Story Time: A double dream

Published July 13, 2019
Illustration by Ahmed Amin
Illustration by Ahmed Amin

Looking through the woods in the suburbs of Los Angeles, Ben was wondering if he could find ‘the world of witches and wizards’! It was three in the morning when he left the building, hoping to be the first kid to discover a world of magic.

Ben was seven when he started reading Harry Potter and other similar books, he always wanted to meet a wizard. His parents were worried about his future, they thought Ben would never live a normal life and would always be in an imaginary world.

He often wandered off to places where normally kids got scared going alone, but he would never get scared of anything. However, this often got him into troubles, for instance, at one time stray dogs ran after him leading him to fall and get hurt and at another time, a dog also bit him. Therefore, his parents decided to send him to a boarding school so that Ben could get a big social circle with more friends.

Ben was good in studies and considered a brilliant student at the boarding school. There, he made a lot of friends. He was happy, however, he still craved for Harry Potter’s wizarding world. His friends knew about his passion, one of whom told him that there was a forest nearby where people never went as they thought witches and wizards lived there, so if he really wanted to experience a magical world he should try the woods.

Unlike other kids, who got scared, Ben got excited and decided to explore it. One of his friends, George, who had a similar passion for Harry Potter, accompanied him.

On the day of their journey into the woods, George brought a whole bag full of juices and crisps to have during their unfamiliar journey. They started in the morning and walked for a long time, they crossed plains, fields and finally reached the forest. The trees were very tall and it was a dense forest. Both the kids were excited, they were optimistic to get into the Harry Potter world.

“How much is left, I can’t wait to meet Dumbledore!” Ben asked excitedly.

“There’s still a lot of distance to go, Ben. Have patience!” said George.

A few hours passed when they reached a wooden hut covered with creepers, which freaked them out badly. Still, bravely, they decided to knock and find out who lived there. When they stepped on the stairs, the door automatically opened. This made them realise that they must have reached at some wizard’s house.

Ben and George, although excited, felt a bit scared. They stepped inside the house, the interior was simple, yet old-fashioned.

Suddenly, a voice echoed, “Welcome Ben and George, I was expecting you both. If you want to experience the world of wizards, then you must follow my instructions!”

George and Ben shook their heads in affirmative. The voice told them to have something to eat and sleep on the bed there; their journey into the magical world will begin in the morning.

Both kids happily had the meal set on the table and then slept on the cosy bed. They soon went into a deep slumber. They dreamt about flying in the sky with Harry Potter.

Suddenly, they slipped off from the magic broom and fall down on the hard ground … that’s when they actually woke up. They found themselves on their beds in the boarding school’s hostel. Now they realised that they were just dreaming. However, they didn’t understand how could both of them have the same dream at the same time and wake up at the same instance!

Published in Dawn, Young World, July 13th, 2019

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