Fiha Equation: Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Fiha's house is huge. It looks quite similar to a fortress. The high walls are protected with barbwire. There is a signboard about 1000 yards away from the wall, which says:

Entrance of Mentalists is not desired.
I prefer serenity

-Fiha

Only Fiha can write something like this. Mentalists often venture through this road. They see the signboard. Some of them pause for a moment. But they never ask "what the logic behind a signboard like this"? The most important quality of a mentalist is his ability to control anger. They never complain and they never show annoyance over anything. Moreover, one cannot be angry with honorable Fiha. He is beyond these puny emotions. He has no headache about other peoples love and hatred.

Fiha is a lifelong loner. He stays completely alone in this huge house. He had two pet dogs sometime ago. They were hunter dogs and he really liked them. One day, late in the night, he was thinking about time dependent Irreta function. His thoughts got disrupted by the dog's barking. He got extremely annoyed and ordered the immediate disposal of the dogs. The dogs were sent away the very next day. After that, he brought a few birds. However, at one point of time, the chirping of birds seemed unbearable to him as well. So the birds were set free—now only the empty cages are remaining as a memoir of the past.

At present, there are no human beings in the house except Fiha himself. There are three Robots. All of them are worker robots. Two of them are really low in intelligence. They don't know anything other their own work. Lim's duty is to do the housekeeping and to cook the meals. Lim only does this everyday and yet he’s not a great worker. The amount of salt in the food is almost never proper; food is either too saline or salt-less. One of the other Robots works as a security guard. He keeps on walking around the home continuously; making loud thumping noise. The 3^rd robot has nothing particular to do.

This robot is of "PR" nature. His intelligence is not low like the other two robots, rather it's quite high. Fiha bought him as a helping hand. He thought the robot might be able aid him in his work. Later on he changed his mind. Now the robot's only work is to read books whilst sitting in the verandah. Fiha kind of likes this robot. He calls him "Bookworm". Sometimes he indulges in casual conversations with Bookworm, which is conflicting with his usual attitude. A big fault of these PR robots is that they cannot talk in an organized manner. They use unnecessarily long sentences. They love talking. Whenever Fiha returns home, Bookworm tries to start a lengthy conversation with him.

Today, as soon as Fiha entered through the gate, Bookworm came forward and started saying in a very monotonous tone "Sir today you have spent two hours thirty minutes and twenty seconds outside. You were out on the 9^th as well. That day you were out for one hour and forty seconds. Again on the 3^rd..."

"Shut Up", said Fiha.

Bookworm instantly stopped talking. However, that was only for a brief moment. He followed Fiha and said "Sir do you remember you came to the garden yesterday and told me that there were lots of stars in the sky? After listening to that, I decided to find out when more stars can be seen in the sky. To find that out, I studied a lot and I discovered some interesting facts..."

For the second time, Fiha said "Shut up".

He knows Bookworm won't shut up. But that's not a problem. He will now go inside his bedroom. Bookworm won't enter the bedroom. Bookworm doesn’t have access to his bedroom. However, the robot will wait for him in the dining table. If he finds Fiha, he will try to start another conversation. He decided not to give Bookworm this opportunity. He will not go out of his bedroom. He is in a very bad mood. He isn't feeling like eating as well. Whenever he meets and talks with a Mentalist, his mood worsens.

After sitting in a chair for a while, he decided to have his dinner. There's no point in torturing the body. He can as well have some small talk with Bookworm. The poor robot likes gossiping, but doesn't have a partner to do so.

Fiha entered the dining room. Instantly, Bookworm said "Can I talk, sir?"

"No".

Fiha started eating, and realized that the salt problem is still persisting. Not only is it less, the food is almost salt-less. Ironically, two days ago there were extra salt in each and every meal. Maybe it's time to replace Lim. In an annoyed tone, Fiha said "I am not being able to eat anything due to lack of salt. Can't you fix this salt problem, Lim?"

Lim remained silent. Apparently he doesn't have anything to say. Bookworm said "Can I share a small fact regarding salt?"

"No."

"I feel like ignoring your order and stating the fact, but I know that's not possible. I will only request you to allow me to share the fact."

"Okay, go on."

"Our robot Lim never makes a mistake regarding the amount of salt. The problem is yours".

"What do you mean it's my problem?"

"When you're in a good mood, you eat less salt. Again when you're in a bad mood, you crave for more salt. I've observed this for a long time, and reached this conclusion. I think your body needs more electrolytes when you are in an angry state. You can talk to a physicist if you want to. I have collected the addresses of four such specialists. Would you like to contact any of them?"

"No I don't want to speak to them".

"Why does your mood aggravate whenever you go out?"

Fiha did not reply. Bookworm asked "Do you think a lot about Mentalists?"

"No. You should stop talking now."

"If you do not feel like talking in this subject, we can talk on other subjects. Let us talk about the big bang".

" Bookworm!"

"Yes. Sir?"

"Do you need a partner for talking?"

Bookworm did not reply straightaway. Apparently he is immersed in thoughts. Fiha continued “I have just met a young girl named Nuhash. There is twenty percent chance that she will come to this house. If she comes, you’ll find a partner for talking

“Sir, I’m only interested in talking with you”

“Why?”

“I want to write a biography of you. I need a lot of information for this biography. But I don’t have much information. That why I keep on trying to talk with you so that I can get some information in between.”

“Did you get anything?”

“Yes, sir”.

“What did you get?”

“Would you like to read the few pages that I’ve written?”

“No”.

“In the biography, I’ve written that you like the word No very much. Every now and then you say No. Sometimes you say it without thinking much. It’ll be nice if you can check the introductory portion of the biography. There are many interesting information in that section. As an example, there is a surprise at the very beginning chapter. Readers will get a shock after reading the first few lines…”

“What did you write in the beginning?”

“The beginning says—honorable Fiha was brought up by a mentalist family. This family adopted Fiha from an orphanage. They took good care of him, and his childhood was entangled with their love and affection. One cannot deny the role of this family in the full blooming of this extremely talented person. At the age of 12, Fiha left the mentalist family. Later on, he never tried to communicate with his mentalist foster father and mother”.

Saying this, Bookworm paused. Fiha is sitting like a statue. Bookworm said “Did I give any wrong information, honorable Fiha?”

“No, everything is okay.”

“How is the language of the biography?”

“I don’t know anything about language.”

“I wrote the biography using different language techniques. I’ve written a few things poetically as well. As an example…”

Suddenly Fiha got up. Bookworm got up as well. Fiha said “Bookworm, try to communicate with my mentalist parents. Tell them that I want to talk to them”.

“I am sorry to say this, but that’s not possible, sir. I tried before. I wanted to take an interview of them. But mentalists living underground are inaccessible; none can contact them.”

Fiha entered his bedroom. He is feeling restless, and the intensity is increasing by the second. He knows this feeling. This is a different kind of anxiety. Will he calm himself by taking sleeping pills? No, that’s not necessary. He needs to remain restless. He is on the verge of solving the time equation. He knows his brain is working subconsciously. The subconscious mind has already received the solution; the conscious mind is yet to find it. But it will get the solution soon. Now he just needs to keep himself calm. He is now standing in front of the most important scientific inventions of all time.

The solution to time equation.

What will be the result? Will mankind be benefited? Or will it be destroyed? It can’t be told right now. There are some things that cannot be forecasted or predicted. Let’s consider the mentalists.

The true reason for creating mentalists was not successful. Human beings are now divided in to two races. At one side, there are the mentalists with incredible mental powers. On the other side, there are mental powerless normal people. These normal people are being controlled by the mentalists. They control the normal people like puppets. When they ask them to laugh, they laugh. When they order them to cry, they are obliged to cry. The mentalists are forcing these actions. They have that power. They are advancing cool headedly. Their master plan is to convert the entire mankind in to mentalists. This plan cannot be well. Nature did not want mental powered humankind. This is a fake system.

Fiha touched his communicator. He is feeling like talking to someone, and that someone should be a mentalist. It can be anyone. He decided to call Marla Lee.

Marla Lee answered the call in a very surprising tone.

“What is the matter, honorable Fiha? You, calling me at such a late hour in the night”.

“Is it really late?”

“It’s quite late. It is already 11 PM.”

“Did I wake you up?”

“Not really, but I had to get up from bed. I study in bed up to late hours in the night. I am also a night person like you. Can I know what’s going on?”

“I desire to do some reading on Mentalists”.

“Oh okay”.

“Can you help me by providing some books on this matter? You must have books regarding this”.

“Yes, we have. But honorable Fiha, these books are for us. Those who are not mentalists are prohibited from reading these books”.

“I know they are prohibited, and that is why I am asking you”.

“Your subject is physics. Isn’t it good to keep your readings limited to Physics?”

“Does that mean you cannot give me books?”

“You asked, I will definitely provide you with books”.

Fiha said “Thanks. I will now turn off the communicator. Before hanging up, I’ll ask one question. What is the weakest point of the mentalist society?”.

“We don’t have any weak points”.

“You are wrong. Your weakest point is that your society has no creative person. You don’t have any scientist, poet, author or artist among yourselves…am I right?”/

“No, you’re right. But…”

“But…?”

“Not today, we can talk about this some other time. Good night, honorable Fiha. I will send you as small book on mentalists. After reading that book, you won’t feel like reading any other book. Can I send the book tomorrow morning?”

“Can you send it tonight?”

“Of course.”

“Another thing!”, said Fiha

“What?”

“If I want to get married, do I need to take permission from you?”

“You don’t have to. Are you thinking about getting marrid?”

Fiha turned the communicator off. He is angry with himself. Talking about marriage with Marla Lee was totally unnecessary.

--------------

Marla Lee got down from bed. He got dressed quickly. He took out a self-driven car from the garage. He will drive on his own—no robot controlled cars tonight. Late in the night, the streets are mostly empty. Driving a car in the night is fun.

Tonight the streets are emptier than usual. People in Science Villa Dhee 11 are frightened. Some random collisions between people and mentalists have taken place throughout the day and night. No one is out in the streets.

Marla Lee drove towards the highway. He saw stationary highway patrol cars every hear and there. Patrol police is in alerted state.

Suddenly Marla Lee noticed that the two red buttons on the dashboard are turning on and off continuously. This means there is an important news or gadget that he needs to hear. He was not feeling like listening to any important news, but as a regular practice, he turned on the speaker. There is a cautionary message from the Weather department about a devastating hurricane. The Hurricane might go through Dhee 11. As a cautionary step, electric supply in the physics laboratory has been ceased.

Marla Lee couldn’t help frowning.

Fiha Equation: Chapter 3

Fiha Equation: Chapter 3

Nuhash opened the doors.
Fiha asked, "How are you, Nuhash?"
Nuhash kept on staring at him; she looked confused and startled. Is it a dream? Is she still sleeping? Is she seeing the man in her dreams?

"I hope you can recognize me?"

Nuhash is not answering. She is holding the door and standing still.
Fiha talked on—"I was bringing a packet of coffee for you. But I threw it in the dustbin. Now I'm thinking that I should have actually brought it instead of throwing it away. Will you keep me standing at the door?"

Nuhash is still staring at him. She is trying to say something, but she's struggling for words. Fiha said "I don't really need to come inside. I came here to tell you a few important things. I'll leave after saying those. Please listen to me carefully. Before that, I need to know one thing. Are you married?"

She nodded sidewise, stating the negative.

Fiha said, "I've decided to get married. I took the decision suddenly. I don't know any young ladies. You are the only one I vaguely know. Thus I've came to you. If you like me, if you think we can get married, then please come to me. Okay, I'm leaving. Sorry for coming at an odd hour.

With a shaking voice, Nuhash said "Please stay a while".

Fiha replied "No, I won't stay now. You've torn a very favorite book of yours due to me. That was not a good thing to do. Whatever is favorite remains favorite, someone's words don't change it. I said I don't like supernatural stories, but that doesn't necessarily mean that supernatural stories have become bad. You must buy another book. Okay?"

Nuhash is smiling; a shy smile. Fiha did not notice it. He is going down by the stairs. Nuhash is still standing. Her hands are clasping the door. She is now looking like a robot; her eyelashes are not moving at all.

Fiha erased the whole incident from his mind after reaching the streets. It is of no use to think about this right now. If the girl really comes to him, then he'll see what he can do. There's no reason to think about it now, there are many other important things to be done and thought about.

Erine is still standing with his patrol car. In a very homely tone, Fiha said "Please take me to my home. I hope you're not minding my casual behavior?"

Erine smiled. He looked nice. Everyone looks nice when they smile.

"How are you, Erine?"
"I'm fine, sir."
"Do you like this job?"
"Yes I do."
"Are you married?"
"No sir. Policemen are not allowed to get married."
"Who created this rule?"
"The Mentalists"
The car is racing through the empty streets. Fiha felt drowsy. Soon he fell asleep.

Fiha Equation: Chapter 2

Fiha gazed at the sky.

The sun is not visible. Clouds have shrouded the sun. I can look at the sky. Ancient people worshipped the sun. They also worshipped the moon. Stars and planets also received such treatment. But why no one worshipped the sky? Who has more legibility to get worshipped than the sky? God should not be imagined as a confined being. Sun, Moon, Planets and Stars all are confined within their limits. Only the sky is limitless.

“Sir”

A startled Fiha diverted his eyes towards the owner of the voice.

The young man dressed in green said “Can I help you?”

“Only I can help myself. Nobody else can help me. Who are you?”

“I am a patrol police, Sir.”

“Oh okay, a patrol police. I should have known it from your green uniform.”

“Are you looking for an address?”

“I was looking at the sky. Does anyone look at the sky for searching an address?”

“You looked at the sky only a while ago. I have been following you for quite some time. I have noticed that you were reading the road numbers while advancing”.

“Why have you been following me?”

“We have orders that we should follow aimless wanderers. I followed you for the same reason. I just realized a couple of minutes ago that you are the great physicist Fiha.”

“Do you want my autograph? I can sign for you wholeheartedly!”

“Sir, did I annoy you in any way?”

“No, you didn’t annoy me”.

“I have a car with me. I can take you wherever you want to go.”

“Right now I feel like going to the skies. You car cannot fulfill that wish of mine. Where are we now?”

“Sir you have almost reached the far end of the city. If you go 200 yards farther, you will be venturing the prohibited area”.

“The area of the mentalists?”

“Yes, sir.”

“How big is the area of the mentalists?”

“I cannot say that, sir. That area is prohibited for me also.”

“How many mentalists are there in this city?”

“I don’t know. The number is never published. Right now there are ninety thousand seven hundred and eleven civilians in the city.”

“Last year the population was about hundred and twenty thousand. Why did the number decrease?”

“I don’t know, sir.”

“Are the mentalists monitoring the conversation between you and me?”

“Yes sir. They have direct control over policemen.”

“Is the residential area of the mentalists limited to one particular area, or is it spread throughout the city in different locations?”

“They mostly live in the underground city. No one actually knows how big and farther spread the underground city is. Previously some mentalists would live outside, but now most of them are living there.”

“What is your name?”

“Erine.”

“Erine, have you ever thought that we, as human beings, have been divided in to two sects? One group is living on the earth, and the other is living in the underground city.”

“I don’t think about these things.”

“Nobody thinks. Why nobody thinks about these things?”.

“I don’t know, sir.”

In a tired voice, Fiha said—“We are not allowed to think. Our thoughts and imaginations are controlled. Mentalists define what we will think. They decide when we should be happy. When they think we should be sad, we become sad.

“I beg your pardon sir, aren’t you thinking quite independently?”

“Yeah, I am doing that and I am surprised. Please bring your car, I will go to general residential area, room number 118. I am thinking about meeting a young girl, Nuhash.

Erine quickly strode away. Fiha is standing on the footpath of a wide street. There are very few vehicles on the road; apart from periodic zooming of large automatic trams. It’s a lifeless city. He hasn’t encountered a single child in the whole day. The childcare homes are outside the city. Children are never kept with their parents. They grow up in the childcare centers. Once a year they are allowed to spend some time with their parents.

Where do the mentalist children grow up? Where are the mentalist childcare centers situated? He doesn’t know. Fiha is feeling tired. He is also feeling cold. He doesn’t what day is today. He doesn’t even know what the date today is. He is spending his vacation. He prefers not to remember anything while on vacation. He usually spends his vacation by roaming on streets. He never felt like going outside of the city. He never wanted to see the sea, mountains, jungle or anything like that.

He is fifty years old. He spent a lot of time in this earth. Why not even for once did he feel the urge to go out of this city? Only because the mentalists didn’t want him to. He did not marry. He never felt attracted towards a young girl. He spent his life aloof. Why did he do that? Did not mentalists provoke this behavior? Not only him, no scientist involved in important scientific researches have married. If he was the only one, things could have been explained. But he is not the only one!

Mentalists are using the scientists, because they need their work. They will get what they want. The scientists are nothing but robots to them. They are puppets and the mentalists are the master of these puppets.

This is not the first time Fiha is getting surprised at how efficiently and subtly the mentalists are controlling normal human beings. Maybe he will be surprised on more occasions in the future. But this surprise is losing its charm now.

Once he faced difficulties with Gregorian analysis. He doesn’t have much knowledge in this subject. But Gregorian analysis is extremely important for solving the time equation. It will take a lot of time to master this subject from scratch. His free thinking will be affected. In this situation, he suddenly noticed in the news paper that the famous pundit of Gregorian analysis, Professor Shormone is coming from the arctic to this city for treatment purposes. He is sick. He will cure himself by coming to this city.

Didn’t the mentalists facilitate this?

They are doing everything. Everything is happening according to their plans. Is it really impossible to destroy their plan? How about doing something which he is not feeling like doing?

He doesn’t feel like leaving this city; how about leaving this city for good? He doesn’t enjoy woman company; how about marrying this Nuhash girl? How will it be? Of course, the girl needs to agree. She will not probably agree. Scientists are anything but good husbands.

Erine just brought his patrol car. In a very gentle manner, he said “Sir, sorry for the delay. We will have to go a long way, so I changed the battery cells for the car.”

“Do we need to go a long way?”

“Yes, sir. The residential area is totally opposite from where we are standing now.”

“Okay, let us start our journey.”

to be continued...

Fiha Equation: Chapter 1

Fiha Equation

Original book: Fiha Shomikoron - Humayun Ahmed

The door and the windows are all violet colored.

Violet never really attracts him. Not only him, probably the color violet doesn’t attract anyone. However, the laws states that all restaurants should be colored violet. The intensity of violet will denote what type of food is available. Thus a light violet colored restaurant will only serve drinks, whereas a dark violet restaurant could be the best place for having a full meal.

He is standing in front of a restaurant which is light violet colored. He needs hot coffee. Not synthetic coffee; original coffee. All restaurants don’t serve original coffee. Will it be available here? Almost no one drinks real coffee nowadays. After all, what is the point in spending a fortune and drinking real coffee when there is hardly any difference between the synthetic and the original? Very few individuals can actually distinguish real coffee from synthetic coffee. For this reason all restaurants don’t have real coffee.

He felt a tingling of hesitation before entering the shop. He usually avoids public places. Most people recognize him instantly. They feel uneasy, and he himself feels uneasy as well. He can guess what will happen if he enters this restaurant. People will stop talking as soon as he enters. Ten percent people will keep on gazing at him; breathlessly. Twenty percent people will give furtive glances. Others will pretend not to notice him. When the time for paying the bills will come, the restaurant owner will appear with a most respectful and delighted look. He will say “It is our great fortune and pleasure that you have decided to visit our restaurant. If you can kindly write down how did you like our coffee, our joys will know no bounds”. So even if the coffee is disgusting, he will have to write—“I enjoyed your coffee”. Next time if he ever comes this restaurant again, he will see that they have hung his comment in a wooden frame, high above the wall from where all the customers can see it easily. It is really a funny thing! He has been forced to tolerate these hilarious acts for quite some time. Many people don’t believe in Gods, but they like finding Gods among themselves.

He pushed the door and entered inside.

Instantly the humming level went down significantly. All the tables are full. Two people from a cornered table got up and joined two others in a nearby table. This means he will have to sit in this emptied table. He will also have to drink coffee alone. He approached the empty table. Before he finished sitting, a large pot of steaming coffee appeared. It is of common knowledge that sometimes he visits public restaurants for drinking coffee.

The restaurant owner himself has arrived. He bowed his head so much in respect that his chin is almost crushing his chest.

“It’s pure coffee sir! Brought from the Mediterranean.”

“Thanks”

“We will be very delighted if you can kindly write down how was the coffee. It is our ultimate good fortune that you…”

“Long speeches will not be required. I will write down my comments”

“Can we take a picture of yours, sir?”

“No. I don’t allow photographs.”

He sipped his coffee. Without even looking, he realized that ten percent people are continuously staring at him. Some of them are not even moving their eyelashes. Is there any reason to stare like that? Not that his color is changing every second. He is not a chameleon, he is a human being. Even the chameleon that changes its color every moment doesn’t get this much attention. He produced a news paper from his overcoat pocket. This is just an effort to hide himself from the crowd. He always carries a newspaper just for this purpose.

“Sir, can I sit in your table?”

He descended the news paper from his eye level. A young lady aging 22-23 years is standing. She has a book in her hand. Probably some university student. She’s a university student and yet she can’t recognize him? How surprising! He felt really annoyed. This is another funny thing. If people recognize him, he gets annoyed. And if someone doesn’t recognize him, he gets annoyed, too.

“Sir, should I sit?”

“Yes, you can sit.”

The next few actions from the girl were amateurish. She pulled the chair with a heavy noise, and sat on it with a boom. She kept looking around with a girlish curiosity.

“Sir, will the waiter come and take orders? Or I will have to go myself? Is this a self service restaurant?”

He folded the newspaper and inserted it back in to the pocket. He has a rough voice. Further hardening his voice, he said whether a restaurant is self-service or not, it can be known by looking at its color. Why are you not being able to understand?

“I am a color blind. I cannot see violet and pink”.

“Oh okay. This is a self-service restaurant. You will have to go yourself for getting food.”

The girl got up and went towards the counter. She left a few books on the table. He frowned after looking at the topmost book. It says “Collection of Supernatural Stories”. The writer’s name is Arphob. Does it make any sense? A university student reading supernatural stories! Who knows how people feel interested towards logic-less subjects like these. He has a firm belief that both people who write and people who enjoy these stories should be sent to the lunatic asylums.

The girl is back. Her face is pale, and she is kind of embarrassed. She has no food tray with her. Sitting in her chair, she said “Everything is too expensive here.” They are asking 21 Lee for a mere cup of coffee.

“Don’t you have 21 Lee?”

“Yes I do, but I am thinking whether I should spend that much for a cup of coffee”.

In a grave tone, he said, your current way of thinking shows that you are using logic. I cannot understand how a girl who uses logic could read a collection of supernatural stories.

“There is a kind of logic in these stories, too. As you haven’t read any such story in a long time, you are not being able to understand it. Sir, please take this book and read it”.

“How do you know I haven’t read this kind of books in a while?”

“You are the great Fiha. It is not possible that you will read such books.”

“You know me?”

The girl smiled and said, “Why wouldn’t I know you? Am I not a girl of this world?”

“What is your name?”

“I am Nuhash”

“Are you studying?”

“No, I am a cataloger for the university library.”

“There’s plenty of coffee in the pot. You can drink if you wish.”

“Thanks, sir.”

“Nuhash was pouring coffee in a cup with utmost care. After that, she slowly started sipping the coffee. At the beginning, Fiha thought she had a normal face. But now he is thinking differently. She has the kind of face that creates affection, and this affection creates attraction. Thinking this, he frowned. What is affection? Affection is created due to certain elements. Does this girl have any such element? The girl finished her coffee, and started wiping her lips with a handkerchief.

“I’ve never had such horrible coffee in my life”

Fiha smiled. The girl is telling the truth. So there is a reason for this affection towards her—she has a charming simplicity and honesty within her. There is another thing—she is shy, but confident. Usually shy people lack confidence.

“Sir, I am leaving. Will you keep the book?”

“No. I don’t read garbage.”

“You don’t have to read. Just hold the book for a while. I will be delighted if you hold the book. Arphob is a very favorite writer of mine.”

Fiha used his roughest voice to say “I hate repeating myself. I told you once, I will not touch this piece of trash.”

All light disappeared from her face at once. Her eyes became wet instantly. It was obvious that she was deeply hurt at his rudeness. He could have been a bit less rude. As he is growing older, he is losing grip on himself. This is not good. The girl can have a favorite writer. That doesn’t necessarily mean that her favorite writer should be his favorite writer, too.

“Sir, can I go now? I am really sorry if I have bothered you.”

The girl is leaving the room. The way she is rushing, she will inevitably bump in to the door. And that is what actually happened. She hardly bumped in to the door.

Physicist Fiha wrote in big letters “I enjoyed the coffee.” He signed his name below the comment. Getting out of the restaurant, he started walking towards the commune office. He has an appointment with the commune principal Marla Lee. The appointment was at 11 AM. However, it is now 11:30. He is half an hour late. But Marla Lee will not be annoyed at this delay. He will smile sweetly instead. Marla Lee is a mentalist. Mentalist’s are never annoyed. No one ever heard that a mentalist has raised his voice or expressed that he is annoyed; in any circumstance. The one who have all the power in the world need not be annoyed.

Fiha said, I think I am a bit late.

Marla Lee smiled. The trademark smile of the mentalists. He stood up and bowed. His action was signifying pure respect and humbleness.

“I am pleased that you have come. I have prepared original coffee for you. This is not the tasteless Mediterranean coffee; this is the finest quality coffee.

“I don't feel like drinking coffee now.”

Fiha felt his mouth drying up fast. This happens whenever he meets a mentalist. The inner portion of his mouth dries up. The tongue becomes like paper. He doesn't know whether this happens only to him, or to all other non-mentalist human beings. He looked at Marla Lee with pure, deep detest and anger. The person is sitting calmly in front of him. He didn't even raise a finger, and yet he already knows that Fiha just arrived drinking coffee from the Mediterranean. Mentalists are taking out all information from his head, but he has no idea about what the mentalists are thinking. He doesn't know what's going on in Marla Lee's head right now. But Lee knows what he's thinking. They are mentalists. Nothing can be hidden from them. Using a strange method, they can retrieve any and every information from a person's brain. The process is telepathic, but Fiha doesn't actually know how it works.

Marla Lee said, Noble Fiha, are you deeply concerned about something?

You don't really need to ask me that, do you? Aren't you being able to read my mind like an open book?

Hearing this, Marla Lee smiled. Laughing he said "You are not right, Noble Fiha. We don't venture in to other peoples mind all the time. Entering someone's mind is like taking away his freedom. We believe in privacy. I can assure you that since you are here, I haven't tried retrieving anything from your head.

"You didn't try knowing anything?"

"No."

"Then why did you tell me that you have better quality coffee—not the rotten one from Mediterranean? You should not be saying this unless you've actually accessed my mind in order to know that I just had the bad tasting coffee of the Mediterranean before coming to you".

"Noble Fiha! I don't need to access your brain in order to say that. Currently the restaurants are only serving Mediterranean coffee. As a commune head, it is only natural that I will know what is available when. Do you find my explanation logical?"

Fiha remained silent, because Lee's words did seem logical to him.

While further reclining on his chair, Lee said "Let me tell you something." You know very well that mentalists can influence normal human beings. You entered my office with a lot of anger. I could easily decrease your anger by using my mental powers. Did I do that? No, I did not.

Fiha said, okay, let us drop this issue. Please tell me why I have been summoned. I don't have much time.

"You were not summoned, Noble Fiha. No one has that much audacity. I myself would go to you. However, you told us that no mentalist should venture within 1000 yards of your house. We consider your wish as our command. For this reason, we don't go to you even if we are in desperate need. We humbly request you to come to us. I hope you will forgive this minor audacity.

"I hate lengthy and unnecessarily humble sounding sentences. Please tell me what you want to say."

"I will, but before that, can I please bring coffee for you?"

"Okay"

The coffee came almost instantly. Marla Lee himself poured coffee from the pot. The coffee was of best quality, undoubtedly. The whole room got caffeinated with the nice smell. Marla Lee extended a cup towards Fiha and said "Mentalists are being the centre of hate for lots of human beings, without much reason. You are not a regular human being. You are Noble Fiha. It is said that you are the greatest of all Physicist. If you start thinking like regular human beings, what will happen?"

"Let's not talk about this. Let's get down to business."

"Let's finish the coffee first. Then we will talk business. Although the things that I'm telling you might seem pointless to you, they are actually not. At least not to me, that is. Fiha, I see today's newspaper in your coat pocket. Have you read it?"

"Yes, I did".

"In that case you must have noticed a particular news. Angry mob killed a 20 year old girl and her 4 year old daughter. Their crime—they were mentalists. Dear Fiha, there are lots of examples of mentalists getting killed by angry mobs, but you will never hear about the death a normal person caused by a mentalist."

Fiha lowered the cup, and said with a calm tone "I have finished my coffee. Now tell me why you have asked me to come".

"I've heard you have solved the four dimensional time equation?"

"From where did you hear that?"

"It will be wrong if I say I heard. Actually I am assuming this".

"On what basis?"

"Well, you have been working on this issue for quite a long time. You researched a lot on this. We know your work pattern. When you start something, you don't look at other things. When you're done with the work, you roam around happily. You visit public coffee shops, you were colorful clothes—all these signs have managed to convince me that you have solved the equation."

"If I have actually solved the equation, what is your interest?"

"I don't know much about science. But as far as I know, a lot of money is required in order to test your equation. Theory is one thing, and the engineering of the theory is another totally different thing. We want to look at the applied part of the theory. We want to assure you that money is not an issue".

"I am glad to know that. But I am sorry to inform you that I could not solve the time equation."

"You could not?"

"No I could not. You can enter my brain and check yourself, if you really want to."

"Tsk tsk. What are you saying? Your word of mouth is enough for me. Can I offer you some more coffee?"

Fiha stood up. Marla Lee came with him up to the doorway. With his sweet tone, he said "Thanks a lot for taking the pain to come over. Noble Fiha, will you accept this little gift from me?"

Marla Lee offered him a large, brown packet.

"What is in there?"

"Coffee Beans. First class coffee beans. I took a lot of trouble in order to manage this for you. I will be very happy if you accept it.

Fiha took the packet. But it didn't seem that he was too happy to get the gift. He would be really happy if he could throw this packet in to a dustbin. But that is not possible. Mentalists will know about it instantly, and the results will not be favorable.

"How about giving this to the library girl? I did offend her to some extent. She will definitely be happy to get this gift. I can also borrow the Supernatural story book from her. It wouldn't matter much if I read a story or two", thought Fiha.

Fiha communicated with the library. The communicator in his pocket instantly established communication with the library. Fiha didn't need to give his identity. His particular communicator frequency is known by all.

The director answered with a frightened voice "What is the matter, sir?"

"Nothing much. I want to talk to one of your catalogers."

"Can I know her name, please?"

Fiha frowned. He could not remember her name. He didn't try to remember her name in the first place, which is causing trouble now. He never burdens his brain by storing unimportant information.

"I can't remember her name. She's young. She likes Supernatural stories and she likes drinking coffee."

"Sir, are you looking for Nuhash?"

"Oh yes, she's the one."

"Sir, I am calling her. Please wait a minute".

He kept his communicator on. After about 80 seconds, he could hear the director's voice again.

"Sir, there is a small problem. The girl went home. She did not inform anyone before leaving. I came to know from the catalog section that for some unknown reason, she cam there with a very heavy mind. She tore a book in to pieces. It was called "Supernatural Stories Collection" by Arfob. Then she went home. Sir, am I talking too much?"

"A bit, yes."

"I beg your pardon, sir. The girl stays in the 118th room of the general residential area. I am sending someone to get her."

"That will not be required".

"The girl does not have communicator facility. If she did have it, I could have connected you with her right now. I am really, really sorry."

"No need to be sorry".

"Do you want to leave a message for her?"

"No, Thanks for your help."

Fiha turned off the communicator, and started wandering aimlessly. He walked on with long strides, but not towards home. For some reason, he is not feeling like going home. He has a synthetic fur hat on his head. The hat is hiding his face; or at least that what Fiha is thinking. "I need to throw away the coffee packet, and the dump site needs to be a trash can". Suddenly Fiha threw the packet. He has a great aim; the packet hit the bull's eye. The dustbin shaked a bit, confirming that it has gladly accepted the coffee beans.

To be continued....

The Tale of The Crows

Crows are wonderful birds. They will never run out of food to eat. Till the last human being is alive on this earth, filth will be created, and the crow needs nothing more than that for making itself a feast.

I wonder why they haven't been declared as the national bird yet. I mean, the real national bird doyel is very hard to find; especially when it comes to the capital city. Everywhere the eyes can gaze, you'll find those wonderfully black colored avian species, with a nuance of ash around their necks. Well, there are some crows whom are entirely black; you ought to call them ravens. Ravens are supposed to be a bit more aggressive and dangerous than crows.

If you have something eatable, and unprotected in front of you, it is very much likely that crows will flock in to feast. This happens more under the empty sky, and hence the need for scarecrows has arisen.

What's a scarecrow? It's a crow that scares? Not really. It's something of an effigy, which appears frightening towards the crowkind! Scarecrows can be wonderfully decorated; as seen in numerous western cartoon shows—cute little humanoids with a Halloween pumpkin as the head, and real jacket, shirt and jeans for wearing. However, underneath their dress, most scarecrows are hay-built.

The crow, despite of being a sly bird, can get frightened by the likes of these apparently silly and dumb imitations of human beings. There is another funny fact about crows, which tells us that after laying eggs, the crows close their eyes and hide them, believing that no one else has seen the hiding place. This is because when he keeps his eyes shut (actually this'll be a she), the world becomes dark, and nobody sees anything. Foolish, self-obsessed birdling...

There was this cartoon show, where a poor gentleman was struggling to fend off smart and talking grows with big beaks from his precious corn field. When I was younger (and still, too), I found the cartoon extremely funny, as the crows were working as a team and they also had a good sense of humor. When I look back at my childhood, I can see that cartoons have created a lasting impact upon me. When I saw the cartoon in context, I really got curious about corn, and I actually asked my mom to get one for me. The same thing happened after seeing Popeye...spinach became one of my favorite vegetables (and it is still on the favorites list).

Some crows were keeping the farmer busy, while others were swooping over the field and taking away mouthful of corns. There was a scarecrow over there, but he received harassment and mockery from the clever crows.

I still remember my first encounter with a raven. Before seeing the grave looking bird, I actually heard a very frightening story about my cousin being hit by the beak of a raven during a cricket match. You know how these stories affect a child's mind; since hearing the story, I had a deep fear of being hit by a raven in the head. And then the fateful day came.

I and my cousins used to hang out a lot on the rooftop of our house. There was a mini garden up there, and there were two water tanks. However, there was also ample space for playing games like football and cricket. That day, I went up early. My companions were yet to reach. Then I saw it. A fiery looking crow sitting on top of one of the water tanks. The moment I saw it, I knew something was missing. Yes, the ash complexion was missing, and all doubts were washed away, when I heard the bird crowing. The sound was distinct. It was a lot more hoarse and commanding than a regular crow's crowing. My eyes were transfixed upon the bird for quite some time. It was unusually large for a crow, and if I didn't knew what a raven was, I might as well mistake it as a vulture, or some other evil bird. When I noticed some wing movement, I ran downstairs.

You know about fear factors, right? I had a worst fear in my mind, which haunted me occasionally. The fear of being used as the crow's walking toilet was a great fear for me, and one day I thought I felt a bullet missing my ears, nearly, when a dear friend walking besides me got toileted by a flying crow.

Three of us used to walk over the long rail lines during the class break, everyday. It was a 40 minute break, a break too small to go home and have lunch, but just well enough for grabbing something to eat and having a pleasant walk by the broad road and the rail lines.

Eventually, I got attacked by the crow as well. I felt a sudden cold feeling on top of the head, only to remember that it was a bright shiny day, and there is no chance of rain drops assuming that big a size. Moreover, raindrops never had the splattering effect that my head just experienced. Without thinking, I used my left hand to examine, and with a fearful shriek, I realized the painful reality. My friends were laughing, but the lent me a helping hand by offering a tissue. I had a walk a while to reach the nearest shop, and I was more than pleased to have washed my head and hands with almost a liter of water.

That was a long time ago, and it's still my only crow-toileted experience. Back in those days, there was nothing called mineral water, and you couldn't just buy water from places. People would gladly provide water when someone asked for it, but nowadays if you go to a shop and nag about the cleanliness of the water that has been offered to you in an apparently not-clean glass, they will just ask you to get yourself a 10 TK bottle of water.

There are many stories involving clever crows. But are they really clever creatures? I don't know for sure. There are some stories about dumb crows as well. Perhaps the crow that dropped a piece of cheese whilst being prompted by a fox to sing was the dumbest of all. I mean, you don't sing when a fox asks you to do so. Why would you do that, especially when it's general knowledge that one should never trust a fox?

The story goes like this. A crow has found a piece of cheese, and right before he was going to devour it, a fox comes by. The fox was really hungry, and he devised a clever plan for snatching the cheese from the bird, in a harmless way. He said "O dear crow, how are you? It's been a while since I last heard you sing. You have the sweetest voice of all". The crow, being dumb, got flattered, and started singing. As birds have no hands, the cheese fell from his beak as soon as he started singing (well, it could've been a she as well), the piece of cheese fell. The fox snatched the cheese and walked away happily. The stupid crow was so busy singing that it didn't even notice its loss.

Crows are wonderful birds, they will stay with us as long as we exist.