Second Chance (Vol.1) Squandered

25: Adi and the Sandman

PC: @RiiTalks

Adi 09:45pm...
Mood: Thou shall surrender thyself to sleep...

PC: @bronzeflame,@_lonjing,
@paroolkapoor,
@pluviophile_001,
@RiiTalks @xSaraCreationsx
And many Others fromTwitter fandom

He was playing ______ against the best he knew. He had to be alert but was unable to focus. His mind had switched to an auto mode.

His right wrist was hurting. He pulled his sleeve to cover the bandage. Clu! She could be... She was testing his sanity... Clu in Paris was fine. In India she was pure lethal nuisance! And she had timed her visit so ill!

His fingers were racing all over the cellphone screen robot-like while his mind was wandering away from the game...

Shocking!
Maybe the kid in him was weaning off childish pursuits... Good!
His mind was more prone to brooding these last 6-7 months... Bad!

Tomorrow would be a long day; long drive as well. He was looking forward to driving Pa's latest _____. He had been warned that driving it was as dangerous as riding some giant powerful untamed wild beast. He needed to be well rested but Adi had never mastered the art of falling asleep; the art of negotiating his fix of that magic sand from the Sandman.

He shot 2 guys and picked more ammo...

It was an unfamiliar bed today but the Sandman was not very particular where Adi slept. The Sandman did not care whether Adi was sober or drunk, alone or not, in the lap of luxury or otherwise. The Sandman was simply temperamental when it came to Adi.

He met his teammate. Teammate took the right wing. He took the left. They would circle the block once...

Sleep could elude him even when he was lying in the comfort of his own bed in his own room. And he had slept like the dead on some unknown street in an unfamiliar city. These days, as soon as he settled in for the night, he wondered when he would fall asleep tonight 11-12-1-2-3-4-5 and if he did then how many hours or minutes before sleep cruelly ditched him mid-way. And would that dream in the devil's hour assail him 5th night in a row!

There was someone behind him. He knew he was dead. He had turned too late. But his teammate saved him. Saluted him and left. He picked up some energy drinks...

Adi had problems falling asleep since... as far back as he could remember... since birth maybe... or maybe even before...

His earliest memories of sleepless nights were with Ma. Even she used to simply admit defeat on some nights and they used to just talk into the night usually about her exploits in his Nani's village hoping her stories will lull him to sleep.

His Nani frequently recalled many stories of his childhood; many bloopers, few adventures and many misadventures. His favorite was how Nani would leave mother and son to the war of go-to-sleep-now. And when Nani returned hours later to check on them, Ma's head would be on his tiny lap and he would be patting her head; playing with her hair; sometimes even lifting her eyelids; while exhausted she would be in deep sleep.

Even he remembered... In his teens sometimes Ma would slumber off in mid-sentence and he would still be awake. He loved to watch people deep in sleep; both adults and children; especially his beautiful Ma on those rare nights when her worries spared her.

He entered a strange room and couldn't leave. The doors opened only from the outside and the one he had entered through shut behind him. The walls rotated few times clockwise and then anticlockwise. He could only wait for someone to find him. Foe or friend... He filled his backpack with 2 first-aid kits and a variety of medicines.

And because Adi slept poorly he had proved to be an excellent baby sitter for Arjun. Arjun adored Adi because Adi used to be the last man standing in his battle of nocturnal baby wits and 40 winks.

In his teens Adi used the lack of sleep to play more videogames, watch more movies and on occasion study. He ended up an avid gamer, movie buff and a voracious reader.

Someone opened the door. Enemy fire! He was hit but his teammate killed the 3 men and held the door open. He applied first-aid. He consumed 2 emergency drinks and they ran through a labyrinth of corridors.

Pooja had been shocked that whenever she stirred awake from her sleep, Adi would be wide awake watching her sleep. She had then put in efforts to find ways and means of ensuring he was well rested for his pilot duties and he had been ever grateful to her. One of her strict rules was no videogames 3 hours before sleep-time. Eventually her calming presence and discipline had induced in him a healthier sleep regime.

The last door opened into a courtyard. The briefcase that would complete the mission was at the other end. They ran for it but together with back touching other's back . They were in the open. Anyone could take them down. They had to look out all around and up.

But with no Pooja to negotiate with the Sandman, the insomnia attacks had returned with punishing vengeance.

Zoya had also been his sleeping draught for a few blissful days. At the end of the day she would always gatecrash his last conscious thoughts. His semiconscious mind would eagerly welcome this gatecrasher. He would recall in detail the happy hours he spent with her and blissfully slip into oblivion.

But now Zoya's thoughts drove away any chances of sleep.

He had seen Zoya today after more than 72 hours. A lot had changed. Noor was calling Arshad Jiju. Zoya and Arshad looked a couple now. He rubbed his eyes with savage force but that was not going to wipe that image that had imprinted on his retina. Arshad's arm around Zoya!

He was hit. His screen blacked out then entered only-view mode. They were cornered with the briefcase inches behind them. His teammate pulled the trigger of his MG009, went left-right-left in a 90 degree arc and released round after round of fire and set the screen ablaze. It was an absolute blood bath. His partner was finishing the game in style without him. They had won. He quit the game.

He groped his parched throat. He felt uneasy, suffocated. The room was closing in on him. He rushed out for fresh air as quietly as he could.

Arshad's arm around Zoya! And she had looked... comfortable! He needed a drink.

No! He looked at his bandaged wrist and touched the dressing on his shoulder. He had been advised to stay off drinks for next 36-48 hours because alcohol thins blood and effects healing.

Also he had promised Pa that he would quit drinking but with Clu in town, his sobriety goals would be tested to the hilt. And also he had sworn not to get drunk outside his home. He owed Pa that much in the least. He wanted Pa to get back in the race for the Chief Justice post. He had already derailed it twice.

Zoya please don't marry Arshad. Please...
He looked up at the starless sky and a silent searing scream rose in his throat... pleading to the Gods above to show some mercy...

It was not that Adi considered himself a superior being. No. But, he was better than Arshad. Adi believed Zoya deserved love and he trusted no one... no one could love her like he could...

And if only he could somehow explain to Zoya that though he was crossing all limits of decency and propriety with Clu, it still meant nothing. You simply couldn't get the girl to behave. His arm around Clu was not the same as Arshad's arm around Zoya.

What humbug! Hey Thor! Could you please throw your hammer this way at this hypocrite of a brain please!

His right wrist was throbbing in pain now. So was his left shoulder. The game had kept him distracted. But witnessing Arshad's arm around Zoya was more painful than a 100... "Owww". He had gripped his right wrist in fury and nervous agitation and it hurt like hell.