- "My hands shook nervously as I tried the key in some adjoining doors with the same result"
It was a privilege to stay in a cubicle after having spent a year in dormitory as a junior. There was never much privacy in a dormitory. The only moment of respite was late night hours when I was tucked in my bed. Those were the moments when I could truly be myself and forget everything. Nibbling biscuits secretly underneath my quilt or just lying on the bed, I used to drift into the craziest of dreams and ideas, savouring every second that ticked by. Crazy as my dreams were, I never expected them to come true. But the craziest of things do happen in real life; and they happen most mysteriously and at the oddest of instances.
That day things set off most ordinarily. It was at the start of the year. I had come to school a day earlier so that I could arrange my things in my brand new cubicle. But the circumstances were such, the door was locked. Luckily the house didi was around and I asked her for the key. She handed me one and I opened the door. I had thought of returning the key to her, but amidst all the excitement of shifting to a new cubicle and meeting friends after the summer holidays, I forgot to return it. Didi did not ask me for it either.
The discovery
The key remained forgotten till a month passed by. One of the cubicles in our house had been locked out. We tried almost everything to open it but in vain. Everyone was getting frustrated when a thought suddenly struck me. I rushed to my cubicle. I opened my locker and fished out the forgotten key from the rubble of things inside the bottom compartment. “Who knows”, I thought, as I stared at the key and then rushed back.
I rarely breathed as the metal fitted perfectly in the keyhole. A twist and the whole mechanism inside the lock turned flawlessly. My friends cheered and I stared in disbelief. I stole away from the cacophony of hip hips and hurrahs. My hands shook nervously as I tried the key in some adjoining doors with the same result. The long forgotten thing was a master key! I stood wide-eyed, awed by the mere fact that the old rusty key should be in my grasp. All the doors in our school had the British locks that had been installed when the school was first built. This key could possibly open all the doors in the school. I quickly threw furtive glances towards both ends of the corridor. Then I dropped the key into my pocket punching my fist in the air. The impossible had happened!
Night time adventures
From my vantage point I could visualise the all the possibilities the possession of the master key had opened up for me. I was now restricted from nowhere, not even from the principal’s office! But to keep the secret to myself was just overwhelming. So, I disclosed it to a circle of close friends. My life in school took a complete turn. We used to sneak into unsuspecting teachers’ flats in the secrecy of night and steal away food from the kitchen. As there were no suspicions, we grew bolder in our adventures.
The escape
The silvery moon light shone serenely as we crept along the balcony. As usual, the key did not fail us and we were inside. We were staring at the darkness. We lit our small torches and swept the room with the pale light. We were soon busy with our search, working through heaps of paper. “I got it”, whispered one of my friends. We closed into a circle. By the flimsy light the little letters at the top read, ‘First Semester Examination’. We were grinning at each other overwhelmed by the finding when a hoot ruptured the tranquillity of the night air. We stood dead silent, our feet rooted to the floor. It was the warning call.
“Quick,” I whispered with utmost urgency as I tucked the question paper in my pocket. We tiptoed outside as quietly as possible. Then I nimbly locked the door and retrieved the key. Light footfalls approached from the staircase. Probably a teacher or a guard! We were terrified at the prospect of getting caught. As the footsteps were heard approaching threateningly closer we did the unthinkable. We heaved up ourselves on the brick wall and jumped! I could see the pale yellow light sweeping the corridor as we plunged into the empty night air. Our landings were punctuated by three distinct thuds. Waiting no further, we picked ourselves up and made the dash of our life leaving behind the deathly silhouette of the Social Studies department, the question paper safe in my pocket!
Revelation
It was towards the end of the year when our night time adventures came to a halt. Vaidya Sir approached me and said, “Give me the key.” I was jolted! Without any resentment I produced the key. As I gazed at it I no longer felt like the key was talismanic. The cursed key would probably get me expelled. Who on earth had given it to me away? I was horrified as I tried picturing the trials that lay ahead for me. My head reeled and I felt nauseated. The next day I was called to the Principal’s office for an investigation. The place had never seemed so ghastly even during our secret night visits. I was disgusted even to think of how I had been betrayed.
But upon second thoughts, “Why would my friends give me away?” They could not get away by leaving me alone in the net. After all, all of us were in it together, in the adventure. Perhaps it was all just a misfortune. I could not give my friends away. My decision was made.
The crazy hope
What could be a graver mistake on a student’s part than possessing a master key for an entire year and not turning it in? I would surely be expelled. At the moment, there was desperation in me, and a longing for a chance. After all, I was not a bad student. It was all because of the cursed key. However if there was any hope for me it was a just crazy hope. But crazy things do happen and they happen most mysteriously and at the oddest of instances!!!
- Roshan Thapaliya
No comments :
Post a Comment