Post card story

 The silence in the rainforest is scary, especially at nights. It has been days since I was left behind. I still miss them. The occasional growls of unknown animals and hooting of owls has long since become a part of me. Hunger and thirst aren’t things anyone should get accustomed to . My dreary eyes tell me to go to sleep. But will I be able to wake up to the rising sun?

Adults and children- How different are they?

‘Children see magic because they look for it’- Christopher Moore.  Childhood is the best of all seasons of life. Children see life without fear or favor; the world is full of magic for them and every step is an adventure. Children, as they are curious by nature are open to everything; they want to explore and experience . Adulthood, however, comes with a lot of responsibilities. The world starts to look rather predictable and one’s  opinions become biased. Adults, moreover, stop believing in magic and accept reality as it is – not hoping for any miracles.                  

H.G Wells, an exceptional writer of his time, also relates to this in his story the ‘Magic Shop’. On a fine day, the narrator and Gip (the narrator’s son) happen to walk across a magic shop on Regent Street. The narrator is reluctant to go into the shop but, upon seeing Gip’s urge and curiosity towards the magical tricks in the shop, the narrator gives in. Here H.G Well’s tries to show curious Gip is although the narrator is reluctant . When they enter the shop, Gip stays quiet and holds his father’s finger steadily as the narrator talks to the shopkeeper. As the story goes on and the plot starts to develop, Gip gets more friendly towards the shopkeeper though the narrator starts to feel the magic in the shop is a little too genuine for him and starts to get uncomfortable. When the shopkeeper plays his disappearing trick on Gip, the narrator is angry and worried for his son. Although when he found Gip outside the shop, the child looks amazed by his visit in the shop and is neither scared nor nervous and simply comes to his father with a bright smile on his face and four parcels in his hand. At the end, we can see that the narrator is still worries about the bill he has to pay to the shopkeeper whereas Gip is happy with the presents and incredible experience he has.

This astounding piece of work written by H.G Wells is definitely a classic. It is incredible how H.G Wells beautifully juxtaposes the viewpoint of how adults and children see and recognize their surroundings .This is a story that people of all ages will enjoy. 

-Inspiration from 'The Magic Shop' by H.G Wells.

Dark Magic

                                                              Dark Magic

It was a dark night. The moon would occasionally peep out of the cluster of clouds surrounding it. The entire street was quiet except for the occasional barking of some street dogs. At the far end, light was filtering out of a shop on the street casting shadows .Through the windows you could see a girl sweeping the floor. Her wild dark brown curls were tamed in a bun but it wasn’t helping a lot; half of her hair was covering her beautiful amber skin . Her bright blue eyes were stuck on the clock and with each minute her speed increased. To her, it felt like she’d been working for an eternity but it had only been 30 minutes . Alyssa Emerald - roughly about 19, was sweeping in the small café downtown where she worked as an intern. At first glance, she looked even more dull and boring than one of those long history lectures in school that never seem to end but things weren’t always what they seemed. Finishing her work, she locked the café taking away the only source of light, keeping the creatures lurking in the dark behind. After walking for about 15 minutes, she turned into a dark alley. Upon reaching the end, y she saw two giant bright yellow eyes staring right at her; she murmured something under her breath with her head down and suddenly the wall split into two and she walked into the dark. 

At the break of dawn, a hooded figure was walking swiftly down the street. There were not a lot of people around. The person stopped in front of a hospital; she pulled down her hood - it was Alyssa. She entered the hospital and proceeded to room 412; a pale boy with eyes of the same blue color as Alyssa’s, just a lot more faded, was sleeping on the bed.. She sat beside him and held his hand. Alyssa’s brother Jake was fourteen and had been diagnosed with cancer. She felt so helpless – she was doing every possible thing a human could do to help him but nothing was working. Jake’s health was deteriorating day by day and what made her feel even worse was that even her magic could do nothing. Yes, Alyssa was part witch- her paternal side was magic and she had the powers of telekinesis and mind control but on the other hand Jake was not lucky enough to receive any powers; ‘he isn’t strong enough’ her father would say. Her parents had vanished a year ago; she did not know how; everyone said they were probably dead. Though she had a lot of relatives who loved Jake and her dearly, it wasn’t the same. She talked to the nurse about a few things and left; her brother was just one of the things she had to worry about.

A few years ago, one of Alyssa’s uncle named Charles discovered a way to harness dark powers with a ritual but her grandmother had disagreed. Charles had a big fight with her and got himself banished from the house and family. He ended up performing the ritual and got his daughter and son to do it as well but Charles didn’t survive. His son and daughter got their powers and swore vengeance against the Emerald family. Nobody had seen them or talked to them after they left but a few days ago her grandmother felt the presence of dark magic in the forest near their family mansion although her family members didn’t believe her grandma. Alyssa, however, knew that her cousins were back for their long sought revenge since the incident happened the last time she was at the house.She had sneaked out at night ,went to the forest for a midnight stroll and then she had seen both of them exit from the back door of the house but she hadn’t told anybody about this since there were a lot of problems any way.

She had to go to college and then she had her shift in the café. Her boss-Jack(the guy who owned the café) was a grumpy man; he would be in his 40’s perhaps. He was a bulky and heavy man who wanted everything to be perfect. This one time he had made her stay back for two hours because the napkins in the stand weren’t kept symmetrically. Alyssa was almost invisible in her college and the only time someone noticed her was when they wanted help with their assignments and she liked it that way since hiding magical powers in a college full of over 500 people wasn’t easy. It wasn’t a busy day at her college. She quickly finished up her classes and ran over to the café downtown. Jack was waiting outside the door glaring at her as she was running across the street. ‘A few of your friends dropped this off for you’. He had a piece of paper in his hand. She took it -’You look mad, is something wrong?’ she asked Jack. ’MAD! Of course, I’m mad,’ bellowed Jack. ‘Those friends of yours wrecked the entire place.’ Alyssa was confused who could it have been; she didn’t really have any friends. She opened  the piece of paper and let out a gasp. The note said ‘we're here to finish what our father started. It’ll all end tonight.’ She picked up her bag and ran off. ‘Where are you going? Who’ll clean up this mess!’’ Jack yelled after her but she didn’t care anymore. Lucia and Chris were back; her entire family could be in danger.

She ran all the way to the house only to discover it was locked. How was that possible? There was always someone at home or else they would have informed her. Desperate, she climbed onto the wall near the back door and entered the backyard. Just as she was about to open the door, she heard whispers but she couldn’t understand what the person was saying. She tried to peek in through the window next to her and what she saw left her shaken – her parents with Lucia and Chris! They were sitting in a diamond formation with a fire in the middle and chanting some things that Alyssa couldn’t grasp. A sudden realization hit her - what if her cousins had control over her parents and they could be the reason for them vanishing. She barged into the room and faced Lucia, yelling, ’What do you think you’re doing in my house?’ But nobody showed any signs of noticing that she had entered the room; all of them continued chanting. It annoyed her so much since she saw her parents after a year and they were acting like they couldn’t even see her. After 10 minutes of trying to get their attention, she heard muffled noises from her grandmother’s room upstairs . She ran over to the room in hopes of finding something that could help her but the door was locked and the noises did not stop. She used the spare key that she knew her grandmother used to keep in the vase near the family photograph. She opened the door and saw her grandma tied up near her almirah, struggling to open the ropes. She untied the ropes; taking a big gasp of air, her grandmother said trembling, ’They’re back! I knew they were…. I told everyone but no one believed me.’ ‘Yes nana, I know but what are they doing and how are mom dad with them?’ ‘Oh Alyssa! I should have told you this earlier …When Charles died, he asked Lucia and Chris for a promise. He asked them to end the family that had banished him and they are here to complete what their father started. Your father was gifted and probably the strongest after you my dear. Since you were too strong, he took control over your mother to force your father onto their side. The three of them combined hold the powers to create an entire army powerful enough to finish the rest of wizards and witches. The only thing that can stop them is to destroy the book that is kept in front of Lucia. You have to hurry before it’s too late.’ Alyssa didn’t even wait to respond; she was halfway down the stairs when she heard a blood-curdling scream and and a voice inside her head said, ’It’s too late!’   

 

Mirabai Chanu- A real inspiration

Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, a professional weightlifter comes from a small town in Manipur named Nongpok Kakching.  She was born to  Saikhom Ongbi Tombi Leima and  her father Saikhom Kriti Meitei on 8 August 1994,despite coming from a background with inadequate facilities and privileges but she did not let this stop her. She got lots of love from people after winning  a silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics 2021 in weightlifting . Besides this, she has many achievements. Chanu won the silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Glasgow. Her biggest achievement was in 2017 when she won the gold medal at  the World Weightlifting Championship, California. Mirabai Chanu is a real inspiration for everyone who thinks being underprivileged means you can’t be successful.