AT THE STROKE OF 12

I was on cloud nine when I got a call from an unknown number this morning. Not because it was a girl on the other end, but for the message she conveyed. She congratulated me for emerging as the winner in a lucky draw contest that I had participated a few months ago. Fascinated by the news, I double checked with her. The prize was a “42 inch Smart TV”. Completing all the formal procedure on the phone, I jumped onto the sofa waiting for its arrival.

42" Smart TV

After an hour’s wait, the new guest finally came home along with its other friend for installation. The service engineer gave a brief instruction about the TV’s specifications. It was so intriguing. I was so impressed by its high definition and sound clarity that my eyes were glued to its display. All of a sudden, the power went off and it was only then I blinked my eyes. Even though the power went off, the TV was still running. It was bizarre. The TV displayed a few visuals which made me go mad. In the visuals, I was inside a car, wearing a black shirt and blue denim, with both my hands and eyes tied. In addition to that, my mouth was plastered. It looked like someone had kidnapped me. There was this famous song playing on the radio of the car which I couldn’t fathom. “BANGGGGG!!” I heard this sound from the TV. The next moment, the TV got switched off and the power came.

“Was it a warning from God?”, I asked this question to myself for which I found no answer.  Puzzled by the visuals, I skipped my lunch and went to bed. I kept tossing and turning on the bed, brooding over the visuals. I didn’t know when I fell asleep but when I woke up, there was no power in the house. I ran to the hall to see whether the TV was playing or not.

I was right.

The TV was playing and this time it showed me the glimpse of the famous “Time Tower” which struck 12.

Time Tower striking 12

It was only then I checked the wall clock which displayed “6:07 PM”.

“Holyshit! She’s going to kill me!!” with this frightening thought lingering on my mind, I rushed to the bathroom to get ready as quick as possible.

By 6:30 PM, I got ready and was about to lock the door. All of sudden, a football flew from the neighbour’s house and hit me hard. No sooner I realized that my body was in the air for a few seconds and I landed on the lawn. My dress got messed up in mud. Cursing the mischievous neighbor kid, I went inside the house to change my clothes. To my shock, I found that the black shirt and the blue denim were only left in my wardrobe. It reminisced me of those visuals the TV showed earlier this morning. I changed my outfit and went to the hall. With a few steps to the door, I got a call from her. All my excitement turned into disappointment, when the person from the other end said that she had met with an accident. My heart almost skipped a beat on hearing the news. With tears brimming my eyes, I sat on the sofa heart broken.

Tears

I didn’t realize the doorbell which was ringing continuously until I heard the thumping sound from the door. So, I went to open the door. I saw three masked people standing at the doorstep. Suddenly, one of them sprayed the pepper spray on my face and my vision got obscured. The others caught hold of my hand and tied them together. As soon as I started screaming in fear, one of them plastered my mouth. In addition to that, they tied my eyes tightly with a black scarf. They forced me to get inside a car. The visuals once again coincided with reality.

The kidnap

The car cruised over the busiest roads of the city. Inside the car, the radio was turned on. It played the BGM of the song which I couldn’t fathom until its lyrics matched the situation exactly. The song was “Udhungada Sangu” from VIP. Soon, the radio played some romantic numbers of Ilaiyaraja sir as it was late night.

Ilaiyaraja

After an hour’s drive, the car halted. I was instructed to get down from the car and I followed their instructions. We reached the terrace of the building and finally my eyes and hands were untied. The plaster was removed from my mouth. Water was splashed on my face. As soon as my vision got clear I found that the kidnap was a part of this scene. The terrace was garned with red roses, red and white balloons. The red carpet paved its way to the stage with all my friends standing on the either side of the stage. There she was, Chaayaa, the mastermind behind the scenes, draped in an elegant angel dress, standing on the other end of the red carpet. She walked towards me in the red carpet with a rose in her hand. She went down on her knees and watched the opposite “Time Tower” building to strike 12. As soon as the clock struck 12, the date changed from 13^th February to 14^th February.

Valentine's Day

Poppers burst from every nook and corner when she proposed me with the words “I love you”. I stood rooted to my spot that all the visuals I saw in the TV had come true.

In no time, a voice pulled me back to the reality.

It belonged to the in charge of the exam hall. He shouted at me to tie the paper as the warning bell had already gone.

Then, I realized the fact that I had been in the exam hall, wasting all my time writing the short story question “AT THE STROKE OF 12”.

I cursed my inquisitiveness for getting involved in the story too much.

As I tied an auspicious knot to the answer script, I experienced heavy downpours from my eyes.

Heavy Downpours from my Eyes

Knowing that I would flunk this exam, I left the exam hall whimpering “AT THE STROKE OF 12!”.

"AT THE STROKE OF 12"