Listen to the Stars

Avi Mukherjee

Description

Six riveting short stories that span the spectrum of human experience. Fiction, based on reality.
A diverse collection of stories, fictional but based on reality: The riveting story of a young Japanese girl in search of her American marine father; The hazards, rewards and the comical side of online dating; The world of a high-stakes poker player; A futuristic story of a scary and very realistic virus pandemic; A father’s shocking story about his schizophrenic son, and finally the revelations of a professor with a unique philosophical perspective that will make you think about life and death in a very different way.

Sujets

• Mental Illness
• Póquer
• Philosophy
• Online dating service
• Schizophrenia
• Mental disorder
• Japan
• Poker
• Short Stories
• Angst
• Fiction
• Virus

Informations

• Publié par: iUniverse
• Date de parution: 28 février 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781663250346
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

LISTEN TO THE STARS
 
 
SIX SPELLBINDING STORIES
 
 
 
 
 
AVI MUKHERJEE
 
 
 
 

 
LISTEN TO THE STARS
SIX SPELLBINDING STORIES
 
Copyright © 2023 Avi Mukherjee.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
 
 
iUniverse
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.iuniverse.com
844-349-9409
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6632-5033-9 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6632-5035-3 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6632-5034-6 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023901619
 
 
 
iUniverse rev. date:  02/27/2023
CONTENTS
Flow with the Tide
In Flow with the Tide , set mostly in Japan, we join the desperate search of a young girl for her American marine father who does not believe that she is his daughter.
Another World
Then we enter Another World , the exciting world of high stakes poker and the characters who inhabit it. Many of us are familiar with TV poker shows, but few know how poker players deal with the conflicts between an unconventional sport and a more conventional lifestyle.
Never Alone
Never Alone is the startling, poignant and often shocking story of a mentally ill son, told by the father. It is at the same time a deeply personal story and a criticism of our society’s handling of the mentally ill. They are the marginalized among us, but they don’t have to be.
Click for Romance
Online dating has its rewards, hazards, and a funny side. In Click for Romance , we see different sides of the online dating scene through the true-to-life experiences of an American businessman.
Smile without Reason
Although Covid-19 is almost behind us, there may be more deadly virus pandemics in the future. Smile without Reason cleverly explores a scary futuristic scenario, while also making a case against tampering with genes and viruses, ostensibly for the benefit of mankind.
Listen to the Stars
In Listen to the Stars, we are exposed to fascinating perspectives about the universe and humanity, about life and death, and about philosophy and religion.
FLOW WITH THE TIDE
We know not from whence the tide comes or whither it goes
What an irony ! mused Cesar, as he went to bed that night. Only a month into his assignment in Tokyo, he was strongly attracted to a Japanese girl who he could not have a relationship with because she was emigrating to the US in a few months while he, who was from the US, was going to be stuck in Japan for the next few years. As if that wasn’t enough, she was depending on him to make her life’s goal a reality.
“Interested in an assignment to Tokyo?”, his boss at Goldman Sachs had asked him five months ago.
“Sure, when do I leave?” replied Cesar with a laugh.
It was a hectic two months of preparation and Cesar had never felt so excited. After his divorce, with no children, he was beginning to tire of Manhattan and had always wanted to visit Japan. It was a perfect opportunity, not just for experiencing a new country and culture, but also from the standpoint of professional advancement in one of Goldman Sachs’ premier international offices.
He started taking Japanese language lessons within a few weeks of his settling down. Although he could say a few words by now, corresponding to good morning or good afternoon or how are you , it was a daunting task to become familiar enough with the language to feel comfortable in strange surroundings. Just the day before, his language teacher, Mr. Seiki, whom everyone called Seiki-sensei ( sensei is the Japanese word for teacher), asked Cesar during a break if he was married. When Cesar said he was recently divorced, Seiki-sensei said to him,
“You good-looking with friendly face, nice smile. Japanese girls will like you. Go, find Japanese girlfriend! That is fast way to learn Japanese!”
Cesar laughed and replied, “Easy to say”,
Seiki-sensei urged “ Gambatte ”, Do your best !
Cesar knew in his heart that Seiki-sensei was right; it was a long time since he had last dated a woman, and even then, never an Asian woman.
Lunchtime on a weekday in Tokyo is always full of crammed sidewalks, busy with office workers hurriedly going to lunch. That mid-summer day was characteristically warm, with a few drops of rain from scattered clouds. Cesar walked with the crowd, not quite decided on where to go for lunch. There were so many choices in Tokyo that every day was an adventure. Tokyo has three times as many restaurants as London and New York City combined, a startling statistic that allows one to go to a different place for lunch every day of the year if one wanted to, all within a few minutes’ walk from the office.
Cesar was determined to find a new place for lunch that day. It is easier than finding a girlfriend , he thought, as he got off the subway at Nakameguro, which was a nearby neighborhood to his office in Roppongi, easily accessible by one of the subway lines. Roppongi was too full of foreigners and was sorely lacking in quaint places for lunch. He always looked for signs on restaurants with English words as indicators that there would be English on the menu. There was no need for the staff to be English speaking. As long as the menu was in English, he could always point to an item. Of course, there was always the Denny’s or McDonald’s or Tony Roma’s to fall back on, but it would be a shame when there were so many other delectable choices on the streets of Tokyo.
Walking the narrow streets near the Nakameguro subway station, he saw a sign that read Coffee and Snacks/Mon Petit . There were pictures of ‘set’ lunches, where one just chooses A, B, or C and gets a tray set with two or three different items. The concept of custom orders is not common, especially for lunch. Encouraged by the sign, Cesar entered, was seated and was handed the menu. The menu did have pictures, but there was no English . Cesar felt cheated because the sign outside was in English and partially in French. He was in trouble.
The waiter came and asked him something which he didn’t understand. He looked around and saw a pretty girl, Eurasian very likely, in her mid to late twenties, sitting by herself at an adjacent table, reading a Japanese magazine. She had long dark brown hair hanging straight down on both sides of her pale oval face. No makeup. No necklace or earrings. A typical office lady, Office Flowers they are called in Japan, one of thousands in every neighborhood. Yet, she seemed special, if only because of her looks. Not Japanese, not Caucasian, somewhere in between. Eurasians are so uniquely pretty , Cesar said to himself. Maybe she knew a little English! She was two tables away from him sitting facing in his direction. Suddenly she looked up, as if sensing she was being stared at. She caught his eye, but he quickly looked away, embarrassed, and tried to study the menu, making sure that he was holding it right side up! Out of the corner of his eye, he felt she was looking at him, sensing his inability to comprehend the menu, with the waiter hovering impatiently near him. This time he looked up more boldly in her direction, and she smiled at him and asked,
“Can I help with menu?” Cesar felt his pulse quicken in a way he had not felt in years.
“Yes please”, he said wondering why his voice sounded so dry. This was Japan, this girl was pretty, she spoke English, and seemed friendly. “ Find Japanese girlfriend !”, the words of Seiki-sensei, although in imperfect English, resounded at the back of his head, as he watched her move over to the empty chair across from him.
Her name was Annie. After the ordeal of ordering lunch was over, Cesar told her about his job, his new assignment in Tokyo, his difficulties with the language, and that he was divorced. He explained that his assignment would nominally be for three years, but definitely less than five. Annie had spent a year staying with friends in Santa Monica, California, a couple of years ago, and that was where she had picked up a little English. Cesar instinctively felt that she liked him, and he definitely liked her. By the time their introductions were completed, lunch was over, and it was time to get back to work. Cesar asked for her mobile number and Annie quickly obliged. As they got up to leave, Annie said
“I will tell you more next time, and I may need your help”.
With that enigmatic parting line, she quickly walked out of the narrow door of the restaurant, and disappeared into the crowded streets of Nakameguro. Cesar, walking with a light but jaunty step, her phone number securely in his wallet, the next time ringing pleasantly in his ears, took the short subway ride back to his office in Mori Towers, Roppongi.
That evening, Cesar decided to go to a jazz club close to his apartment. Jazz helped him relax and think about life, philosophy, the