The Economics of Eloping- (part 3) conclusion

the penny has finally dropped, so to speak..too bad they don't even have pennies on them right now, those two :D..i didn't wanna make the ending too dreary, so well...i'm convinced this should be a short movie, btw :P..

'Hmmm. So let's get this out now. Do you think this was a mistake too?' Ryan asked in a flat voice. It was the next morning, they were sitting on one of the many boulders.

'Maybe Ryan...it certainly isn't what we expected it to be. Right?'

'Yeah I guess. So what to do now?'

'I don't know. We're out of money, hungry, with no shelter to speak of. I'm tired of fighting with you dear, but I've come to realize that we can't just live with each other and nothing else. We need those comforts. This kind of thing happens only in movies, and it shouldn't even happen there...'

Ryan chuckled and nodded his head. 'We've got to admit that both of us were really stupid to think this up, and not thinking it through. But there could be one last thing to try, it just might work'

'What??'

'I'll be back love. By evening. I'll tell you then, where I went.' He just smiled and ran his now rough hand over her face, in response to her expression of consternation.

He made his way to the town of Ramnagara proper. He scourged its meager streets for the bank, that bank. There had to be a branch. Ah! There it was. Some luck finally. It was the bank his dad had an account in. He went in and waited to meet with the manager.

'Hello sir. I actually have a request to make of you. Its actually a problem. My father has an account in this bank and I'm here on a trip with my friends and I've run out of money. Is there any way I could withdraw money? I could provide you with verification details..'

'I'm sorry son, but we can't do that. Its against procedure.'

'Please sir! I know the account number, his name and personal details. Couldn't that be enough??' Ryan pleaded.

Thus it went on for another five minutes. The manager eventually relented and allowed the withdrawal. That was when Ryan made the second stupid mistake.

'Don't tell him I took the money' he said as he smiled and winked, making it look like he actually was just having a little extra fun with friends and nothing else. Soon as he left the room, the manager patched a call through to the number provided in the form. Ryan's father's number...

The brief respite that the money provided was wonderful. They went into the city a few times. They had their first full meal in some days, and now could actually think of going to another city and start something. They had started to search for places, to move camp. However, two days later, as they were busy breaking down their hut, a small local boy arrived with a box of fresh apples.

'Excuse me sir, there's a man standing on the main road that told me to give it to you. There's a note inside too...' Saying so, he ran away, his task completed. Ryan picked up the box, perplexed as to what it said. Lynn stood beside him, trying to read.

'Son, this is your father. Stop this stupid little production of yours and come back home, your mother's worrying her kidneys out. I know the whole story now. The bank manager called me, I spoke to some of your friends, and for the last few days, I've been looking out for you, and I finally found you. Whatever thing you have with that girl, we can work it out, you didn't have to do something as thoughtless as this. My problems are with her father, not with her. I don't know how could subject her to hardship if you love her. Now stop this nonsense, and come to the road with her. There's a car here waiting to take the two of you home.'

They looked at each other, and some mute voice told the two of them that although it would mean they were giving up, the wiser counsel would be to just go. And silently, defeated, they made their way to the road, eyes lowered, not wanting to meet those of Ryan's dad.

He was there, right beside the road, looking at them, but not saying anything. When Ryan came close, he hit him lightly on the head and said,

'Einstein. Even if you had to run away, you could do a better job of it. One ATM card, a few clothes, and another individual to take care of? When did you come up with this half-witted plan? I never pegged you as a nobel prize winner, but this is plain stupid. You, girl, I don't know what you see in my son, but if you've decided to be with him, I won't play the villain. I'll talk to your dad, I'm sure there's a way.'

The two of them looked at him like two mutes, amazed at how easily he'd settled the issue. All the complications were the ones they had created. As if he'd read their mind, Ryan's dad said,

'That's right. You could've just asked us first! But no! Anyways, enough of this. Get in now!' he said, with something that could almost me called a smile, on his face.

They got in, thinking where their story would take them now. They were anyways richer by experience, and a hell of one at that.

So did they have a happy ending? How does it matter? This story's all about celebrating their stupidity!!...

The Economics of Eloping- (part 2) the truth

So when we last heard, Ryan and Lynn had managed to escape their parents' 'clutches' and start their own new life. All straight out of a dream. Well, now's the time for a dosage of reality :D...for all of their stupidity to parade itself, and to realize how wrong popular culture is. God, i love this part :P...the pulp of the story...

They spent the night in a cheap motel, but they were together in the same room, overnight! They spent the intimate night cozying up to each other and slept in each other's embrace. The next morning, they decided to catch a bus out of town, to someplace where they could start to forage for their own life. But a bus ticket needed money. Ryan had that figured out. He had brought along his ATM card, and would withdraw whatever little money his dad had put in his account. That would suffice for till they were on their feet. They made their way to the bus stand, the promise of a perfect forever, clear in their eyes.

Once there, Ryan made his way to the nearest ATM machine and made to withdraw money. But then flashed the dreaded words on screen,

'Insufficient balance'

He did a double take. He could not believe his eyes. How could this happen?! But suddenly then, his mind zoomed back a few days, and he remembered a particular conversation he'd had with dad.

'Ryan, I'm a little short on immediate cash for a little startup capital that I need right now. I'll be withdrawing all the money from your account for a week or two. I'll put it back though.'

How could he forget?! What to do now? He went back to Lynn and recounted the whole story. At first she couldn't believe him but eventually they came to a consensus that arguing would lead them nowhere. They had set the ball in motion by running away and they could not turn away now. They checked their pockets for whatever money they had on them. They had a combined total of a hundred rupees.

They went to the bus stand and asked a conductor how far would hundred rupees take the two of them.

'Well sir, with a hundred rupees, you can get a ticket to Ramnagara, or Mandya at best.'

They both looked at each other, pure and true worry writ across their faces.

'Well, Ramnagara has a lot of scenic locations. We can make our own little house somewhere there. I'll farm and you cook, we'll live on our own, in our world. What say love?' Ryan offered.

'Okay sure..' Her voice was a notch lower than it had been till now.

They gave each other a reluctant smile and climbed onto the bus. After an hour long and bumpy journey, they got off the bus, disoriented and utterly clueless as to what to do next. Ryan was wondering why he'd bothered to study four years of B.Com if he was going to end up farming on some land. Lynn was wondering what they'd eat till the crops in the farms grew. And both were wondering when they could get their very next meal, because they were famished. It was not the most ideal of situations to be in.

Over the next two days, they set about building something resembling a hut among one of the many clusters of boulders a little by the side of the road. There was a meager amount of free land near their hut, which Ryan set about trying to rake free of weeds. He was clueless about it beyond a point. They didn't touch too much on the topic of agriculture in B.Com you know. It struck him within a few hours that this was a very poorly thought out plan and he started to have serious doubts about sustaining it. By this time, all of the food they had brought with them had run out. They were broke, hungry and very annoyed with their situation. Lynn had started losing her temper with Ryan and was complaining about everything. No food, no proper shelter, no guarantee of even a reasonable future. The worst part was, she was mostly right. It was then they realized that they had perhaps been stupid about the whole thing. That perhaps..

It was with these thoughts that Ryan made his way to the main road, looking to see if there were any shops that could give him any food on credit. He was subdued and disgruntled, his attention barely on the road. Just suddenly then, the roar of a passing two-wheeler roused his attention to his environs. He took a look at the vehicle, and his eyes grew wide. He looked around, and saw a few more vehicles, just as he expected. He turned right around and ran for all he was worth. He came back to the hut, panting. Lynn looked at him, concern overcoming her recent annoyance and resultant indifference. She ran up to him and asked what had happened.

'I almost ran into our friends. They were on their way to a road trip to Mysore or something. I don't think they saw me.'

That was when the same thought struck the both of them. This whole idea had been one stupid, short-sighted blight. They were idiots. Of an overwhelming order...

The Economics of Eloping- (part 1) the dream

I recently watched this movie, '500 days of Summer', brilliant I should say. It raised a very valid point: this whole concept of 'the one' and 'we don't need anything but us' is just a load of nonsense fed to us through those cheesy pop songs and rom-com movies. Reality is harshly different, and this is just a light-hearted, slightly satirical take on that. also, the cultural references here is my indication to what i feel is mediocre crass :D...p.s. i wanna make a short movie on this story too. any takers? :P

Ryan and Lynn were in love. And frankly that's all they knew or cared to know. No, literally. Because they weren't exactly what you'd call, you know, intelligent. Both were students of St. Patrick's College of Commerce, everyday students with nothing remarkable about them. Fine, they were nice people, Ryan was a little rich, and Lynn could almost pass as a looker. But that was about it. They had a limited group of friends with limited ambitions and limited horizons. Frankly, even the way they met isn't much to write about. Well they were set up with each other by common friends. So there.

But once they met, it was magic like they show in the movies. They bonded over pretty much everything, from the music of Linkin Park, to their favorite reality shows, to the enigmatic Micheal Bay movies and any and everything else. They'd constantly spend time with each other, during and after college. Sitting around in coffee shops, they'd spend hours joking and laughing, looking into each other's eyes and holding hands. This was something meant to be. This was fate, and they believed they were in love. Days passed into months, months morphed into years. And just like that, college had come to an end.

After the last working day, the two of them were sitting and talking about their future. They couldn't to tell their parents and make it official.

'What'll your dad say if I came and spoke to him?' asked Ryan, smiling, as he held one of her hands.

'I don't know Ryan. Dad's a little protective about me. And of late he's been a little difficult. Ever since he's had this new competitor in his business, he's been a little stressed and edgy. I don't know if this is a good time.'

'Damn, you know what? I never asked you all these days what your dad does! What does he do?'

'He has a sugar production unit, he manufactures sugar and sells it. But apparently there's this guy who puts his hands in many enterprises, now he's entering the sugar market. Some Joseph Colaco, he's been giving dad a tough time.'

'Joseph who?!'

'Colaco. Why?'

'But that's my...that's my dad!'

'What?! Why didn't you tell me earlier?!'

'I myself didn't know what my dad does! He gives me money, and beyond that I haven't bothered to know much more.'

'Oh my god Ryan. Our dads hate each other. You know what this means right? They'll never let us be together. So what do we now? Do we have to..'

Ryan didn't let her complete the sentence, placing a firm hand over her mouth.

'No love, I won't agree to that. If they won't allow, then we'll elope. After all, you're all I need! You can live with that can't you?', he looked at her hopefully.

She nodded at him earnestly, looked at him for a moment and then, with a trill of excitement, held him tight.

**Did it occur to you guys they never even ventured the question with their parents? Stupid, stupid mistake**

So it was decided. They were going to run away on the night of their graduation day, the 25th of July. They both stuffed a bit of their clothes and some food in a bag and put in his dad's car boot. They spent the entire ceremony sitting like innocent children with their parents. Once they were done, however, they left them on the pretext of meeting their parents. They did meet the aforementioned friends, but very briefly, after which the two of them made their way to Ryan's dad's car. They took what they needed, and they were off. It would be a new life, with just the two of them and their love. They would want nothing or no one else. Just like they had dreamed.

...Yeah, Right...