The Big Adventure
I turned the eerie key in the lock. The ancient door creaked. Dust swirled around me. I gave the door a push and …………I looked around and to my disappointment, I was not greeted with a triumphant tune, and guards clearing the way and me, walking smugly on a red carpet, and waiting to be given a thousand gold coins, but instead, by a mongoose, who scuttled hopefully by my feet and said, in English,
“Welcome, my hero ! You have come to save me, right? A witch cast a spell on me, and told me she would turn me back into a fairy once a human opened the door and we together cross the obstacles she has set !”
“ Wait ! You can speak ? You are a fairy and there is a witch ! That’s so cool !” I exclaimed ! “ By the way, what are the obstacles? The mongoose’s face fell !
“ A field of lava, a pool of crocodiles and the den of the doomed. But, she gave me this rose. When we need help, we have to peel a petal off the rose. My name is Lilly . What’s yours ? I replied, “Siya”. Let’s do this ! And the Adventure began.
“First stop, the field of lava!” Lilly said warily and handed me the rose. A look at it below, and a violent wave of nausea swept over me. I swayed and started to fall. The rose slipped out of my hand. “Help!” I cried desperately. Lilly jumped up, and caught the rose deftly. She plucked a petal. The lava bubbled and boiled. I got ready to die, when I felt something soft under me. I looked down and saw a magic carpet !
Lilly was in front of me. “Phew!” she said. “ Close one!”
The carpet stopped in front of a murky water body and
vanished.
There were things that looked like logs floating on water. I wasn’t fooled. I peeled a petal off the rose, and the ‘crocs’ turned into the footwear ‘Crocs!’ I put Lilly on my shoulder and paddled across the lake.
After walking for sometime we reached the final stop, ‘The Door of the Doomed’.
I gulped and along with Lilly walked into the cave . The door closed. Two figures edged towards us. I peeled a petal in my hand. I received a torch, a piece of lens on a magnifying glass and a hammer.
How was this supposed to help us? I flicked the torch on and saw, it was written on a slab of stone, ‘Burst the door with light’. I thought for a bit. I got a piece of thick stick, and I used the hammer to hammer a hole in the wall. Then, I attached the glass in the hole. I held my stick and to my great joy, it caught fire!
The cave door slowly opened. I looked for Lilly and saw her hovering in the air. The spell was broken !
She had long fair hair, cornflower blue eyes, silver wings and a lilac dress. She smiled at me. “Thank you for helping me. You showed great courage helping someone for no reward.”
Lilly plucked out a strand of her hair, whirled it in the air and as soon as it became a thick rope, she handed it to me saying, “wave it whenever you want to visit me .”
I found myself on the grass in front of the now disappeared door. I looked around me. I was clutching the rope and heard my mom calling me.
“Coming, Mom!” I yelled and smiled as I ran to her. I couldn’t wait to visit again!
