FOR REAL, NEXT TIME!

I still remember waking up that day. It was 25^th January 2016. I remember it very well because of the date. The date means a lot to me, as its my birthday. We all expect our birthdays to be very surprising and very happening. And here was I about to experience the most surprising birthday ever. I stood up and started walking down stairs. The floor was unusually cold. Felt like I was walking on the snow. It was a bit weird. Apart from the chilly floor, I could also hear the noise of the television set from downstairs. It was set on a high volume than usual. And it was playing nothing but a single advertisement repeatedly. I was wondering father has left the television set turned on and went for a bath. So, I ignored it as well. I finally made it to the bottom of the stair case and was expecting warm wishes from my mother. But instead I noticed a foul burning smell. I wasn’t sure whether it was from the inside or someone was burning the trash outside. I rushed into the kitchen to greet my mother but she wasn’t there. The burning smell was the milk which was boiling on the stove. Well, this was unusual. I turned off the stove and the television set. I looked for the vehicle it was still there but I was not able to find my parents. Everything was in its place except the two. My mind was burning with just one question where is everybody?

I rushed outside and rang my neighbour’s door bell. Nobody was answering it. I looked from the window and couldn’t find anyone there. The departmental store next to my house was open but the shopkeeper was nowhere to be found. Now I started to panic. I was not able to think what was happening. I rushed back to my house and thought of calling dad. But knew it was futile as his phone was lying on the desk in the hall. I called the emergency number instead but nobody picked up. I was instead put on hold to hear that stupid sound of the hold music. I thought of going into the city and searching for answers about what had really happened. I left my house on my foot and started towards the city to search for the answers.

There was dead silence. It felt like I was the only person in the town. I remembered wishing for that to happen one day but now I was terrified. I was desperately hoping to find someone who could answer my questions about what was happening. The streets which used to be busy at that time of the day were deserted. I arrived at the market place and started looking inside every shop for the answers and was miserably failing at it. I was about to lose my mind but I saw a woman standing in front of a store. It was like a ray of hope for me. Finally, I was going to get answers of all the questions. I went near her and started asking about what was happening in the city today. I was so panicked that I bombarded all my questions onto her. I was speaking so fast and I was hungry for answers that I didn’t even realized that I was actually talking to a mannequin in front of a shopping mall. It broke my heart. I was losing patience now. It felt like I was actually out of my mind. I hoped this was all a dream and I just had to find an exit. I remembered when ever I used to experience a nightmare, I was actually waking up by falling off from higher ground. For one moment I thought I could escape this bad dream by doing the same. I was not sure whether it will work but I had to some how escape from this madness. I didn’t think for a moment. I climbed a building and was about to jump off, but I heard a sound of a telephone ringing in one of the stores. I rushed as fast as I could to receive the phone call but couldn’t make it on time. I picked up the phone and thought of calling the last dialled number but nobody was ready to answer on the other side. All I could think of just one question, where is everybody?

I saw an ice cream parlour and thought of having an ice-cream. I checked the store but there was no one to take my order. I jumped over the counter and mixed all my favourite flavours together and created the tastiest ice-cream of my life. But soon the taste of the ice-cream started fading off and I started worrying about what was happening in the city. After having my ice-cream, I left some money on the counter, didn’t know for what? but I guess I was expecting someone will take that money and appreciate my honesty. The plan about jumping off a building was still haunting me and I was still thinking about sticking to it or not?

Suddenly a poster caught my eye. The poster was of a movie which was playing in our city theatre. The title of the movie was ‘The Last Man on Earth’ and I was flabbergasted by the picture of the actor who was on the poster. For a while I thought is this some kind of joke? It was my picture printed on that poster. I was completely losing it now. I rushed to the theatre and there was already a show going on in one of the auditoriums. I entered inside the theatre and was desperately searching for the show. The door of one of the auditoriums was left open. And when I entered, the scene which was currently running on the screen gave me chills. It was me looking at a huge screen inside an empty theatre. The man on the screen was imitating me. I tried raising my left hand and the man on the screen copied me. I was terrified to the bones. It was the end of my patience. I thought about ending this right at that moment. I climbed the stairs of the theatre and stood at the edge of the terrace. I wasn’t sure whether this will work, but I had to wake up from this bad dream. I was just looking for an exit from this place and my mind was not ready to give me any other sanest option. So, I jumped and when I hit the surface, I blacked out.

I wasn’t sure whether it worked, I was hearing some indistinct chattering going on around me. I felt like I was inside a room with no doors and windows. I shouted for help. There was not much energy left inside me but I tried. I thought I would wake up on my warm bed but I was at some other place. I struggled to wake up but couldn’t. I was restrained. I kept shouting and suddenly the door opened and the room got filled with light. I was not able to see for a moment but when my pupils adjusted, I saw a group of people surrounding me and staring at me. I lost my patience. Finally, I was looking at some real faces. But suddenly I realized that I knew these people. I heard one of them say,” This was the longest time you lasted in there”. And then I realized it wasn’t actually 25^th January 2016. The year is 2046. I am a space ranger who is about to go on a mission to find a planet just like earth. And as it is a solo mission, I will have to keep my mind stable throughout and there will not be any interaction with the outer world. My nightmare was just a simulation to train my mind to live on my own. Man is a social animal, he needs someone to interact or else he could lose his mind. And here was I preparing to defy all the laws of nature and preparing for a mission which could lead to a greatest discovery of all. When I was lost in my thoughts, I heard one of the officers say, “You did good kid, you lasted very long in that nightmare, but remember it will be FOR REAL, NEXT TIME!”