Save Me, Save You(ananya shajeev) SAVE ME, SAVE YOU

Hurrah, the class shouted on hearing that the vacations were going to begin from the next day! I too was very excited, more because we were planning to visit our grandparents at our native place. The last bell rang and everybody rushed and, as always, some of them tumbled over; luckily not me this time. My mom, dad and my aunt were ready and I too got dressed quickly. The journey to my native place is equally exciting. We boarded the bus at the terminal and I opened my snack box with the welcoming sight of delicious samosas. Mom was very concerned about health so never let us eat junk. No wonder I loved dad more during such journeys as he was always very generous with all kinds of fried delights like bhelpuri, vada pav and cold drinks.

We reached our destination the next morning and I was very happy to see my granny standing at the door with her walking stick. She welcomed us with her warm hug and treated us to tender coconuts that grew in plenty in our home. Grandpa had been out to get some mangoes and cassava that grew in our fields. I was taken to him and he was very happy to see me. He picked me up in his arms and enquired about our school and my life in the big city. He kept instructing the plantation workers about the kind of mangoes to pluck and the cassavas to dig. The fields were rich with many kinds of fruit-bearing trees like coconut, jackfruits, papayas, and tamarind. We brought a big sack of these on our way back. I enjoyed eating them like I had never tasted them before.

In the evening I went to play with my cousins and friends in the neighborhood. After playing with them I reached home late and went to bed as I was very tired. The next day when I was up in the morning looking for something to play with, grandma asked me if I would like to look for some old toys lying in the attic. I rushed to the attic without knowing what waited for me over there. It was very dusty and did not look very clean. There was an old trunk made of iron with flower motifs on it. I was about to open it when I heard my mother calling, “Anu, Anu, where are you?” “I am upstairs mum”. She called me down for my breakfast. I wanted to find out what was inside the trunk but I knew that my mum was very particular about breakfasts. I gulped down my food hurriedly and ran upstairs. The trunk was not locked and when I opened it I was not very happy to find that it only had some broken wooden toys in it. Under these toys were some old and torn books that looked mysterious. I picked up the one with a very strange picture on the cover with the title, ‘Science of the future’. I dusted the book and started reading it. It contained a lot many details about life in the future. I came across a passage which said that the same trunk contained a pouch with a secret map which would lead into the future. I started searching for the map but did not find any pouch and was very disheartened.

This adventure had left me very tired and it was time for lunch so I left the trunk and went downstairs. After my lunch we were busy with many relatives who came to see us. I had a lot many number of cousins who kept pouring in for many days together. Then one day I was reminded about my half done adventure and went looking for the pouch again. This time I had an idea. Mum always said that if you go looking for something you should not leave any corner unchecked. I emptied the trunk and found a section under the trunk with something wrapped inside. On opening I was pleasantly surprised to see a very old pouch in it. It did contain the promised map and now I was very sure that it would lead me to the future. I read the instructions again which said that it was a magical map. I believed it and followed the steps which said that I had to go to a tallest hill and climb the tallest tree on it. Then I had to find a golden leaf on the tree and throw it into a magical river with a blue lotus growing in the middle.

I climbed a hill and believed it to be the tallest one. The next challenge was to find the tallest tree which was not easy for the hill was covered with trees of all kinds. I kept climbing one tree after the other and came across a tree that looked very old and thought that it must be the tallest one too. Having participated in sports I was very good with physical activity and always climbed up and down the wooden aisles of our stairs. My mum had a word for it too. She called me the ‘little monkey’. The next challenge was to find the golden leaf. But it was easier than I had thought. Right then a wind blew which shook the tree violently. All the leaves of the tree except the golden leaf blew away in the wind. The single leaf shone brightly in the morning sun and looked like the gem on my mother’s nose ring. I plucked the magical leaf and threw it into the river with a blue lotus. Nothing happened. Then I realized that it was not in the centre and so I had failed. I was completely shaken and never wanted to part with this magical leaf. I did not think much and jumped into the river right away to grab the floating leaf.

Swimming through the river, I kept thinking about my parents who would be worried by now. I reached the shore and was half dead with terror for fear of losing my way and kept looking for another river in the forest. Half way down the mountains I came across a river which was crystal clear with a blue lotus, and this time, right in the centre. I threw the golden leaf without thinking twice. And the water turned into liquid gold which I filled my bottle with. I drank a handful which tasted like honey and was instantly transported to another world and time.

I looked around but the place did not resemble anything like I had seen before. I did not see any signs of life on this planet. Not a single leaf or green around; not even a dry leaf anywhere. My hopes of finding another being were crashed. On walking some more distance I came across a creature lying under a big stone. It looked like a human being but was not very much like ones I had seen. Its skin was scaly and very wrinkled and it looked like it did not have a bath for a very long time. I was not sure about going near it but did not have any other options left. I made a coughing noise and the creature woke up feebly. It could hardly sit up but it seemed to be happy to see me. I asked for its name upon which it made some noise which was not very clear. It looked at my bottle and asked for some water. I gave it some to drink from my other water bottle. It drank the whole bottle in one single drink and I was completely shocked at the level of thirst it must have felt. Once again I tried to find out its name and what it said shook me, for we shared the same name, Anu. Next I wanted to know where she lived. She said that it was very long since she had no home or any address but remembered the old address where her family lived once. She said she would take me there. “O.K. let’s go” I said, and kept my distance from her on the way to her house for she had an intolerable stink. I saw the same temple near my house and the same well near it but without any sign of water. The broken walls of the house had the same name plate, Mr. and Mrs. Anandan who were my grandparents. She pointed at the broken plantations and said this is where I grew up and this was where I came for my vacations every year. Now I knew that we shared more than our names and were one and the same.

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