The Eclipse

By John Battish

A rich blend of stories and poems can be found within the pages of this compilation. These stories are dramatic and comedic in nature. Tales such as the The Chai Pot allow the customs of the West to confront traditions of the East when a European physician brings modern medicine to a village in India. The reader will then be entertained by other exciting tales. Two poor children dream of escaping to a rich land in Yaguine and Fode. However, their journey is fraught with danger. In The Family Nest, a young man is about to leave for college. But, he soon finds out in a humorous way that it is not easy to leave home. In Woman,You Are Mine!, a man tries to find the ultimate love in his life but instead finds something completely different. In the story The Eclipse, a family deals with the loss of a loved one in the September 11, 2001 tragedy. Finally, the poem The Soul Tree takes us to a place between night and day. It is a place that shows us the ultimate theme that binds the stories within this book. It is a theme of humanity and the value of life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 21, 2003
• ISBN: 9781465323866

John Battish

John Battish is a dedicated clinical research scientist at the University of Pennsylvania. He has worked in the fields of gene therapy, bioinformatics, cardiology, and orthopaedics. Prior to working in the field of medicine, John attained a bachelor’s degree of arts while studying literature. He has also traveled extensively around the world. Using his vast knowledge, John hopes to entertain readers with various exciting stories.

Book preview

THE CHAI POT

In the late 19th century, a small village in northern India encountered an epidemic it had never seen before. Slowly, the villagers were becoming increasingly ill and the local doctor or medicine man could not find a cure. The village was typical for its time. The inhabitants would get up early in the hot mornings and head out to the rice fields. They would spend most of the day farming for meager wages and had little time for leisure. Thus, the time the villagers had for recreation was the most revered. However, the chores could no longer be done as most of the inhabitants were falling severely ill. It looked as if there was no hope in sight. With most of the inhabitants bedridden, the village was looking like a ghost town.

One day as a few children were playing marbles in the village streets, the wind started to pick up. Thunder could be heard in the distance. The wives of the village stopped making dinner and hurried to close the shutters of their small village homes. A dust storm was beginning to rise and the villagers were becoming nervous. As dust swirled at the entrance to the village, a brave boy stayed outside his home and peered into the distance. To his amazement, a man clad in a white coat appeared carrying a bag. The man had European features and smiled at the little boy as he walked by. The village was now in safe hands because Dr. Charles Gregory had just arrived.

Dr. Charles Gregory had graduated magnum cum laude from Oxford University and had won the highly prized Pilfer award. He was an emeritus professor of epidemiology at Oxford and also headed the anatomy department. He cooked the best zuccini spaghetti while being an excellent lover to many women . . . and men. A new fad was growing in medicine and Dr. Gregory wanted to be one of the pioneers in the field. The new field was called Public Health. Dr. Gregory decided to gain fame by traveling to a foreign country and using public health wherever he thought was needed. He heard about the growing epidemic in this village and wanted to investigate. The first thing the doctor was going to do was visit the village hospital. Since the village had no hospital, the next thing he decided to do was go see the local doctor. Since the village had no real doctor, Dr. Gregory decided to visit the village shaman or medicine man.

The village shaman was known as Dr. Vinzihannigur upatelladiakubar Singhibhattuttuttuttuhati. Dr. Gregory just called him by the short name of Dr. Singh. Dr. Gregory asked Dr. Singh, What was your initial prognosis to this dilemma? Did you come up with a diagnosis and come up with any treatments? Dr. Singh then said, My initial prognosis was a viral pathogen emanating from an unknown source in the village. I surmised that it was not airborn due to the fact healthy villagers did not readily contract the disease when in close proximity of sick patients. Thus, my diagnosis was that the Goddess Kali Ma of Death had come down from the heavens to eradicate the village with pestilence. My treatments have included prayers during sunrise to Lord Vishnu of Creation, severe acts of yoga during noon to appease Lord Brahma of Intelligence, and finally animal sacrifice to Lord Shiva of Destruction as the sun sets in the West. I am baffled that my treatment has not worked so far. Dr. Gregory replied in a sarcastic and mocking tone, Really. Geez, your prayers to Lord Shiva did not work? Who would of thought? I was almost certain your prayers to Lord Shiva would have worked. Let’s just try it my way from now on.

Dr. Gregory soon rounded up the villagers and started to perform medical examinations on them. One young man named Raju did not particularly like Dr. Gregory. It just so happened that Doctor Gregory was performing an examination on Raju’s father when Dr. Gregory exclaimed, This man has severe cephalalgia!!! Upon hearing this, Raju started to run to his father. However, the villagers stopped Raju from entering the clearing in which Dr. Gregory was performing the examination. Raju yelled, Let go of me! Can’t you see that my father is going to die!! Dr. Gregory’s ears perked when he heard this. Dr. Gregory then said to Raju, Don’t worry son. I am just saying that your father has a simple headache. Raju grew livid when he heard this and said, Damn you Dr. Gregory and your fancy terminology! May Lord Shiva strike you down now with lightening! Dr. Gregory then said sarcastically, Oh, I am so afraid of your master of Destruction. I think I am ready to be ‘cleansed’ by your great god. May he strike me down now. The villagers waited but nothing happened.

Dr. Gregory then collected statistical data on all the sick patients. He mapped the position of each sick villager. To his surprise, most of the sick patients lived at the center of the village. The number of sick patients decreased as the outskirts of the village were reached. It just so happened that there had been a long tradition that took place in the center of the village. Chai was being made in a communal pot in the center village square and most of the villagers would drink from the pot at the end of the working day. Chai is tea made with milk and sugar. Various Indian spices could be added to the tea to create a delicious flavor. Other items could be added to the tea if it enhanced the taste. Villagers use the chai pot as a mean to socialize with each other. However using statistics, Dr. Gregory made the diagnosis that something in the tea or the pot was starting to make the villagers ill. Dr. Gregory told Dr. Singh, We will have to stop the use of the chai pot. It is causing the illness in the village. Dr. Singh replied, You cannot stop the use of the chai pot! It is a long standing tradition and it would cause the great ire of Lord Shiva if the tradition is stopped. Dr. Gregory then said, Great, there goes that name again. Look, I will have this village shut down by the authorities if I do not have my way!

Dr. Gregory had a village meeting that same day despite Dr. Singh’s protest. Dr. Singh said that Dr. Gregory should not provoke the people of the village. However, Dr. Gregory was confident he was going to have his way or else he would get the authorities. He could then gain fame in public health once the village was saved. Midway through his speech, the villagers were becoming angry. A young boy wanted to hear the rest of Dr. Gregory’s speech but his mother sent him back home. The boy was told by his mother that he was too young to see what was going to happen next. The young boy was far away but was still able to hear some things. He heard the village imploring Dr. Gregory to allow them to continue using the chai pot. He then heard Dr. Gregory threatening to bring in the authorities. Suddenly, a mob like noise was heard and then the screams of Dr. Gregory. The young boy decided he better get home before his mother found out he was still hanging around.

Two days later, the villagers were still drinking from the chai pot. Dr. Gregory was nowhere to be found. The villagers were in a jovial mood even though most of them were ill. Raju was drinking his cup of tea when he came upon Dr. Singh. Raju who was now constantly coughing said to Dr. Singh, This . . . (cough) . . . cup of tea is very . . . (cough) . . . tasty! Dr. Singh who was ill himself replied, Of course, the chai is (cough) very tasty now that we added some English flavor to it! They both started to laugh as they looked at Dr. Gregory’s white coat. The ownerless white coat was now being draped on the floor in front of the chai pot. This prevented any tea in the chai pot from spilling and hitting the ground. Raju then looked at his tea and said, Look! I seem to have won a prize. There is a ring floating in my tea. Let us see what it says . . . hmmm . . . Magnum Cum Laude, Oxford . . . I wonder what that means???

THE STRAY CAT

One morning, Christine decides to go for a jog. It is a sunny day with only a few clouds in the sky. Christine tries to follow her usual route but somehow must have taken a wrong turn. She decides that this is the case because she suddenly finds herself in a cemetery. All of a sudden it is dark and lightening starts to flash. Christine is scared for awhile but she soon hears the sound of purring from across the cemetery. What is that!? she exclaims as she crosses the cemetery. A cute black cat suddenly comes out from behind a tombstone. The cat is all wet and seems to make a sneezing sound. Aaah . . . you are so beautiful! Christine says. She then decides to take the cat back with her to her apartment.

Christine lives in an apartment with five other roommates. Their names are James, Jill, Todd, Jill, and James. They are all in the kitchen cooking spaghetti when Christine kicks the door open with the black cat in her arms. Whose cat is that? exclaims Jill. Back off bitch! Christine yells and then makes a mean stare at Jill. Upon receiving this mean stare, Jill says, Why are you staring at me? It is the other Jill that just asked you the question? Christine starts to apologize when she realizes she stared at the wrong Jill. Christine says, I am sorry. I just found this cute black cat and I think there is room enough in the apartment for one pet. Jill quickly replies, What about my kitten? We just brought her in yesterday?

The roommates then look at Jill’s kitten who is lying on the floor. Christine then quickly snaps back, Not anymore . . . slut! Upon seeing the anger that Christine is displaying, the roommates decide to replace the kitten with the new cat. However, the roommates could not help but shudder seeing the black cat ominously look down upon them from the top of the doorway. On that same night, James is suddenly butchered and killed. The roommates find his body on his bed in his room. This sucks, says Todd upon seeing the body, Christine, why is your cat lying on top of James body and why is its eyes glowing red? Christine explains to her roommates that the cat must have pinkeye. The roommates accept this explanation despite the clawmarks all over dead James body.

Later that week, Jill and Todd are killed while they are having sex. (Like any horror movie, the two young couples have to be butchered while having sudden gratuitous sex. The American public demands so.) The bodies again have clawmarks all over them. The police begin their investigations into the murders. Like all police work, the case is buried under tons of paperwork so the case will not be solved for many years to come. Oddly enough, the police allow Christine along with the remaining Jill and James to continue living in the apartment.

Due to the sudden free space available in the apartment, Christine invites a friend over. Tanya, a drag queen who is the friend of Christine, is having tea while Christine is drinking a huge bottle of Olde English. Thanks for inviting me over, says Tanya, Not many people invite me over. I admire what you are wearing, girlfriend. Christine thanks Tanya for admiring the sweats she is wearing. Tanya then continues, I was shopping for some fine clothes down at 30th and Spruce . . . good heavens! Is your cat supposed to be floating in the air like that?! Christine’s black cat is soon hovering over Christine and Tanya. It states, GET OUT OR DIE!

The cat suddenly coughs out a furball, falls back to the ground, and then scurries out of the room. Tanya almost faints but soon recovers herself. Tanya then says, Dear god. I almost got a case of the vapors when I heard that voice. Is your cat supposed to do that?! Christine explains to Tanya that the furball probably caused the cat to make such actions. Tanya then picks up the furball and states, This furball is made of human hair! Christine tells Tanya that she is probably imagining things.

Soon thereafter, the other James suddenly disappears. His clothes and belongings are still in his room. Jill frantically tries to get Christine’s attention. Jill tells Christine that the cat is the spawn of the devil. Christine dismisses Jill’s accusation and tells Jill that she is being a jealous roommate. Jill picks up the cat and states, Look Christine. When I part the fur in this area of the skin, you will see the marks of 666! Christine looks at the marks and then says, You are being silly because you are reading it upside down. That is a 999. Jill continues to get frustrated. Jill then says, I have evidence that I can show you right now. I have articles, pictures, and a tape recording of the cat stating that it is the spawn of the devil. Christine then exclaims, Okay! I will listen to what you have to say but first I have to go buy milk for my cat. Jill looks confusingly at Christine and states, What!! Okay. Go out and buy milk for your precious cat. Just make sure you come back soon. I do not want to stay alone with this cat for too long.

Christine starts to go buy milk for her