The Collector #
Part I #
Ayan got down from the metro and started walking towards the exit. The station was relatively less crowded considering it was already close to 9 pm. He tiptoed the people who were in his way and quickly exited the station. The cold wind made him shiver. He quickly zipped his jacket and covered his face with a muffler. His house was around 2kms from the metro station and it took him around 15-20 minutes to reach. There were few restaurants near the station and a couple of small odd shops. Ayan quickly made his way past them and as he was going past the community park he felt a sudden urge to take a stroll in the park and he chose to accept this urge. He took a detour and entered the park with the hidden intention that taking a stroll might clear his head. Ayan had a good job, a loving family and a healthy body but for some reason he felt empty. It was always difficult for him to describe what he was feeling but he knew that there was something he was missing in his life but had no clue what it really was. Lately this feeling had strengthen making him devoid of emotions in any scenario. He wanted to take a stroll and clear his mind and maybe find some way to unclog the mess that has taken control of him.
After 10 minutes of walking and deeply analyzing his thoughts, he was more confused than he ever was. Exhausted he sat down in a bench nearby. There were a group of children playing in front of him. The happiness in their cries and laughter was evident and it made Ayan feel at ease. The cold breeze, the smell of earth and grass and the silence of the night broken occasionally by the laughter of the children made Ayan fall into a trance. Suddenly he noticed a man was sitting beside him. He was a short stout man dressed in all black and had a long overcoat. He was bald and had covered half of his face with a scarf. He gave a sideways glance at Ayan and nodded his head. Somehow this person reminded Ayan of those paid assassins that he often sees in movies where the person is very meticulous in everything he does. Ayan nodded back and looked straight ahead. The children playing in front were gone and he could see 2-3 people jogging or casually strolling in the park. The breeze was still pleasant.
Part II #
Ayan was observing the few people who were jogging when suddenly a voice interrupted him
“the weather is cruel today, I wonder how the parents allowed those children to play and that too this late at night”, the man beside spoke in a hoarse voice.
Ayan was taken aback by the voice. It took him a few seconds to come up with a reply, “Well in a way its good, they get to experience playing soccer on a cold dark night.”
The man laughed and said “Yes, you are right. I believe having different kind of experiences are a key to a good life”.
“It sure does”, Ayan responded.
There was a silence in the air. The park was almost empty except the two inhabitants on the bench. Ayan was almost on the verge of leaving when the man suddenly spoke
“What if we could capture and relive them”, he said.
Startled by the weird question from the stranger, he asked
“I am sorry, capture what?”
“Experiences”, man replied.
“I don’t think that is possible nor I do think that is necessary . Some events are special because we only get to experience them once in a lifetime. Capturing and reliving them again and again does not make sense”, Ayan replied.
“Ahh, the typical answer I hear whenever I bring this topic to anybody. You are right to some extent but for a moment think about the positives. Everybody at some point in their life goes through a bad phase and hardships can break a person. However if that person is somehow able to relive the best phases of his/her life in an instant, it might open up a new perspective and give them courage to proceed with their life.”
Ayan was clueless as to what to respond. It was already getting late and this man was debating with him about extreme hypothetical scenarios. The cold was getting borderline unbearable now.
“I really appreciate that you are discussing such interesting scenarios with me but I have to go now. My family must be getting worried”, saying this Ayan rose to leave.
“What if I could show you a demo?”, the man said.
Part - III #
Ayan was taken aback by the statement. He turned back to look at the man.
He was looking straight at him with piercing eyes. Ayan felt uneasy at that moment.
“I am sorry, are you trying to tell me that you can show me how to capture experiences?”, Ayan said.
“I can do both actually. I can help you capture your past experiences or I can make you experience other people’s experiences”, the man responded.
“I don’t believe you. A very interesting approach for a practical joke”, Ayan said.
The man smiled and from his pocket took out a small box. He opened the box and inside that box were a lot of spherical balls. They seemed to be made of glass and looked heavy. He quietly tapped the bench and asked Ayan to sit.
After some hesitation Ayan decided to give it a try.
“Ahhhh before you can try this, let me give some introduction. I am known as the Collector. My job is collect experiences from people. I collect them in these spherical balls and sell them to people at exorbitant prices”, he said.
“If that is the case, why are you allowing me to try it for free?”, Ayan replied.
“Hahahahaha smart lad you are. First of all, I am only allowing you to experience basic stuff only. Second I am in a good mood today, maybe that also played a part here”.
“What is basic stuff?”, Ayan said.
“Well each experience that I collect has a rarity attached to it. For instance an experience of having a good meal is basic whereas the experience of climbing Mount Everest is rare. What I am offering you is basic stuff only.”
“So you have also captured the experience of climbing Mount Everest from somebody? Also why would anyone offer to do this experiment? And how do you capture them?”, Ayan was now getting curious.
The man took a pause.
“I won’t get into the details of how I capture them since you mentioned that you are getting late and your family is waiting for you”, the man replied with a wry smile.
“Coming to your first question. The man allowed me to capture his experience of climbing Mount Everest because he wanted to relive an experience which I had captured and offered to share with him”, he continued.
“And what was that?”, Ayan asked.
“The experience of sharing a meal with loved ones”, the man replied.
There was a silence again.
The man again spoke, “Anyway take this one with you. This has the experience of a person winning a football match in an inter-college competition. Take this orb and hold it tightly in your palm and give it sometime. After a minute or two you will feel as if you are experiencing the event first hand.”
He handed a shiny spherical orb to Ayan. Ayan took it. He was right, it was heavy. He was motionless for sometime as he was not sure why he was performing this weird experiment when all he wanted to do was go home.
“Do not worry kid, you are safe”, the said.
Ayan took a deep breath and tightly clenched his palm and closed his eyes. His life seemed to flash infront of him. Countless thoughts came floating by and disappeared from his mind. It has been sometime since he did something without giving much thought. He felt the air around him become dense as he faced trouble in breathing. He was not sure whether he was actually feeling uneasy or was it just psychological.
As he was contemplating on his thoughts, Ayan heard a sudden cry from the man beside.
“Hey kid, stop immediately. I gave you the wrong one”, the man screamed.
“What? What are you saying?”, Ayan cried.
“I gave you the wrong orb by mistake. That one has nothing to do with football. It has the experience of a person nearing death as he breathes his final moments. Do not experience it”, the man shouted.
For a moment Ayan felt as if everything has stopped around him. He was motionless, his mind was blocked, his body was not moving. He could not unclenched his fist which had the orb in his hand. A chill of fear went through his body like a bolt. He had never experienced such fear in his life.
Suddenly he felt a shock in his palm and the orb fell from his hand. Ayan was in a state of shock. In a flash he ran as fast as he could from that place. He had enough for the day and just wanted to be back with his family. Within moments Ayan was out of sight of the man in scarf.
He smiled as he saw Ayan running like crazy. He quietly whispered, “Nothing is free in this world son. It is a cruel place to live.”
Saying this he got up and picked up the orb that had fallen few feet away from the bench. His plan had worked. He was able to extract an experience from an innocent stranger.
He looked at the orb, “So you are fear. I am very pleased to add you to my collection.”
He placed the orb inside the box and went the same way that Ayan had gone to exit the park. The only difference was that he was walking in a leisurely pace humming a tune.
The park was now empty.