Written in 2006, with a little editing.
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1. Peter's Son
Peter's son was born a few months after his father died. The only thing that his father seemed to have left for him, was his exaggerated sense of irony. It was not long before he pursued the reasons behind his father's arrest. It was not revenge he was after, but the underlying foundations of his fathers madness. And, it was not just coincidence when he ran into Yossarian at the railway ticket booking centre.
2. Marissa meets SoP
Was about noon, and the humidity was killing. After what seemed like eternity, Peter's Son eventually reached the booking counter. There was only an Old man with a young lady friend, in front of Peter's Son who thought: the Old man clearly is not from here, but the young lady friend seemed to be a local. Well, it could be the old man's daughter. But to Peter's Son he didnt seem the type to have a daughter.
The Old man finally turned around with a ticket in his hand. Peter waited for him to pass by before he stepped up to the counter.
The Old man said, "Hello.. I am Yossarian and you must be somebody's son?" as he passed by. The Son of Peter replied, "Yes, I am Peter's Son. The Peter who was beheaded at the Speech Corner." Yossarian smiled and said, "I hope its Yew Teo you are going to".
As Peter's Son finally emerged with his ticket, Yossarian and the young lady was waiting for him. Still unsuspecting, Peter's Son smiled at Yossarian. And Yossarian said, "This is Marissa. Please join us, we are also heading to Yew Teo. Its a long journey."
3. The Son sees stars
Peter's Son could only see stars at the moment. He felt inebriated. It was the.. no cant be, what was it? The only thing he felt was lightness. Free from the fears that always plagued his mind. Fear of the Other Side. Yes, the Other Side. I remember the Other Side. Was the Other Side the reason why he was on the train. SoP looked at the ticket - Yew Teo it said. The state of lightness was slowly fading. His veins started constricting with fear once again. He picked up his wallet which had turned green. The notes seemed to be all right but there was a soiled piece of paper in there - which in large dirty writing said 'Yew Teo - Speech Corner'.
4. M F U
Marissa Fucked Up.
Even before she settled at her seat, she started reaching for the wallet in her shoulder bag. Smug from her deft manoeuvering a while back, she was glad with her choice: the younger bloke seemed to have the greens. Got it. The Old man had gone down in a heap, and the young dude had succumbed to the smoke routine.
Huh.. what is this? The wallets had all felt the same, but.. this one is mine only.
What goes around, comes around - and in this case, literally so.
A tear rolled down her cheek, as the train sped away from the direction of Yew Teo.
M F U
5. Unlocking of the Catch
Yossarin could not understand what had happened, since falling down rather painfully some 20 minutes earlier. Was it an accident? Not sure; considering that his bones were weak at this stage in life, Yossarin decided to continue lying on the platform for a while more. No one approached him to help him get up - so there was no real hurry to retrieve himself.
With his bald head against the hard surface of the platform, Yossarin winced in pain. His eyes were shut and his mind felt numb. In the darkness that surrounded him, he was reminded of what a prostitute (Was it Milos contact?) had told him years ago.
"You dont even look excited... You are destined to live in this bubble that is called the Catch. You will have no way out of it, but it will protect you. From death and all that is mortal. However, there will come a day, when there will be a slimmer of hope of beating the Catch; but through some one else. I dont know how and I dont if it will be good or evil. But, it will have something to do with saving a life.."
Having said that, the lady had collapsed on his lap. Though it never was completely understood, Yossarin found it funny that this lithe hussy knew about his biggest existential concern at that point in time. The Catch. Yossarin remembered the moment vividly; not knowing as to when he would be required to think about it again.
Years later, much after all his family and friends had moved on, Yossarin wondered, "When is it that my time to go will come?" There was never an answer, but then he was made to remember what the lady had told him years back.
Just as Elijah Price had done, Yossarin then commenced his search to save a victim of the Catch. He read every word that every major daily produced on the net. Every newsletter, every magazine and every international journal. He hunted high and low, until he came across the headline "Man convicted for making speech at the Speech Corner" in a far away city.
He moved into top gear once he read that; gathering as much news about Peter as he possibly could. The problem was:Peter was dead. There was nothing he could do about that. But he did feel he was closer than ever to breaking free from the clutches of the Catch.
And that morning, in the sudden rush of events, he had come across this young vivacious girl and this young Son of Peter. Though none of it made apparent sense, he however had that feeling 'that this is it'. However, the relief and ecstacy of discovering SoP, had overtaken his rationality at the moment.
Thats right. It was no accident. Just as he had felt a tug at his trousers, somebody pushed him down with a quick elbow punch on his back. It couldnt have been SoP, as at that moment the young man was at a distance, looking faint and tired all of a sudden. Was it the girl?
He had that womans number in his wallet; he had to call her to find out where they were. Trying hard not to strain himself, as the pain was increasingly unbearable; he reached for his wallet, which was lying next to him. He opened it, but couldnt recognise anything inside. There was nothing much in it. Except a picture of a young bridergroom and his rather innocent looking bride - Peter and his wife.
Old & frail Yossarin, managed a smile.
6. The Final Stop
As Peter's Son woke up, the train had stopped. There was no one else in the cabin. Not knowing where he was, he slowly shook himself from what seemed like a long slumber. His joints were hurting and his head throbbing.
He stepped out of the cabin onto the desolate platform. There was not a single soul out there. Was this for real? He never had seen a sight like this before in broad day light. Without breaking into a sweat, he walked to the exit. He saw someone moving in the ticket counter box. He saw an old man rummaging through some papers.
"Which station is this?"
The old man looked more than a touch confused. "Yew Teo", he finally said.
Peter's Son squinted his eyes as the bright sun light infiltrated through to his sunken eyes. He purposefully turned left from Exit A and started walking on the pavement.
There were no vehicles on the road, which was surprising. Not very surprising not to see any people lying by the road though.
SoP kept walking, turning where he thought he ought to. He finally seemed to reaching his destination, he felt. The last left he purposefully took, brought him to this leafy road which seemed like a dead end. Except, that it had a little picket fence right at the end. I need to get to the Other Side. As Peter's Son approached it, he caught this wiff of some ancient smell. He had no clue of what it was, but he seemed to recognise it.
He opened the picket fence and walked in. He saw this loud, decaying signage which said: Speech Corner. SoP rubbed his eyes.
He continued walking through the stone path which twisted and turned around some very old trees. It looked like a delicate little park from once-upon-a-time-ago, but somehow had no relevance in this day and age. It didnt look like anything he had seen in his lifetime - with the overgrown grass and shrubs that looked liked a world map.
He could see a clearing ahead just as the stone path turned into a mud path. He stopped at the edge of the clearing. It was quiet and sultry.
As he looked to his right, he saw a bench at a distance. And there was a man sitting there smoking a ciggarete and speaking to himself. Not knowing what to do, he started walking towards the bench. Maybe to check if the man was alive for real.
From one look, the old man looked like someone he knew. The familiar haunch, the familiar twisted smile.
"You have finally arrived".
Peter's Son knew what he saw. He sat down next to the old man, exercising a rare smile.
"Here, this is for you" the old man said, handing over a finally rolled joint.
"I dont have a light", SoP mumbled.
As he took a drag, the old man turned around and pulled out an old 3-in-1 player. He pulled out a tape from his shirt pocket and plugged it in. Peter's Son pressed the play button.
The sun was finally on its descend. The cool wind had started blowing. Peter's son could hear the world behind him starting into motion once again.
...
Yossarin didnt know if he had heard right.
It was clear, as the strains of "You go back Jack do it again Wheel turnin' 'round and 'round" wafted through.
This is the Final Stop.
_____________________________________________________
Peter's son was born a few months after his father died. The only thing that his father seemed to have left for him, was his exaggerated sense of irony. It was not long before he pursued the reasons behind his father's arrest. It was not revenge he was after, but the underlying foundations of his fathers madness. And, it was not just coincidence when he ran into Yossarian at the railway ticket booking centre.
2. Marissa meets SoP
Was about noon, and the humidity was killing. After what seemed like eternity, Peter's Son eventually reached the booking counter. There was only an Old man with a young lady friend, in front of Peter's Son who thought: the Old man clearly is not from here, but the young lady friend seemed to be a local. Well, it could be the old man's daughter. But to Peter's Son he didnt seem the type to have a daughter.
The Old man finally turned around with a ticket in his hand. Peter waited for him to pass by before he stepped up to the counter.
The Old man said, "Hello.. I am Yossarian and you must be somebody's son?" as he passed by. The Son of Peter replied, "Yes, I am Peter's Son. The Peter who was beheaded at the Speech Corner." Yossarian smiled and said, "I hope its Yew Teo you are going to".
As Peter's Son finally emerged with his ticket, Yossarian and the young lady was waiting for him. Still unsuspecting, Peter's Son smiled at Yossarian. And Yossarian said, "This is Marissa. Please join us, we are also heading to Yew Teo. Its a long journey."
3. The Son sees stars
Peter's Son could only see stars at the moment. He felt inebriated. It was the.. no cant be, what was it? The only thing he felt was lightness. Free from the fears that always plagued his mind. Fear of the Other Side. Yes, the Other Side. I remember the Other Side. Was the Other Side the reason why he was on the train. SoP looked at the ticket - Yew Teo it said. The state of lightness was slowly fading. His veins started constricting with fear once again. He picked up his wallet which had turned green. The notes seemed to be all right but there was a soiled piece of paper in there - which in large dirty writing said 'Yew Teo - Speech Corner'.
4. M F U
Marissa Fucked Up.
Even before she settled at her seat, she started reaching for the wallet in her shoulder bag. Smug from her deft manoeuvering a while back, she was glad with her choice: the younger bloke seemed to have the greens. Got it. The Old man had gone down in a heap, and the young dude had succumbed to the smoke routine.
Huh.. what is this? The wallets had all felt the same, but.. this one is mine only.
What goes around, comes around - and in this case, literally so.
A tear rolled down her cheek, as the train sped away from the direction of Yew Teo.
M F U
5. Unlocking of the Catch
Yossarin could not understand what had happened, since falling down rather painfully some 20 minutes earlier. Was it an accident? Not sure; considering that his bones were weak at this stage in life, Yossarin decided to continue lying on the platform for a while more. No one approached him to help him get up - so there was no real hurry to retrieve himself.
With his bald head against the hard surface of the platform, Yossarin winced in pain. His eyes were shut and his mind felt numb. In the darkness that surrounded him, he was reminded of what a prostitute (Was it Milos contact?) had told him years ago.
"You dont even look excited... You are destined to live in this bubble that is called the Catch. You will have no way out of it, but it will protect you. From death and all that is mortal. However, there will come a day, when there will be a slimmer of hope of beating the Catch; but through some one else. I dont know how and I dont if it will be good or evil. But, it will have something to do with saving a life.."
Having said that, the lady had collapsed on his lap. Though it never was completely understood, Yossarin found it funny that this lithe hussy knew about his biggest existential concern at that point in time. The Catch. Yossarin remembered the moment vividly; not knowing as to when he would be required to think about it again.
Years later, much after all his family and friends had moved on, Yossarin wondered, "When is it that my time to go will come?" There was never an answer, but then he was made to remember what the lady had told him years back.
Just as Elijah Price had done, Yossarin then commenced his search to save a victim of the Catch. He read every word that every major daily produced on the net. Every newsletter, every magazine and every international journal. He hunted high and low, until he came across the headline "Man convicted for making speech at the Speech Corner" in a far away city.
He moved into top gear once he read that; gathering as much news about Peter as he possibly could. The problem was:Peter was dead. There was nothing he could do about that. But he did feel he was closer than ever to breaking free from the clutches of the Catch.
And that morning, in the sudden rush of events, he had come across this young vivacious girl and this young Son of Peter. Though none of it made apparent sense, he however had that feeling 'that this is it'. However, the relief and ecstacy of discovering SoP, had overtaken his rationality at the moment.
Thats right. It was no accident. Just as he had felt a tug at his trousers, somebody pushed him down with a quick elbow punch on his back. It couldnt have been SoP, as at that moment the young man was at a distance, looking faint and tired all of a sudden. Was it the girl?
He had that womans number in his wallet; he had to call her to find out where they were. Trying hard not to strain himself, as the pain was increasingly unbearable; he reached for his wallet, which was lying next to him. He opened it, but couldnt recognise anything inside. There was nothing much in it. Except a picture of a young bridergroom and his rather innocent looking bride - Peter and his wife.
Old & frail Yossarin, managed a smile.
6. The Final Stop
As Peter's Son woke up, the train had stopped. There was no one else in the cabin. Not knowing where he was, he slowly shook himself from what seemed like a long slumber. His joints were hurting and his head throbbing.
He stepped out of the cabin onto the desolate platform. There was not a single soul out there. Was this for real? He never had seen a sight like this before in broad day light. Without breaking into a sweat, he walked to the exit. He saw someone moving in the ticket counter box. He saw an old man rummaging through some papers.
"Which station is this?"
The old man looked more than a touch confused. "Yew Teo", he finally said.
Peter's Son squinted his eyes as the bright sun light infiltrated through to his sunken eyes. He purposefully turned left from Exit A and started walking on the pavement.
There were no vehicles on the road, which was surprising. Not very surprising not to see any people lying by the road though.
SoP kept walking, turning where he thought he ought to. He finally seemed to reaching his destination, he felt. The last left he purposefully took, brought him to this leafy road which seemed like a dead end. Except, that it had a little picket fence right at the end. I need to get to the Other Side. As Peter's Son approached it, he caught this wiff of some ancient smell. He had no clue of what it was, but he seemed to recognise it.
He opened the picket fence and walked in. He saw this loud, decaying signage which said: Speech Corner. SoP rubbed his eyes.
He continued walking through the stone path which twisted and turned around some very old trees. It looked like a delicate little park from once-upon-a-time-ago, but somehow had no relevance in this day and age. It didnt look like anything he had seen in his lifetime - with the overgrown grass and shrubs that looked liked a world map.
He could see a clearing ahead just as the stone path turned into a mud path. He stopped at the edge of the clearing. It was quiet and sultry.
As he looked to his right, he saw a bench at a distance. And there was a man sitting there smoking a ciggarete and speaking to himself. Not knowing what to do, he started walking towards the bench. Maybe to check if the man was alive for real.
From one look, the old man looked like someone he knew. The familiar haunch, the familiar twisted smile.
"You have finally arrived".
Peter's Son knew what he saw. He sat down next to the old man, exercising a rare smile.
"Here, this is for you" the old man said, handing over a finally rolled joint.
"I dont have a light", SoP mumbled.
As he took a drag, the old man turned around and pulled out an old 3-in-1 player. He pulled out a tape from his shirt pocket and plugged it in. Peter's Son pressed the play button.
The sun was finally on its descend. The cool wind had started blowing. Peter's son could hear the world behind him starting into motion once again.
...
Yossarin didnt know if he had heard right.
It was clear, as the strains of "You go back Jack do it again Wheel turnin' 'round and 'round" wafted through.
This is the Final Stop.
