As evolution shaped our current form, various parts came together to make a functional whole. While one can be alive without certain bits in our bodies, it usually takes all of our organs to live. The question often arises whether we are our bodies or brain because there is a certain degree of redundancy in our organs while the brain is irreplaceable (mostly). But the brain is also an organ like the others so what makes it special? It is said that it processes external stimuli and converts them into perception, perspective, emotions, reactions and a plethora of responses. But what if this is done by all the organs in tandem with the brain? The stimuli and resultant reactions are all a function of energy, be it mechanical, chemical or electric. This makes me believe that we are neither the brain nor the body, but we are energy. The manifestation of the summative energies is us. Energy cannot be bracketed in any categories, like positive or negative alone. These categories are relative to the person describing them. And for the same reason no one is entirely one type of person, the various energies that are changing within them at that time make them the person they are at that moment. As the law of conservation of energy states, energy can neither be created nor destroyed, but only changes from one form to another. I think we are a sum total of the various forms of energy that are manifested at that moment in time and space. The body and the brain are matter by themselves. Unless animated by energy they are just matter. So our brain is our body and our mind is what makes us human. The brain is a thing while the mind is abstract. It is energy.

As evolution shaped our current form, various parts came together to make a functional whole. While one can be alive without certain bits in our bodies, it usually takes all of our organs to live. The question often arises whether we are our bodies or brain because there is a certain degree of redundancy in our organs while the brain is irreplaceable (mostly). But the brain is also an organ like the others so what makes it special? It is said that it processes external stimuli and converts them into perception, perspective, emotions, reactions and a plethora of responses. But what if this is done by all the organs in tandem with the brain? The stimuli and resultant reactions are all a function of energy, be it mechanical, chemical or electric. This makes me believe that we are neither the brain nor the body, but we are energy. The manifestation of the summative energies is us. Energy cannot be bracketed in any categories, like positive or negative alone. These categories are relative to the person describing them. And for the same reason no one is entirely one type of person, the various energies that are changing within them at that time make them the person they are at that moment. As the law of conservation of energy states, energy can neither be created nor destroyed, but only changes from one form to another. I think we are a sum total of the various forms of energy that are manifested at that moment in time and space. The body and the brain are matter by themselves. Unless animated by energy they are just matter. So our brain is our body and our mind is what makes us human. The brain is a thing while the mind is abstract. It is energy.

The smell of fish was emanating from every side, clinging on the muggy sea air on the little boat. They sat at opposite ends to cross the creek on their way to work. His arms were drenched in the sweat of his neighbour and her shins were chafing against a fisherwoman's loaded wicker basket. A swift breeze suddenly cooled their cheeks and their eyes met for a moment. Her jet black eyes made him catch his breath, his curly hair flying in the breeze made her heart jump. He wondered what she was thinking, did she even notice him? How could she in this grimy cargo hold. She thought about what it would feel like to run her fingers through his hair. The boat lurched to a halt all of a sudden and they caught each others eye again. The passengers all hustled off the boat in a frenzy and they too got up to leave. Their arms brushed in the stampede as they got shoved off. She went back to her children and he went back to his wife.

Am I what you make of me? I am often defined using labels. My relationships, my vocation, my hobbies, my language, caste, creed, colour, race. Some of these were given to me the moment I came into the world. Some were later bestowed upon me. Some were given without consent. Others merely pasted for convenience to make it easier to categorize me. Strip me of all of these, does nothing remain behind? Who decides what defines me? My experiences shape my perception, my actions give me my character. I am defined by my choices. I am defined by my potential. I am defined by my energy and strength. I am boundless in everything, yet I define my own boundaries. I am but a drop in the ocean but I am the ocean itself, for without the drop the ocean is nothing. I redefine my being all the time. It is this quality that makes me the person I am and always aspire to be.

The still of the night,

the stir of the leaves,

The moon shining bright,

glinting in the eaves,

The spirits were here,

they had heard us call,

The hour was near,

to redeem us all,

For witches they called us,

and stones they threw,

Forever a menace,

but we always knew

Our souls were one,

with the light of the earth,

And we could summon,

the Gods of death and of birth,

We danced and chanted,

in the light of a flame

And the forest responded,

alive it became

till the spirits rose within

the flickering fire,

And we stepped in

into our divine pyre

Finally at rest

with the source of our soul

T'was the end of our quest,

to become whole.

It must have come slowly,

Seeping in from every crack,

I didn't even notice,

When it trickled down my back

It was waiting for me at the door,

As I opened it one day,

It was too late then I realised,

As Silence was here to stay

The voices in my head were quiet now,

The sounds of the world had ceased

Silence had the last word,

And I knew I was deceased.

I should come with a warning sign

‘Girl crazy by design’

Parking at owner’s risk

Conditions apply *asterisk *asterisk*

It was the first time she had seen a swimming pool in her 16 years of life. Anuya stared at the water rippling and spilling over the sides as all the children played gleefully. Coming from a small hamlet far from this city, water was like liquid gold, maybe even more precious. She took up the job of cleaning the sports centre as she wanted to send home as much money as she could to help her family cope with the aftermath of the drought. But seeing herself surrounded by water, it stung her deeply. Her mind was flooded with images of her mother carrying water back to their home from so far away, for her three children in the baking hot sun, the memory of her little sister, who didn’t make it through, and she felt a lump in her throat. She wanted to cry, but it seemed to her that her eyes had dried up forever. 

I had begun doing things more and more mechanically. My body was following the routine I followed every damn day of my life but my mind was elsewhere. That day I finished up at work a little after 7 and got into my car in the empty parking lot. It was dark outside and the road was nearly deserted as I got onto the road. But even in the dimly lit street I couldn't miss the striking girl standing near the curb, scanning the passing scanty traffic warily. I stopped and asked her if she needed any help- when I think back I still wonder what made me do that. She said her phone battery had died and she needed a lift home. She got in gingerly and I couldn’t help notice her long, shapely legs. I immediately felt guilt. I had already betrayed my wife and I was doing it again. As we started, she looked a bit more comfortable and we started chatting, just harmless small talk. I wondered how I thought this girl who was looking like a lost lamb just a short while ago was now so composed. The car sped down an empty highway and our conversation came to a sudden halt. 

On an impulse, I asked her name. "Lucifer" she said in a matter-of-fact manner. I was taken aback but didn't say anything. She was looking at me intently now, but was utterly calm. "Come on, you can ask me. You know you want to." She was teasing me now.

"Okay. Who are you? That name is..." I mumbled.

She laughed and ran her hands through her dark hair. I was at once aroused and yet I felt a chill run down my spine.

"You know God isn't the only one who is omnipresent. I am too... I am in your breath, under your skin….. hell I’m in your head!” Lucifer looked straight into my eyes and it felt like she was dipping her fingers into my soul. I was transfixed, just couldn’t look away.

“Oh I know about those hot nights in that cheap motel, all the money you have been gambling away…. It’s simply delicious! Don’t worry Evelyn will never know” She smiled devilishly.

“Please, I have a son. For God’s sake….”

Lucifer was really enjoying herself. Her smooth, long fingers caressed my cheeks slowly. “Honey, those aren’t my beans to spill! Besides, everyone has their own demons. They simply eat away at you soul… that’s just the way I like it”

A cold sweat had built up on my palms and the steering wheel seemed to be slipping out of my hands.

“This is me, darling. Thanks for the ride.” She said as she got out of the car. “I hope to see you real soon.”