It was Friday, after school. It had been a hectic hot day for Krishna. School had been taxing, with seemingly endless lessons and unexciting after-school events. Nature had even worsened the situation, with the sun’s scorching rays furiously and relentlessly pouring on earth, stinging skins and beating sweats out of tortured skins. As Krishna was being driven home by her parents’ driver, the air conditioning in the car, seemingly blowing hot, wouldn’t help to lessen her uneasiness. She felt uncomfortable through most part of the journey and at some point, she wished the car, like those found in fairy tales, could develop wings and just fly her home.
It had been forty minutes since she arrived home. After having her bath and taking her lunch, she felt it’s time to visit Samantha, her best friend, whom she fondly called ‘Sammy’. She and Sammy had always exchanged visits during weekends, the only time they had, to be friends, physically, aside from their irregular virtual bonding during the week. A friendship that started between her Mum and Sammy’s two decades ago had been passed on to the daughters.
One of the activities they treasured doing together was gaming – fun games, academic games, violent video games. Krishna knew so much about games but it’s only recently that Sammy’s interest got ignited, inspired by Krishna. During Sammy’s last visit, she thrashed Krishna in the games more times than Krishna did. Failing was one of Krishna’s greatest fears. She would read endlessly to ensure she topped her class and even when she was topping, she would nurse secret fears about being outsmarted and outrun – she had never been beaten in exams, in any subject, in her three years of being in high school.
As she longed to go to Sammy’s place, she longed for revenge. She smiled when she remembered Sammy’s parting word, last weekend: “Revenge is sweet”. Sammy’s house was three streets away and usually, whenever Sammy was visiting, her driver would bring her to Krishna’s house and the driver would leave, while Krishna’s driver would take her back home and it’s the same pattern whenever Krishna was visiting Sammy.
Krishna sat on her bed, waiting for the driver to honk to alert her. She gently fell on her back to rest on the bed. She yawned a few times before her eyes closed.
“Krish,” her mum gently tapped at her door.
“Mum,” Krishna responded. The mum peeked inside her room.
“Wish to remind you about the sorting out to be done in the attic.”
“But mum… Can’t I do that tomorrow? I’ve got to go to Sammy’s”
“No, no more postponement, Krish. You were supposed to have done that since last weekend but we agreed it would be done today.”
Krishna knew she wouldn’t win the argument. So, she kept quiet. The mum left.
Krishna grumpily left her room and headed up the stairs leading to the attic. Why is mum being so unreasonable? She thought, as she stepped into the attic. The thought about Sammy and revenge flashed through her mind.
The attic was dusty and dark. She reached for the switch and put the light on. She hissed, seeing the magnitude of work she had to do. The thought of Sammy and revenge came to her mind again and she hurriedly set about the cleaning task.
It was a big attic with a lot of old stuff cramped together close to the entrance. There was a a half-dozen big boxes she needed to check, sort out the things in them and move away from the centre space. The parents were planning to bring in some items to be kept in the attic.
She tied a kerchief around her nose to prevent her from choking on dust. She cleared lots of cobwebs with a broom she had brought along. She dusted all the boxes and then opened them in turn. The first two boxes she opened had old books and the musty smell of old books made her scrunch up her nose. Here and there, she crushed some ants, which were sneaking out of the boxes, falling off the items she lifted from the boxes or filing out from behind the boxes.
When she opened the fifth box, a broad smile suddenly lit up her face.
‘Wow!” She exclaimed.
The items she found there brought back fond memories – of pleasant younger days, of exciting primary school experience, of some old friends, and of long-lost family members. She found her old toys and old artwork, all still neatly arranged. She saw some beautiful greeting cards she made for her Mum on different Mothers’ Days, and for her Dad on different Fathers’ Days. She found another set she made for their wedding anniversaries and their birthdays. The smiles were glued to her face as she kept admiring the items.
Her drawings and paintings were also there. She remembered winning a competition with one of those drawings; the one about her beautiful family – her dad, her mum, her two late grandmothers, her two late grandfathers, her elder brother and herself. The stunning drawing was made when she was in Year 5 and she remembered how her grandparents – all now dead – pampered her so much with gifts. Tears welled up on her face. That moment, she fondly missed those four people she so much treasured. She remembered how the four of them died within the space of two years. She lingered on admiring those items.
After about 65 minutes of dusting, clearing, moving, crushing, and admiring items, she was left with only one box, the biggest one. She wondered what might be in the box. She was about to open it when the thought of Sammy and the awaiting revenge flashed through her mind again. She giggled and got distracted a little. She didn’t notice in time that she had opened the box.
Fat snakes, numbering up to five, sprang out of the box, seemingly excited to be out of captivity. They had gold-coated skins glistening so adorably. Krishna sprang up in fright, shocked to the marrow. She ran about in the attic, screaming out in terror. The snakes danced about excitedly. She was too shocked to locate the entrance and she continued letting out screams that were loud enough to reach the heavens.
“Krishna! Krishna! Krishna!” Her Mum tapped her.
Krishna jumped up from her sleep, covered in sweats.
“What is it, love?”
She was too shocked to speak. She was only pointing towards the door.
“You were screaming so loud, Krish. You got me really scared.” The worried Mum said.
Krishna was panting and crying now and she kept pointing towards the door.
“I was coming to tell you about what you promised to do when you returned from school today. Cleaning the attic – “
“Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!”
Krishna screamed again and clung to her mother.
(c) YOUNG WRITERS' CLUB
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