There was a time when I waited for Sunday. After a week of work, and I worked hard, a day of rest was very welcome. I loved to sleep. I am not an atheist, and I go to church maybe once a year for midnight mass on Christmas eve. So I'm not a churchgoer basically. Therefore Sundays did not mean that I was seated in the pews in church listening to the pastor's sermon. The pastor, in fact, would not recognise me until my sister, who goes more often to church, introduced me as her brother after Christmas Eve mass. I also had a problem sleeping and would lie awake at nights trying desperately trying to fall asleep. I tried counting sheep and it never worked. I also tried those sleeping videos on YouTube. I listened \ and felt bored. They were not music I was familiar with and they kept my eyelids firmly apart. Even a safe tranquillizer that my doctor prescribed did not have any effect. The on...
I was polishing an old oil lamp when I heard a distinct hiccup. I waggled my ears to see if they were playing tricks. I pinched both my ear, but they did not echo or ring out. I renewed polishing the oil lamp and heard the hiccup again. I peered in but could see nothing, then I was amazed to find smoke coming out of the spout. Could the oil lamp have caught fire from a short-circuit? I wondered and sucked on my thumb for a while. After a couple of minutes were up I noticed that the smoke was getting denser. I wondered if I could bo rrow my neighbour’s fire extinguisher, but I knew he would not part with it because he dou s ed his cigars with them. I thought of sand, but the hourglass did not contain much. I hastily took the oil lamp to the bathroom and held it under the tap. An umbrella shot up from the oil lamp. “Darn! It’s raining again,” a shrill voice exclaimed from inside. The smoke was now taking shape and I could distinctly ...