up to it.

Conventional wisdom says the first one has to be memorable, How is the biggest question ? But why memorable is what we should be asking. What is the persistence of memory ? Do you remember the taste of your mom's home-cooked food ? Can you smell the sea in the middle of the desert ? Can you touch the sunlight in a rainy day ?

Memory is a fickle mistress, she will pleasure you ... She will pain you. Woo her well and you can have feelings you never knew existed, emotions you never knew was possible. But force her and she will leave you with nightmares, pain, tears... We all claim to have good memories. We can remember our childhood moments , our experiences. OR CAN WE ?

An experience, an emotion is never a stand-alone fate. It exists only because others exist. Leave one part out and you can never re-live the moment. Memory is never persistent, emotions are... Remember one and you can appreciate it fully. No need to rake your memory for the associated accessories that come with it. Remember the emotion and memories will come tumbling in, Circumstances, Instances, events, people , happenings. Remember your first crush and you will recall when was the first time you lay eyes on him/her, the first stolen glance, the first meetings. No let me cut short here , Love is something I should not be discussing right now . Maybe later when I feel upto it.

I was talking about persistence to get back into mould of things. We as humans have this inane innate tendency to try establish ourselves on this world. I am perhaps the greatest exponent of it- Bold, Brash, Outspoken, MAD in every sense of the word. Only so people can remember me. But believe me , behind this troubled interior lies a troubled boy waiting to get out. A quiet guy who likes long walks, talking and sitting. No flashes of brilliance , no arrogance , no intellectualism, just plain old john doe. I would so like to live like that. Have a house in the middle of nowhere, with a dog and my other half (if there can be any such ) , go out on hunting trips and read books under the shades of tall trees. Learn fishing and guitar so that I can lull myself to sleep. Life would have been so much fun. But here by a quirk of fate I am stuck in a dingy mental room without a view. A misfit in the grand scheme of things. Trying to shout out to a thick wall. Pounding on doors that are not open.

How I hate my life !!!

Life is such a practical joke played by us by a fickle creature known as fate. How it makes us reach the top of the world only to show us that there is no top of the world. Think !!! I will never like to elaborate on what I write but I do want you to think about it. Let it be bubble gum for your brains.... Chew Chew Chew and POP GOES THE WEASEL

P.S About the title : "No I am not challenged in my writing skills... By the dictionary meaning conception is also the creation of something in the mind..." I am also enclosing a story I had written in one of my phases . Do tell me how much you hate it !!!