Revenge is Sweet but Consequences are Bitter…

Mail call !! Mail Call !! XZABCK123 be on standby! XZABCK123 be on standby! Those words were almost unheard in my alley for months.I couldn't believe that someone was actually trying to read my inbox after all this time.It was surprising.I quickly put on my best pair of jeans, held my breath and waited for password validation. A successful validation was always necessary for opening the inbox.It was a process in which user was given three trials to try and unlock the inbox. If in those three trials if the inbox was not unlocked, It would be hard-locked and that would require the locksmith and his own validation to open. I started praying and hoped that the entered password was correct, for I felt that I had nothing in my inbox which was worth the locksmith's effort and validation process.

The first try was a failure..and I watched in dismay as the second try too was not successful. I sincerely wished he asked for a hint, for the hint was my name and my name was the password!!! My prayers were answered and there he was asking for a hint..I was overjoyed..I was going to see the sunlight at last!! sure enough, the last try was a success..I could not wait to see him after all this time..I ran as fast as I could with all my messages and as I came out of blinding light to the world above I was shocked!! The face looking into my inbox was not the same sweet face which I expected. On the contrary, this was a pockmarked face with sinister looking eyes and an evil smile..My heart was pulling me back..reminding of my loyalties…while my mind wanted to race through and enjoy while it lasted. It was a great dilemma to open or not to open.

Finally I gave in to my mind, What the hell I thought, that sweet person who I long for never cared for me, never opened me and still here I was trying to protect information..Who cares anyway..This was my time now..My revenge, for being so neglected and it had better be sweet while it lasted..and thus I opened up..to this stranger..and enjoyed my time in the sun..After a while the stranger dismissed me and I felt good. This was after all a harmless adventure and I was sure that I would never see this stranger again. I felt rejuvenated.A few days passed and one day the stranger summoned me again.. noted a few things and dismissed me ..this continued for a few days.

These events started changing everything. The number of mails coming in daily increased three fold. Most of the mails I used to handle usually were either spam or ads but now messages started arriving with delivery escorts in secure vans. I had to sign them before accepting. Looking at the mails, the content looked extremely important. I asked the delivery escorts what they were and they said it was some sort of a reminder to pay for some bills. What had I done? was this all because of my meeting with the stranger? was my master in trouble because of me? all sorts of questions started racing in my heart. Again my mind took over my heart..I started to think this was indeed a sweet revenge..for letting me rot with neglect.I diligently sorted the mails and continued to do my duties. My life went back to my routine and I never saw the stranger again.

I thought everything was back to normal and I was blissfully enjoying my time until the day I heard those dreaded words…XZABCK123 to the administration!! XZABCK123 to the administration!! These were the words dreaded by every email id, It meant something was very wrong. Every id who went to administration never returned!..I was petrified..This could not be happening to me..I stood frozen..time seemed to stand still and every image of my life started to flash in my mind. Soon two secure locksmiths came in..replaced my passkey ..cloned my inbox , put me in chains and escorted me to the administration.

Administration was a dreadful place, I could see a long queue of email ids, whose faces were filled with terror, dejectedly facing the ultimate capital punishment.. Finally, I walked in to the administration office. It was gigantic setting and had three super locksmiths- ready to unlock my mind and read every detail if I did not co-operate , an army of super sniffer worms – those who can follow any mail trial no matter how cold it was.. and one super admin. I was put on trial. Super admin asked me if I saw any suspicious activity in past months, I replied positive and described in detail everything. I pointed to the mails which were read by the pockmarked stranger and the times he opened the mails ...everything. The army of super sniffer worms were immediately dispatched and super admin asked the super locksmiths to relieve me from my duties, take over my inbox and confine me into secure cell for six months.He remarked that my carelessness had caused “identity theft”..I could not make a head or tail of that statement. I cursed my self for not listening to my heart at that spur of the moment and hence resigned to the fate..some one aptly said..Revenge was sweet but consequences are bitter..

After six months of spending time in confinement of a secure cell, a purge order was executed on XZABCK123. The pock marked stranger was never caught and the master of XZABCK123 was still fighting to get his identity back.

Moral of the story for all of us:

We do have many email ids, we should be prudent enough not to leave any sensitive information in any of our unused ids. It could be disastrous in wrong hands ..at least it would ensure that ids like XZABCK123 live their lifetime :)

Its a Brand New Day…

It had been three long months since I had been opened, which only confirmed that my cries had gone unheard. I resigned to my fate and settled into my usual routine of sorting messages into folders and junk. There was no travelling around the world, only lazing around. I longed to go out ..meet others..how I missed those good times…I soon made friends with the arriving ads and spam and came to know the reason why I was neglected. I heard that in network world a monster domain had come up and was offering shiny new email ids who could put on multiple hats and the best part it seemed was that, it was all for free…How I longed to be a part of that new domain. Well, it all seemed to change one day….

It started of as yet another routine morning. The bandwidth was just about right and the messages were zipping through. And all of a sudden everything seemed to slow down..the bandwidth reduced to a trickle and light was fast fading. We were plunged into a deep darkness and there was nothing we could do. As we sat helpless, my thoughts were drifting to the new monster domain. I started thinking..”This kind of thing would have never happened in that new domain” and cursed my fate.I don’t recall how long it lasted but when it was over and lights came on ..it was all a big surprise..I was transported into a new home ..a home with a bigger room and a nicer view. It was just right on the corner of a super highway..the bandwidth seemed almost like a dream. Some of the email addresses around me were sporting a new domain name.Well, that was strange, because as far as I knew, only thing we all had in common was the domain name. I was just right beside so many strangers but had no way of interacting with them and finding out what happened. It was so frustrating…I waited and resumed my normal routine… days went by and new doors were added to my place. More than I was excited I was frustrated at the fact that I could not explore what was behind those doors. How I wished I was not a dummy Id…

Email from an email address

Hey you.. notice me!! I crave for your attention….I have been around for a while but I am sure I am not your only one..I am the elixir which liberates your soul and provides you a means to explore the wilder side. I have been changing the way your deals are done,your decisions are made and at times even how your love is professed. I know your darkest secrets…I am your email address…your identity in digital age and yes, I truly have changed the world…well with all things I do and facilitate, you would expect my life to be a high flying one. On the contrary, I spend most of my life working under a password lock, lying in deep dark corner of a data center, and handling a pile of stinking spam and aimless forwarded messages and even with all the neglect, I work day and night to make sure that every message reaches you. You never notice my greetings and you never care for my feelings...I know that you have been seeing others but my world is you and I keep hoping that your world is my inbox.

Sometimes when I get the opportunity to meet others like me, I keep hearing how fast the things are changing. Some of my friends are hosted from a shiny new site say that I am growing old and am on my way out. They compare me to something called snail mail, which they say was like me in its hey days and now used only to deliver things not messages. I am worried listening to all these stories. Promise me you will not let me be yet another dummy email id and let me represent your true self.

Sincerely

Your email Address

P.S. This is my first original post :)