-->
1,537,469,028
Note: Russell is a work of fiction. So are other characters and facts mentioned in this write-up. Any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely co-incidental and unintentional.
Russell sang it. He sang it great. It’s a wonderful world by Louis Armstrong. He always believed in the words. In fact embraced them like anything. His father used to sing it for him. Now, he used to sing it for his son, Michael. He took him in his lap and kissed him on his forehead. Michael looked just like his father. Dark eyes. Brown hair. Sharp nose. He poked his finger into Russell’s eyes. Russell kissed him again and handed him over to his wife, Laura. She was a real beauty. Appeared to be an angel. And also dressed like one. She ruffled Russell’s hair, took Michael from his lap, kissed him goodnight and went to sleep. Russell continued talking. He wanted to continue speaking. Nobody ever stopped him. He felt hungry. Went to the kitchen. Grabbed a cookie and then he was back again. Russell and his words. It was a pleasure listening to him. He started with a joke like he always used to. But couldn’t keep up with it. Something was hurting him really bad somewhere. We wanted to know. We wanted to poke him. But we didn’t. We wanted to let him speak for himself. He resisted a bit. But he gave up in the end. Russell was a captain in British army. A tough soldier. And an honest officer. Right from the day one in army, he was observing everything too carefully. He was uncomfortable with it somewhere. But he never told anything to anybody. We tried to ask him many a times. But he always used to divert the whole thing with his jokes. That day we asked him again. But he was too good with his words. He knew the art of doing it so easily. He played Beatles on guitar for us. We clapped and sang with him. He was doing it fine trying to hide everything but couldn’t hold it for long. He forgot the words. He tried hard to recollect but couldn’t. The guitar slipped from his hands. He felt sorry. We tried to hold him. He resisted. Even stammered a bit. His face turned red and eyes blurred with tears. He said it’s nothing but the weather change. He got up from the chair. Turned his face away with his hands resting upon the sidearm. Kept standing there for few minutes. And finally exploded. It was the first time we were seeing him so helpless. He had always made us laugh with his jokes. We had always seen the shine in his eyes and the moment on his face. It was quite a site. He was crying like a child. Like he had fallen on the ground and was asking for help. It seemed he was asking us to pick him up and give him a hug. We felt weak unable to help him in his condition. He was alone. Nobody could stop him. Nobody could hold his hand and wipe his tears. It was just not possible. He disappeared from the site for some time. We thought he would have gone to wash his face. Then we heard something. There was some problem with the sound. We couldn’t figure out. We looked at each other. We were worried and were waiting for our Russell. We were waiting to see his sparkling eyes once again. He came after ten minutes. With fiery red eyes and a gun in his hand. He smiled. For the last time. Put the gun on his head. Pressed the trigger. And shot himself.
Russell was dead. So were Michael and Laura. He had shot them both.
We were watching it live. Live on our computer screens. Millions of people were downloading it simultaneously as Russell was uploading it on the internet sitting in his room that night. We always used to do it earlier while he used to entertain us with his stand up acts. He was very popular among us. He was our hero. And he proved to be one.
Nobody came to know why Russell acted like this. A court of inquiry was organized by the army. It took them six months. Finally, they drafted the final report and labeled him a coward. They said that his wife was disloyal to him and was sleeping with somebody else. They also proved that he was having a mental condition and was incapable of handling stress.
Whatever it was. Nobody poked it further. But the live video generated millions of sympathies and millions of fans for Russell. The video became quite a sensation on You Tube. We still watch it sometimes because it’s very compelling as well as thrilling at the same time. Yesterday only, I had organized a small party at home. We were having beer, listening to rock, getting high and screwing each other. We also watched Russell’s video and then partied whole night.
It has become the most watched video on You Tube.
The video has generated 1,537,469,028 views. Highest in the history of You Tube ever.
