12 Laughing Men

"This world is a beautiful place if you really understand your inner self."

  

12 

Laughing Men

It was very dark in there and a very suffocating environment, the room had only one window and surprisingly no doors. In the middle of the room, there was a round table and 12 men were sitting on their chairs. They were smiling gently. Each one had a glass of red wine in their hands, and they were quite enjoying that wine.  

An old man stood up and coughed hoarsely. He surely gained their attention, he was about to give a short speech. He slowly stepped towards the old window and searched his pockets. He pulled out his handgun and laughed at the listeners.

Old man:  “I thought I should start it, we all know what is outside this window. It’s better not to discuss about that. Well I am here to give my last speech. Anyone who disagrees with me can shoot me. We all have one gun, one bullet and one death in our hands. I don’t know who among you gentlemen is going to use that last bullet to shut my mouth.”

He paused for a second and looked down. His old legs were trembling with fear and discomfort but he continued his speech.

The Old man: “I know it’s not essential but I want to tell you that my medical reports says I have cancer, I am a patient of diabetes and arthritis. I have some ugly infection, in my pancreas. I wish my kidney is alright. Oh god, I have breathing problems. You know I left cigarette a decade ago but still I can feel the little thing on my lips. But I hope Mr Brown is healthy and he will remain healthy in future. He is a nice man, Mr Brown is a very nice man. Oh! I am feeling dizzy, may be. Sorry, Oh god!”

The old man started breathing heavily and fell on the ground. He spat and screamed pathetically, and folded his legs and arms. He was as miserable as an infant.

A Young boy of age around 18 stood up, and walked towards the window. He sat near the old man and checked his pockets, he found a cigarette box, Dunhill. The young chap giggled and lit one of the cigarette with his skull shaped lighter. He began his speech as soon as he finished the Injurious-to-health thing.

Young Boy:  “Aah, look at the old man. He talk about diseases and that medical shit. You know one thing, he is a bastard. His old ass is not ready to throw these cigarettes and he talk about sickness, ha illness? Haha-haha. Everybody P-L-E-A-S-E   L-A-U-G-H.”

Some of the listeners laughed. Some clapped.

The young boy pulled out his handgun and shot the old man on his neck. Silence crawled like a snake in that misty room, as the old man took his last breath.

The boy continued his speech.

“I am sorry Mr Brown. It was necessary. I can’t tolerate him. He’s ugly, you know. Alright let me tell you something. I don’t believe in god. I believe in drugs. You know they are peaceful, in science they are called meds, simple medicines. They take you somewhere else, I know it is expensive shit but it’s cool.” He took out a brown pill and tossed it in his mouth. “-Oh Jesus! It’s great. Peace. Real shit. Mr Brown, I am sorry but it’s good. At least give it a try-”

The bald men stood up and shot the lad in his head.

“La mort (The death)”

He shouted and left his chair. He hurried to the window, scratched his head twice and then started his speech in a very calm voice.

The Bald Men: “Mr Brown, this young chap was out of his mind. He was talking nonsense. Drugs, holy Jesus. Gentlemen, you may not know but this fellow was involved in the drug racket, cops found him with white powder and other stuff and those illegal girls, you know what I mean. Thank god, he is dead. His decisions could have ruined your life Mr Brown.”

He paused for a moment and then said in a more gentle voice,

“-I wanna tell you something, look I hate unnecessary holidays and those romantic trips. Please. I want to work, I want to earn. Look, I need money, I have a big business going under my thumb. Your kids are now in high school, money should be your first priority. Let me tell you frankly, I don’t even wanted to purchase that necklace, you wasted millions on that bloody necklace. Your wife, Jennifer is a burden, I don’t understand why she can’t shut her mouth. She wants jewelleries, beauty products, and luxurious cars. I am not going to buy another car for her. I don’t care. You remember that party, Mr Anderson’s party. I am telling you, he is dating your wife. I seriously doubt the loyalty of your wife, she is a slu-”

  

Everybody heard the shot. The bald man was dead too.

A very decent looking guy appeared from the dark, he was a handsome fellow with long hair and sharp moustache. Sixteen eyes followed him as he walked towards the window. He glanced outside, he saw those great Blue Mountains and ice-frozen rivers. That was a very strange place. He saw a stiff rope which was tied very tightly from the edges of window. From the tension, it was obvious someone was trying to climb the cliff. He finished his red wine and started his speech.

The Handsome Fellow: “Mr Brown, this man was lying, I hate lies. Jennifer is a very beautiful girl, you loved her and I respect you for that. I want all of you to know, it was not lust as that blonde guy calls it-” he pointed to a man who was wearing black glasses, undoubtedly he was blind, “- it was pure love. Mr Brown felt it and when he touched her, he felt the essence of happiness”

Everybody noticed the tears in his eyes however he wiped them quickly.

“-he married her because he felt that missing love from his life. And this man was suspecting her character. Let me tell you one thing, Gentlemen, I trust Jennifer completely. And I am sure Mr Anderson is a prick. He must have blackmailed her to do that sin-”

The bullet crossed his heart and he died the next moment. The blonde guy shot him and screamed.

“Stop it. I can’t listen it anymore.” He cried again, “- it’s my turn to speak. Claps please.”

He jumped towards the window and kicked one of the dead bodies and started his speech.

The Blonde Guy: “He talk about love, he talk about feelings. What the hell! Mr Brown you know I can’t tolerate these things. This pimp deserved death. It’s impossible for me to stay in the same room with this douchebag, I killed him.”

He threw his empty revolver on the wall, he was probably the angriest person in the room, and still he tried to laugh. He laughed several times.

 “Remaining fellas, let me ask you a question. Who among us really helped Mr Brown in achieving his goals? It was me, it was me all the time. Whenever his father insulted him, I accompanied him. I modified his decisions. I helped him to fight the outside world which is cruel and selfish. Mr Brown, you should probably thank me for my generosity-”

“-Those old monks on the television box show their oily faces and claims that they have killed me-” he laughs in a very creepy way, “-fools. They are fools. They can’t kill me, I always hide in those dark corners.”

He stood silently waiting for the response. The blind guy stood up and slowly covered the small distance. He was frightened but quickly pulled out his revolver from the pocket. He moved his hands randomly in order to touch the blonde guy as he cannot afford to miss the shot. As soon as he touched the blonde, his finger pressed the trigger and the bullet passed directly into his head.

The blind guy also threw his revolver and raised his arms to surrender. He stood there silently for a minute then he decided to break the silence.

The Blind Guy:  “Mr Brown, this guy was very clever. He always try to compete me. You never listened to my words, he always tried to manipulate you. He always forced you to take the wrong decisions. He and his brother, that guy with weird tattoos forced you to meet Mr Anderson. I tried to stop you but I failed. Because of these two brothers, you attended that party. Look Jennifer is innocent, that man blackmailed her. Your own business partner cheated on you, Mr Brown-”

“Look again at those photographs, you will find the real cheater. I hope you will take my advice seriously and it would be a clever decision if you pull that trigger-”

He fell on the ground with a shower of blood splattered. He was shot in the right eye. The guy with weird tattoos all over his body was the murderer. He proudly walked that deadly distance and with a very cruel smile started his speech.

“-he killed my brother. I killed him. That’s it.”

He stared at his dead brother.

The Tattoo Guy: “-Mr Brown I know he was right but I had to kill him. I am sorry. It was me who forced you to shake hands with Mr Steve Anderson in order to destroy his business kingdom. I was wrong. Everything went wrong. Jennifer is innocent. Please forgive her.”

There were only five persons remaining on that round table. One had to kill the tattooed guy. Everybody stared at each other’s face.

Fat man laughed loudly. “-Look dude, I cannot kill you. Mr Brown I am sorry but I am breaking the rule here-” He pointed his gun towards the shirtless guy who was very skinny.

Skinny guy said, “-Whoa! You wanna kill me, fatty?” he also pointed his gun towards him, “-well go ahead.”

The Fat Guy:  “-Hmm. Here is my last speech. Mr Brown, family is the most precious gift and if you can have that gift, you are successful. It’s the happiness that matters not how much you are getting at the end of the month. Life is so simple and beautiful too. I don’t want to say anything more than this? Your turn Skinny!”

The Skinny Guy:  “-You lose your family, you lost everything. And that’s failure. I know you don’t want it. Do you?”

They both shot at the same time, the deadly bullets killed them both. They missed the last drop of red wine.

“-Well”

The man with the white beard was surprised but still he quickly made the move. He killed the tattooed man. He reached the window and glanced at the great depth. He also knew someone was approaching.

The White Bearded man: “Fellas I don’t think I am good at speech. I am a time traveller. I hope Mr Brown liked those rides of time. I remember him holding the hand of Jennifer on that bridge when he gifted her that golden ring. Haha. Peaceful moments. Emotional moments-”

It was a little choice between two remaining men, one of them was dwarf and another was invisible. Dwarf held his revolver and shot the white bearded man. He jumped from his seat and ran towards the window.

The Dwarf man: “Well Mr Invisible. I wonder what will happen after my death. I don’t think you can kill me, because killing me means giving birth to me. I accompanied Mr Brown for a very long time, when he used to sit alone in his classroom. I accompanied him. Whenever he felt lonely I followed him. I never met him, he never saw me. We just spend time together strangely. I just wish he forgives Jennifer.”

The invisible man stood from his place and he took the dead old man’s gun and shot the dwarf. He died immediately.

The invisible man finished his red wine and reached towards the window. It was a very dark atmosphere and the sharp winds became violent. He realised that the storm was approaching him. He saw that misty figure climbing the cliff with the help of the rope. The invisible man and his silver pistol waited for their guest.

The stranger finally reached the window and quickly jumped inside the room.

“Mr Brown. Welcome.”

Mr Brown breathed heavily and sat on the floor. It was a very long journey. He immediately saw eleven dead bodies in the room and a man who was invisible, only his blue shirt and pants were visible. The invisible man threw his silver gun towards him. Mr Brown observed that the invisible figure was moving towards him.

“Mr Brown. It’s my turn now. My speech.”

He unbuttoned his shirt and removed it followed by his pants. Mr Brown observed that the invisible man also dropped his undergarments, and now it was impossible to detect him.

The Invisible Man: “-look I cannot die. Nobody can kill me. Not even you Mr Brown. I always hide and I wait. I wait for my turn. Are you scared Mr Brown? Are you really scared of me?”

Mr Brown tried to trace the source of voice. He wanted to shoot the naked man but he couldn’t afford to miss the last bullet.

“-look Anderson deserves it. Why are you scared? Face the reality, Mr Brown. Or you will live your whole life in remorse and depression. 
 " Why your hands are trembling? What's decided is decided. Gun is in your hand. Shoot him and free your soul.”

Mr Brown felt those cold hands around his neck. He felt sudden pain in his head and quickly closed his eyes. He could hear the screams all around him. He felt like he was trapped in a terrible storm. He cold hear the lightening strokes. Pain in his head was unbearable and soon it became impossible to draw the line between reality and imagination. 
 But it all ended soon and he woke up. He traveled a very long journey, he was tired. 

He rubbed his eyes and found himself in a very familiar place.

He realized there was another man sitting in front of him, heavily tied with chains. The man was wounded badly. His mouth was covered with a dirty cloth.

Mr Brown recognized the guy, he was Anderson. Mr Brown soon noticed that he is pointing a silver gun towards him. He inserted his other hand in the pocket of his coat and found those photographs.  The photographs reflected the intimacy or a strange relationship between Jennifer and Mr Anderson. They were on some beach, playing with each other, cuddling each other. Mr Brown already knew the truth, he knew Jennifer was guiltless. She was emotionally tortured by that bastard. Her smile in that photograph was fake. She never smiles like that. He knew how she smiles. He knew how those cute little dimples appear on her cheek every time he touches her. He knew his Jennifer.

Mr Brown was not scared anymore. He laughed loudly and played with the gun. 
He was enlightened as he knew who was that invisible man. He defeated him. Mr Brown conquered his fear. He had the silver gun and that last bullet. He pointed the gun towards Anderson and after a long pause, he shot him.

He left the room silently and headed towards the famous flower shop. Of course, Jennifer loved red roses.

Written By: 

Ashutosh Mishra

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Interpretation and Explanation Of the story…!!!

Mr Brown was a successful businessman who was a bit jealous with the manager of another company, Mr Anderson. Once he attended an official party along with his wife where he met him. He introduced Jennifer to him and Anderson was quite attracted by her charm. She was a very soft hearted person and Anderson took advantage of that. He started meeting Jennifer secretly and convinced her somehow that he would help her husband in business.

Mr Brown who was already frustrated from his office life, when heard this story from Jennifer, lost his temper and fought with her. This created a huge wall between them and Anderson took pure advantage of the situation. He manipulated Jennifer and grew an intimate relationship with her.

Mr Brown secretly hired a private detective to test the loyalty of her wife and the detective took some photographs of Jennifer and Anderson at the beach.

Seeing those photographs Mr Brown lost his temper and with the help of some local gangsters, kidnapped Anderson and locked him in his garage.

Mr Brown fights a very long emotional battle with his thoughts and convictions and finally decides to murder him.

12 Laughing Men!!!

The whole story is just the emotional fight of Mr Brown with his own beliefs and past incidences and how he develops the courage to take the ultimate step which completely changes the direction of his life.

12 laughing men were just a part of his imagination or his own thoughts that allows him to have a wider view at them by letting them sit in a single room and giving them a chance to deliver their final speeches.

The dark room with only one window here possibly represents his state of mind. He is climbing the hill to reach the room where he will seek the greatest truth of his life.

Old Man

The old man perhaps represent the fears of old age. We all fear from death but old age worse than death. It’s the most miserable and pathetic part of someone’s life.

Mr Brown was also scared of his old age and possibly an old man cannot harm anybody so the old man shoots no one and silently delivers his speech.

Young Fellow

The young fellow represents the unguided adulthood. When Brown was young, he was addicted to some mild drugs. He was a chain smoker but with the passage of time he left drugs.

It’s quite natural that youngsters don’t like old people or their long speeches. That’s why he shoots the old man.

Bald Man

Bald man represents a social and responsible fella who is very much concerned about his economic status and wealth quotient. He wants to earn money as fast as he can and he hates unnecessary holidays. He don’t want to purchase expensive gifts for her wife.

The people in 40s or 50s mostly hate young people as they find them irresponsible and a threat to society. Their drug habits are intolerable for them.

No surprise why this bald man killed that young fellow.

      

Handsome guy

 The emotions and love were responsible for the creation of this guy in Brown’s mind. He possibly represented the love life of Brown. He didn’t like the bald man as they had a wide gap in mentalities and understanding.

  

The Blonde Guy

 Anger and love can never stay in the same room. So Anger killed the part which was love and succeeded in manipulating Brown.

 

The Blind Guy

Only knowledge or wisdom can conquer Anger. Blind guy was the wisest of all. He tried to enlighten Brown but the anger stood between their paths. Brown never listened to him and took false decisions which led to the destruction of his own family.

The Tattoo Guy

Jealousy is something which cannot be controlled. It transforms our thoughts, it ignites the fire between two persons. It fights with our wisdom. So the tattooed guy killed the blind man.

The Fat Guy and the Skinny Guy

Fat guy was the part of Brown’s personality which wanted success. But after earning so much fame and money, he failed to get the real joy of life as his family was not with him. So he realised that the family is the ultimate happiness one can ever have. The money can neither buy moments nor relations.

Skinny guy was failure or the fear of failure that persisted in Brown’s mind for a very long time. He could see his painful future without his kids or Jennifer. He felt that departing from family is the biggest failure of his life.

Since success and failure are completely opposite, they both kill each other.

The White Bearded Man

He represented the most precious part of Brown’s life which was his memories. Memories of his childhood, school life, his parents and everything. He loved his pasts and all those beautiful moments. The lovely time spent with Jennifer and with his kids was very much precious for him.

Dwarf man

Dwarf Man was loneliness.

“I don’t think you can kill me, because killing me means giving birth to me.”

Nobody can kill loneliness, not even Brown. He was a shy person and spend most of his childhood alone.

So obviously Dwarf man accompanied him most of the time.

The Invisible Man

I guess it’s quite obvious. The Invisible man was fear, the most important part of Brown’s personality. He was scared of everything. The invisible man followed him everywhere he went. When he had the gun pointed at Anderson, he was scared and was unable to gather the courage to pull the trigger. That resulted into a great depression and he found himself lost in his own imagination where he created twelve personalities in his mind and a weird plot. Every man gets a chance to deliver their last speech and anyone who disagrees from the speaker have to shoot him and then the killer eventually gets the chance to give the next speech.

Brown was quite scared of killing Anderson, but he defeated his fear by shooting him and that’s how invisible men died.

Jennifer loved red roses.

He decided to apologize to Jennifer for everything that happened in the past. He knew she loves red roses. He gift her those roses and ask her to start a new life again.

"This world is a beautiful place if you really understand your inner self."  

- Ashutosh Mishra