Whimsical Orange Road (Master Retelling) [Abandoned! Temporary Hiatus]

I. The Red Straw Hat

Waves of fog were starting to get thicker with each step I took down the road at the far end of Mall road, located in the small hill station known as the Queen of the Hills, Mussoorie. Small, medium and large-sized yellowish-orange leaves adorned the path, giving an illusion that the road had been painted orange with distant faded patches until the road disappeared from the view at the upcoming curve. As the fog grew, my crazy, fantasy-obsessed brain started to make me believe I was traveling down the Yellow Brick Road from The Wizard of Oz, the only difference of the road being orange instead of yellow but with all the hope of it still somehow leading me to something magical after all the rumors of fairies is quite common here because of 'Pari Tibba'.

Letting out a disappointed sigh at my imagination, I continued my walk; after all, what was there to do for a 22-year-old recently graduated girl who couldn't even decide what she wanted to do next. It wasn't like I was not content with my life; in fact, it was quite the other way round; it was the parents and relatives who wouldn't quit their interrogation. I was starting to feel like a criminal who got caught as a result of my own stupidity. The sweet smell of freshly made cream rolls made me halt my footsteps outside one of the local bakeries. Putting a pin in all my thoughts, I decided to buy one of these delicacies for myself, and once the napkin-wrapped cream roll was handed over to me, I walked out of the shop back onto my magical journey. They didn't understand that this place is heaven on earth, and I would rather not go anywhere from here even - - -

/crack//glass-breaking sound/

** master the blaster**

My ingeniously-planned little monologue was interrupted by the ringing of my stupid cellphone, abruptly shattering my fantasy into million invisible pieces of fragile glass. Letting out a frustrated growl, I reached for my pocket to take out my phone when just my luck, a strong wind knocked my red straw hat off my head.

"Call you right back, bye." I blurted out without even checking the caller id and ran after my hat. After chasing it for about five minutes, it was finally in my hold, and as I picked up my hat from the sidewalk, something caught my eye. There was a slightly crumpled poster of St. Jeffery College, Chennai, fluttering on the sidewalk bench.

I picked up the poster, 'Isn't it the college that was in Master?' before I could answer my self-asked question, someone gave me a slight push, and following that came the sweet and slightly annoyed voice of my childhood friend Akku,

"Oi! Who the hell answers the call like that?"

I turned to face and replied with an eye-roll, "My hat flew off; it was more important than your stupid call."

She gave me a fake glare and told me the dreaded news, "What are you doing here? Uncle-Aunty were looking for you?"

"That's what I am doing, hiding from them. If they catch me, they are again gonna ask, 'What do you plan to do now?'. Hey, I know; why don't you tell them that 'I got lost on the path of life'?" I said to her with a sarcastic yet hopeful smile. 'It sure would have been fun if JD was an actual professor instead of just reel life professor.' The wind picked up speed, and unknown to us the orange leaves started to dance with the wind forming a small whirlwind nearby.

"What do you wanna do anyway besides all the crazy stuff you have been learning online? By the way, why are they even bothering you? You already have your graduate degree. Granted, it's a useless engineering degree-" she changed her statement once I threw her a glare, "anywho, aren't you also doing some online internship?"

"I am, but I have been telling them I wanna join a college to study English lit while I perfect my graphic designing. This inescapable rocket constantly following me is lighted by me only." I informed her with a tight-lipped smile.

"Geez, you are an idiot," she said, laughing.

"Yea', tell me something I don't know."

Finally, her gaze landed on the poster in my hand, "Hey, what's that?"

"College admission poster."

"Well, why don't you apply there? You aren't deciding on your own anyway."

"It's all the way in Chennai; you know I dread leaving home."

"You are talking like they are gonna keep you in a containment cell. This is India; there are numerous holidays expanding up to a week after every 2-3 months. Also, it's just a two-year course, and if you finish all your credits before two years, it would just be a few months over a year. C'mon." Akku finished her convincing rant.

"Fine, but I am not sure they will select me. Have you seen the cutoff? It's 99%. Whatever I can still apply, I guess."

"It would get everyone off your back for a while."

"Hopefully, I can still have a look around the campus where the shoot for Vijay's movie took place?"

"What movie, and who's Vijay?" She asked me, looking completely confused.

"The actor Vijay's movie 'Master'. Don't you remember? I made you forcefully watch it." I tried to make her remember it and let out a defeated sigh when all I received was an even more confused look from her.

"Whatever, let's go back and fill the form and tell this to uncle-aunty." She grabbed my elbow and started dragging me back down the road where I came from, also stealing half of my cream roll.

The whirlwind slowly quieted down, and the orange leaves fell down in a pattern spelling out the word 'MASTER'.

*** All the cover artworks will also be available on my Pinterest account:
https://www.pinterest.fr/empressoftime1109/whimsical-orange-road/

Thank you, everyone!!! Ba-Bye!!! Don't Forget To Be Awesome!!!***

P.S: The pictures are from Mussoorie.