The Changeling: A Quest For Time

“Everyone, wake up! Grandpa Prakash is telling another story.” A cute little girl shouted the same lines over and over as she trotted along a couple of streets on her tiny legs.   “Grandpa’s stories are always awesome!” Another kid exclaimed as he chased after the little girl.   “Victor, Suresh, Priya, Anil, Shreya…” The little girl barged into each of the homes of her friends and beat them out of their cozy dreams. She then dragged their unwilling selves with her.   Even though they grumbled in distaste after their dreams had been interrupted by the chirpy girl, their eyes lit up in anticipation when they came to know that their 'Grandpa' was about to tell another story.   “Is it time for the Elder’s storytime?” A curious passerby inquired when he witnessed dozens of kids running behind the chirpy girl.   “Yeah!” The chirpy girl laughed, clearly excited to hear another story.   Her grandpa was one of the Elders of her village and was also the one who had garnered the highest form of respect among the Elders. Even the other elders looked up to him for issues that troubled them.   Her grandpa always entertained the children with his stories during his free time. His stories were not only fun to listen to, but also served to pass on important knowledge and wisdom to the listeners.   Most of his stories were based on his rich life experiences. He sometimes tweaked them up a little to make them sound livelier but, he always paid attention to the pace of his storytelling so that the children listening to his stories would be able to grasp the morals behind each of them.   It was a wide plaza, the boundaries of which were adorned with the statues of various creatures that roamed the wild. There was an elevated platform at one end of the plaza on which sat an old man with his eyes closed.   His head was full of white hair; a forehead filled with creases that seemed to have formed over the vicissitudes of time and a pair of deep dark brown eyes that looked as if it had gazed into the very depths of the universe.   He had a sharp nose line that slowly inclined towards his mouth, a thin long moustache that looked like two living dragons as they fluttered with the wind. His aged lips arched like a bow whose limbs were stretched taut followed by a long bushy beard.   With such an ancient visage, every action of his, no matter how insignificant seemed to radiate pure unadulterated wisdom. This old man was the one who had lived the longest in their entire village, the most respected Elder, Elder Prakash.   The chirpy girl, along with her band of little ruffians swaggered into the plaza and gazed at the crowd of hundreds of brats that had already occupied the spots in the vicinity of 'Grandpa Prakash'.   In a well-practiced motion, the little girl removed a small toy from her pouch and threw it into the middle of the gathered crowd and screamed at the top of her lungs.   “Treasure!”   A commotion rang out among the well-disciplined crowd as they began to search for the aforementioned treasure.   Ding ding ding ding…Making use of the minor commotion, the chirpy girl and her band of ruffians crawled through the chaotic crowd and managed to sit at the very front, just before the elevated platform where Grandpa Prakash was currently seated.   The ones who noticed her gimmick screamed out in frustration.   “It's Sonia!”   “Aargh!”   “We were fooled again…boohoo”   “Goodbye, my glorious treasure.” A guy with a swollen face mourned as he clutched a pair of broken wood. He was the one who had successfully snatched the 'Treasure' first but it was later broken into two pieces during the ensuing commotion.   Grandpa Prakash who was seated on the elevated platform half-opened his eyes and gazed at the little trouble maker who flashed him a refreshing smile in response. He rolled his eyes, seemingly used to this recurring phenomenon and closed his eyes once again to wait until the plaza was filled.   Sometime later, Grandpa Prakash opened his eyes and gazed at the plaza that was now completely filled with children who patiently sat in their spots with twinkling eyes as they looked at him with expectant gazes.   “Alright,” As he uttered, the plaza abruptly quieted down and every child paid close attention to each of his words.   “Today, I am going to talk about the Era of the GODS and the Day of Reckoning.”   At the mentions of the ‘GODS’, the entire plaza erupted into chaos once again as countless hands went up.   Grandpa Prakash sighed as he began to answer the questions raised by the children in order. It would be awhile before he could actually begin the story.   “Are the GODS real?” An innocent little girl asked.   “Yes, as real as you and me.” Grandpa Prakash replied.   “Have you fought one before?” Another kid excitedly asked.   “Yeah, I had fought against a few.” Grandpa Prakash replied with a nod of his head.   “Oooh!”   The crowd erupted once again; fighting against a God was a feat of the legends, something beyond their wildest dreams.   “Did you win?” Another kid shouted, barely able to contain his curiosity.   “Just once, but yeah, I did win against the Gods.” Grandpa Prakash affirmed.   “Yeaaahhh!”   This time, the kids began to dance and roar at the top of their lungs, their excitement reaching its zenith. It couldn’t be helped since they had grown up listening to their parents go on about the frightening prowess of the Gods.   “Ahem!” Sometime later, Grandpa Prakash cleared his throat. Every child that was still dancing and roaring at the skies abruptly quieted down and obediently settled at their spots.   “Ok, the last question,” He said.   “Me, me, me!” The chirpy girl, Sonia raised her hands, clearly intending to ask the last question.   “Go ahead,” Grandpa Prakash decided to please his lovely little granddaughter once.   “Grandpa, are you a god?” Sonia inquired.   The crowd abruptly quieted down. Sonia had asked the very question that was plaguing the minds of the other children for a very long time.   Grandpa Prakash was different from the other villagers; even the elders had very little knowledge of him. He was mysterious, had vast knowledge, the strongest in their village and could also use the tools of the Gods like they were child's play.   Grandpa Prakash rubbed his temples and couldn't help but sigh in response to the question raised by Sonia. Among each generation of children that came to listen to his stories, someone always raised this question when he brought the topic about Gods.   “Alright! But, before I answer you, take a look at this.” Grandpa Prakash said as a ‘Screen’ behind him flashed to life.   The children got very excited at the prospect of looking at something that would be displayed on the ‘Screen’, the likes of which was a very rare occasion.   As the screen behind the old man flashed into existence, a picture became visible on it. The children became dumbfounded at the sight displayed in the picture.   After taking some time to break out of her stupor, Sonia was the first to raise her stuttering voice. “G-Grandpa, why are you in the picture a-and, w-why is that Dog s-so small?”   The other children, on hearing her question also nodded in response. Their eyes were filled with a deep sense of fear.   In the picture displayed on the ‘Screen’, there stood a young Prakash holding the chains of a dog that licked his face while his wife was laughing in the background as she carried her 1-year-old child in her arms.   Grandpa Prakash had a nostalgic expression as he gazed at that candid shot taken during his youth that felt as if it had been taken just the day before.   ‘In just about 13 months since that day, the world has changed drastically’. He sighed in forlorn sadness.