THE ADVENTURE

Suddenly, I heard the rustle of leaves and there, standing in front of me was a giant T-Rex, exactly similar to the ones I had seen on television in ‘Jurassic Park’ the previous day – apart from the fact it hadn’t been created by some fancy computer program. I recalled what the hero had instructed his team to do in order to escape being mauled by the hideous creature – not to move a muscle; only I had no team, and neither was I acting in a movie. Nevertheless, I wasn’t a palaeontologist, and no other idea happened to cross my mind at that time. I could feel its warm breath on my face as it scrutinised the stranger that had wandered into its territory. As I stood motionless, still as a rock, I couldn’t help wondering how I had arrived into this unknown, dark, prehistoric jungle where dinosaurs walked amongst thick tress and humid environs, a stream running through the dense growth.

I was playing cricket with my friends after a long time, and needed a four off the last ball of my innings to win. The bowler hurled towards me a bouncer on the off stump and making room, I heaved my bat to play that glorious upper cut the Master Blaster had first introduced into world cricket. I won with a six, the ball disappearing into the distance among tall grass and weeds. I was filled with a sense of pride, but it seemed my friends weren’t – nobody else had any more energy left to retrieve the ball. Vitalised by victory, I jogged to where it had fallen. It was lying in a trench I never knew had existed. As I climbed down into the ditch, it caved in, and I found myself falling through darkness, for an infinite time, blackness increasing as I descended. I felt relieved when finally I bumped into solid ground. But there was nothing to be pleased about. I had landed in this forest, lost and bewildered.

I saw giant creatures I had only read about in books – maybe I was dreaming, maybe this wasn’t real at all – how could it be, unless I had travelled in time to millions of years back the timeline. I pinched myself, and it hurt, filling my inner self with dread and despair. How could I ever get out of this place? I wandered around, looking for help, but there was none I could fathom. And thus, I had encountered this monster, and now I stood petrified for dear life.

It worked. I could feel the earth becoming lighter again, as it receded away, uninterested in the statue of a man transfixed by terror. Cautious about the dangers that awaited me, I then resumed my adventure in hope of returning to the comfort of my bed and the excitement of my precious PS2, which, now, seemed like a gloomy prospect. Treading through the rugged terrain, I finally came to a place where the forest seemed to end its domain abruptly. I was staring at a wooden cottage, conspicuously standing alone in the wilderness, and I was once again baffled by the turn of events. But there was something else that was about to throw me into a tizzy. I went inside to look if it was inhabited. Turned out it was. A bony, green weirdo with a bulging head and disproportionate body popped out of nowhere and without stopping for breath (perhaps ignorant of my state of mind), told me “Congratulations Sir ! you are the first person on Earth to have discovered the secret land of ‘Nothinglikethisexists’ and are therefore, the rightful winner of our first prize – an all expenses paid trip to Mars, the land that boasts of the finest school of magic – Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Oh, and I forgot to mention, you’re a wizard. Here’s your conveyance.” ‘It’ signalled towards a shuttle floating in mid-air. Exhilarated, I boarded the ship that would fly me all the way to realms unseen by the common man. An alarm sounding like bells clanging aloud went off, indicating my ship was ready for take-off. But gradually, the sound of the bells faded off into the distance, replaced by shouts of “Wake up! It’s 9:30 in the morning. How come you’ve become so lazy?”

Mom was trying to awaken me after I’d slept for 10 hours straight. Well, one doesn’t enjoy that luxury at IITR; so I wasn’t to blame. Besides, what else are holidays meant for than to make up for things we crave for in college - including peaceful slumber? I wonder if she hadn’t, I would have been the first one on Earth to set foot on Mars, and Hogwarts !