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Masalas Express · Chapter 2

The Unluckiest Delivery

A ticket rolls out of the printer, brown with mud and a leaf stuck to it. Biru jumps through the tandoor with the golden bag and lands in a jungle with no name.

Cover: Masalas Express, Chapter 2: The Unluckiest Delivery. A jungle that looks like another planet, deep green and cold blue, with mud, water and giant strange trees. High in a tree Biru dangles upside down from a tangled parachute, red jacket, scarf, bobble hat, the golden bag blazing on his back as the warmest thing in the picture, his face half scared, half amused. Below him a mud hole has opened its huge mouth full of teeth, beside him a giant turtle-like beast with pointed teeth hovers in the air and looks confused. On a branch a rabbit glitches into stripes and outlines, thousands of butterflies fill the air. Large at the top: MASALAS EXPRESS, below it: Chapter 2: The Unluckiest Delivery.

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Page 1, four panels. The quiet night after chapter 1: the warm kitchen with a low tandoor glow, on the wall the unplugged ticket printer. The old ticket hangs from its slot, a thick white drop of lassi drips from it, on it the thin mark, a ring with a gap. Biru lies curled up by the tandoor, an empty pot on his belly, one big blue eye half open. Biru: "I'm going…" He rolls over, eyes shut, a small happy smile: "…back to sleep." Masu in his kitchen headset takes the dripping ticket from the printer, slips it into the pocket of his red apron and looks at his sleeping friend. Masu, quiet: "Not tonight, little one."

Page 2, four panels. The printer rattles by itself: RRRRT. A ticket curls out, smeared with brown mud and a green leaf stuck to it. Close-up of the ticket: 1× Vegetable Pakora / 1× Palak Paneer / 1× Carrot Halwa, no street, no address, under it in blue and a little smudged by the mud the old mark, a thin ring with one small gap. Small drawn carrots curl out of the paper like a smell. Biru jumps up at once, ears and tuft straight, paws up, beaming: "Carrot halwa! A customer with taste!" Masu holds the ticket, sees the mud and the mark, his eyes wide, his face frozen, no words.

Page 3, four panels. Biru now wears the red puffy jacket, striped scarf and bobble hat, the golden glowing bag on his back. Masu packs steaming food: golden vegetable pakora, a bowl of palak paneer, a big bowl of orange carrot halwa with nuts. Biru watches and drools. Masu holds a small folded red parachute pack, his face serious. He straps it on Biru's back under the bag. Biru stands stiff, eyebrows up, staring at the straps: "Why a parachute?" Masu looks away, one paw behind his head, a tiny sweat drop: "…Just a feeling." Biru: "You have strange feelings."

Page 4, four panels. In the dark kitchen tandoor a circle of liquid glass opens, cold blue light, pale geometric clouds inside. Biru takes a run-up and dives in head first, the bag blazing. Then the jungle that looks like another planet, deep green and cold blue. At the very top of a giant tree a glass circle hangs in the air and Biru pops out of it, arms out, surprised. Caption: "A jungle nobody has a name for." Biru has jumped, the red parachute opens, he grins: "WHEEE—" In the tall last panel the parachute catches every branch, Biru bounces from branch to branch like a pinball, eyes spinning. A big mud puddle waits at the bottom. Biru: "—ow—" "—ow—" "—OW." Sound: SPLOTCH.

Page 5, three panels. Biru lies face first in a big puddle of brown mud, arms and legs spread like a starfish, a few stars circle over his head. High above, the red parachute hangs tangled in a giant tree. Close-up: Biru's small earpiece slips out of his ear and sinks into the mud, only bubbles are left: BLUBB. Biru blacked out, stars around his head, mud on his fur. The first flap of the golden bag snaps shut and its glow drops a little. A jagged radio bubble with a small headset icon, the letters fading. Masu: "Biru? Bi—"

Page 6, four panels. Biru sits up, a mud statue with only two big blinking eyes, tears of pain running through the mud on his cheeks, giant strange trees all around. Biru stands up, paws around his mouth, calling into the huge jungle. Far away a tiny frog sits on a leaf, the only answer. Biru: "Where am I? What is this place? Anybody there?" Silence, his ears droop, he listens, only the frog. Very small: "…Hello?" Big panel: a giant tree shaped like an elephant, its long trunk pours clear water like a shower. Biru stands under it, eyes shut, the mud washing off in brown swirls, bliss on his face. Biru: "Ahh. Thank you, Mr Tree."

Page 7, four panels. Biru is clean again, damp fur. His ears shoot up, behind him, out of focus, something big and round: GRUNT. He turns round and shakes from his ears to his toes. A round, cute rabbit-like creature sits there crunching a big bunch of vegetables, carrots and leaves, unbothered. Biru takes a golden pakora out of the bag and holds it out with a hopeful smile: "Oh! You're the customer? No? …Want a pakora?" Big panel: Biru reaches out a paw to stroke it. The moment he touches it, the rabbit's whole body glitches into stripes and outlines like a broken screen, Biru's eyes huge. Biru: "Can I pat you?" Sound: BZZZT.

Page 8, three panels. Biru jumps backwards in shock, arms flapping, losing his balance. He falls against the elephant-shaped water tree. The tree goes POOF and breaks open into thousands of tiny butterflies, each a different colour, size and shape, rushing into the air in a huge cloud of colour: FWOOOSH. Biru sits in the mud, a few petals falling on him, paws on his cheeks, shocked. The second flap of the golden bag snaps shut and its glow drops further. Biru: "I broke the tree!"

Page 9, two panels, the quiet page. Big, wide panel: Biru lies on his back in the mud, looking up. Thousands of butterflies fly above him in a slow, perfect formation, a river of colour in the green and blue jungle, no two alike. The golden bag is the warmest thing in the picture. Close-up: one butterfly lands softly on the back of Biru's paw, his eyes wide and shining. Biru whispers, small letters: "…Pretty." Caption: "Strange. Unimaginable. Beautiful."

Page 10, four panels. Biru sits up, the butterfly on his paw, all the others fly above in formation. Out of the shadows behind him a giant turtle-like beast leaps into the picture: huge shell, big silly eyes, a mouth full of pointed teeth, comic, not scary. Big panel: CHOMP, the beast opens its huge mouth and swallows every butterfly in the air in one gulp, a few colourful sparkles fly out of its nose. Close-up: its big eyes slowly turn and see the last butterfly on Biru's paw. Biru and the beast look at each other nose to nose, Biru hides the paw behind his back and smiles stiffly. Biru: "Uh." Beast: "…" Biru: "This one is taken?"

Page 11, three slanted panels, pure speed. Biru runs on all four paws through the mud jungle, the last butterfly held high over his head like a trophy, his face screaming, the golden bag swinging, mud splashing. Biru: "AAAAH!" Behind him the giant turtle-like beast, flying and leaping, its pointed teeth snapping just behind his tail, a few hairs fly away: SNAP. A tree trunk flashes by, Biru ducks under a root, the beast rips the root away with its jaws, Biru does not look back: SNAP.

Page 12, four equal panels with the same background, the mirror gag. Biru turns left, running, scared, right behind him the beast turns left too, same pose. Biru turns right, the beast turns right too. Biru stops dead, the beast stops dead too, nose to nose, both panting. Close-up: Biru winks at the beast, holding the butterfly up, the beast winks back, one huge slow wink, fully copying him. Biru: "Copycat!" Beast: SNAP.

Page 13, four panels, the peak of the chase. A rock by a big dark mud hole in the jungle, Biru leaps onto the rock on all four paws, the beast behind him. Tall panel: Biru leaps from the rock onto a thick branch just above the mud hole, hanging on with his paws, the butterfly safe on the back of his paw. Big, wide panel: the beast flies at him through the air, jaws wide open, hundreds of pointed teeth. At the same moment the mud below bursts open: a huge mud mouth, a cave full of teeth, rising up. Teeth from above and from below at once: SPLASH. Close-up: Biru in the middle, hanging from the branch between the two sets of teeth, cheeks puffed, eyes huge, tiny. Biru: "Eep."

Page 14, four panels. The cave of a mouth of the mud creature swallows the whole flying beast in one go, only the tail sticks out for a moment, a cartoon swallow, nobody is hurt: GULP. The mud creature sinks back into the hole with a huge muddy burp, a brown bubble pops and a few colourful butterflies flutter out: BURP. Biru hangs from the branch by his left paw, feet kicking, the last butterfly still sitting calmly on the back of his other paw. Caption: "Luck played its game, and saved the unluckiest one in the weirdest land." Close-up of Biru's mud-splashed face with a shaky happy grin. Biru: "…I'm a lucky boy."

Page 15, four panels. Biru drops from the branch to the ground, legs shaking. He turns to the jungle and shakes his little fist at it, cheeks red, no bad words. Biru: "Silly jungle! Rude jungle! …Sorry, jungle." Biru brushes mud off his red jacket and straightens his scarf and the bag, the butterfly flutters away, free. Biru walks deeper into the jungle, the trees get bigger and darker, deep green and cold blue. In the hollow of a tree trunk a pair of round rabbit eyes peeks out. Biru dives at the rabbit with both paws, it glitches into stripes and outlines and slips through his paws like water, Biru lands face down in the leaves. Biru: "Got you! …Not got you."

Page 16, four panels, deeper and deeper. The rabbit hops away, Biru follows on all fours. At the foot of a giant tree there is a dark round hole between the roots, the rabbit hops in. Inside, a cave with rough rock walls and cold blue light, the golden bag the only warm glow, the cave narrows. Grand and wide: an ancient natural gate of rock, an arch made by nature, leading into a bigger cave, Biru tiny in front of it. Biru: "Mr Rabbit, is this a shortcut? It looks like a long-cut." Cave after cave behind each other like a tunnel of doors, going further and further, the bag's glow getting smaller in the distance.

Page 17, four panels. A cave full of thick, strong, silver-white webs like giant ropes hanging everywhere. No footprints, only dust, Biru small in the middle. Caption: "No one had been here. Ever." Funny: Biru is stuck upside down in a web like in a hammock, wriggling, the bag swinging, then he pops free with a twang. Biru walks on, tired, ears drooping, shoulders low: "Are we there yet?" Small panel: Biru, now very tired, the bag glowing smaller, still walking through the same webs. Caption: "One hour later." Biru: "Are we there YET?"

Page 18, three panels, the circle. A dark cave opens into a big hall. In the middle of the air hangs a perfect circle of transparent liquid glass, shining pale blue-white, floating with nothing holding it. Biru stops, mouth open, the golden bag glowing warm behind him. Close-up: Biru pokes the circle with one finger. The whole circle wobbles like a soap bubble and drifts away from his finger, wobbling, shining. Biru: "A bubble! A big one!" Sound: BLOBB.

Page 19, three panels. Close-up: Biru lays his whole paw flat on the circle. The glass-like liquid takes his paw in without breaking, rings of ripples spread out, frost sparkles around his fur. His paw is deep in the liquid, it is very cold, white frost grows on the edge, tiny icicles. Biru feels the cold and smiles, eyes closed: "Liquid… and sticky… and cold." He pulls out his shining wet paw, a happy sparkle in his eyes: "Nice! Like our freezer at home!"

Page 20, four panels. Biru throws a small stone into the circle, it disappears into the liquid with a ring of ripples. He waits, ears up. Biru: "Hello? Stone?" Wide and dark: nothing comes back, only the ripples fade, silence. Funny: Biru throws his bobble hat after it by mistake, a second ring of ripples, the hat is gone. He claps both paws on his head, eyes huge, panic. Biru: "…My HAT!" Close-up: Biru without a hat thinks, a paw on his chin, his fur tuft sticking up, between the dark cave behind him and the glowing circle in front of him. Caption: "Take the risk? Or leave it as it is?"

Page 21, four panels. Biru, without his bobble hat, rolls a big round rock under the floating circle, puffing, the bag glowing. He stands on the rock on tiptoe, stretching up, the circle just above his head, his face serious and brave. Biru: "For the hat. And the customer." Big panel: Biru jumps up and pushes his head into the circle first, the liquid wobbles around him: SHLOOP. Only his back half is left outside, the bag, his kicking legs, the tail last. The next moment he is gone, only ripples on the circle.

Page 22, splash page, two panels, Biru without his bobble hat. Nearly the whole page: the wonderland. A milky-white sky, a greenish-white land, trees heavy with fruit and flowers, rivers as clear as crystal. No sun, no moon, no planets, blue clouds in perfect geometric shapes, circles, squares and triangles, as if ironed. Biru floats in the middle, cheeks puffed, holding his breath, eyes huge and wondering, the golden bag the only warm thing in all that white and green. Caption: "Colder than ice. And yet, spring." Biru: "Mmmph!" Small inset in the bottom corner: Biru lets his breath go with a pfft, his cheeks shrink, he looks up at the perfect clouds: "…Huh. Who ironed the clouds?"

Page 23, three panels, the wonderland. Biru has no bobble hat, but a baby rabbit wears it. The glitch rabbit sits on the greenish-white grass under a tree full of fruit and flowers. From behind trees and flowers comes its whole family: many small round cute baby rabbits, some of them flickering into stripes and outlines for a moment. One baby wears Biru's red bobble hat, far too big, over its ears. Biru sees it, his eyes go round, a happy surprised face. All the rabbits sniff the golden bag, noses twitching, tails wiggling. Biru smiles, hands on his hips, and holds up the carrot halwa. Biru: "You ordered the carrot halwa!" Rabbits: BZZT BZZT.

Page 24, four panels, the heart of the chapter. The baby rabbit still wears Biru's bobble hat. Big and warm: Biru opens the golden bag, a huge cloud of steam rises, still hot in all that cold. Vegetable pakora, palak paneer and a big bowl of carrot halwa are set out on the grass like a picnic, the rabbit family around it, happy, glitching with joy. Close-up: Biru's small earpiece is back in his ear and crackles with a tiny spark. Biru touches it, eyes wide, and speaks into it: "Masu! Still hot! No sun here, no moon, and the clouds are ironed!" Split panel: left Biru, listening, right Masu in his warm kitchen, quiet, touching the lassi ticket in the pocket of his red apron, smiling, his eyes wet, a jagged radio bubble with a small headset icon. Masu: "…I know. Come home soon, little one." Biru: "How do you know?" Masu: "…Lucky guess." Wide and calm: Biru and the rabbits sit together in the greenish-white grass under the perfectly ironed blue clouds, the golden bag glowing warm. Caption: "To be continued."