Sketches of Fate

It's getting late, and three of us are returning after attending a wedding ceremony of an office colleague. "Three of us" means me, Ratan, and Su Shovin. On one hand, we were great friends, but on the other hand, there are many differences of opinion between us. Whenever we three sit together, we start to argue on various topics, especially Ratan and Su Shovin.

Ratan is an atheist, wanting to verify every inch of the world with rationalism. Su Shovin is a very pious man. We got up in the empty compartment, and Su Shovin said, "Look, this is called luck. Do you understand now, Ratan?" That was the beginning of the debate – good luck, bad luck. Then the discussion went to astrology. Ratan dismisses everything as a hoax and superstition, while Su Shovin counters with statements like, "Which astrologer made predictions in which country and in which year, etc.?"

Ratan tries to refute all the details with sharp arguments, and I'm trying to support both of them. Sometimes I'm nodding for Ratan, and sometimes for Su Shovin. In today's debate, Ratan seems to be in a win-win situation. He says, "Listen, to this day, no one has been able to speak accurately about the future. Everything that seems to have matched is a loose assumption. The whole thing is cleverly wrapped up. It could be X or it could be Y. That's the technique of explaining everything. People who have faith in astrologers are impressed by those rules. That's how it works."

"So, you're saying the future cannot be predicted," I ask. Just then, a man speaks up from the other side of the compartment. The three of us look back, measuring the man from head to toe. He's sitting with his body covered with a gray-black sheet, his face filled with a white beard. He seems to be around 60, with a dirty bag next to him. At first glance, one might think he's a beggar or crazy. The man puts the sheet aside and approaches us. Ratan says slightly diagonally, "What do you think? Can the future be predicted?"

"Yes," the man replies. Shakespeare said, "Many things happen in this universe that are beyond our comprehension. We know all these things. I want to hear from you. What's your opinion?" The man stares at Ratan for a moment, then smiles a little. "To be honest, there's one thing in this bag that I can show you. After you see that, you might change your mind."

Su Shovin seems excited, asking, "Are you an astrologer?" The man clarifies, "No, I'm just an ordinary guy. I can show you something that I learned by the grace of my guru. If you wish to see." "Oh, okay. So now you'll bring out a skull and tell us the future using that skull, right?" Ratan teases. "No, it's not like that. I can draw. I can draw a little bit. I don't get it, though. What to draw? The future? I can draw."

"I can draw any man's future portrait. I can show you the picture of the age you want to see," the man explains. Everyone falls silent. Su Shovin is intrigued, saying, "Very interesting." Ratan is skeptical, calling it "interesting" but a new kind of cunning. The man proceeds to tell us that he can draw a portrait of the future and demonstrates by drawing portraits of the age and time specified by us. The debate continues, and soon it's my turn to ask the man to draw a portrait of my future.

I write down the future time and date on a white page of the pad, and the man starts to draw with his eyes closed. The atmosphere in the train compartment becomes eerie, and I watch as the man's pencil moves on the pad. When he's done, he shows me the portrait he drew. It's an image of an old man – bald, wrinkles like a spider's web, glasses on the eyes. It's a powerful depiction, but doubts about its accuracy linger.

Later, the man is unable to draw a portrait of Su Shovin's future, leading to skepticism and a confrontation. The man tries to escape but stumbles, disappearing from the train. The train shakes violently, lights go out, and chaos ensues. Amid the confusion, the man's voice is heard, saying that the 15 minutes are not over yet. The train continues, but there's a sense of unease. The incident raises questions about the man's ability and the uncertainty of the future.