A Strange Adventure

A Strange Adventure

A Strange Adventure Posted In: ,

The heavy rain continued to pound on the galvanize as though there were elephants walking on the roof. As I looked out the window, there were black clouds as far as the eye could see. Today was going to be a very rainy and damp day. A perfect day to stay in my room and indulge in one of my favourite hobbies; drawing.

I set up my desk with paper, pencils and crayons and sat staring out the window, wondering what to draw. The previous day my parents had taken me to the Emperor Valley Zoo to look at the animals. We had a lot of fun so I decided to draw a picture about that day. As I started to draw it seemed as though my hand had a life of its own and I did not have any control over it. I drew my picture and coloured it immediately after. It was one of the nicest pictures that I had ever drawn.

The next day I sat down at my desk to admire the picture again. I was eager to show my mom what I had drawn. As I stared at the picture, I realized that I was slowly being pulled into it. A hole seemed to open in the middle of the page. First my head went through, then my body and finally my legs. When I landed I was standing in front of the lion’s cage with my parents. I must have fallen asleep while I was drawing. How else could I have gotten here?

Suddenly we heard screams coming from the lion enclosure. The lion was standing on his two hind legs, scratching at the glass furiously hoping to get out. He then moved away from the glass as though he was tired. Two zookeepers arrived to try and calm him down and the crowd started to disperse. Suddenly, without a warning, the lion shot to his feet and launched himself over the top of the enclosure like a torpedo.

Screams filled the air and visitors scampered in all directions. The zookeepers tried to talk to the lion in soothing voices as they tried to calm him down. They also radioed for the game wardens to come with the tranquilizer gun. In the rush and stampede I had become separated from my parents. As I looked around frantically for them I heard someone telling me not to make any sudden movements and try to stay calm. As I turned to the sound of the voice, I came face to face with the huge face of the lion. My heart started to pound like one hundred bass drums. I was drenched in sweat as if I had just taken a shower. Out of the corner of my eye I could see my parents being restrained by two of the zookeepers. My mother was screaming and my dad was hugging her but he too had tears in his eyes.

The lion kept looking at me as if I was a big chunk of meat but he did not come any closer. All the people who were looking on were moved to a safer location but one of the zookeepers stayed with me, trying to keep me calm as the tears flowed down my cheeks. A few minutes later the game wardens arrived with their tranquilizer guns. As they took up their positions, I started to relax a little. Hopefully soon this nightmare would be over.

However, the lion sensed that danger was nearby. Glancing around him he noticed the game wardens with their large tranquilizer guns. He took two steps away from them but towards me. My heart started to pound again and my stomach felt sick. The first game warden shot the tranquilizer gun but unfortunately he missed. As the second warden got ready to fire, the lion looked at me, gave a growl and sprang.
I screamed at the top of my lungs and raised my arms to cover my face. I waited for the massive lion to attack, to feel those long, sharp teeth rip into me. I waited and waited but felt nothing. I slowly lowered my hands and opened my eyes. To my relief I was back at my desk in my room looking at the picture I had drawn.

Tears of happiness streamed down my cheeks. I crumpled the picture and threw it in the bin. I never wanted to see that drawing again. My heart started to slow to its normal pace as I thought to myself that it was just a bad dream.

Aarti Gosine is the Managing Director of JAV Publishing House and has also written three children’s books, The Magic Cave, More Adventures in the Magic Cave and the Jaeden Ring. This trilogy is ideal for children in the 7-10 age group. Aarti also writes short stories for The Northerly, a community based supplement and is the Managing Editor for Trinidad Weddings Wed-zine magazine.

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