Euclasia

Arvind Eshwaran is a trekking freak, a scientist at the prestigious National Research Lab. He believes there is no god and preaches it. He spends his weekends at some trekking place and celebrates end of day at 1522 pub. Once while hiking at Bandekote he meets Bilva a person dressed completely in khavi with a half a feet beard, goes without saying that he is a saint. The sudden thunderous storm makes AE and Bilva meet at the mountain cave. Two minutes of silence is followed by an ice breaking general talk turned into debate between the atheist AE and god man Bilva. The argument only stops with the rain, just before they leave Bilva says "Son, your life will change drastically in coming days. Keep this leaf with you, it will help". AE reluctantly takes it and dumps it in his bag and gets back to his tent.

About 15 days later

His experiment needs malgum centinide a rare chemical that needs to be imported from Germany. He calls up his college friend and order it. Exhausted for the day he starts driving back home an uprooted tree blocks his way. He comes out of the car to clear his way. The tree's leaf reminds him of something. It is the same tree's leaf that Bilva had given him.

A week passes by

His school teacher meet him and invites him as the chief guest for the school annual day function. Coincidence he is asked to plant the same tree. Puzzled AE goes back home and surfs the net for this tree. Reads about it.

Awestruck with what he finds in the internet as he read "Euclasia as it is scientifically called is a rich source of  malgum centinide abundantly grown near the upa sangama"

Packs his bag and unable to reason the incidents relating to Euclasia decides to drive to the foot hills of Himalayas where River Ganga is joined by River Daati commonly called Upa sangama.

He nails the last hook of his tent amidst the mini forest of Euclasia. Come out of the tent and experiences sudden darkness, Soon all his senses stop responding.

AE wakes up, unable to recollect what happened walks back to his tent. He is stinking, usually clean shaved AE has a long beard. He notices the unusual silence of the valley, his cellphone is out of charge, looks at his watch, it reads Dec 25. Holy shit I had come here on Dec 12. what happened to me 13 days was I hibernated. He is in a blank state, he desperately want to go back home. He finds no one on the road. Petrol pumps empty of people, he sees only dust and dust everywhere. He gets back to his lab. Collects the omnipresent dust. He is dumbstruck to find out that the dust is dried humans. On the 12 Dec the silicon mixed with the atmosphere's oxygen and the resulting silicon oxide caused the genocide of the human race, animals were neither spared. He survived probably because he was near malgum centinide which acted as an antidote. He closes his eyes and prays "Oh god, I want life to be normal, I cannot live like this any long. Please help me"

He hears a familiar voice. "Son I told you your life will change".

AE wakes up, he is near the tent at the Bandekote, runs back to the tent to see the date is 13th Dec. He feels a very heavy head. Puzzled what is happening to him looks at himself in the mirror.

"Son !". A mixed emotion of anger and blankness creeps in when he sees Bilva walking near him. Before AE reacts Bilva apologized and says "Son, you are not an atheist, I just wanted to prove it to you ". You were just hallucinated because of the leaf I gave you and it just made you realize you are a believer of god.