Chapter 5: The Nightmares of Memorabilia
Vivek now had finished almost 40 percent of the book. The clock had struck 12 AM and the bottle was empty and yet there were no memorabilia. He was tempted to turn the pages, check the cover, turn the book upside down, look for any memorabilia but that was not his way. He would not break his own rules.
Meanwhile, the obsession in the book was stirring up his excitement. He was tempted to keep reading and finish the book in one go. But that would ruin the excitement for him. Besides what will he do for the rest of the weekend and he needed some rest too. So he closed the book and thought of resting his tired body.
His dreams were always filled with books. A truckload of books were sent to his address as a Christmas present. He instantly dug into the books reading through the pages in robotic speed; collecting memorabilia on the way and pouching and labeling them. Got crazy as he could not find anything in some of the books, throwing them into the hellfire where they burnt for eternity for their crimes.
Holding a book in his hands pacing through the hotel room engrossed himself into the book desperately trying to find memorabilia he walks into the bathroom and finds himself surrounded by shelves of books. Thousands of them lined up neatly and labeled with their categories in ascending order. Ah, the library of his dreams.
Pulling a chair he starts picking books from the shelves to read and is lost in the books as he fails to see the raging fire which has broken out in the library. The burnt shelves of books are crumbling down but he fails to notice. He has buried himself deep into the book desperately searching for the memorabilia. All the books are burnt and when he lifts up his eyes from the book the final shelf which stands right behind him falls on his head.
Instantly he is teleported to a car driven by Firoz. He is holding the book “Kingdom of Obsession” in his hands while Firoz drives the car carefully through the traffic. He is still deep in the books trying to find the one thing he wants so badly. Looking up at Firoz he envies him. Suddenly for no reasons at all he throws the books on Firoz’s lap and shouts; “Damn you Firoz, damn you… Where is it? Where the hell is it?” Firoz has his eyes glued to the road, his hands rigid on the wheel. Vivek keeps shouting in a never-ending shriek and shakes Firoz furiously. “Where is it God dammit? Where? Where? Where? Here take it and search you piece of shit. We’re hell is it?” Firoz’s eyes are still glued to the road but Vivek has shaken him so badly that he has lost control of the steering wheel. His eyes stay glued to the oncoming truck as it honks frantically, but he cannot move. The only thing he does is step on the gas pedal and speed towards the oncoming truck. He wants to scream as he is speeding towards his eminent dead. But the only scream heard is of Vivek shrieking in his ears. “Where is it goddammit where?”
The sudden loud crash wakes Vivek from his nightmare. He is sweating and his bedsheets are wet with perspiration. He took a while to take note of his surroundings and realized that he just had a bad dream. It was just 2:00 AM “whoa, that was a bad one. This book is driving me crazy. I better get that memorabilia soon” he said to himself. He decides to empty his bladder and then goes to the minibar takes a miniature of whiskey and fills the bladder again. “Ah this should give me some sleep,” he thought and pulled over the covers he goes into deep sleep again.
The next morning Vivek got up at 10 am. He was a late riser on weekends but not this late ever. Probably the nightmares kept him away from a deep sleep and that was too much of alcohol yesterday. His head was aching and he was feeling nauseous. He dialed up room service ordering for his usual breakfast and some lemonade.
A relaxing warm water bath would make him feel better he knew and the room service will take their time to serve the breakfast, moreover the book could wait; he had 2 more days to complete it.
He switched on the tap and checked the water; it was warm a perfect warm for a morning bath. The water started filling the tub as he stood undressed waiting for it to fill to the brim. Soon as the bath was ready he got into the tub and relaxed his aching head.
After about 20 minutes as he came out of the bath, he was feeling much better. The waiter was at the door with his breakfast. Wrapping himself with the bath towel he ushered in the waiter who placed the platter on the table and explained about his breakfast and left collecting his tips.
It was already 10:45 and Vivek was famished. So he quickly got on to his breakfast. Like the lunch and dinner he had a fixed breakfast and the Hotel took care of his preferences.
After breakfast he went out to the balcony and smoked a cigarette. This eased his senses calming down for a good read. The view from the balcony was breathtaking. The Saturday Morning Sea was clam and blowing pleasant breeze at his side. The sun had long departed from the horizon and was hung up in the clear sky. A pleasant day for a good read. It was tempting to sit down on the balcony chairs and continue his book. But to avoid disturbances he preferred to go back inside and start reading. So he finished his cigarette got back to the room opened the book and sat on the chair.
The book went on to speak about the vacation to the Maldives. These pages drifted away from the main theme of the book. There was no obsession whatsoever, well other than Divya being obsessively in love with Jishnu. The book showed the carefree fun-loving side of Jishnu. But yes here too his schedules followed him. They visited the restaurant as per the schedule, the beach as per the schedule, the pub as per the schedule, the museum as per the schedule. It was driving Divya crazy, but as long as he spent time with her she didn’t mind.
A weeklong vacation took the stress away from the couple. It also took the stress away from the team back home as they could work on the project peacefully without the constant nagging from Jishnu. The team worked hard. Divya had motivated the entire team to make them realize Firoz’s dream. She made them feel that he would be happy with the project wherever he was and he would be proud too. By the time the couple returned from their vacation the project was almost ready and was running successful trials.
Jishnu was so delighted with the progress that he had to find some time in his schedule for a team outing. The team was also delighted to see the other side of Jishnu. But it was short-lived. As the day of the release was getting closer Jishnu was back to his old self; making schedules, preparing plans organizing things for the big day. And also getting pissed off when the schedules were not followed. But Divya motivated the entire team to ignore and go on.
The release day was a huge success. Divya’s plan of showing their emotional side to the public works wonders. Losing Firoz was as their partner was the biggest loss they faced and she made sure the public took note of it. The app got the well-deserved publicity and soon hit a million downloads. The inauguration program also went on well as planned. Jishnu’s planning and Divya’s human touch played the trick. They were instant celebrities in the media and the competitors started tracking their progress.
Sydney Billford Monteiro
Sydney Billford Monteiro was born and brought up in Mangalore, Karnataka. An HR by profession, he has a Masters in Social Work and is working for the Hospitality Industry in Bangalore. He is an avid reader of Crime Thrillers, Mystery novels, and Science books. Creative writing and poetry is his passion.
He loves exploring the world of stories. His favourite pastime is experimenting with real-life events, creating characters, and turning them into engaging storylines.
Apart from reading and writing the author loves football; his favourite game and watching movies that depict unusual concepts and real-life events.
He also loves to have a healthy debate over a scientific idea.
Also Read
- Chapter 4: The Kingdom Of Obsession ‘The Tragedy’
- Chapter 3: Jishnu’s Obsession
- Chapter 2: The Kingdom Of Obsession – Brushing through the Memorabilia
- The Kingdom Of Obsession -Chapter 1