The Life Of Normal-Taro

"What the heck, dude? Have some shame!" Lonappan cried as he saw the commanding officer trying to hug him.

"Well, I'm just appreciating your help. There's nothing to he ashamed about, right?" Ponnappan asked.

"I'm not a huge fan of physical contact unless it's my wife or my kid. So, back off." Lonappan warned.

"Just add me into that list just this once, will ya?" Ponnappan asked as he gave a tight hug to Lonappan.

Since it was such a joyous moment for Ponnappan, Lonappan decided to let go of it just this once as asked.

"Okay, look. Never again, got it?" Lonappan asked as he pushed the commanding officer away.

"I'll think about it." Ponnappan gave out a sly smile as he replied.

"No. No thinking. I want a clear answer." Lonappan spoke in a serious tone.

"Sure. I won't do it again." Ponnappan sounded disappointed as he agreed to it.

"Great." Lonappan was relieved once he heard the confirmation. Once relaxed, he moved away from Ponnappan's seat and seated himself in his usual seat. "So, how are you feeling right now?" He asked as he made himself comfortable.

"Well, ecstatic to say the least. I mean, never expected it to happen so randomly and now that it did happen, I'm really happy." Ponnappan spoke out his mind.

"Hmm, it's great that it finally happened and all, but man… you took a long time to come to this decision, don't you think?" Lonappan asked again.

"Well, that's certainly the case. But the wife wasn't comfortable with it before. And I'm against anything that makes her uncomfortable." Ponnappan replied.

"Admirable." Lonappan applauded as he heard the answer from him. "However, you two are like what—thirty something now? I've heard that it's difficult for couples above thirty to conceive a child or something. Like, most of the development deformities is for the children with the parents around that age." He spoke.

"Where did you even hear such a bullshit statement?" Ponnappan asked.

"The internet, I guess? I don't actually remember where I heard it from." Lonappan shrugged.

"Nah, I just checked. It ain't from the internet. Maybe it is… I mean, there are a lot of self proclaimed medical experts on that platform. I guess they can do whatever the shit they want because internet is such a place, but that doesn't mean that you gotta believe in what some random asshole spouts." Ponnappan spoke.

"Yea, you're right. But man, I read or heard it from somewhere a long time ago, so you can't just blame me for thinking it as real." Lonappan replied.

"I guess? But next time you drop bombs like these, do a research on it first, will ya?" Ponnappan asked.

"Will do." Lonappan replied.

"Great. Then leave. I feel like I got a lot of catching up to do today." Ponnappan said as he shooed Lonappan away.

"Not really. I did the most part. You just gotta look into the files that came by like right now." Lonappan replied.

"You did everything else?" Ponnappan asked in awe.

"Yup." Lonappan nodded his head.

Ponnappan looked into the files that his subordinate sorted out and every other work he did and was clearly impressed. "Oh, man. This makes me wonder why you didn't accept the commanding officer's position when Chinnappan asked you to do it." He sighed.

"Look. I know I'll do well in this too. But for a man like me who's on his lookout for a little bit of thrill, I can't be enclosed like this." Lonappan answered.

"Hmm, whatever the reason might be, I'm simply glad that you helped me in this case as well and that too exceptionally. I guess Injust got what I'm looking for." Ponnappan mumbled.

"And what would that be?" Lonappan asked.

"You see, the baby will be coming someday and at that time, I would have to be my wife's side so that I don't miss anything. I was looking for someone to cover for me while that happens. Now I know that I don't have to look that far to get a replacement for me that day." Ponnappan spoke as he patted Lonappan's shoulder.

"Okay, dude… I'm not against doing it, but you're looking way ahead into the future. We'll think about this stuff when your wife gets nine months pregnant or something, okay?" Lonappan asked.

"Cool. I just wanted to know that if you're gonna help me when in need." Ponnappan replied.

"You do know that I'll always be there when you need me, right?" Lonappan asked.

"… Yea. I know that." Ponnappan smiled. "So, head out for now. I'll swing by after looking into the rest of the files. After that, let's grab a cup of coffee or something." He spoke.

"Great! I'll meet you then." Lonappan waved his hand as he exited the room.

#

Back in the Holy Land, the lads were feeling off. They were just loitering around with nothing particular to do and hated doing it.

"What's up with today, man? Why do I feel so bored?" Gibli broke the silence and asked.

"Well, because we haven't been doing anything today, why else? I mean, this is a normal occurrence in our household, isn't it?" Taro asked as he continued watching television. He was probably the only one who didn't get bored.

"Why are we here? Why aren't we going out? I'm getting bored, you know?" Gibli sprang up and asked.

"Don't ask me. Ask this guy." Taro pointed towards Thankappan who was casually eating chips.

"Huh? Me? What? When? Why?" Thankappan, who just noticed Taro pointing towards him looked all flustered.

"Well, you're the leader, right? Will we be able to go out anytime soon?" Gibli asked.

"Hmm. I am the leader, huh? Sure doesn't feel like it." Thankappan chuckled.

"Don't crack such jokes right now, man. You're supposed to be the one saving us from the hellhole!" Gibli cried.

"I ain't saving your asses! I mean, why do you need saving? What's wrong with staying indoors? It's perfectly fine doing that. Aren't we having a good time here?" Thankappan asked.

"Well, if aimlessly sitting on a sofa and hating every single moment of it is having a good time, then I'll have to agree with you on that." Kunjan, who stayed silent the entire time spoke out.

"It isn't that bad…" Taro tried putting in an argument of his own.

"Yea, you seem to be coping with this lifestyle way too quickly for some reason. However, it isn't that easy for us. We are organisms that would like to see the light of the day at least once." Gibli spoke.

"But it's night though." Taro shrugged.

"Argh… Very well, I'd like to see the freaking night lights!" Gibli seemed frustrated as he spoke.

"Cool. You do you." Taro gave a thumbs up and proceeded to watch television.

"So, anyway. When can we go out?" Gibli turned towards Thankappan and asked.

"I honestly am not in the mood… I feel like we will get into some huge mess if we were to get out of this room; especially at night time. I mean, we were tangled up with this guy at night, right?" Thankappan scoffed as he stared down at the sleeping Scarlet.

"Hmm, it seems like you are backing away from a challenge. Is this what cowardice is? It is, isn't it?" Gibli tried gaslighting Thankappan into letting them out.

"It might just be that, you know? Don't wanna risk getting into another mess. Can't we just enjoy the peace we have right now?" The MIB agent asked.

"Be adventurous, my man. Life is all about those special moments, ain't it? You're never gonna forget those moments in your life!" Gibli spoke passionately.

"Trust me when I say this. I really wanna forget most of the shit I went through—no kidding." Thankappan sighed.

"But… but…" Gibli had no argument left to give.

"Okay, you wanna argue and shit? Do that somewhere else. Don't do it while I'm trying to enjoy a show." Taro roared as he got fed up of what was happening around him.

"I'm really sorry, dude. But we got no choice. Make this man say yes to our request and we'll stop." Gibli cried.

"Your request. I never said that I'm backing you up in that request." Kunjan interjected himself into the conversation.

"What? Well, if you aren't, then Taro…" Gibli looked towards Taro who was shaking his head no. "M'Baku…" He turned his attention towards the canino after seeing this.

"Hell na, man! I can just go to Shivani's if I want to and get the enjoyment I'm looking for." M'Baku replied.

"Then Scarlet at least…" Gibli turned towards his last resort, who was sleeping peacefully. "Huh, there's no one backing me… Doesn't matter. I'll continue with my struggle even if my voice is the only one ringing out loud." He cried.

"Oh, goodness gracious great balls of fire… I just can't. Just let him go now, will you? I just wanna watch television peacefully." Taro cried.

"Hmm, I'll allow it then." Thankappan replied to which Gibli went nuts. "Only if everyone's going." The mood of the room just went south as Taro displayed a disgusted look on his face upon hearing this.

#