The Beast Bar(Anwesha Ghosh) (Note that the author was 17 years old when she wrote this story.)


I knew I would be sorry for it when I first picked up the chocolate bar. You could say that it was a premonition. But hey! Who can resist a bar of chocolate?

It happened when I was rummaging through the junk piled up in the attic. Mom had clearly said, "Clear the attic or no supper!" Hey! I'm a growing girl! How can I go without my supper?

Our attic is a spooky one, with just a single bulb (25 watts) lighting up the huge space. There are dark and eerie shadows everywhere. I somehow managed to gather enough courage to go up there and start cleaning.

I had completed the big trunk and was just beginning on a little suitcase when I found a bar of chocolate. In the dim light of the bulb I managed to read the label of the bar. The words 'Beast Bar' were scribbled over it with cobweb-like letters. After the hard work, I decided that I deserved a treat. So I peeled off the wrapper and swallowed the chocolate. Yummy!

Suddenly my head started swinging violently. The room seemed to be getting narrower and narrower and I felt completely choked. I collapsed on the floor. Everything around me went dark!

Where am I? I slowly opened my eyes to find myself in my bedroom. The sting of the cold floor ran through my body as I realized that I was lying on the floor. Still feeling dizzy, I stumbled towards the bathroom.

What had happened in my room? Everything was messed up, and I mean not teenager style! There were shredded clothes everywhere. Even my bed sheet and pillows were shredded and stained with blood. The whole room was covered with shed fur.

I staggered back and fell in front of the mirror. Whose image was that in the mirror? In my place, there stood a huge monster completely covered with fur. Huge claws and sharp pointy teeth stained with blood met my eyes. I had turned into a monster!

A little whimper escaped my mouth but a loud growl met my ears. I decided to ask my parents for help. I ran down the staircase towards the dining room. Mom was making sandwiches while Dad was reading the newspaper. Just as I stepped into the hall, both of them started screaming and ran out of the house. They just abandoned me!

It was time to visit my best friend, Subha. I imagined that maybe she would be able to help me. As I stepped out of the house, everyone started screaming and running. There was total chaos! Cars banged against each other, people stamped and trampled each other while trying to get away from me. Even Subha ran away at my sight! A friend in need?!!!

Suddenly the military arrived from nowhere and started attacking. Huge aircrafts helicopters and tanks everywhere! Millions of soldiers surrounded me. It was practically raining bullets and missiles! Nooooo!

Suddenly I woke up. Wow! What a wild dream! I found myself on Mom's lap. She was caressing me and stroking my forehead.
"You're awake!" She smiled at me. "It's okay! Just relax."
"What happened, Mom?" I looked up at her anxiously.
"It's okay! That bar of chocolate you ate was rotten. It just gave you acidity."

It was just a dream! I lay back on Mom's lap and started sucking my thumb. My teeth seemed unusually sharp and there was a peculiarly yummy taste on my tongue. I took out the thumb and found blood oozing all over it! Was I turning into a monster and stepping into the nightmare once more? Nooooo!

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