“Night of the Flip Top”: Epilogue

All was well ! 🙂

Subbu was re-united with his love and thankfully, with his sanity! 😛

She went back to college.To attend classes.She would obviously be back to the hospital in the evening.Meanwhile, Sandy (who had his classes can celled) and I kept Subbu company. Thats when the whole story came out.

A few hours later, I was walking outside the hospital corridor with Subbu’s dad. I suddenly asked,

Uncle ! I always wanted to buy a flip top mobile myself.Where did you get one for Subbu?

Which one son?

“The one he lost,the black flip top with the red indicator bulb !”

“Abbulu! But that one was lost by Subbu last week!”

“Oh!”

If he lost it last week … then … ??? I didn’t ask anything else.

I suddenly remembered. Subbu had a very unique talent

A couple of years ago, we were all doing random BC on top of OBH (Old boys hostel). All were drunk. We challenged him to scare us. He suddenly cut his wrist very close to the vein.Blood splurged out as he squeezed his arm. We were almost pissing in our pants. :O And then the demon of a boy laughed.He didn’t cut his vein but had this ability of making people think that the harmless ‘cut-and-squeeze-technique’ was a vein-cutting suicide attempt. I used to wonder what he’s doing studying engineering instead of surgery!!

But why did I remember this arbitrarily?

And so that evening … I was alone, walking down the long back-road of IIIT once again reflecting. Suddenly I realized many things at once …

Subbu once wounded his leg with a one inch deep hole! Another time, he cut his left palm where a hook cut through his thumb and a litre of blood gushed out! Even then he never panicked.They used to call him non-receptory to pain. But then why did he get all so psyched out when he cut his wrist. WAIT !!! What if it was not genuine panic at all …. ??

Then the thought struck.The vein cutting pseudo suicide attempt ?? :O

This girl …bloody image management ??? he said (reference : Episode 1)

Image management ? :O

The flip top was lost Last week !!! his dad said.

What ? The Flip top was never there lhe previous night ???

She thought of consuming sleeping pills !!! I remembered. Poor girl !!

There were rumours of his previous girl friend before coming to IIIT ending up in a mental asylum … but we brushed it aside as rumours born because others were envious of his good acads, deep pockets, beautiful girl friend, etc.,

It all seemed true now !! Mind Games ?????

Ha ha ha ! he laughed as my mind was about to explode.

I turned around and looked into the eyes of Satan.

SO you finally realized , dear lad !! he said.

But ..but ! could say nothing.Satan was standing right in front of me, in the IIITian long road.

“That boy Subhash is my master piece!” He snickered and vanished.

“Hell fire in brimstone!” I exclaimed. Did I imagine this diabolical presence?I looked across at the acad-building.It was 7:30 PM.There they were, Subbu and his girl walking hand in hand.

I didn’t know what to say when I suddenly realized.That … Satan, who spoke to me just a few seconds ago and the boy walking with that innocent girl were both the same single person ….. :O

————————————————————————————

Home-made Story-end Video (contains Black Sabbath, character-relevations and credits)

the story terminates with me imagining Subbu singing this song …

Night of the Flip Top: Episode 3 – Psychedelia

Narrator: Subbu, the protagonist of this story.

Episode 3

I couldn’t sleep anticipating what was in store in the morning the next day.I was going to meet her outside at the academic block for the first time.Well I mean meeting her for the first time in a pre-arranged rendevous. It was a early-morning walk date @ 5AM if you would like to call it that !!How/ why did we suddenly decide to do this.Thats an another story ….

Dhud Dhud dhud dhud !! went the door. I woke up from my trance.Now i remembered ! I had that hallucination again, that of a red-clad witch leaping at me.Or was it a nightmare.Whatever it was ..everything suddenly vanished and I found himself at a certain place in IIIT. The main path in front of the acad-block.A dream of the past ..deja vu’….

He ran across thinking it was already late.The time was 5:10 AM.She wasn’t there.He was walking back.Now he was on the adjacent road that leads to the Old Boys Hostel,he was at a place around 10 feet away from the Girls Hostel entrance, in front of the New Boys Hoste (NBH) mess.Maybe she decided not to come.And then, his sixth instinct made him turn around.He saw her walking out of her hostel.She didnt see him perhaps because it was still dark.She was far away going in the opposite direction towards the acad block, their scheduled meeting place.He didnt want her to think he was late and not serious about the entire meeting.So he took two strides back and then sprinted forward…. but who was he ? Oh no ! That face! Its me …. and so I was running when …

Dhud Dhud Dhud …. the door sound was going beserk.

“What do you want you psycho?” I shouted without opening the door miffed at Sandy screwing up my deja vu’ experience.

“You are the psycho. Why the f***k were you screaming?”

“Arre sorry ra … just a bad dream”

“Subbu! Please sleep! Dont think so much”

“Okay and thanks”

I was scared to sleep.I would either see the witch or I would see her.The latter vision’s painful while the former is scary, dirty and disgusting.

At 4AM it glowed again.I picked it up.A hand , an old wrinkled hand came out of the red light!!!!!!

It was covered in blood ..my blood !! :O It was long and it thrust across right through my mouth and twisted my oesophagus.I wanted to shout, my wind pipe was blocked and so no sound came out.I was choking …choking to death …

“What if we break up ?” i asked her playfully.She turned serious.I was until then of the assumption that city girls don’t turn serious at such stupid queries. And she looked at me straight in the eye..”If we break up I won’t survive!!”

I woke up! It was 4:05 AM!! Did I doze off again? Didnt the flip top glow.Where is the demonic hand that was killing me. Then i remembered … “If we break up I will not survive!” and then …“Die ! You shall suffer ..”

“Folks at home might never agree to this relationship, Subbu! ” She said. “I just want to know that in case we split in future , you will be okay” This made me snap. It hurt me that the same girl who was in love with me, who got all restless if I didnt call her for more than one day..said this !!!! Then started the arguments!

Yes! I decided to give her a call.We could talk this over.When she said whatever she said, it was a girl yearning for your emotional support and nothing else.They are girls after all.They can’t be direct.They are scared of the consequences.It doesn’t matter! Time to be the strong knight !! She was a part of me and I should finish it the right way.

Abruptly, The flip top flashed its red!!!

Hello ?

Hello SUbhash!

Baby ! Its you ..I was just about to call you

Listen ! We are done! I thought of telling senti things to you for the last time,But you don’t deserve that and dont know how to treat a girl.You dont deserve me.I loved you all along and you hurt me so much that an emotional part of me died inside! Can’t believe you were snickering when I was crying back there.Bye …

I wanted to tell her, shout at her to stop talking nonsense.I still loved her and it hurt him as much when she cried.But she hung up.I wanted to call her.But then, the flip top started glowing again. A head started coming out of it … that of a witch in red …this time a beautiful one … it looked like my girl …what is this ???

I was going mad.It was an emotional disaster.She’s gone and now the witch’s taken over her.And she’s again coming back to kill me. Aaaaah !!

I love you and will die without you!

So why are you making me die you lil’ … I was going nuts.I wanted to kill myself.I called her ..she was not picking up calls. I saw outside ..there she was ..in a helicopter …with that Prof. from downtown… aaaah ..what is happening to me .. hallucination within a nightmare.Or maybe a nightmare in a hallucination.What the fish !! I don’t like fish! But i Love chicken! But I gave it up for her anyway because she was vegetarian.The helicopter! She was eating chicken with the rich kid.Shit ! My chicken apetite had been tricked out of me.Now she’s eating chicken, and that too with Prof.Kamal , what ridiculousness !!!But where the f***k did the helicopter come from in IIIT …

You shall suffer …!!

Now I get it ! The curse ! The curse was working ..I was going insane.But she was in the helicopter.At the same time, how was she coming out of the flip top.Two places at once!! Wait !! Aha….. yes! The bloody flip top! The bloody flip top.I was going to take my pen knife and break the red bulb in the flip top….hahaha !

And then it happened, by the time I snapped out of this night mare I deliriously took the pen-knife from under my bed and cut my wrist! I rushed out of my room.I couldn’t think ..blood was splurging out.I ran out of the hostel, shouting.It was 4:30 Am.No one was coming out.The loss of blood was making me faint.

I saw a senior of mine, abbulu walking towards me.He caught me from falling.I passed out.

I woke up a day later.I looked into the eyes of the red witch 😛 … no !sorry! The girl I loved! She said “Subbu! Please get better fast ! So that I can beat you up for this stupid suicide attempt”

I wanted to say it was an accident but chose not to.She said, “Lets forget everything and be like before!”

“You tell me” I blurted out (She thinks I almost killed myself for her)

“You tell me.You said you hated me na? ” my wonderful girl was on the verge of crying on my bandaged wrist

” No I dont.I love you so much” I said and knew I was speaking the truth …

Abbulu looked at me and smiled.I came to know later that he told my parents (they were there too) that it was an accident.That way they wont blame the girl for anything and will continue to love her for being their son’s life 🙂

Sandy was there too.

• But well! Its like this.Abbulu and Sandy think it was a suicide attempt.
• But they think they lied to my parents that it was an accident, to avoid unnecessary panic.
• My parents think that they are letting her think it was a suicide attempt for the while because she was so psyched out.
• She thinks I loved her so much that I chose to kill myself. The wonderful girl of mine later told me that she was thinking of taking an overdose of sleeping pills at 4:30 AM.Thats when Sandy called her telling her about my alleged suicide attempt. (And yes! She never called me to say we were done! That was part of the bad dream)

But where is the flip top! Guess in my panic! I threw it off somewhere when I cut my wrist.

Hope no one finds it. We dont want the witch’s hand going into their throat do we? v;)

– Subbu

x——— THE END ————–x

(Dont you miss the Epilogue 😉 )

Night of the Flip Top: Episode 2 – The Glow in Red !!

Narrator: Sandy, Subbu’s best friend and hostel-sidey (next door neighbor) , by what he knows being Subbu’s best buddy , by what Subbu told him in the past and by what Subbu told him in the hospital room (following the former’s suicide attempt)

Episode 2

“I know it glowed red ! I just know ! ” , he yelled at himself in his mind.He got down to study. To take his mind off her, off his break up , and of course the freakish second for which the flip top flashed its red!

“Do you believe in ghosts or curses ?” He asked her while she was sitting behind him on the bike, their ride back to the IIITian residential campus after one of those hauntingly mushy, emotion-laden outings. It had been 3 months into the committed phase of the relationship. He somehow believed that she was everything he wanted, his world. And they were inseparable.

Die! … You shall suffer ! ….. I dont know you ! ….. The boy I loved is dead!

A girl’s sorrow does not go unpaid for ….

Suddenly Subbu woke up.Shit! His mind cleared all these memories and visions. It was midnight already. He had the CAT mock exam next Sunday and he had hardly started preparing.

When did i doze off ? F**k!! he thought.He looked at the phone by instinct.The red light was glowing.He knew it.She would call.He didn’t decide whether he wanted to sweet talk or just fling all the anger inside him at her. “I dont want to do anything with her” He thought. (though I believe, knowing him for 3 long years … he desperately longed to be with her again)

He flicked the flip top open. No shit !! Nothing …

I remember even now. He rushed out of his room at half past midnight.He was sweating. He often had bad dreams.

But ever since she came into his life his dreams stopped.His insomnia vanished. True indeed the idiot was madly in love in with her. They loved sitting and talking for ages by the IIITian academic building ‘s parking lot. She cured him of his insomnia.He evn introduced her to his mother. Perhaps she eventually is his path to salvation.

I talked him into calming down. Perhaps it was the trauma of his break up.He went inside.

At around 2 AM, the phone made a sound.The red light flashed.He was scared to death.He was having hallucinations,that of a huge slime-drenched witch coming to kiss him.She wore red and had red lip stick.

Yucks ! he thought.That thought lasted for around 10 seconds. But suddenly, his mind cleared. It is her! he thought. Suddenly his fear didn’t work anymore … he longed to hear her voice.His ego prevented him from thinking of apologies but that can be dealt later.He picked up the phone.

Shucks! It was just a stupid Airtel offer ad. He put it down.

What had been a fear now became a longing. In his heart of hearts, he yearned for the red light to glow again … It will kill me.That girl will destroy me.But I dont care.All I want is a call from her.When will the red light glow ….

He loved her perhaps, so much that the mental effort/force which he used to block her out, affected his rationality.

And then I heard a yell.I ran to his room.He didnt open the door. He just kept shouting …

“The red witch with leaking-slime is here! She was hiding in the haunted mobile all along! She’s going for my b***s! Aaaaah !”I knew it …. Aaaaah!!”

(to be continued … next Episode the story ends)

Night of the Flip Top: Episode 1- break it down …

Narrator : Me , good ol’ abbulugadu …reproducing what Subbu told me after his suicide attempt

Episode 1

Die ! She shouted at him ! amidst a bucketful of tears.

“Ridiculous !” Subbu wondered “She always lets loose on me whenever she gets angry.I treat her like a little baby and never said anything.But,for the first time, I snap , scold and shout , she acts like someone stole her ….ok shut up! Do you even need to think about this?”

His girlfriend walked away, stooping and crying with fainted breaths.” She does that when she is unable to control her hurt, her humiliation, her wounded pride”. He felt evil.He felt bad-ass.He was immersed in the sadistic pleasure of dominating the situation.And he didn’t regret it.He felt she deserved it. “Its done I knew I would be okay even without her.Yucks ! What the hell was I thinking an year ago when I proposed.Soul mate and all katte ?? Yucks !!”

Later they talked to each other on the phone for one last round of verbal projectiles. “A girl’s sorrow is not seen unpaid for You shall suffer and then will realize how much I loved you.You are not the one I loved. The boy I loved is dead. ” And she hung up ….

Subbu thought … “blah blah blah” .

“BLAH BLAH BLAH “!!!Those were the only words he could think of .He didn’t want to think about her. It was done.Its over. He forciby told himslf that he always thought he never loved her.Why did he date her then? Because I just wanted some girl friend Goddamnit he told himself “Bloody image management !?!?!”

“Is that a curse ?” He asked himself …

“You shall suffer …” She said !! It kept ringing in his ears. But he seemed perfectly fine overall. “David Baldocci would be proud of me … I am not weak … I am stone cold in her context” These thoughts gave him a dark-sided feeling of absolute machismo.

He looked at his brand new flip top Nokia cell. It had a red light which indicated new messages and calls coming in.

Gosh ! He was so proud of owning it and hers was the first number he dialed when he bought it a month ago. 99% (I think it was 99.5% as claimed by Subhash, but who bloody cares about statistics) of the calls were from her.And now they became even more unmissed by him because of that red light!!! It glew and it was eye-candy, the salvation when he was away from her. Messages, phone calls, missed calls … what not !!At an average of a call/msg per hour when they were awat from each other …

It was in silent mode now.Noways, he went off to sleep.A couple of hours later, he woke up in his room.the dingy little room in the first floor of the Old Boys Hostel.He rushed to the loo.And returned only to find the red light glowing.

An urge surged through him , like electricity! He wanted to pick up the cell and call her back! Perhaps, I feel, he impulsively felt the pain of being seperated from a girl he until the fight, thought, was his soul.

Then again .. he shouted at himself “What ? Call the ***** back ? No frigging way I wont” He lambasted himself. But the urge , the instinct pushed him, pushed him to pick up the phone and flick the flip top open.There was nothing, no missed call.

He closed it back!It was ok now.He called a friend of his and asked him to give him a missed call.To check if the red light is faulty.But it seemed fine.

But why did it glow back then ….

(to be continued … )

“Night of the Flip Top” : Prologue

**FOREWORD: This story is neither purely fictional nor purely true. However, any resemblance to real life characters and incidents is err …. I would say …. unoffensively intentional **

So I was walking down that same IIITian road, the road I always used to run on in the early hours of the morning, before the dew fell on the leaves during autumn, before the Sun rose from across the library building, a time before I lost my soul , a time when the running man was still alive and kicking …..

Aaah ! Gachobowli Institute of Technology ! I thought. I playfully call this place that 🙂 Wonderful place it was. I remember when I came, people looked down upon it. Called it a fradulent institute. Many didn’t know it had the “Deemed University” status. People cribbed at me for not going to NIT Warangal or Osmania or JNTU though getting the ECE dept. seat there too.

Anyway I was walking down twondering how times have changed.The brand strength of IIIT has reached a novel level, a level of high national visibility. I was happy, happy that someday I will proudly sing that song I The same song I used to sing when I was still a peaceful person …the song that goes like …. I am a IIITian ….in the tune of the famous I am a disco dancer verse !!

And then … I stumbled across him … Subhash aka Subbu! The current final year student. He was bleeding profusely at his wrist. Subbu the strongman ?? Suicide ? Wtf , mate ?

A suicide attempt !?!?! At IIIT ?? I thought.And all the more over this has to happen when an alumnus like myself decides to come back to the IIITian campus and go on a lonely,calm walk across memory lane … x(

I called for the ambulance, then called up his friends.And because I was on a vacation anyway and had nothing to do, I went along with him.

He was out of danger.The next morning he regained his stability.I was looking into the eyes of a boy who was weakened by something.Something so painful that he was shrinking from within. His friends had to go back since they had a class.His parents were informed.They were on their way from their hometown in Cuddapah .

Hope his rich dad doesnt think its a factionsist attack from his rival zamindars.Then we will have vest and lungi clad idiots with swords in campus shouting at everyone for harming their chinna babu (little lord !?!?! )

And then Subbu got up and shouted, Did the light glow ?again ? And broke down ….

(the “Night of the flip top” starts from the next post ..stay tuned …for one hell of a psychological ride)