The Experiment
SCENE - 1
It was winter, the month of January. Cold was waiting outside for Sheetal, but Sheetal was unaware of what she was gonna face the next moment. Dr Shetty was ready with his instruments and about to start his experiment, along with a little fear. The fear was of losing his niece, Sheetal, forever.
Before entering into deep unconsciousness, Sheetal took the responsibility of the experiment, which was about to begin in a few moments. Dr Shetty placed a crystal in front of the laser beam, which was pointed straight towards the unconscious Sheetal. The crystal was white in colour and reflected the sun's rays falling on it.
Dr Shetty put his hands in prayer and prayed something quietly with closed eyes. He slowly opened his eyes and pressed a button, which started his experiment.
A laser beam sparkled out from the emitter, and it directly collided with the shining crystal that came in its way. While the laser was produced and emitted, it produced supersonic waves, and as a result, it caused the Earth to shake heavily.
No sooner had the beam been transmitted from the crystal towards Sheetal than the crystal began to change its colour. The crystal sparkled out all seven colours of the rainbow just in one go. Dr Shetty wasn’t able to believe his eyes. Soon he was blanked, and fainted the next moment.
SCENE - 2
20 years ago...
Dr Avinash Shetty, after another flop experiment, was thinking of resigning from his job as a scientist since what he was experimenting with was not giving the expected results. He was a 35-year-old, frustrated and unsuccessful scientist since he had lost his job. It had been 10 years since he was designated as a scientist, but till then, he was not able to proceed in any of his research.
He was walking through the lonely streets among the stormy winds, which were indicating the arrival of a severe thunderstorm. He was thinking about his failures and blunders when he heard a cry. A cry of an infant. He followed the sound and found a small, cute face twisted among silk clothes.
He took the baby girl and calmed her down. The infant calmed as well and soon fell asleep. Dr Shetty was devoid of much emotion, but after seeing the little angle, he felt as if he had forgotten all his frustrations. He took the child and hurried towards his home.
SCENE - 3
Dr Shetty found a letter in between the layers of the silk cloth. The Letter read:
"Dear Sir/Madam,
This little innocent has nothing to do with me or my deeds. I don't want this child to suffer because of her birth parents. I would be obliged if you would please shelter her. I, the mother of this infant, beg of you to take care of her. She is the sign of my love, but I, being unable to bear my life, won't be able to treat her as she deserves. I am leaving her on the streets of Rangapuri since there are a lot of people who live there who would take my little six-month-old daughter with them and would give her the love and care that I, her mother, was not able to give her.
If you are reading this letter, then I am very thankful to you for saving my daughter, Sheetal, from this harsh world. I know leaving this child just like that on the roads was not a justified opinion, but I was helpless. By the time you read this letter, I will be long gone from where I won't return ever. So, along with Sheetal, I would like to hand over to you the precious jewel that is the symbol of our family. Give it to Sheetal when she is 20 because in our family, this jewel is gifted to the next generation when it's old enough to take care of such a precious thing.
Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Regards,
Savitri"
SCENE - 4
7 years later...
"Mamaji, can I have those sweets, please?" 7-year-old Sheetal was requesting her dear mamaji, Dr Shetty, to buy her the sweets which a vendor was selling at the corner of the highway, just before the School where Sheetal used to study.
Dr Shetty was a strict person who took care of almost everything about Sheetal. He never liked outside food and hence never allowed Sheetal to have any either, but before the sweet face, he was bound to do what she demanded.
He said, "Sheetal, don’t have outside food regularly. If you want, then I will buy them from a renowned sweet shop, or if required, I will make them myself."
"But mamaji, the vendor also has to keep his stomach filled, doesn’t he?"
"What do you mean? What's going on in your head?" Dr Shetty asked casually.
"Mamaji, ok, as per your wish, I won't eat anything from outside, but can I buy them, right?"
This was not the first time Dr Shetty was amused by Sheetal's reply. Sheetal always had a side plan, which was indeed the main plan, but showed off something else.
He asked, "And what will you do with them?"
"I will give them to those who need them. At least I can do this much for both the vendor and those who need something to fill their stomach. This one deed can help both of them and even us. By helping others, we will also feel a little relaxed and a little happier. Isn't it mamaji?"
Dr Shetty smiled and patted her head, and without much delay, he did what Sheetal asked for. Moreover, he made those sweets at home by himself for his little angel. From the day he took the responsibility of Sheetal, he lived a happier life. Though he didn't make much progress, the main factor was that he was not detreating as well. Instead, he was making slow progress in his career.
SCENE - 5
At Present...
Dr Shetty opened his eyes after he was treated with a shower. As soon as he gained consciousness, he understood the shower was nothing but mere water droplets sprinkled on his face by Raghav.
"Are you okay, Dr Shetty?"
"Yes. Sha... Sha... Sheetal! Where is Sheetal?"
"Sheetal? But Dr Shetty, why will Sheetal come to your lab?"
"Sheetal... Go and check on her if she is ok... Go!"
"Ok, ok, Dr Shetty, just relax, I am going then."
Raghav and Sheetal have been friends since childhood. He lives in the same colony where Sheetal and Dr Shetty used to live. Among all the colony members, only Sheetal and Raghav praised and motivated Dr Shetty to pursue his ambitions during his hard times. Dr Shetty admired both of them the same way, but Sheetal and Raghav always acted the opposite way.
"Dr Shetty, Sheetal isn't here anywhere. Can you please tell what just happened here? I was walking through the streets and suddenly felt something like a dangerous earthquake, and saw an immense bright light coming up from the roof of your lab and hence I rushed in here. Dr Shetty, what just happened here?"
The view of the interior of the lab was like it had gone through havoc. Everywhere, pieces of broken glass, instruments and paper were littered. Even when Raghav arrived, Dr Shetty was lying on the floor. Dr Shetty, thankfully, had a minor scratch on his forehead and right arm.
After Raghav requested a couple of times, Dr Shetty revealed the truth.
SCENE - 6
Sheetal had requested Dr Shetty to invent something with which human emotions could be controlled. Everyone thought Dr Shetty was a mad scientist, but only Sheetal and Raghav believed this mad scientist could make something one day that the world could never imagine.
Dr Shetty worked on it for 5 years and finally invented an instrument that, with the help of laser beams, could show the emotion that they wanted to control. To function, it required a circular-shaped crystal to spread the laser in a broader aperture and a human being whose emotions would be controlled.
For a test functioning, Sheetal agreed that she would be the human to be tested by the laser. Dr Shetty refused it, but Sheetal, as always, won the battle of words and made Dr Shetty do as she asked. Then a question arrived for the crystal. Sheetal suggested experimenting on the crystal, which was gifted to her on her 20th birthday. That was the crystal, which was the only symbol of the dynasty Sheetal belonged to. Dr Shetty, as per Sheetal's mother's wish, kept it safe and gave it to her on her 20th birthday. Dr Shetty, at last, had to agree on her plan.
SCENE - 7
"This stupid girl always makes such blunders. I don't understand, Dr Shetty, how do you even bear such an idiot?"
"I don't bear her; she is the reason I am alive, you know."
Raghav’s jaw fell, making his mouth wide open. He asked Dr Shetty the reason. Dr Shetty replied that if he had not got Sheetal that day, he had already thought of killing himself and hence went out of his house in a severe thunderstorm. But after he found Sheetal, he had a reason to live. Moreover, from the day Sheetal entered his life, things changed, and he started to live in a better way.
"But... Now the reason to worry is... Where is Sheetal, and what happened to her?"
"Yeah!" Raghav said, "Dr Shetty, you have cameras in your lab, right? Check out the footage then."
Dr Shetty agreed, and both of them rushed to the computer screen, and what they saw made the earth move beneath their feet.
SCENE - 8
As soon as the light rays struck Sheetal, her body was lifted in the air. It seemed as if gravity did not affect her! Unconscious, Sheetal was just shining like a star! It led to immense light rays, which were even unbearable for the cameras to handle, and hence, it was all bright after that. Nothing was visible.
After a minute or so, the brightness started to decrease. The next scene that Dr Shetty and Raghav saw stunned them. There were 7 Sheetals! Each one had their skin colour the same as each of the colours in a rainbow. Even they seemed to be stunned.
They started to discuss something among themselves, which was inaudible because the camera had no mic in it, but it was clearly visible that 7 of them were the representatives of the 7 emotions of Sheetal. Soon, the discussion was over and with a blink of an eye, all seven emotions ran away from the lab.
SCENE - 9
"So what should we do now?" Raghav asked Dr Shetty.
"O nooo... This should not have been done..."
"But Dr Shetty, now is not the right time to think about what had to be done before. The question is, what should we do now?"
"We have to bring all the emotions of Sheetal back within a week... otherwise we will lose her forever."
Raghav sat still after listening to what Dr Shetty just spoke.
He gathered his strength and consoled Dr Shetty and said, "No matter what comes next, but I will bring her back, and that's my promise to you, Dr Shetty."
End of Chapter - The Experiment
