THE QUEST TO
KRYPTON
Pingo was ready for his first quest. A quest that would
prove how the validity of his six week long training session with his
grandfather. He was up and early, enthusiasm dripping through him likes blood. His
adrenaline levels were raging in him, preventing him from taking even a moment
of peace or sanity. He ate a power meal of Tandoori chicken and set out to hunt
for crime in the city.
The chilly wind nipped at his face as his spare supply of
chicken swung happily from a cloth sack. He was adorned in a special jersey his
grandfather had designed for him, “Dude of Delhi” written in yellow over a
light green background with a red stripe on top. When he demanded a symbol, his
only surviving family member refused politely saying “Pingo, let everyone
remember and respect you for who the boy you are and not the adopted symbol you
carry” Be the boy your people need you to
be, because you are their only hope. Everyone has different hopes and everyone’s
you must fulfill. For that is your destiny, your objective, your purpose. Let
not the Tandoori chicken quench your hunger for doing good. These were the
last word his grandfather said before he set out of the house. NO, he thought, Tandoori chicken can never quench your hunger. The only thing that can
is MORE Tandoori chicken.
He looked all around him, trying to get a hint of any
criminal activity or intent. Getting none, he continued down the street not
stopping till he got near a dhokla shop. Dhoklas!
He last thing he wanted to do now was to get inside it, but he knew he had to.
The most unimaginable crime was taking place: A person loading dhoklas into a
bag by holding the owner at gunpoint. The first criminal I spot, and that too in a
dhokla shop.
He wanted to look away, to go away but something held him
back. He suddenly, as if out of the shadows, heard the faint whisper of his
grandfather “Isn’t it ironical, the most
powerful boy in Delhi having a fatal weakness. A weakness not even experienced
in the weak. What does strength bring, if not an even stronger weakness?
Overcome it, Pingo, face it.”
He heard sounds inside the shop “Why didn’t you put coconut
on the dhokla ?” the thief said. Bang went
his gun
He gathered his courage, his strength, his chicken. Yet
those shied away under the fear of dhoklas. He tried again, mustering all the
wits that he was left with. Each step he took was an ordeal and a great pain
yet he reached the door. It was as if a great resisting force was pushing him
out with herculean force. He continued to defy it and walk inside. Just as he
raised his hand to decapitate the thief, bang
shot his gun again, and this time at him.
He blacked out, seeing dhoklas.
