Quenched
Short Story # 2
I wrote this story in 2021. Hope you enjoy reading it.
“In God’s home, there is delay but no denial.”
Vivek read on a placard lying beside the beggar as he removed his slippers to enter the temple.
In Vivek’s life, there had not just been delay and denial in God’s home but also deceit. He was on a quest. A quest like no other. A common pursuit, yet uncommon in the modern, contemporary world he inhabited.
He had not lost his kids—he didn’t have any.
He had not lost his wife—he was single.
He had not lost his parents—they were healthy and living happily in their hometown in Gwalior.
Why did he take upon a quest, then? There is always a reason behind these things. Even Gautama Buddha didn’t leave behind his palace for nothing.
For Vivek, there were no triggers. It was gradual. No epiphanies, no catastrophic events, no tragedy. To be fair, his quest was not of a spiritual nature either. He had studied enough evolutionary biology to dismiss any grand notions of existence or purpose.
“Guess what? There is no purpose!” he writes in all caps when asked for advice in friendly chats or university forums.
No, he isn’t a professor either. He uses his roommate’s university account to hack into ongoing conversations and discussions.
Vivek is a blogger who chronicles his failures in proving the existence of God. His quest is an antidote to a quest. While people from all walks of life embark on the journey to find God, Vivek is on a journey to prove otherwise. In his blog, he documents his victories in failing to find God.
The hate he receives from religious fanatics is balanced by the support of intellectuals, researchers, and curious minds from around the world—for whom India is the mystic land. They believe that if Vivek can’t find God in India, he surely can’t find him anywhere.
He wishes to speak to God—or Bhagwan, Allah, Jesus, Waheguru, Buddha, Mahavira—whoever he comes across first. He exclaims that he will be proved wrong if he manages to even hear a sigh from God.
He enters the temple and finds the head priest.
“Sir… Sorry, Pandit Ji, where can I find Bhagwan?”
“Come, my son, the temple is inside. Do you want to collect some prasad for Bhagwan?”
“Wow, so are they here? Is this the place?”
“What do you mean? Have you come to the market? In a temple, what else will you find?”
“Last time I visited, I only found colorful sculptures that my mom has at home as well.”
As expected, he was thrown out of the temple. He smiled—another entry for his blog.
It worked in his favor to be thrown out of temples, mosques, churches, monasteries, and gurudwaras.
In the Gurudwaras, he usually had the langar before he went on to ask his set of questions to the head priest.
For the past six months, he had been traveling around the country.
He went to temples to find Bhagwan.
He went to Gurudwaras to find Guru Nanak.
He went to churches to find Jesus.
He went to mosques to find Allah.
After almost 200 posts and the content for another 50 ready, he decided to come back home to plan for the next few months ahead.
His flight landed in Bombay. His roommate couldn’t come to pick him up. He decided to walk to the rickshaw stand. Just next to the stand, he saw a sugarcane juice shop from which many rickshaw drivers were drinking sugarcane juice. After all, it was the hot month of May.
“Sir, how much for the tall glass?”
“Sir, for you, 20 rupees only,” said the juice seller with a naïve smile.
“Okay. Here you go. Don’t put sugar, ice, or salt.” Vivek handed him a 50-rupee note.
“Okay, sir.”
Vivek’s glass of fresh juice was prepared before he could even type out his message to Arvind, his roommate, about his whereabouts.
The juice tasted like sweet nectar—just the right amount of fresh and sweet. His face reflected the smile that the juice seller had on his face.
“Looks like you liked the juice, sir. Here is your change.”
“Yes, it is indeed very refreshing. Keep the change. Here, please have this.”
Vivek handed over another 50-rupee note and asked for another glass of juice.
The sugarcane juice seller had the most innocent and vibrant smile on his face. It was hard for Vivek not to reflect the same emotion. He smiled back and kept his phone in his pocket. He took out his camera to capture the sugarcane juice seller’s shop. He already had the sweetest choice of words in mind that he would use to write about his experience.
Vivek took two steps back to fit the shop’s name within the frame.
The banner read:
Bhagwan Sugarcane Juice
Vivek lowered his camera while staring at the banner.
He walked toward the counter and jokingly asked, “Are you looking for Bhagwan as well?”
The juice seller laughed as he presented the second glass of sugarcane juice to Vivek and said, “Sir, that’s my name. My mother named me Bhagwan.”
Vivek reached out to take the glass, his pupils dilated and a single tear collected in his eye. He looked down, almost hiding his eyes from Bhagwan, and took the first sip of the juice.
“The sweetest defeat anyone has ever tasted in the history of mankind.” read the title of Vivek’s final blog.
I invite you to reflect and write on the following prompt:
Write about a moment when you set out to prove something but were
proven wrong in the most unexpected way. How did it change you?"
As a feature of all my newsletters, I share one song, one book, one plant-based meal, one film/video that inspired me, and some photographic updates from my life.
Song: Always cheering for my boy, Abdul Hannan!
Book/Newsletter: I am reading this fascinating book. Will share about it once I am through.
Meal: Had this beautiful meal last week at Deer Park Institute.
Film/Video: “You may suppress people, but can you suppress a smile?”
Photographs: Few photographs I shot last week :)
Read my other newsletters :
The story of moving to the mountains
Compilation of all recommendations :
Video recommendations by Creative Writing Laboratory
Music recommendations by Creative Writing Laboratory
Books read by Creative Writing LaboratoryFree Journaling eBook:
Last year, I compiled a journaling ebook for myself for times when I feel I have nothing to write. I am offering it to you for free. Whether you’re starting your journaling journey or feeling stuck in a creative block, this guide will help you find your way.
Download your journaling eBook here.
Thank you for reading my work
Rishabh Khaneja
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