The day he could not take it anymore - 1

He looked at the saliva dampened roll of paper in his hand once again. Apprehension. Curiosity. Temptation. He eyes moved hesitantly around the dimly lit room. Several pairs of expectant and dazed eyes stared back at him. The smell of the smoke that emanated from the cigarette made him uneasy. Well, all things good came with an in-built put off clause, didn’t they? He recalled his first glass of rum, Old Port. A tired smile escaped his lips. Shedding his inhibitions, he put the joint to his lips, and as advised, took a deep drag. Lightning did not strike him dead. Tigers did not rip off his head. Silence. Peace. Period. The vicious circle.

Five hours had passed by the time he opened his eyes. He was alone. He felt blissfully happy. Joy echoed from the loneliness that engulfed him. He slowly got up. There was something strange about the room. He looked around. There were five of them. Them walls. Four black and a grey one. The room was pentagonal in shape. The ceiling was painted white. There were no light bulbs or candles. Nor were there windows or doors. But the room was still well lit.

His eyes moved from wall to wall. Again, and again, and again. Wait a minute, he said to himself. There was something different about the grey wall. He walked up to the wall. He lifted his hand, almost involuntarily. The grey wall was not solid, unlike the black ones. It was like touching a plasma wall, complete with the ripples, but with a small difference. As he pushed gently, his hand disappeared into the grey wall.

A chill ran down his spine. The part of his hand inside the wall felt cold. He groped around, as if in the dark. Nothing. He pushed his hand further inside. There was something inside. He could feel it. But couldn’t tell for sure what it was. This is probably what ‘nothing’ feels like, he thought. His fingers reached the edge of the smooth surface. He ran his fingers down, and tugged gently. The object moved. He smiled a confused smile. “Take it,” said a little voice from the other side. He slowly lifted the object that was beyond the wall and pulled it out in one swift move.

It was a pencil box, the one with a million little compartments. One for the eraser, one for the sharpener, and one for… He remembered it distinctly. It was Firhad’s pencil box. He had shown it off with great pride the first day he got it to school. All the children in the class gathered around him. One of the many pairs of eyes that looked at him and his box with jealousy on that day was his. He went home that evening and asked his dad for one. “Rs. 60! Are you mad?” was his dad’s response. He cried the whole night. He even prayed.

The same box was now in his hands. He opened each compartment. The lids closed with the help of a tiny magnet. He flipped it open and then shut spilling everything inside. He ran around the room and his box was now any aero plane. He ran in circles. He ran and ran and ran. He ran till his legs could take it no more. He ran till he fell. And slipped into blissful sleep.

(to be continued...)