Hi Sum_Off - The last time I thoroughly enjoyed a story of yours, you deleted it. I hope you wont feel the need to do it this time because that would be a shame. Write-ups like these enrich Sajha and allow me to cast aside any lingering doubts about why I am still active on this site when many people I know have left for one reason or another. I will forward this to some people I know - I think they'll enjoy it as much as I did. Allow me to say you have a great narrative style and as always you've done a great job using style and substance to put together a captivating story. A couple of other thoughts crossed my mind while going through this story. These are not comments or criticisms of your ideas or your story but merely reflections triggered by it. Homosexuality: Let's face it, it exists in Nepal just like anywhere else. I am amazed how conformist many of us are that not just do we chose not to talk about it, but we go to great lengths to deny that it even exists in Nepal! Hindu* sex: (or insert your religion here) Forget homosexuality, I sometime think we seem to be in denial about sex itself in Nepal. I recall the criticism Samrat Upadhyay came under when he talked about - listen to this - marital sex in his stories. As for his stories that had a scene or two about the wayward husband or wife, I feel there might have been some people ready to burn his books - if only they weren't so busy burning tires and telephone booths. I understand people might not be comfortable talking about sex in public - and I am probably one of them - but I am amazed by how such noble thinking, for lack of a better word, sometimes spills over into ignoble thoughts about basic biology. Watching your parents have sex: I shudder at the very thought of it, as I am sure others do, but none of us would be here opining and doing whatever it is that we do on Sajha had it not happened. I can only hope more people receive sex education and come to terms with things like this sooner than later in life. Arjun is your character and you know more than I do what went through his mind, but I am inclined to think it might have been more than the misfortune of having seen one act of copulation that would drive a person to such extreme ends. Clearly you have chosen not to write about it, I imagine for reasons of length, depth etc - but Arjun is more likely to have been sick and/or in need of help than just "weird" if I were to make a guess. Alright, I'm going to stop there for now. I probably lost a bunch of virtual friends with my 'weird' comments above so I better drop by the other threads and say hi to those that stll remain he he he... Hope you are well.