The trail of petals

‘Nestled among the flowers,
Away from prying eyes.
The lover's re-unite,
To mourn their love's demise.'

It was right here that they had met. Right among the flowers, surrounded by colours of the rainbow, they had first seen each other. It was one of those moments, which engraves itself upon a person's memory, instantly and for all of eternity.

Andrea had come to witness the beauty of the patch whereas Pierre came to pick some flowers, in an attempt to perhaps impress some of his lady friends. 'Hey, you shouldn't be picking them.' Andrea had reprimanded. 'How else would I give them to you?' Pierre asked, innocently, a hint of mischief present in his coal-black eyes. Andrea blushed and looked at the boy, irresponsibility and callousness etched across his face. She would have left, but something had held her back, returning his gaze, coolly. Pierre looked at her and though he too had places to go, something about her had intrigued him. 'So what brings you here? I'm sure a pretty flower like yourself deserves a much better garden.' Pierre said with a smile. 'Yes, but the last garden attracted too much garbage, like yourself.' Andrea replied, without hesitation. Pierre looked amused and her disregard for his presence, which he felt greatly attracted eyes, spurred him on even more. They began talking, with him laying off any attempt to compliment her further. And they talked for hours, settling in amidst the flowers. This isn't how great love stories began, but then again, no one though it would end as great love stories do…

Andrea's friends reminded her that the two of them were completely different. There was nothing common and that it was just an infatuation. It would pass away and pursuing it would mean broken hearts. Yet there was something there and curiosity led the meeting culminating into many more days of secret rendezvous then weeks and then finally months. 'I can't say anything about the future. But I can say that without you, I don't really see one.' Pierre mentioned once to Andrea. She smiled and they basked in their love, yet both knew that perhaps it just wasn't meant to last. But humans had a natural ability to err and this intuition was perhaps wrong as well. Whatever the case was, it was still them against their own world.

Andrea was a simple girl. Fun-loving, loyal and ambitious. Pierre wasn't simple, his ambitions were unrealistic and his dedication was questionable. Yet Pierre had promised changes to come, yet they weren't very evident. Andrea tried to help, getting accustomed to a few things and accepting things she might not had accepted before. Yet, a strain was developing in their relationship, from forces beyond their control and sources too close to them. The future was seemingly getting darker and Andrea's wish for a future with Pierre was hard to visualize due to the latter's negligence and lack of confidence in the coming tomorrow. It was time to talk Andrea had said and she asked Pierre to meet her, in the place where love had found them, in the grassy patch, nestled among the flowers.

'I'm sorry. Yes, I love you. Yes, I care for you but its too hard for me. We are both growing up and its time to think about the future.' Andrea began, as they met and held hands. 'You can't give me that future and I can't force you to. Pierre, I don't know anymore what tomorrow holds. But I would like to.' She continued. Pierre was silent, caressing her hands gently and then he looked at her brown eyes, the sun light glistening off it, making it look ever beautiful. She blinked and he sat motionless, apparently mesmerized by her beauty. 'You are beautiful.' He said, simply. 'Can't you be serious? I am not sure about our future anymore.' Andrea said, exasperated. 'We have to break up.' She concluded, finality in her tone. Pierre looked at her and smiled and then almost suddenly erased her smile. 'I can promise you a future. I can't guarantee it. I can promise you eternal love. But will you be here to feel it? I can promise you a lifetime of happiness with me. But I can't say how long a lifetime is.' Pierre said slowly and deliberately, measuring every word. She stared at him, not understanding. 'What?' She finally managed to ask. Pierre held up his hand in front of her. 'I promise to love you and life for you and keep you happy. But, I can't promise to tell you exactly what tomorrow has in store for us. If you have faith in our love, hold my hand and let me take you away, to the world we build.' Pierre said, looking deep into her eyes, giving everything he had. Andrea thought and then stood up, smiling ruefully.

In those few minutes, their life together would be ending. Every spoken word, expressed action and pure though would account for nothing. Their love's demise would come, in the place of its birth. But before the dust had settled, Andrea held Pierre's hand, all of sudden and whispered.' I love you. And if we are meant to be, we will be. Maybe not now, but surely in the future.' Saying that she left and Pierre smiled brightly, knowing that their love had triumphed and though they would hold hands now, he would wait for the day that they would and he would wait until the time is right. Maybe when I'm 21, Pierre thought to himself. Maybe when I am 21, Andrea echoed his thoughts, unknowingly. Love hadn't ended, it was just put to the test…the test of time. And away she walked, leaving behind a trail of petals.

By Osama Rahman

Book review

Exile's Honor

IT's interesting to note that even months after the release of it seventh and final book, JK Rowling's Harry Potter series continues to be the subject of speculation and controversy. The latest in the string of heated debates is around Child Laureate Michael Rosen's alleged remarks that the series was "boring" and "inappropriate for children", according to an article in the Scottish Sunday Times. Rosen himself later refuted these supposed quotes in a rejoinder printed in The Guardian. While maintaining that he is not a Potter fan, and that the moral ambiguity of some of the characters makes it a challenging read for children, he made it clear that he did not grudge the series or its author their phenomenal success.

Rosen states, "I have made the argument ad nauseam that there must be something intrinsically special (i.e. independent of the extrinsic hype) that has made them so 'hooky' for children and indeed some adults. I've speculated that this was in part that HP himself is a messianic trope."
Drama, intrigue, romance and humour, work with multi-faceted characters to produce the winning combination that have made the HP series so popular. Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series has the same ingredients and more, since because she is not trying to write for a young audience, she doesn't have to "hold back".

Exile's Honor is one of the more recent books in the series, written shortly after 9/11 and dedicated to the NYFD officers who died in service during that time. In the Valdemar Chronology, it fits in during the final years of King Sendar, right after the Tarma/Kethry adventures.

Here, a brief introduction to the series itself would be appropriate for the sake of the uninitiated. The series is based on the events occuring in, and around the mythical kingdom of Valdemar. Founded by Baron Valdemar, it is ruled by Heralds, who are morally upright Valdemarans with special psychic powers, Chosen into their vocations by Companions, which are horse-like creatures with human intelligence and telepathic powers. In order to make the universe of Valdemar and its neighbours complete, the author has chosen to write the different sets of her novels (they occur as separate duologies, trilogies, and stand-alone novels linked with a common theme) from different perspectives, basing some in Valdemar itself, and others in neighbouring kingdoms like Hardorn, Rethwellan, Menmellith, and Karse.

Exile's Honor begins in Karse, a kingdom ruled by the fanatical Sunpriests of the Order of Sunlord Vkandis. This kingdom, if the other books in the series are to be believed, has been at war with every other kingdom since the very beginning. The protagonist of this story, Alberich, is a Captain of the Sunguard, the Karsite army. He nurses a secret; the mysterious ability to foresee events that will happen. It is this gift that has helped him rise quickly to his position, and this very gift that means death if the Sunpriests catch on to his 'witchery'.

A trap is set for the young soldier, one that his erratic gift isn't able to anticipate, and he is caught by the Sunpriests and condemned to death by burning. As luck would have it, his "horse", recently acquired as "spoils" from a skirmish with bandits, is actually a Companion in disguise, and this creature carries his Chosen over to Valdemar.

Alberich wakes up in the very witch-kingdom he has been brought up to fear and hate, an exile from his own homeland. To his extreme discomfiture, the 'Demonriders' (Heralds) of his local lore are not at all what they have been purported to be, and Alberich, now a Herald himself, is forced to revise all his existing beliefs.

If reshaping the beliefs owned through most of his life isn't hard enough, even while adjusting to an alien land, Alberich soon finds his skills, loyalty and honour put to the ultimate challenge, when Valdemar goes to war against Karse. Who will the warrior side with? You have to read the book to find out.

The Valdemar series has always been an entertaining read, with Lackey's keen characterisation and intricate plots. Exile's Honor is no different; in fact, with a blow-by-blow account of an actual war, it is more exciting than many of the preceding books in the series. Don't forget to check out this column next week for the review of the book's stunning sequel, Exile's Valour.

By Sabrina F Ahmad
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The bovine solution

IF you have been living in Bangladesh(or any part of the world for that matter) you've probably had your wallet mangled by the annoyingly high inflation rate that has been strangling our daily lives. Everywhere you go, everything costs almost twice as much as they used to a year back (or even a week back, if you like fast food joints).

What is the reason for this uncontrollable rise in prices? Human beings of course. There wouldn't be any problems anywhere if the population didn't keep spiking. This, in turn, leads to the annoyingly large shortage of food. People are starving in one country, and dieting in another. If I didn't have good old television to tell me otherwise, I'd say that the whole world has gone completely bonkers. No matter what object you are purchasing, the announcement of the wallet-chomping price of the object is quickly followed by a gut-wrenching smug grin on the part of the shopkeeper, and the quaint little phrase 'chal er dam ja barse'. It hits me on the face everytime, no matter how prepared I am.

What do they think WE do? Smoke monkey bones for lunch (we probably would've done that if it were a cheaper option)? We don't have our own supply of rice either. The economy has hit all three sides of the coin equally hard. The rich, the poor, and the 'well off'. The poor cannot afford basic necessities, the rich have to blow all their money on gas/petrol, and the 'well off' aren't that 'well off' anymore because they are being ripped from both sides by the rich and the poor. The rich people do not increase salaries, and the poor people attach price tags to goods, tags which would make the Grim Reaper's scythe cower in fear. From my personal viewpoint, invention of economics was the worst thing to happen to the world. We'd probably have way better off had we stuck to bartering cows. In fact, the idea seemed so appealing to me, I had gone as far as to list pros and cons for it, and the results look promising:

Pros:
1) Cows would equal cash. So you wouldn't have to worry about getting mugged.

2) Pickpockets would be out of business(unless visiting cards were to be considered as collectables)

3) Cows, apart from being money would give milk, leather, fancy bottles (skilled people can make those out of horns), and meat. (that's a solution to the world's food problem right there)

4) If you are short on 'cash', just put a male cash and female cash together and watch the money roll in with huge dollar signs in your eyes.

5) People wouldn't need any pets

6) Qurbani Eids would be a blast.

7) People probably wouldn't need lawnmowers.

Cons:
1) The poop-load would possibly be overwhelming.

2) Grass would have been a bit more expensive

3) Western Union would charge a fortune for moving a VERY small fortune.

The pros out-perform the cons of course. My enthusiasm about the idea is not entirely baseless. I doubt anybody will be able to put this into effect though. And we can forget about keeping our fingers crossed about this one. If people kept their fingers crossed for the last big and popular project we undertook (the election), we'd have an epidemic for finger deformities.

By Naveed Choudhury