The serene sun rose from the horizon, chasing away the dark moon. A new reign began, a new day started. Breathtaking clouds, tinted amber with the morning sun, which had blanketed the sky at night, had now been reduced to mere flecks. The sun smiled, channeling its warmth into the heart of every young, beautiful soul, lighting it up with joy. A vast lake sparkled, with fish of every color, swimming about, enjoying the freedom of dancing in the water. Their colorful skins brought the water to life, making it feel as if a huge rainbow had descended upon earth, ready to present its beauty to mankind. Just beyond, a small wood stood, with tall trees swaying in the breeze, the wind whistling in the branches, and the rustling of leaves, producing a harmonious tune. I leaned down to touch the surface of the water-- ice cold yet refreshing. Gradually, I lay my back on the soft, feathery grass which carpeted the earth. I let out a deep sigh, and fondly remembered the feeling of………………… Less than a few hours ago, I had been sitting at the back of my family’s car—looking worn out and pretty old, yet still smoother than any other car I had ridden. My mood was sour, for my parents had forced me to come on this seemingly boring and horrendous trip. “Now Abdullah, cheer up, the amusement park isn’t so bad”, said my mother consolingly. “Yes,” agreed my father. “I’ve gone to plenty of amusement parks when I was your age. They had a whole lot of cool rides—roller coasters, monorails, carrousels, huge mechanical boats which swayed to and fro, and other crazy rides. So don’t be worried, it isn’t scary at all, it is……thrilling,” he said the last word smiling at me through the rearview mirror. I still felt horrible. The last time I had been on a ride, I had thrown up, not to mention the strange feeling in the pit of your stomach, and the other strange feeling which made you feel that you were about to be thrown at light speed towards the other end of the city. My insides could not decide where to be, for they kept switching places. A common term used for this is ‘feeling butterflies in your stomach’, but I felt nothing quite so mild—quite the contrary—and the feeling was not only limited to my stomach. As the car raced across the wide road, a huge structure came into view. Upon getting closer, I realized, much to my horror, that this huge loop was part of the roller coasters track. “No way am I going on that thing,” I whispered to myself under my breath. Within a matter of minutes, we had parked the car, bought the tickets for several rides, and were deciding which one to do first. “Well”, began my father. “Let us start with the easy ones, and build up to the more aggressive rides—“ “No way!” interrupted my younger sister. “Pleeeeease can we do the roller coaster first? I’ve been dying to do it!” “Just hold on a second. We will do that one first,” said my mother nodding at a massive structure. It took me a second to understand what the thing was. The realization hit me like a thunderbolt. It was a giant octopus! Except for the fact it had ten ‘tentacles’ instead of eight. Each long pole or ‘tentacle’ had three seats attached to the end, with a strong belt and safety harness attached firmly to it. Any normal person could tell just by looking at it that it was well maintained and safe. But I was no normal person, and was instead imagining how fast I would be flying through the clouds after the safety harness broke, throwing me into the sky. As I was looking, the huge machine started up. The tentacles moved up and down, and the middle mast, to which they were all connected, was spinning clockwise. Screams of delight, with some screams of fear, filled the air. Everyone was either throwing their arms up in the air and screaming at the top of their lungs, or covering their eyes, sobbing vehemently. This went on for three whole minutes, and when everyone got down, one of the passengers, a medium sized boy, staggered towards the garbage can. And just in time too, for he threw up, gagging. I looked away, sympathizing the poor guy. “Ok, come on now. Let’s get moving”, said my mother, firmly taking hold of my hand, and still oblivious about what had happened to one of the passengers. Fear took hold of me, and my heart hammered in my chest. I struggled against my mother, but she has an iron grip, and soon I found myself sitting in the seat nearest to the center, my mother on my left, and vacancy on my right.
The machine started up with a firm ‘whirr’. The huge tentacles started moving, gradually at first, but building up to unstoppable speed. The familiar, and dreaded feeling started up once again. My heart chased my stomach somewhere to my throat, but fell back to my abdomen. Tears stung my eyes, and I clutched my mother’s familiar hand, a proud eighth grader reduced to a mere child. My fingers reached my mother’s and clung to them tightly. She squeezed my hand gently, coaxing me to open my firmly shut eyes. I opened one eye, and let out a gasp. I had loved planes since I was a kid, and had a huge collection. I had always wanted to feel the wind on my face, and to have a ‘bird’s-eye-view’. Now, opening both my eyes, I saw the whole city spread out below me. The whole park had been built on a high hill, which just added to the sweetness of the moment. Every car looked like an insect, crawling across a wide, open space, with towering skyscrapers reduced to pencil-sized sticks, further dwarfing the already antmill sized houses. I looked around, taking it in for all I was worth. The beautiful lake glittered to my left, and huge mountains towered on the right. The wind whistled in my ears, singing a melodious tune. I cried for joy, and screamed for the fun of it. The air smelt of fresh trees—pine, oak, etc.—and flowers danced in the breeze. Beautiful odors enveloped me, breathtaking sights blinded me, and sweet tunes deafened me. I felt lively, active, and fresh. This moment would be etched in my memory forever. I caught my mother’s eyes, and looked into them. They reflected pure joy, and a clear look that said, “Now what do you think?” I silently apologized for how I had acted, and gave back the message, that it was…….. Indescribable! Now, lying down on the soft bed of grass, I thought: no matter how cliché it sounds, it is true. Never be afraid to try.
Abdullah Shafique Malik IX O B
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