✰¢reative ¢onstellation✰: #39 Unusual Encounter

Short Story_______By Sweta Sarangi

Unusual Encounter

“Papa, can I touch the stone which is sparkling over there lying on sand?” questioned a girl in an excited voice.

“Be careful Riya, don’t go too far.” Said father, who was busy in paying at the ice-cream bar.

The weather was almost clear and whole scene at the park was eye catchy. There were lots of kids playing various games like badminton, disc throw, hide and seek, ice and water and lots more. Some couples were spending time with each other and some were involved in the ecstasy of the surrounding. Even some vendors were selling snacks and kids were hovering around the vendors like bees around sweets. The musical fountain was the main attraction of the park, along with monochromatic light fading out from the source and again being incident on the mountain creating a magical effect. With the soft beat of the music, there were rhythmic rise and fall of the water levels that was entertaining to watch. No element was missing that would make the park incomplete for small kids. Besides these there were different types of swings and a small serene water reservoir for the boating purpose. Altogether it was a park which would attract not only small kids but also youths and elders.

She ran to the spot to grab the stone. There was something unusual happening that made her think that she was the only one to whom the stone was visible because it did not draw the attention of any other people present over there.

“Wow, it’s shining. Really nice one, I will pick this stone up and place it on the shelf of my drawing room. After a long time I have got this one really I don’t want to miss.” Said Riya to herself whose hobby was collection of stones (gem) and it was unusual for a 13 year old girl to possess such a hobby. She was a girl of different ideology and interest. She was bestowed with the title of encyclopedia by her friends because of her extended knowledge in various fields. But she would never miss a chance to do mischievous things and ultimately become a topic of discussion for all which was out of her control.

Initially she turned around to see the reaction of people .No one was there whose eyes could notice her, may be intentionally or unintentionally. She felt relaxed that no one was observing her and everyone was enjoying the beauty of the park and why should one be?? There were other things which could draw their attractions, unlike the stone lying on sand which was of interest for this little fellow only.

When she was about to pick the stone, invisible force compelled her to move inside and finally the stone engulfed Riya in one go.

A world which was totally different from the world where she resided appeared all of a sudden and old one was vanished. She was perplexed to see different creatures. One could say that she landed on a mysterious green world accidently. Over here greenery was prevalent. She turned herself to see whether she was alright. Her glazing pink colored gown had been transformed to green along with her other accessories. She stressed her mind to figure out the place for some time but failed.

She was cursing herself for showing her smartness by picking up the stone which ought not to be touched at that point of time. She did everything instantly without even thinking of the consequences. There were other things around also that would have fascinated her. Why the stone?? These questions were frequently creating turmoil inside her mind. She wanted to rectify her deed by making her out of this mysterious world. Don’t know how??Papa was not there with her this time, who would understand her condition and help her to find out some solutions to her problems. For her, papa was equivalent to a superhero. What would she do without her superhero?? What were the alternatives that she should search for at this point of time? With every single footsteps she took, made her more insecure and nervous. No one could be found. Her eyes were trying to gaze as far as possible.

After walking for a few more miles, murmuring of kids made her pause. She turned around and followed the path where this sound was more audible. Finally she was encountered with some more kids of her age group who were crying for the help.

“Hey, how have you been here? I guess that you were also trying to pick up the stone that was lying on sand in that park?”Asked Riya spontaneously.

“Yes, you are right. What can we do it was so attractive and the lustre prompted us to pick that one. Finally, we are here.” Said a voice among those.

“Now, anyhow we have to come out of this place. And there should be some way out. Don’t worry, collectively we will search for that.” Said Riya.

“So, be quick. Let’s not waste time in talking”.

Riya got merged with those kids and moved forward. The path seemed to be infinitely long and perhaps a never ending one. On the way, she met a man who was sitting and singing a song melodiously.

“Hello, can you please suggest me the way out?” Asked Riya.

“Way out….Hahaha. You have to fight with the main creature of this land. For that you have to use this stone as a weapon. How will you use that, it is up to your talent. Once you reach a cave, you will find some instructions written on the entrance of the cave. If you don’t defeat the creature, you will have to wait for another girl like you who would land here accidently to save you all.” Said the man calmly pointing out the stone.

“Thanks for your suggestion. I will try my level best.”

“Good luck and go on.”

They marched towards the cave with a hope. As instructed by the man, Riya paused at the entrance of the cave. In a bold letters, it was inscribed on one of the rocks,

Match the colured stone with other stones of same colour to complete the level.

“It’s like matching game but there is nothing mentioned about the creature that is going to come. Perhaps I may find that inside this cave. Interesting!!! Let’s see what happens next. Hope for the best.”She patted herself and moved inside.

Inside the cave an alien descended from the top. The arrival of alien frightened the kids as they had never witnessed this type of creature before. Later on, the creature proved to be an obstacle in the entire game. The alien would adopt various measures to make her unsuccessful in her attempt by throwing meteorites on her. Here level would be completed only when all the stones got matched in a row. Each row corresponded to each level. It was a challenge for her to finish this game as soon as possible before dawn. She was expert in solving puzzles. With her experience she managed to complete 4 levels quickly. Only one level was left that would yield the completion of the mission and overflow of the stones. It was a indication that she would grab a lot of gem stones.

“Here we go, 3….2…..1…..finish…..Let me collect all …..130…140…..150…..hmmm, hmmmm.” Riya was mumbling in her deep sleep.

“It’s already been 9:30 wake up quickly.” Mom’s shrill voice was enough to wake her up from her deep mode of sleep and placed her in the real world.

“Mom, I have collected 150 stones.” Yelled Riya who was still residing in her dream and unable to come back to reality.

“Can you show those to me? Dear, you were present in your dreamland. Now come back and go for brushing” Ordered mom.

“Mom, Mom please listen to me. Actually, in my dream I was able to collect 150 stones and if this comes true my name will be enlisted for National record for collecting the maximum number of gemstones as I have already collected 129 stones. These will add up to 279, wow I’m excited but you know what, I had an encounter with a weird creature who was a kinda alien……”

“Could you please stop narrating your story? Dreams are not reality. Dreams are representation of unconscious thoughts that one posses. But, dreams can only be realized by one’s hard work, dedication and passion. If one dwells deep into his interest, he will be successful one day. It’s not that easy as it may seem to you. Dream is not that which you see while sleeping it is something that does not let you sleep.'” Mom tried to make her child understand. With these words, she departed from the room.

Riya nodded her head in order to pretend that she had got the concept of dream fully. But it was not possible for her to digest the talks of her mother in early morning. She knew the fact that her mother would never let her sleep for some more time. She was thinking the dream to end in a precise manner but the shrill voice of her mother did not let it end smoothly. She was lost in her imagination once again until her mother’s call would drag her back to her daily chores.