A Mind-blowing Journey

“Small girl, Big world………” I belted out . We were going to the beach and to stop ourselves from falling into depths of boredom my brother and I were singing songs . Finally, after what seemed like ages we reached, and I scrambled out of the car to stretch my legs . We  unloaded the car and as we went towards the sand, I saw small , cozy brightly colored huts covered by shady palm trees . I ran towards the soft golden sand until I reached it. The sea. Like a sheet of blue gauzy paper shimmering in the sun as the waves gently lapped against the shore.

Splashing around in the cold, clean sea was great fun but right now I was starving . We laid a picnic mat on the sand  and set the food on it . Munching on delicious sandwiches and sipping some juice with the breeze whipping around my hair I sighed. This was like a dream vacation. 

“Hana!” I heard someone shout as I was shaken out of my daze to see my brother shouting at me to help him make a sandcastle. I mustered up the effort and got to work. After an hour of finding shells, gathering water and heaping sand we were done. A masterpiece was in the place of the mountain of sand my brother had gathered. Wanting a break after slaving for so long I dashed towards the sea. The smell of fresh sea salt wafting down my nostrils. As a wave crashed at my feet, I saw it. The thing that changed my whole life. The wooden gilt covered box bobbing up and down swimming in enjoyment. I swiftly swam towards the box and grasped it in my arms. I swam back towards the shore exhausted. I lay panting in the sand as I opened the box to see…………

🎁ℬ𝒾𝓇𝓉𝒽𝒹𝒶𝓎𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝚂𝓅𝑒𝒸𝒾𝒶𝓁!🥳

Birthdays are special days for everyone, old or young. This year when peoples birthdays are falling they are being celebrated in a very different manner due to the pandemic, COVID-19. Some people are moaning about it being unfair but no! There are several ways to have a rapturous birthday in quarantine. You can celebrate on ZOOM with friends and family and enjoy your birthday. To cheer yourself up, you can decorate the house and celebrate with the people living with you. You can even make plans for when lockdowns over! You can do anything to please yourself! Follow your hearts content and do one thing, STAY POSITIVE!

birthday-card
Stay cheerful and look at the positive aspects!

The Mysterious Playground

As the sharp light of the full moon hit the playground anyone could see this playground was abandoned and for good reason. The swings were dancers, dancing in the breeze, groaning and creaking like ghosts, mourning the dead. The creaky, colorless, crying swings were covered with dust, untouched for years. The merry-go-round was destroyed. Springs and screws were scattered all around making the playground look like a junkyard. The seesaw was rickety and risky. If anyone sat on it, it would topple over without a doubt. The sandpit was unmaintained and had become a forest of tangled, overgrown weeds. Strangled and wilted flowers tried to grow but failed without success. This place was abandoned, why? Nobody knows but I sure do know one thing, it must be for a good reason.

How would it be to live in the Stone Age?

Gentle rays of sunshine were slanting in the dark and musty cave, giving it light. I was sitting on the cold floor chewing thoughtfully on a piece of raw meat. Suddenly a huge shadow blocked sunlight from entering. I got up joyfully, surprised that my mother was back so early. I looked up and got the shock of my life. I gasped, my heart in my mouth. Standing in front of me, was a poorly looking lion with a shaggy red mane mottled with mud. He looked like he was in a lot of pain and I felt a pang of sympathy. The kindest thing to do would be to slay the lion. It would be cruel to keep it alive and make it suffer with pain. I picked up the carelessly flung spear from the floor, took a deep breath and flung it at the lion with all my might. He let out a howl of anguish before crumpling in a heap on the floor. When my parents came back, they were astounded to see a dead lion lying at the foot of our cave. I told them the whole sorrowful story as they nodded gravely and told me that I had done the right thing. With the fur coat of the lion we made a new carpet for our cave and the meat lasted us a week.

Each and Every Role is Priceless

Hidden beneath the ferns and overgrown with weeds was the limerick forest. No one dared to venture in but in the depths of the forest a lovely honeysuckle and rose covered cottage stood out. Unlike the rest of the forest it was immaculately clean and was not green. The walls of the cottage were like the color of the blue sky and the door was white covered by fragrant pink roses. In this cottage lived three brave retired explorers. After a tiring all three women wanted to remember their exciting days in the forest, so they explored and found an untidy crumbling shack which they then freshened up and started living in. 

As adventurous and exciting it seems living in a forest is no piece of cake. Lucy, Meg and Ellie realized that in a couple of days. So, smart as they were, they made a daily schedule. Meg would cook the food since she had the flare of a chef and also do the dish washing. Lucy would do the laundry and vacuum cleaning. Last but not the least Ellie it was decided would knit Alice bands and would sell them at the monthly La’Chic market and with the money she’d earn she get the grocery and other necessities. Things went on amiably for the three. Several years later…. It was La’Chic market day and Ellie was setting out with baskets full of Alice bands. After being sold out successfully Ellie wandered around La’Chic market buying the groceries and some treats. “Poor you!” said a middle-aged woman scornfully. “Having to sell Alice bands as a job. All I do is chillax.” Satisfied with her lecture the women settled with a haughty smirk. Speech less Ellie stared at the plump, stout women standing next to her. She mumbled something and flared from that stall. After finishing the grocery Ellie went back to the cottage but as she walked the women’s speech was whirling in her head, “Poor you!”…. “All I do is chillax.” In the cottage Ellie announced that it was time for a change, they should switch jobs. Meg and Lucy were bewildered at Ellie’s statement. “isn’t it just perfect as it is?” protested Lucy. “No!” huffed Ellie. The next day dawned bright and sunny. Ellie did Meg’s job and Meg did Lucy’s job. Lucy did Ellie’s job. Ellie was too proud to admit that she needed help so as you can guess the food turned out raw and undone. Lucy was too scared to ask Ellie for help in making the Alice bands, so she tried her best, but they looked like a tangled heap of wool. Meg managed to do the vacuuming right but washed a white shirt with a red jacket so you can guess when they came out of the washing machine the shirt was pink. In the evening each was ashamed of their efforts as they shared the day’s catastrophes and Ellie realized her mistake. She apologized and confessed that the seed of discontent was sowed in her mind after hearing a woman’s comment in the market.

They all then came to a conclusion: to each, their own. Everyone is good at something or the other. Every role is priceless. Look at what you can do best and let others handle what they are best at. Each of us has a different role to play in this world.

Into the Unknown

The moment you set foot into the African wilderness it is only then you realize what a grave mistake you have made. Filled with dry ferns and majestic trees with gnarled roots and ivy-covered branches, the foul, fiendish foliage stands looming over the dark, dense, desolate forest. The winds howl like a pack of wolves is on your tail. The leaves rustle and crackle telling dark secrets about this place. No one has ever been brave enough to venture in the far end. Once you’re in, you are never heard of again. No one knows where this forest leads to. The ground is damp and smells of wet mud. Claustrophobic people wouldn’t survive an hour in this place. Gigantic trees tower over closing you in a dark cave. No air can come through. All you can do is to try not to get suffocated. This place leads to somewhere mysterious and unknown, known to not a single living been on the planet. 

Rain 2020

The month of July has begun. The Monsoon season has started. The smell of fresh rain penetrates the air. One calm, breezy day I woke up to hear the pitter patter of rain on the glass of my window. I leapt out of bed and woke up my brother and together we persuaded our reluctant parents to let us go in the balcony and enjoy the rain.

And now here I was, standing in the balcony watching glistening raindrops falling from the sky. They shimmered like falling prisms, reflecting the light of the sun. this was the beauty of nature; it was there wherever you went. Either on a balcony or stranded in a forest. It was there no matter what. The cold rain pelted my face, breaking me out of my daze. I ran around, free and overjoyed. This was the best thing about rain. With the dirt, it washed away your worries, freeing you. I smiled and suddenly the rain got heavier, and I shivered. I went inside the warmth of the house as my mom covered me and my brother with dry towels. As we showered and changed, she came back with bowls of hot soup. “Mom!” I whined “Who drinks soup in this hot weather?” “It will keep you warm and prevent you from getting sick after running around for so long in the rain,” she replied calmly. I pushed away the soup refusing to have it and my brother, who is a big fan of soup, drank mine as well as his own. Life continued without drama but on the third day after I went out in the rain, I developed a flu and fever. As I lay in bed with a thermometer in my mouth a realization crashed on me. What if I had corona? I started to cry worried and when I shared my fears with my mom, she laughed them away saying, “Nonsense! This is all because after staying out in the cold rain for so long you had no soup. See! Your brother had soup and he is as right as rain.” I groaned at my mom’s feeble pun. As the days flew by, I got better thanks to my mom’s tender care. Whenever I think of that incident I laugh loudly, tears streaming down my cheeks.

My dear friends, I warn you, if it rains, do not go out in it, since you never know. You might get sick and will never know if its coronavirus or a normal viral. So stay at home, healthy and safe

Thoughts of the Day

Life is just like the sun. Beautiful but hard at times. The only difference is that the sun will rise again, after it sets but life can never rise again so make the most of it. You never know when it will end. That’s the best thing about life, you never know what will happen next. It’s like a parcel of surprises. They will be revealed one by one, some you may like and some you may not but you have to face them all. All you have to do is keep a positive outcome. After all, you have to make the best of a situation. Look on the bright side of things and you will be rewarded with whatever your heart desires!

Rainbow

An arch, spreading its radiant glory across the globe

Like a bridge, escorting to bliss for each one

Filled with hues and tinges of crimson and scarlet,

coral and amber, mauve and lilac, lemon and canary

And of course who can forget cobalt and jade

Enchanting young hearts across the globe

The rainbow plays a symphony of its own

Spellbinding humanity, uniting them as one

A Glimpse of a Different Era

“My life is boring and horrible,” I said dramatically while sprawling on the bed. My mom looked up from the pile of clothes she was holding and raised one eyebrow, “Really? Why?” “All my luck has run out,” I sighed. “Sweetie no need to be so dramatic. Life is an obstacle. It can’t be perfect,” was the reply I got. I opened my mouth to argue but there was more. “I’ll show you what kind of a life is a real horror,” saying this my mom left the room leaving me awestruck. She came back with a colorful paperback. It was titled in large vibrant colors ‘Times and Tales of COVID-19’ “Mom!” I whined, “this is the last straw. A book? A history book? I’m sorry but I will not read it,” I added defiantly. “ It’s history facts told like fiction. You will love it. I promise,” she said. I reluctantly picked up the book and that is the moment I entered the world of Olivia Taylor.

‘Greetings world! I’m Olivia Taylor and this is all about how I fought and defeated COVID-19’ I read this first sentence half-heartedly, but it drew me in. I started reading with interest and found out this book was about COVID-19. The plague of the 21st century. In history at online school we had studied this but I as usual did not pay attention to something that had happened centuries ago. I went into my room and lay down on my bed and commanded it to take of my socks and give me water. Are you thinking I’m mad? I hope not since this is the year 3001 after all. A hidden panel opened, and a metal hand came out and pulled of my sweaty socks and handed me a therlass of icy water. You may want to know what a therlass is. It’s just a glass shaped thermos without a lid. I started reading like a good old-fashioned girl. I read on and made some astonishing discoveries. People had to stay at home and the whole world was under lockdown. Wait! There were things called physical classrooms and going to school? Ok that’s confusing. ‘The new concept of online schooling was introduced and I, Olivia had to learn to adjust to it.’ Ahhhh, that was something more familiar. These online classes were things she attended herself. You had to make your own bed instead of the bed making it for you? Ok, that is surprising. The part that shook me most was how Olivia stayed positive and upbeat all the time. Even when she found herself in the fourth stage of coronavirus, she was cheerful and optimistic. She was rewarded with recovering from corona. In 2023 a vaccine was discovered  by ‘Agloo Bogglemup’ the famous scientist. I closed the book with a sigh. I never thought I’d be miserable when I finished a book! Usually I’m glad when I’m done and rid of a book. I googled Olivia Taylor and read more about her fascinating life and positive personality.

Later I went to my mom and told her I had loved the book and I would try to be more optimistic too. “Good for you!” said my mom smiling. “After all, complaining is no way to get through no matter what situation you are in. Stay cheerful and make the most of life!”