Gratitude and not gravity, What my apple taught me!
After being diagnosed with diabetes, life changed quite a bit. I wasn't allowed to indulge in sinful desserts. I had to eat optimally and regularly to keep my blood sugar level in control. It broke my heart to know that I'd never be able to eat an entire slice of cheesecake again or drown my sorrows in a tub of ice cream. I confessed to my stoic doctor that my future as a gourmet was bleak.
“Woe to me” I said hoping I’d stir her emotions.
She simply shrugged and said "you can have one spoonful of ice cream or a tiny block of chocolate now and then. But I'd advise against it".
"Why?" I cried
"Because you're young and I want you to control your diabetes through a balanced diet! Why do you want to depend entirely on medicines?"
"But is this fair? I have no family history of diabetes and here I am being told to stop putting sugar in my tea! What have I done to deserve this?"
She scribbled something in her writing pad, tore it off and handed me the sheet.
"Read it once you've left my premises, burn it once you read it and tell no one about it.” she said in hushed whispers.
I took the note, pocketed it and left. Once I got home, I locked myself in my room, drew the blinds and read the note.
It said
"Visit the Bodymakers in Cupertino and register your complaint against your malfunctioning body.
PS: insist that you're under 30 and still under the guarantee period.
Their address is _________ street, Cupertino."
I read the note several times. Bodies were made in Cupertino? Like IPhones? Or did the doc have a whacky sense of humour?
I flew to California the next day and registered with the Bodymakers at Cupertino. I had to wait for 6 days before I got an appointment.
At the reception a cute blonde girl said to me
"You're lucky you had to wait for only 6 days! People wait for over 2000 years"
"Really?" I said in awe "who has been waiting for 2000 years?"
"Jesus" she said "he's here to claim his body but it's under dispute, so he waits"
I wasn't sure if I had gone mad or if this was an idea of a joke.
"Wait in the lobby" she said handing over a token to me.
I waited patiently and spent my time skimming through reading material.
The first magazine spoke about the latest kind of bodies.
"These bodies don't heat up despite being provoked for several hours. Their batteries last longer too, so they can function without sleep for 36 hours. That is a grave inconvenience for the parents of children who have these latest features. But in the long run, parents will grow to appreciate that their kids are tireless" said the CEO in his latest conference.
When asked about mass manufacturing bodies in China, the CEO said,
"It is true, China violated the contract. They manufactured scores of unlicensed Chinese bodies and several duplicates. But their deceit turned against them, their population exploded because of this mass production. The same thing is happening in India".
I shut the magazine. My name was called out just then and I was walked into a huge room.
The room had mirrors on all sides and a young man stood in the center. He wore a white waistcoat like the ones the doctors had.
He greeted me warmly and shook my hand. "Call me Steve" he said
He had a file in his hand and I recognised my handwriting on the topmost page. So he probably had my registered complaint with him.
"You're under guarantee" said Steve
"Yeah I guess, what's the age limit?" I asked curiously
"Depends on where you've been manufactured" he said
"Your body was made here, in Cupertino, so your guarantee is up to 40 years. Those that are manufactured in China, India and Taiwan are guaranteed only up to 25 years"
"But I am Indian" I said
"Ethnicity has nothing to do with your manufacturing unit! It is more about luck. Wherever the order gets placed, that’s where you get made. When you were conceived, the order was placed here so the body was made here and delivered within nine months to India" he said
I was dumbfounded! "What about premature babies?" I asked
"Their orders are through amazon prime" he said offhandedly
"Anyway returning to the problem at hand! You've written here, quite dramatically, that your body has failed you" he said
"Yes! I'm 29 and I have diabetes! My soul is young and sprightly! But my body has failed me! Or let's just say, the body you manufactured has failed me".
Steve surveyed me for a while without comment. He then extracted a huge file and pored over it while I waited. He said "well, you've lived for 29 years and we cannot offer to refurbish you. The only offer we can make is a replacement! We can offer a new, better functioning body".
I leaped up at the prospect! "Of course! I'll take it" I said expecting them to give me a body exactly like my own albeit with better features.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes" I said
"Well you will have to pick a model" he said and pressed an almost invisible button on the mirror.
The mirror leaped to life and lowered to reveal a hollow in the wall, a platform dropped down from the hollow. The platform was a conveyor belt and it began to roll. Slowly a body emerged from the hollow and the conveyor belt stopped as the body came into full view.
It was the body of a tiny man. The man was about 2 feet shorter than me and he was extremely skinny. It would take me a year to bring him to my present weight, but he'd never be my height.
"I'm six feet two inches" I protested "why would I settle to being 4 feet?"
"But this body doesn't have diabetes nor any heart disorders! The body has fully functional lungs too and an eidetic memory" said Steve
"No" I said with finality.
The conveyor belt rolled back and emerged later with a different body.
It was a young man, very beefy and tall, but he was bald.
"This body functions well, but it has a twitch we haven't been able to fix" said Steve
"I don't mind being bald but I don't want a twitch" said I
The belt rolled back and another body came into view. Again the body was tall and similar to my body frame.
"I like this one" I said
"This was has several allergic reactions to everything ranging from milk products to sauces and meats".
"Can he eat cake?" I asked
"No" said Steve "he reacts to butter"
"Next please"
The body was taken away and a new one emerged. A handsome young body came into view. The body was well toned and chiseled.
"I'll take this one" I said without thinking.
"This isn't entirely a man" said Steve "he's a bit of both"
"Umm no" I said
The next body rolled into view. The body was perfect. It matched my height, my width and the thickness of my hair.
"I like this one" I said “It is perfect”
"This body is blind though" said Steve
“Can you fix the vision?” I asked
“This specific body is not under guarantee. It will cost a fortune to restore its eye sight. Are you willing to pay?”
"Next" I said quickly
The next body emerged. A middle aged body, with white hair and an extremely wide nose.
"I could settle for this" I said waiting for Steve to dash my hopes
"This one is paralysed waist down" said Steve
"Next" I said
"That's all we have" said Steve
"What? How can you have such few models?"
"The rest are taken or dismantled for research" he said
"But only six bodies?" I asked in disbelief .
"We are bound by contract to give you an Indian body so that limits your choices" said Steve
"I don't mind a foreign body" I said
"We have a couple of American bodies and African bodies but you'll have you file a request and wait at least 20 years before you get it and I can't guarantee that you'll get it despite the long wait" said Steve.
“Michael Jackson had chosen a Caucasian body but it had several issues, it took him years to get it and it cost him quite a bit”.
"I think I'll stick to the one I have" I said finally
Steve shut his file and smiled
"Im curious though! Whose bodies were these?" I asked
"The ones I just showed you?" asked Steve
"Yes"
"These are suicide cases" he said
"I beg your pardon?"
"Suicide is an act of severing the contract of body with soul. So the body returns to its manufacturing unit and the soul is set free" he said
“What happens after a body dies?” I asked
“It gets buried or cremated or whatever, we don’t take it back, unless the person chooses to donate his parts”.
"Is that all?" He asked
I nodded and got up to leave. Steve walked me out and joined me to the main entrance.
As we made our way, I saw a few people with burnt and disfigured faces.
"Acid attack and burn victims" said Steve
"Have they come for a replacement?" I asked
"Oh no, they just come for regular bug fixes and upgrading. They don't fight the body they are in! It's quite inspiring to talk with them" said Steve
I hung my head in shame. Having being denied the right to eat sweets had driven me to replace my body. Was it my body that had failed me? Or had I failed my body. After all, being ungrateful for my several blessings was a failure to acknowledge the gifts I had.
As I exited the Bodymakers headquarters, the cute girl at the reception handed me a juicy red apple.
"What's this for?" I asked curiously
"Oh we give this to everyone who comes here!" She said
"Why?" I asked
She shrugged and walked away. I turned to Steve who said "When you came here you sought something. You're returning without it. But we know your visit hasn't been entirely fruitless. Today you return with new found wisdom. The apple symbolises the object you sought but couldn't obtain and the wisdom you take instead. Have a good day".
He shook my hand and walked away as I stood watching him disappear into the depths of the Cupertino office. An apple had taught Adam and Eve about the detriments of greed. An apple taught Issac Newton the laws of gravity. An apple had taught me gratitude.
I took a bite of the apple and decided to return home.
“Woe to me” I said hoping I’d stir her emotions.
She simply shrugged and said "you can have one spoonful of ice cream or a tiny block of chocolate now and then. But I'd advise against it".
"Why?" I cried
"Because you're young and I want you to control your diabetes through a balanced diet! Why do you want to depend entirely on medicines?"
"But is this fair? I have no family history of diabetes and here I am being told to stop putting sugar in my tea! What have I done to deserve this?"
She scribbled something in her writing pad, tore it off and handed me the sheet.
"Read it once you've left my premises, burn it once you read it and tell no one about it.” she said in hushed whispers.
I took the note, pocketed it and left. Once I got home, I locked myself in my room, drew the blinds and read the note.
It said
"Visit the Bodymakers in Cupertino and register your complaint against your malfunctioning body.
PS: insist that you're under 30 and still under the guarantee period.
Their address is _________ street, Cupertino."
I read the note several times. Bodies were made in Cupertino? Like IPhones? Or did the doc have a whacky sense of humour?
I flew to California the next day and registered with the Bodymakers at Cupertino. I had to wait for 6 days before I got an appointment.
At the reception a cute blonde girl said to me
"You're lucky you had to wait for only 6 days! People wait for over 2000 years"
"Really?" I said in awe "who has been waiting for 2000 years?"
"Jesus" she said "he's here to claim his body but it's under dispute, so he waits"
I wasn't sure if I had gone mad or if this was an idea of a joke.
"Wait in the lobby" she said handing over a token to me.
I waited patiently and spent my time skimming through reading material.
The first magazine spoke about the latest kind of bodies.
"These bodies don't heat up despite being provoked for several hours. Their batteries last longer too, so they can function without sleep for 36 hours. That is a grave inconvenience for the parents of children who have these latest features. But in the long run, parents will grow to appreciate that their kids are tireless" said the CEO in his latest conference.
When asked about mass manufacturing bodies in China, the CEO said,
"It is true, China violated the contract. They manufactured scores of unlicensed Chinese bodies and several duplicates. But their deceit turned against them, their population exploded because of this mass production. The same thing is happening in India".
I shut the magazine. My name was called out just then and I was walked into a huge room.
The room had mirrors on all sides and a young man stood in the center. He wore a white waistcoat like the ones the doctors had.
He greeted me warmly and shook my hand. "Call me Steve" he said
He had a file in his hand and I recognised my handwriting on the topmost page. So he probably had my registered complaint with him.
"You're under guarantee" said Steve
"Yeah I guess, what's the age limit?" I asked curiously
"Depends on where you've been manufactured" he said
"Your body was made here, in Cupertino, so your guarantee is up to 40 years. Those that are manufactured in China, India and Taiwan are guaranteed only up to 25 years"
"But I am Indian" I said
"Ethnicity has nothing to do with your manufacturing unit! It is more about luck. Wherever the order gets placed, that’s where you get made. When you were conceived, the order was placed here so the body was made here and delivered within nine months to India" he said
I was dumbfounded! "What about premature babies?" I asked
"Their orders are through amazon prime" he said offhandedly
"Anyway returning to the problem at hand! You've written here, quite dramatically, that your body has failed you" he said
"Yes! I'm 29 and I have diabetes! My soul is young and sprightly! But my body has failed me! Or let's just say, the body you manufactured has failed me".
Steve surveyed me for a while without comment. He then extracted a huge file and pored over it while I waited. He said "well, you've lived for 29 years and we cannot offer to refurbish you. The only offer we can make is a replacement! We can offer a new, better functioning body".
I leaped up at the prospect! "Of course! I'll take it" I said expecting them to give me a body exactly like my own albeit with better features.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes" I said
"Well you will have to pick a model" he said and pressed an almost invisible button on the mirror.
The mirror leaped to life and lowered to reveal a hollow in the wall, a platform dropped down from the hollow. The platform was a conveyor belt and it began to roll. Slowly a body emerged from the hollow and the conveyor belt stopped as the body came into full view.
It was the body of a tiny man. The man was about 2 feet shorter than me and he was extremely skinny. It would take me a year to bring him to my present weight, but he'd never be my height.
"I'm six feet two inches" I protested "why would I settle to being 4 feet?"
"But this body doesn't have diabetes nor any heart disorders! The body has fully functional lungs too and an eidetic memory" said Steve
"No" I said with finality.
The conveyor belt rolled back and emerged later with a different body.
It was a young man, very beefy and tall, but he was bald.
"This body functions well, but it has a twitch we haven't been able to fix" said Steve
"I don't mind being bald but I don't want a twitch" said I
The belt rolled back and another body came into view. Again the body was tall and similar to my body frame.
"I like this one" I said
"This was has several allergic reactions to everything ranging from milk products to sauces and meats".
"Can he eat cake?" I asked
"No" said Steve "he reacts to butter"
"Next please"
The body was taken away and a new one emerged. A handsome young body came into view. The body was well toned and chiseled.
"I'll take this one" I said without thinking.
"This isn't entirely a man" said Steve "he's a bit of both"
"Umm no" I said
The next body rolled into view. The body was perfect. It matched my height, my width and the thickness of my hair.
"I like this one" I said “It is perfect”
"This body is blind though" said Steve
“Can you fix the vision?” I asked
“This specific body is not under guarantee. It will cost a fortune to restore its eye sight. Are you willing to pay?”
"Next" I said quickly
The next body emerged. A middle aged body, with white hair and an extremely wide nose.
"I could settle for this" I said waiting for Steve to dash my hopes
"This one is paralysed waist down" said Steve
"Next" I said
"That's all we have" said Steve
"What? How can you have such few models?"
"The rest are taken or dismantled for research" he said
"But only six bodies?" I asked in disbelief .
"We are bound by contract to give you an Indian body so that limits your choices" said Steve
"I don't mind a foreign body" I said
"We have a couple of American bodies and African bodies but you'll have you file a request and wait at least 20 years before you get it and I can't guarantee that you'll get it despite the long wait" said Steve.
“Michael Jackson had chosen a Caucasian body but it had several issues, it took him years to get it and it cost him quite a bit”.
"I think I'll stick to the one I have" I said finally
Steve shut his file and smiled
"Im curious though! Whose bodies were these?" I asked
"The ones I just showed you?" asked Steve
"Yes"
"These are suicide cases" he said
"I beg your pardon?"
"Suicide is an act of severing the contract of body with soul. So the body returns to its manufacturing unit and the soul is set free" he said
“What happens after a body dies?” I asked
“It gets buried or cremated or whatever, we don’t take it back, unless the person chooses to donate his parts”.
"Is that all?" He asked
I nodded and got up to leave. Steve walked me out and joined me to the main entrance.
As we made our way, I saw a few people with burnt and disfigured faces.
"Acid attack and burn victims" said Steve
"Have they come for a replacement?" I asked
"Oh no, they just come for regular bug fixes and upgrading. They don't fight the body they are in! It's quite inspiring to talk with them" said Steve
I hung my head in shame. Having being denied the right to eat sweets had driven me to replace my body. Was it my body that had failed me? Or had I failed my body. After all, being ungrateful for my several blessings was a failure to acknowledge the gifts I had.
As I exited the Bodymakers headquarters, the cute girl at the reception handed me a juicy red apple.
"What's this for?" I asked curiously
"Oh we give this to everyone who comes here!" She said
"Why?" I asked
She shrugged and walked away. I turned to Steve who said "When you came here you sought something. You're returning without it. But we know your visit hasn't been entirely fruitless. Today you return with new found wisdom. The apple symbolises the object you sought but couldn't obtain and the wisdom you take instead. Have a good day".
He shook my hand and walked away as I stood watching him disappear into the depths of the Cupertino office. An apple had taught Adam and Eve about the detriments of greed. An apple taught Issac Newton the laws of gravity. An apple had taught me gratitude.
I took a bite of the apple and decided to return home.
Brilliant as always!!
ReplyDeleteThank you
DeleteThis was amazing...So creative and such a fresh concept... Brilliant Neha !
ReplyDeleteThank you Sushma :)
DeleteSimply amazing! Loved it!
ReplyDeleteThanks Mihir :)
DeleteThis was such a lovely read! So different! Keep up the good work
ReplyDeleteThank you Lisa :) so glad you liked it
DeleteIt was amazing Neha.!!
ReplyDeleteWell done!