At Beyond the Box, we are constantly thinking of ideas to give something unique, refreshing as well as challenging to our community of writers. Two to Tango was one such endeavour to encourage the participants to work along with another writer as a team and bring about a creative synergy. 66 teams participated in this one-of-its-kind contest and the winners were chosen by an eclectic jury panel comprising of prolific authors Ramendra Kumar, Shilpa Suraj and Apeksha Rao. Below prompt was given to the writers and they were asked to narrate the same story from two different points of view.
Prompt – Write a fictional story in which a character’s life undergoes some kind of major change due to a lost mobile. Feel free to creatively interpret this concept in any genre of your choice.
The Special Mentions in the adults’ category were Payal Goenka and Nidhi Mohta (Team 11). Enjoy their story!
Story Title: SHE CALLING SHE
Point of View #1
By Payal Goenka
In this world , technology was invented to make human life easier, but we became so dependent on it that we are no less than slaves of these gadgets. However, technology is also a saviour sometimes. Like everything has two sides to it, so does technology. An incident made me realise that if put to right use at the right time, it can bring about a great difference. One fine morning, while I was leaving for office, I was in such a hurry that everything was a total mess. I tried arranging everything in the cab and reached office just in time. The moment I reached, to my utter shock I realised that my phone was missing. I tried calling my number again and again but in vain. Then my colleague came to me on seeing my worried face. She asked me what had happened and I told her everything. We both tried to connect to my number but to no success. After half an hour, somebody picked up the phone. We could hear a lot of chaos and a young girl screaming for help. The phone soon got disconnected, so I was too worried as I could sense something was fishy. Soon, I realised that I didn’t have time to waste and if I wanted to help the person in trouble, I had to act quickly. Immediately, I headed towards the police station. The senior inspector in charge was also familiar to me, so he also responded to my request quickly. I narrated the whole episode to him. With the help of his intelligence team, he could soon track my mobile. It was discovered that the mobile was heading towards NH6. He informed his ground team and restricted the outward movement of any suspected vehicle through NH6.
After around two hours, the cab was traced. The cab driver and two culprits were arrested because they were trying to kidnap a girl who had just crossed her teens. The police, after full-fledged interrogation, could find out the whole syndicate of the child trafficking gang. I got my phone back and the day ended, though hectic but with a lot of inner satisfaction. A sense of relief and pride engulfed me, as I could save lives and contribute something good for the society. I was recognised by our Chief Minister for my efforts, and she personally called and awarded me for my bravery. This incident started with the loss of my phone but ended with a sweet change in my life. It not only gave me the motivation to help others, but also taught me that quick decisions and presence of mind could make a huge difference in any untoward situation.
Point of View #2
By Nidhi Mohta
I used to think technology has been invented to make human life lethargic and dependent, but recently this technology proved to be a boon to me. Mobile phones, now an indispensable part of human life, never impressed me much, unlike my peers. But an incident changed my outlook towards this device.
Few days ago, like a normal day of an interior designer, I was going to a client site situated at the outskirts of the town. There was a major problem which needed to be resolved. I hurried with my tools and thought of taking a regular cab over Uber to save time. In all that hustle-bustle, I wore a semi-transparent kurta with a slight rib near the neck area. I sat inside the taxi and asked the driver to take me to my destination. After half an hour, he insisted on being accompanied by one of his mates in the car, as his home was near the destination. I hesitantly agreed because I was quite busy with my non-stop calls from the site. His friend looked weird to me and sat next to the driver. I became busy with my phone, but suddenly I realised that his friend was ogling at me through the rear view mirror. I got alarmed. I sensed something was fishy because the route seemed different too. I inquired about it and the driver told me that it was a shortcut. Suddenly, his friend turned back and snatched my phone. I started shouting fiercely, but no one could hear me on the deserted road. The driver and his friend started laughing, and I kept on pleading but they turned a deaf ear to my pleas.
Just then I heard a phone ring from the opposite side of my seat and I quickly picked up and howled for help. Immediately, the phone was snatched by those predators. I was helpless as windows of the doors were locked and the driver was going towards NH6 highway. I closed my eyes and prayed fervently, and all of a sudden the car was stopped. I managed to open the door, and saw the police and one lady whose phone was lost in the taxi halted nearby.
I thanked that blessed soul. To that she said, “Don’t thank me, thank technology”.
Indeed, technology had saved my life.