| Creative Writing Competition 2012 India | |
| CODE | 989 |
| SETTING | Busy Market |
| OBJECT | Chocolate |
| THEME | Dream/Fantasy of a Teenager |
Penelope’s Chocolates – Short Story on Dreams
Photo credit: cohdra from morguefile.com
I felt nauseated by the intense odour of fishes and sea urchins. They looked like they jumped right out of the ocean in the baskets made out of bamboo arranged neatly in order of the fish size. One fish in particular had a huge, gleaming black eye. It was as though it was looking at me.
“Get the finest quality of goods here” a man with a headgear made out of white cloth shouted.
My ears were ringing with coherent noise and as I moved down the lane I bumped into many people who were dressed in bright natural colors. They looked at me rather strangely. No one had jeans on like me. Their dresses flowed freely and were made of wool and linen. Heat radiated all through my body, I took the edge of my T shirt near the collar in my hand and shook it and let out a few bursts of breath from my lips in quick succession.
I saw fresh carrots, onions and lettuce on one side and on the other side there was wheat, rice and cheese. The vegetables looked like they were smiling and were inviting me to eat them. The over powering smell of the fish was gone and I felt pain in my feet and it traveled through my legs.
As I walked further, in the corner I saw a small shop. There was a woman wearing a dark purple cloak. Her hair was long and black. In front of her were heart shaped dark chocolates arranged in stacks of lines. I walked in that direction automatically.
“Welcome. I am Penelope” She smiled.
“wh-where am I ?”
“Don’t ask questions. Take this, eat it and you will be free”
The chocolate looked tempting but I was thinking as to how I got to this strange place and more importantly what was this strange place?
“Don’t think too much, eat it”
As I put the chocolate near my mouth the smell of cocoa sent my brain into a daze. I was about to put it in my mouth when I felt someone twisting my hand around and turning me towards their side. A man who had a pike and a metal helmet on was staring at me. The chocolate from the other hand dropped on the ground and vanished. I turned my neck to see that Penelope was not there and the chocolate shop seemed like it never existed.
“Who are you?” he asked me.
“Ro- Rohan. Rohan Mishra”
“Are you a trader? Didn’t the city guards stop you? How did you get into the agora?”
“What? Agora, Where am I?”
The man didn’t answer any of my questions and dragged me further and on to a large raised platform. I saw the huge market that I had just walked through. It seemed empty now as all the people had gathered around me. I started sweating profusely, the man let go of me and addressed the crowd.
“Athenians! Anyone knows who this man is?”
“No!” came the answer in chorus.
I was in Athens? How did I get there? I thought and I heard many more responses
“Must be a spy”,
“The Gods have sent him”,
“Must be a lost trader”,
“Look at what he is wearing.”,
“He is from Persia”
“No, I am from India” I said while my voice trembled.
The mysterious woman from the chocolate store earlier emerged from the crowd and walked towards me.
“Eat this, you will get out of here in no time.” she said and gave me a chocolate similar to that I had dropped earlier.
“Rohan!”
How did she come to know my name I thought. “Rohan, answer my question!”
“What question?” I said and put the chocolate in my mouth.
“In ancient Greece, what were the crops that were grown?”
“Chocolate.” I said as I heard bursts of laughter.
“Rohan! How can you grow chocolates?”
“Penelope. No mam. Sorry mam.”
“What is wrong with you Rohan? Be more attentive! Sit down now.”
“Sorry Mam!” I said and sat.
“Rohan, you were sleeping all this while, I tried to wake you up so much. You were blabbering all along, I even heard you saying your name.” my neighbor Swati told me.
“I had a strange dream”
“Oh happens, thank god you woke up the moment she shouted your name. I have some chocolate, do you want?”
“No Swati, I am done with chocolates.”
“Why and who is Penelope?”
“I have no idea.”
“You should not sleep in the class Rohan” she giggled.
__END__
