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twelve

Lucky looks over toward Jin, and surprisingly, finds him to be quite engrossed in Rika's story.

"So what happened?" Jin asks without thinking.

Corkle, not missing a chance, inquires: "And would it be the story or the storyteller that has so captured your attention?" His brow arching slowly as he looks at Jin.

Having instantly realized his mistake in acknowledging his interest, he snaps back.

"I just hate to be left hanging like that. When's she going to get to the point?"

Lucky smiles and turns back to Rika.

"So what happened exactly? I mean, obviously the kitten wound up staying, but you guys didn't ship your Gran back to India either I'm sure. So just how did it get resolved? Peacefully - I'm assuming?"

"Well, I think it actually came down to the rare combination of a really smart cat and some good old fashioned Bollywood magic." She laughs.

Jin's frustration at having given away his interest and still not having gotten to the result of the story, boils over again. "I repeat: what the hell is Bollywood? And what's the big flippin' deal with it?"

Corkle sighs, dropping his head, shaking it in exasperation before lifting it again and turning to face Jin directly. As he does so, he extends his right arm out slightly behind him, snapping his fingers and gesturing in Rika's general direction. She instantly becomes motionless where she sits on the couch.

Jin and Lucky also appear to be momentarily frozen as they both stare at Rika, mouths open in disbelief. Jin is the first to recover enough to voice the question the two are thinking.

"You can stop TIME?!"

"I do not possess the ability to do such."

"What the hell! Then what did you just do because she stopped moving and breathing so it sure as hell looks like you stopped time to me." Jin counters.

"I have not stopped time." Corkle explains. "I have merely slowed it's passage to a rate at which it is imperceptible for a brief period."

"So you can temporarily stop time." Jin repeats looking at him flatly.

"I can not. I have merely..."

"Yeah, get it." Jin says interrupting his spiel. "But from the human perspective it's stopped."

"That may be how it appears but, it most certainly, is not the case. At any rate you are diverting me from my point.

My dear young man I simply do not understand how you can have lived on the Asian continent your entire life and yet have no knowledge of Bollywood." He looks at Jin squarely. "Let alone the fact that you have incarnated as an artist but are completely unaware of one of the most pervasively popular art forms on the planet." He shakes his head. "If you had incarnated as an American your ignorance of world culture would be entirely plausible, but you did not so choose." He remains looking at Jin with an air of disbelief.

Jin's hand moves to his forehead in a gesture much like the one Corkle is so fond of using to display his frustration.

Lucky smiles seeing the strong resemblance.

Jin's head remains down as he takes a deep breath and releases it slowly before saying: "Right – own it. Clue me."

Corkle stares at him bewildered several more seconds before remarking. "I beg your pardon?"

Lucky laughs then translates. "He acknowledges his extreme ignorance, and would like an explanation." His emphasis on the word 'extreme', eliciting a hostile glare from Jin.