Family or Fantasy Land? Story by Dia, 13, Delhi

Family or fantasy land ? 

Crunch! I heard the sound of a glass breaking nearby. The woodsy smell ensured that I was probably in a claustrophobic wooden room. I was blindfolded and all I could see was darkness. I tried to move but found out that I was surrounded by thick wall-like structures. Suddenly, I heard a voice. A soft fairy-like voice of a 6-year-old kid. A second later, I noticed that my tied hands were now free and the blindfold was removed. The little girl in front of me had an angelic vibe. So I decided to go with- “Where am I?” The sweet girl replied, “Ummm, fantasy land!”

I was perplexed, was it a dream? However, regardless of my curiosity, I remained calm. “My name is Amara,” exclaimed the girl. I started badgering her with questions.

“How did I get here?”

She hesitated but finally answered. 

“Up somewhere is The Master – a powerful being who transports a few people to this fantasy land every year.” 

Fantasy, yes…of course what else would you call a place with lavender coloured water, candy rains and an unending grand buffet? I was awe-struck and it was probably the best moment of my life.

After seeing my excited look, Amara chuckled and mumbled something to herself. She mentioned we were heading towards the Master. As anyone would ever wonder, the Master lived in a gigantic castle, standing out amongst the stunning view of the rainbow waterfalls. I entered the hall, it was a huge one indeed.

A man, probably in his 20’s looked at me and said, “Welcome to this luxurious land! Feel free to explore and gather all the joys only for yourself.” Oh, so this was Master but contrary to my assumption he didn’t look like an egoistic “Master”.  As the Master concluded, I went outside, only to meet Amara again. The little girl led me to a big tidy room with a perfect ocean’s view.

“Flawless” was the only word that I could describe it as. I explored the place like a crazy kid. Every time there was something new that intrigued me. There were adventurous activities, yummilicious  snacks and everything one could imagine to be true. Soon, within a few hours everything started to lose its charm. 

Amara visited me and inquired, “Enjoying your new life, eh?” 

New life? Since I had gotten here, I had rarely given a thought about my family, my friends. 

Amara guffawed. 

“You haven’t thought of them at all, have you? Do you know why the Master separates people from their families? So that those enchanted by materialistic things will do anything to stay and work for him. 

When I thought about it from her perspective, I started to realise…why all this time I felt that something was missing. All the materialistic things here overpowered me! They disconnected me from my roots. I thought of my family…how much they would be missing me! In fact, how much I was missing them. My wish to go back to my family was getting irresistible.

Thankfully Amara was a kind fairy and her magic got me back home to the world’s most precious treasure- my family.

I will forever be grateful for that.

Amara has now become my angelic sister, we play and do so many exciting things. I will surely bring them to you some other day!