Short Stories and Plays

Aurora

She was a perfect baby. She rarely cried. She told me everything with those little
brown eyes: hunger, cold, love. Her eyes: large brown irises, watery, luminous, like
the eyes of the cat we had when I was nine; and when I began to miss those eyes, I
cried nonstop for two days. My mum said I used to every minute when I was a baby
like her. I was not a perfect baby, Aurora was. I didn’t deserve her.
When she became nine months old, I found a tiny lump in my right breast. The lump
was the biggest plot twist ever. Well, it wasn’t cancer. It was her, her terrible history,
where she’d come from and where she was going to go.
“We found the impossible in your breast,” the doctor said. None of the doctors in the
Seattle Grace have seen or heard of such a case. It is extremely rare and unique. I
went there alone. Tom had to go on a quick business trip to Los Angeles that
evening. After telling me that there was something rare happening to me, the doctors
and everyone on that floor left the room only to return minutes later with a dozen
scans. My scans. They told me that they found a pea-sized lump in my right breast.
It wasn’t what I thought it would be. It was a chip. A microchip embedded there.
They told me that they needed my consent to get thing out. I don’t remember what
happened after that. Twenty-four hours later I found myself in the operation room,
dressed in a hospital gown. Dr. Sanders told me that it was removed. He gave me a
small envelope as I checked out from the hospital.

Later that day, I opened the envelope and found the chip along with a CD.
There was a small sticky note which said that what was on the CD was a
message from my baby daughter. In the chip, I was instructed to take her to
Number 9, 487 Henson Lane. I’d find an Anders-Hawking there. This person
would send her to another dimension, where she is supposed to be. And if I
didn’t place her there soon, we’d both end up dead. And I’d be reincarnated and
have her again. And again. Till I obeyed.
I didn’t mention any of this to my husband, even though I really wanted to. I
headed straight to the hospital after watching the CD.

Dr. Sanders was pleasantly surprised when I told him all about it.
“Why your daughter wants you to do all this is the real problem here. Is she
trying to flee from something in the future?
He stared at me for a long moment, trying to gauge what my reaction could be.
I smiled, a sweet, broad smile. His eyes were baggy and sleepless.
“No,” I said.
“No?” he said, leaning forward onto his desk. “I think you haven’t been
listening hard enough all your life. Your baby is telling you that she’s tired.
That she wants to free you. And she wants you to free her. That Anders guy
would help her travel fast, faster than the speed of light, faster than everything,
to infinity. So your baby will forever remain a baby. She’d avoid that thing,
whatever it is that’s going to ruin the future. And you’ll be free to have other
babies, to grow old and…”

I was a mess all through the following weeks. I was crying and laughing and
flinging picture frames around. She could be sitting on a coffee table staring at
me. She wouldn’t even blink when I crashed to the floor and kissed her all over
her cute little face.
I knew what I was supposed to do. But I was so weak, as weak and dead as the
flowers everyone had sent that month.
Seven days later I parked the car outside Number 9, 487 Henson Lane. The
neighbourhood was filled with pigeons and birds of every possible kind, some
flying onto the bonnet while I removed her from the car seat. She could walk
perfectly now, so I unlocked the door to the passenger seat and set her down. I
took her hand and walked along with her to the door of the house, a house that
looked like it had been hit by a hurricane a hundred times, like ours. It unlocked
on its own. We stepped in. The living room smelled like nothing. Everything was
quiet except for a TV whistling white noise. I inspected each and every aspect of
this place. Although it would seem like the kind of place that would be filled with
dust and dirt, I could not find a single speck of it. Everything was spotless. Every
other wall had a poster, posters of country music bands. The Fridge didn’t look a
day old.
Next to it, there was a huge pile of mail, I assumed it was from the past year or
something. I pulled out an envelope and was about to read the address when I
interrupted by someone.
The person standing in front of me was by far the most attractive man I’ve ever
seen. From his voice on the CD I assumed he would be in his late fifties but this
guy was tall, dark and very handsome, probably in his early forties. I stared at
him in a trance. I wasn’t sure if my mouth was open the entire time. He was
asking me something.

“Where’s Aurora?” he said.
Slapping myself out of my daydream I pointed to where I set her down.
“how do you know her name?” I asked.
“Ma’am, her name was selected ever before she was born.” He answered carrying
her.
It seemed like Aurora and this guy had known each other for centuries. She was so
used to him. She could be centuries old, like those super white guys, what are the
called again? Oh yes vampires!! I let out a broad smile.
“Ma’am, I think it’s time for you to leave.” He said setting her down in a cot that
had a tag with her name on it.
“Won’t you atleast tell me where you’re taking my baby?”
He just stared at me. Not a word for the next five minutes. I picked up my bag and
fetched out a small stuffed toy star I got at the fair. I went to the cot, pushing the
man aside and kissed Aurora on her forehead. She smiled back. Her brown eyes
shone. I was going to start crying again. I gave her the toy and left, as quickly as I
could.
“Take care of her, will you?” I said to the man.
“yes ma’am”. He replied. I could see the trust and assurance in his eyes.
It’s September 2013 now, three years since I had Aurora. But now I have someone
else. I have a daughter, Halley. She’s so much like Aurora. Her cute voice, her
eyes, and everything about her is like her sister. Tom and I decided to shift to
Australia. He got a new job and I’ll be working for a famous chef at the most
famous restaurant in Australia.

Halley is a perfect girl. She does almost everything all on her own. She has a deep
love for dancing and painting. I’ve even got her name put down for ballet classes
this fall. It’s her birthday this Saturday. We haven’t planned anything big. A small
party in our backyard.

That evening, on Halley’s birthday, there was a meteor shower. The sky was
purple and pink, at night, the sky was star-studded. It was so, so beautiful. Later
that night, around ten, someone rang the bell. I answered it. Nobody was there.
There was a small box at the gate. I put on a jacket and went out and got it. It had
my name on it. I didn’t want Tom and everyone else to know about my new
finding. I took it to my room and kept it in my closet.
The next morning. Tom and Halley had gone out to play badminton. I opened the
box. It was a letter from Aurora, my Aurora.
Dear Robin,
Do I call you Robin or Mama? I’m not too sure. They’ve always addressed you as
a code name. I looked up your file and learnt that your name wasn’t really
RWT84363 but it was Robin, Robin Woods. You are so pretty. You’re the mother
I always dreamed of having. I’m so lucky to have been your child, at least for a
couple of months. The purpose of me writing this letter is to tell you that I love
you. Even though they’ve injected something into me to forget you, I remember
you, I remember you mama. I remember your soft, curly hair you used to let me
tug at even though it hurt you. I remember your sweet songs that you would sing
to me at night. I remember your icky gooey porridge. I miss it. I remember Tom,
Dad. I miss both of you.
I’m currently on a mission to save the earth from a possible strike by the other
species. Anders told me he couldn’t tell you why you had to give me up. I’m
telling you now. I was chosen to be on a mission to save the planet, your planet.
More children of my age were selected from all other countries around the globe.
We saved the earth mama, we saved thousands of lives. Thank you, thank you for
bring me into this world. Thank you for loving me. I’m sorry I had to leave,
please forgive me.

I read that you have a daughter, Halley. She was a replacement of me. To fill up
the empty space of us, the scientists send ‘replacement babies’ to all the families.
I hope you love her as much as you loved me if not, more.
I’m happy now, I’m on Mars for the next three hundred years. All I am, it’s
because of you. Thank you, mama, I love you.
Love,
Aurora.
I cried. At the bottom of the box was the stuffed toy I had given her. It looked old
and used. Attached to it was a small note that said:
You’ve given me everything and more, I don’t know how to ever repay you, but
here’s a small token of my love.

The Wedding

“With the power vested in me by the state of Arizona, I now pronounce you,
husband and wife. You may now kiss your ….”
Everything fell silent when suddenly, a giant drop of blood fell from above right
between the Reverend and the couple.
It was an Autumn wedding in the early morning in October. The area faced the
breath-taking sunrise between the mountains. At the end of each seated aisle,
scented candles placed in small pumpkins hung from the isle benches. Spread
down the aisle were bushels of leaves, as far as the eyes could see, slightly
moist so they wouldn’t crack when touched. Patrick and Nora had decided that
they’d have a small group of close family and friends.
“Okay Nora, you need to breathe… Can you do that for me??” one of the
bridesmaids asked.
“I can breathe,” she said to her, “I just need my mother to calm me down.”
She looked at me wide-eyed. “Um, Nora… about that.”
“What’s wrong? Did something happen to her? Is she alright? Where is she?”
“We couldn’t find her Nora, your sister said she took off right after it stopped.”
“Did she why? Or where she went?”
“Sadly, no. We’ve tried to reach her cell several times, but it keeps going
straight to voicemail.”
Nora was slowly beginning to lose her mind but then Patrick walked into the
room with good news.
“They’ve found it Nors, the police got here just a couple of minutes ago. They
said that they are identifying at least what’s left of the girl. They have suggested
that we postpone the wedding for a couple of days till everything’s sorted.
Pastor Stevens asked me if you’d be alright with that.”

“No. I most certainly will not agree to that.” She said, fixing her makeup and
concealing the aftermath of her tears.
“Nora, it is not physically possible to conduct a ceremony here, at least not will
not all the cops and the detectives and the press now involved too”
The bridesmaids realised this was their cue to leave and they left.
“You’ll never understand it, will You? Patrick, a girl’s wedding day is
something she plans her whole life. I mean, look at how much we’re just
throwing away. Your parents, my cousins they flew from all over the country for
this. Postponing all cause someone decided to die on my wedding day is
bullshit.
“So, you’re saying you want to get married at a crime scene?”
“I’m saying I don’t want to postpone my wedding.” She says now looking into
the mirror, finishing up her lips.
“I can’t deal with this right now.” He says as he leaves the room, bumping into
the bridesmaids who were probably eavesdropping the entire time.

Nora still didn’t give in. Patrick however, kept ringing every possible church in
the tri-state area trying to find a location to have their wedding.

At half past five in the evening, the Deputy announced that the investigation is
underway and in full swing, which only meant that there was no way that
Patrick and Nora could get married there.
It was only ten minutes later, when the idea struck him. They could get married
out in the open. There was a beautiful farm not too far away from the church.
They could easily manage to rent out a couple of chairs. It would be quite closer
to the reception too, he thought. Patrick pitched this idea to his dad who
immediately agreed to it, saying he can have everything ready in half an hour or
so.

Nora was unwilling to agree at first, but later realised that it was the best thing to
do, not only for her, but for everyone.
The ceremony took place at half past six, they somehow managed to get everyone
there. Everyone except Nora’s mom, who was still out of sight.

Two weeks later, Patrick and Nora now in their new home in Utah.
Patrick receives a message from his brother: Hey, really URGENT, the police
managed to identify the victim in the wedding day case and you will not believe
who it is, it’s Sherie, Sherie Walters, you dated her right before Nora, remember?
Anyways, they told me you’ll need to get down here, with Nora. But don’t tell her
why. She’s already been sent a message to come down here too.
Patrick was shocked. He wasn’t really sure why he needed to hide something
from his wife, so he told her anyways.

It was when he turned around to look for her, when he realised, she had left. Her
car wasn’t in the garage. He went upstairs and found her closet completely empty.
There was letter on his pillow, with her ring right beside it, and it said:

Sorry I’ve got to leave on such short notice, my mom is really sick and I’ve got to
leave and take care of her. You’ve been the best friend I could ever have. I’ll
always love you.
Love,
Nora.

Mathemagic

The scene is set in a classroom. This play is divided into two parts.
The first part of the play is a 12th grade Maths classroom whereas the
second is set in an 8th grade Maths classroom. The three characters in
this story are the teacher played by Ruchira and her two students
played by Stacy and Liza respectively.
The teacher draws a complex diagram on the board and asks her
students to find its total surface area.
Teacher: Find the Total Surface Area of the following diagram. You
will need to know your basic formulas which were taught to you in
the 8th grade.
Student 1: (sees sum, quickly it onto her notebook) That’s so easy!
Student 2: (stares at sum, pauses, stares at her fellow classmate in
surprise)
Student 1: (shrugs) So first you do this, then measure that, then find
this, add it to that, substitute it in the formula, add all the values and
you’re done!!
Student 2: Are you cray-cray?
Student 1: No. It’s really simple. I’ll help you after I finish.
(Student 1 takes forever to solve the sum. Meanwhile, student 2 falls
asleep)

Student 1: (nudges her classmate to wake up) Psst! The teacher is
looking at us.
( Unfortunately, she doesn’t wake up and is teleported to her 8th grade
Maths class)
Student 2: (sees the exact same sum on the board as the one in her
12th grade class) WOW! Mind = Blown
(she quickly copies the solution of the problem onto her notebook and
later gets tired and falls asleep. The teacher and the other student
return and wake her up)
Teacher: So how was your nap? (checks the student’s answer) How
did you solve this? Weren’t you sleeping?
Student 1: Yes. HOW?!?
(Student 2 smiles at the audience and the scene ends)

The Wedding

Cast of characters:

Pastor Stevens: the Reverend ordinating the wedding ceremony of Patrick and

Nora.

Patrick: the groom

Nora: the bride
Alexis: one of the bridesmaids, Nora’s close friend.
Nina: Nora’s mom
Matt: Patrick’s brother

Additional extra characters: police, the friends and family of the couple

Act 1

It is a windy, cool autumn Sunday in the month of October in Arizona. Lights
come up inside a very rustic church. Everyone is gathered at St. Luke’s atop the
hill to celebrate the nuptials of Patrick Green and Nora Dawson.
Pastor Stevens: With the power vested in me by the state of Arizona, I now
pronounce you, husband and wife. You may now kiss your …
(Everything fell silent when suddenly, a giant drop of blood fell from above
right between the Reverend and the couple.)
Pastor Stevens: (clears his throat) Should I.. go on?
Nora: (panicked, searches for her mother in the crowd) I can’t be here.
Patrick: (running after Nora towards the back exit) Nors, wait...
(the rest of the people are scared and stressed in the church. Someone has called
the police)

Alexis: Okay Nora, you need to breathe… Can you do that for me??
Nora: I’m freaking out. Are the cops here yet? Whose is it? Why’d they have to
ruin MY wedding day? Where’s Patrick? Is he alright?
Alexis: Nora, this just happened. It’s nobody’s fault okay? Patrick is doing great.
He wants to see you. Sweetie, he’s been sitting outside this door for the past half
hour.
Nora: (wiping away her mascara and loosening her hair bun) I can’t let him see
me. Atleast not like this. Where’s my mom? I need her. I just need my mother.
Alexis: Cassie went out to get her soon after you came her. She hasn’t come yet.
Hold up, I’ll give her a call. Oh she left me text. She says your mom took off
soon after the ceremony.
Nora: What?! Why would she do that?
Alexis: Did she carry her phone?
Nora: she lost that thing ages ago. Ally I need you to do me a favour.
Alexis: tell me.
Nora: I need you to go to my mom’s house, the one on Jane Street, we used to
go to the café there remember? I need you to go and give her this. (Nora pulls
out a package from her lower drawer and hands it to Alexis)
Alexis: sure, I’ll do it. But.. who’ll take care of you Nors?

Nora: Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. You need to hurry.
(Alexis leaves the scene and Patrick enters)
Patrick: They’ve found it Nors, the police got here just a couple of minutes
ago. They said that they are identifying at least what’s left of the girl.
Nora: (trying to cover the messed up makeup on her face) it was a girl?
Patrick: Yes, they have suggested that we postpone the wedding for a couple
of days till everything’s sorted. Pastor Stevens asked me if you’d be alright
with that.
Nora: No. I most certainly will not agree to that.
Patrick: Nora, it is not physically possible to conduct a ceremony here, at
least not will not all the cops and the detectives and the press now involved
too.
Nora: You’ll never understand it, will You? Patrick, a girl’s wedding day is
something she plans her whole life. I mean, look at how much we’re just
throwing away. Your parents, my cousins they flew from all over the country
for this. Postponing all cause someone decided to die on my wedding day is
bullshit.
Patrick: So, you’re saying you want to get married at a crime scene?
Nora: I’m saying I don’t want to postpone my wedding.
Patrick: I can’t deal with this right now. (exits the room)

The ceremony took place at half past six, at a church not too far away. They
somehow managed to get everyone there. Everyone except Nora’s mom and
Alexis. The ceremony was short and sweet, followed by the reception at the
resort.

Act 2
Two weeks later, Patrick and Nora now in their new home in Utah. Patrick is
busy watching a match of football while Nora is busy cooking dinner.

Nora: How’s the match going hun? Manchester still leading?
Patrick: Still have the lead by 2. Man U forever babe!
Nora: (laughing) boy, you really are a big fan.
(Patrick’s phone pings, but he’s too into the match to hear it. Nora picks it up
and hands it to him, with a bowl of chips)
Patrick: thanks. ( notices 5 texts and 3 missed calls from his brother. Opens the
text)
Matt: Hey, really URGENT, the police managed to identify the victim in the
wedding day case and you will not believe who it is, it’s Sherie, Sherie
Walters, you dated her right before Nora, remember? Anyways, they told me
you’ll need to get down here, with Nora. But don’t tell her why. She’s already
been sent a message to come down here too.

Patrick: (gets off sofa and moves to the kitchen) Hey remember that hick who
ruined our wed.... Nors? Nora? (notices the chicken getting burnt on the pan,
puts it off. Still continues to call out to her from all the rooms) Nora? Where are
you? (reaches their bedroom. Finds his wife packing a duffel bag) Did you hear?
Where are you going?
(Nora ignores him and continues to pack in nervous hurry)
Patrick: Nora, listen to me. (grabs her arm) They identified the girl from the
wedding. They need us to go down to the station tomorrow. Did you get the
text?
Nora: (chuckles his hand away from her arm and continues throwing clothes on
a bag) yes, I heard. I’m going to my Mom’s for the night. She said she feels
something’s not right.
Patrick: Nora, you haven’t seen or heard from her since the wedding. Its almost
midnight!! Here, let me drop you.
Nora: It’s her Alzheimer’s. She can’t sleep. It’s alright, I’ll take the Volvo.
Patrick: But…
Nora: (Kisses Patrick and leaves the house before he can stop her) I’ll be back
soon babe.

(Patrick closes the door and heads upstairs and goes straight to bed. On nora’s
dresser he finds a letter with Nora’s ring on it:
Sorry I’ve got to leave on such short notice, my mom is really sick and I’ve got to
leave and take care of her. You’ve been the best friend I could ever have. I’ll always
love you.
Love,
Nora.

(The lights fade out as Patrick cries after reading the letter.)