Doomsday There was a nagging pain on the back of his head as Abhisekh opened his eyes amidst the screaming of people and debris which seemed to have surrounded him. He looked around him through the rubbles and saw a vision of decrepitude, dust, confusion and pain. He slowly got up massaging his head trying to get a grip of reality. Houses lay crumbled, people lay dead and crushed by concrete; a dust ridden shaky hand coming out through the ground from a rubble of dust. The whole world seemed to be screaming in pain. His heart starts to pump faster, as he feels a pulsating pain on his thighs. Blood trickling down to his feet. "Sharmila.. mami.. buwa.." a weak yell comes out of Abhisekh's throat as soon as he realizes what had happened. His eyes darts around in hope of recognition of his loved ones, but in vain. He does not know what to do or where to begin. The roads cease to exist because everything is covered by crumbled houses. He feels a cold stream running by his bare feet. It's a river of blood coming from the bodies crumbled beneath the concrete and bricks and walls that used to provide a home a house and a sense of belonging to many families. He starts digging out the debris around him. He pauses to look at the family picture they had taken in Houston when his parents had come to visit him. It had only been two years since he had moved back to be with his aging parents. 24 Hours ago The ritualistic 7 am alarm had woken Abhisekh up. He was going to meet with few of his friends who had come back from the US. They were planning to set up an Engineering company that focused on providing the much needed transportation services in the country. Having lived in the US for 10 years, Abhisekh had gained valuable insights working for the Department of Public Transportation in Chicago for 5 years and then a private construction firm in Houston for last 5 years. After his move back to Kathmandu, he had been full of energy and hell bent on doing something for his country by contributing to the developement of transportation. As he had good built a good contact in the US, there was a very good chance that he would land on a good sum of developmental funding through the generosity of the US government for third world transportation development. His wife of 5 years Sharmila was a charming personality. She had been instrumental in Abhisekh's move back to Nepal. Although she had to give up a very good career in investment banking, she was happy to come back to Nepal for good with her husband. The duo had planned to meet with Nirmal, Sagun and Pallavi who were back in Kathmandu for few weeks. They had all planned to be part of the Transportation services company that Abhisekh was going to open. After the morning chiya paani, Abhisekh went for a morning walk which he combined with buying some fresh vegetables and goat meat. Haaku sau never tired of asking how to make it to the US. "Baabu haamlai ni yeso sikaunu paryo Amrika kasari pugne?" Abhisekh had to repeat the same thing to many others who asked him that question. "Thesedays everywhere in the world the economy is very bad. Even in the US it's difficult to find a job even for very capable people. Even Americans are having difficulty finding a job so it's even more difficult for foreigners." Haaku sau had said, "Yo nepal ma jatti kaam garey pani kehi nahune bhayo. Kehi system nai chaina yaha. Paani chaina. Bijuli chaina. Bholi bhui chalo ayo bhane sabai khattam huncha yaha."