May 19, 2007

I was in my study room, sitting on the carpet, chewing my pencil’s end, to figure out a math sum. I was burning the midnight oil, and all of my family members were hanging out. “Why can’t I have some Zs?” I said with an aspiration buried in my voice. “Sometimes couch potatoes attain first positions and book worms like me hardly pass.” I said with a jealousy in my thoughts. It weighed heavily on my heart. I decided to scream to let it out somehow. But Mrs Smith, the neighbour, shouted on me and threw something on the glass of my window. “What a boring life, no fun, nothing, I’ll have to study till hell freezes,” I thought.

Suddenly the crack that had emerged in the window got luminous. I was traumatised, and as the glitters moved towards me I hid my face in my hands. Suddenly I felt as if I was sitting on a boat. I saw that I was no longer in my house; the cars were looking like ants marching for food. “Where am I? Did that sparking thing killed me? Am I in heaven or hell?” The questions meandered in my mind and I was mumbling them. “It is as good as heaven.” A voice appeared. “Who said it” I inquired with a quivering voice and body. “It’s I the carpet.” The carpet finally articulated. A current passed through my spine, my heart skipped a beat.

“Hey, don’t get frightened, I’m at your service.” It said with solace in his voice. “But why for me?” I asked. “Because you are a girl with an excellent attitude.” It praised me. My cheeks got red with blushing. “I really am?” The carpet cleared its throat, “So where’ll you prefer to go.” I dreamily replied, “If I had my way, I would have gone to a land full of chocolates, where everything would be made of chocolates.”

“I can take you there but….” The carpet said. “…. But there’s a peril,” it continued. “Great deeds are usually wrought at great risks.” I said. “Either it’s rain or shine we are going,” I continued. The carpet counselled me several times but I was bull-headed.

It took me to a place labelled as Chocki Land. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. I had never dreamt of being there. But something like a wall appeared in front of me. It was a giant, looking abysmal but its face got my wires crossed. “Who entered in my kingdom without my permission?” he sounded really tough, but I kept my chin up and said “Your kingdom! What’s so special about you to own it?” The giant shrieked, “I’m Zingro Di Chockoza.” “Your name is even harder than the nomenclatures.” I giggled and the carpet did so.

“You can have my entire empire but first answer these questions; remember these hadn’t been easy for the previous comers, no one has ever been able to answer any of them.” The giant presented an offer with a threat. “Ask me anything, I have read so many books that I can answer all of them.” I said proudly.

“Oh really, then here comes the first one: how many chocolate bars will you eat on an empty stomach?” I started biting my nails. “Any idea?” I asked the carpet. “How will I? I don’t have a stomach.” he said. “Oops! Sorry.” After thinking for a while I said, “One” and the giant got shocked. “If I eat a chocolate then how will my stomach remain empty?” I told him.

“If you think you are very smart then answer this: if 1-1/2 dozen of chocolate bars cost nine bucks then how much would 18 chocolates bars cost?” He asked with his bloody lips stretched into a weird smile. “Obviously the same, after all I’m maths-savvy.” I said feeling a step further from my destiny.

“The last question is: which animal eats with its tail?” He asked. “Every animal that has got a tail. Why would any animal take its tail off while eating?” I said. He burst out and inside him were lots of chocolates and guess what — they were calorie free. I chow them down but someone was crying, trying to take my bar away. “Wake up, Saniya and leave Azeem’s chocolate bar.” I opened my eyes, the carpet was still like a dead body. “Why can’t we live in dreams?” I thought.