A Descent into the Maelström
The 'terribly tiny tales' version of this(that I just picked up from my Whatsapp status:P) :
I see "A Descent into the Maelström" flash past my eyes. She laughingly says 'let's talk in English'. Between my dread and her calm, we survived a furore of foam,spray and hilarity.
Left to go right and right to go left, he told us. The words were lost on us as we were trying to skittishly clamber into the shaky boat which kept titling this way and that. We finally managed to get in without ending up in the water.It's a small lake and we take a look around as we pedal at a normal pace. This is a walk in the park. Wonder why I was so scared, I think. Our friends are in boats nearby. Let's take a selfie, they yell. My friend reaches into her pocket for her phone and then takes a picture. This whole thing would have taken about half a minute at the most.
The next instant, I look around, and the fountain at the center of the pond is dangerously close. Hey, we seem to be heading towards the fountain. Let's change direction, I say. What was it he said? Turn left to go right. She pulls the lever all the way to the left and we pedal. Nothing happens. Okay let's try the other direction. Hard right. Nothing. Waves of panic hit me. What if this thing isn't working? We haven't tried the direction change before and have no idea if it works. I look and the fountain is straight ahead. We're driving straight into it. This time, there's a note of despair in my voice.
And the moment I say it, we're actually under it. A furious deluge of ice cold water descends on both of us, drenching us from head to toe.The currents are stronger here and spiral inwards towards the base of the fountain. Our pedaling seems to be in vain because we seem to be going in circles,purely driven by the current. The boat is filling up with water.I can already see what's going to happen next. As if the probability of the boat upturning due to the sheer volume of water in it wasn't bad enough, even if that didn't happen, we'd soon hit the base of the fountain, the impact of which alone would suffice to topple the boat.Would these life jackets actually keep us afloat? I hope I don't have to find out, I shudder at the thought. Well, if they don't, we're going to get a taste of what it feels like to drown. The shore seems at least a hopeless minute away.
I turn sideways and my friend is surprisingly upbeat and rational. Let's pick a direction and choose to pedal that way together. Say left or right; talk English, I can't understand your "here" and "there".
I debate on telling her what's going on in my head. Bad idea. Definitely. I'm so glad she's holding up so well. I don't want her to freak out too. So I listen to her, pick a direction and we start pedaling against the current.
Within a few seconds, we're out of the direct spray of the fountain. And soon enough, we head out on a tangent from the vicious circle that's been drawing us in. I breathe a sigh of relief. Fear and panic reluctantly leave. Clarity is the first to show up. The lever didn't work because we brilliant engineers forgot that the direction change would take a few seconds to reflect. In blind adrenaline-fueled panic, we turned the lever left and right in rapid alternation, like petrified chicken flapping their wings and squawking: D Response time of a real-time system.How many damn times have I heard that!
We look around at our friends and random onlookers on the bank(river bank, sea shore, what's for a pond? :P) To my surprise, noone seems perturbed by what just transpired. They all seem to be smiling pleasantly. And then, it dawns on me. They think we're adventurous youngsters who drove straight into the fountain for fun. Ah, the damn irony.
We narrowly missed ending up in the water, I tell my friend. Really? We'd just have gotten drenched right? She asks naively. I point to my side of the boat. The water is ankle deep. Once it had gotten beyond a point,well,the boat would have... I trail off, not wanting to voice the obvious. Oh my God. That did not occur to me at all, she says feeling the seriousness of the situation now. I'm glad it didn't, I smile. Ignorance is bliss.
Half an hour hour later, we reach the shore, the incident somewhat dulled by the receding adrenaline and the most instinctive defense mechanism that goes by the name of humor. The guy docks the boat, then asks us with a quizzical expression. Why is there water in the boat? Umm...a little water from the fountain got into the boat,I suppose. I shrug it off nonchalantly, knowing all very well that it must be the understatement of the year.
To be honest though, it seems more funny than terrifying now. I am berating myself for exaggerating it in the narration. But in that moment, it was all too real.
P.S: The weird part is this though: In the one moment that I thought I'd probably end up drowning, my mind came up with a book(a short story to be more accurate). Yep, that's right. No family. No friends. No flashbacks, regrets or enlightenment. Just a book. :P And it was this one; linking it here,just in case you's like to read it: A Descent into the Maelström
Long after this incident, I remain annoyed with the eccentric entity that I call my mind, for bringing up something so out of context. Or maybe I should make one of those memes:
@Jarvis, I cannot thank you enough for being level headed and not freaking out on me. I already trusted you enough, and now, I trust you even in possibly life-threatening situations :D This one's dedicated to you!
Title Credits: Mr.Edgar Allan Poe :P
I see "A Descent into the Maelström" flash past my eyes. She laughingly says 'let's talk in English'. Between my dread and her calm, we survived a furore of foam,spray and hilarity.
Left to go right and right to go left, he told us. The words were lost on us as we were trying to skittishly clamber into the shaky boat which kept titling this way and that. We finally managed to get in without ending up in the water.It's a small lake and we take a look around as we pedal at a normal pace. This is a walk in the park. Wonder why I was so scared, I think. Our friends are in boats nearby. Let's take a selfie, they yell. My friend reaches into her pocket for her phone and then takes a picture. This whole thing would have taken about half a minute at the most.
The next instant, I look around, and the fountain at the center of the pond is dangerously close. Hey, we seem to be heading towards the fountain. Let's change direction, I say. What was it he said? Turn left to go right. She pulls the lever all the way to the left and we pedal. Nothing happens. Okay let's try the other direction. Hard right. Nothing. Waves of panic hit me. What if this thing isn't working? We haven't tried the direction change before and have no idea if it works. I look and the fountain is straight ahead. We're driving straight into it. This time, there's a note of despair in my voice.
And the moment I say it, we're actually under it. A furious deluge of ice cold water descends on both of us, drenching us from head to toe.The currents are stronger here and spiral inwards towards the base of the fountain. Our pedaling seems to be in vain because we seem to be going in circles,purely driven by the current. The boat is filling up with water.I can already see what's going to happen next. As if the probability of the boat upturning due to the sheer volume of water in it wasn't bad enough, even if that didn't happen, we'd soon hit the base of the fountain, the impact of which alone would suffice to topple the boat.Would these life jackets actually keep us afloat? I hope I don't have to find out, I shudder at the thought. Well, if they don't, we're going to get a taste of what it feels like to drown. The shore seems at least a hopeless minute away.
I debate on telling her what's going on in my head. Bad idea. Definitely. I'm so glad she's holding up so well. I don't want her to freak out too. So I listen to her, pick a direction and we start pedaling against the current.
Within a few seconds, we're out of the direct spray of the fountain. And soon enough, we head out on a tangent from the vicious circle that's been drawing us in. I breathe a sigh of relief. Fear and panic reluctantly leave. Clarity is the first to show up. The lever didn't work because we brilliant engineers forgot that the direction change would take a few seconds to reflect. In blind adrenaline-fueled panic, we turned the lever left and right in rapid alternation, like petrified chicken flapping their wings and squawking: D Response time of a real-time system.How many damn times have I heard that!
We look around at our friends and random onlookers on the bank(river bank, sea shore, what's for a pond? :P) To my surprise, noone seems perturbed by what just transpired. They all seem to be smiling pleasantly. And then, it dawns on me. They think we're adventurous youngsters who drove straight into the fountain for fun. Ah, the damn irony.
We narrowly missed ending up in the water, I tell my friend. Really? We'd just have gotten drenched right? She asks naively. I point to my side of the boat. The water is ankle deep. Once it had gotten beyond a point,well,the boat would have... I trail off, not wanting to voice the obvious. Oh my God. That did not occur to me at all, she says feeling the seriousness of the situation now. I'm glad it didn't, I smile. Ignorance is bliss.
Half an hour hour later, we reach the shore, the incident somewhat dulled by the receding adrenaline and the most instinctive defense mechanism that goes by the name of humor. The guy docks the boat, then asks us with a quizzical expression. Why is there water in the boat? Umm...a little water from the fountain got into the boat,I suppose. I shrug it off nonchalantly, knowing all very well that it must be the understatement of the year.
To be honest though, it seems more funny than terrifying now. I am berating myself for exaggerating it in the narration. But in that moment, it was all too real.
P.S: The weird part is this though: In the one moment that I thought I'd probably end up drowning, my mind came up with a book(a short story to be more accurate). Yep, that's right. No family. No friends. No flashbacks, regrets or enlightenment. Just a book. :P And it was this one; linking it here,just in case you's like to read it: A Descent into the Maelström
Long after this incident, I remain annoyed with the eccentric entity that I call my mind, for bringing up something so out of context. Or maybe I should make one of those memes:
You know you're a book lover when...
you think you're going to die;
and the one thing,the only thing, you can think of,
happens to be a book.
Title Credits: Mr.Edgar Allan Poe :P
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