Searching for the Ball in the Dense Jungle
SAMADRITA Das
Class - VIII
Gorabazar Ishwar Chandra Institution (ICI)
Talbagan Para, Baharampur, Murshidabad
Going to play cricket after school is a daily habit of mine.
After coming home from school, I quickly change my clothes, have a quick bite, and rush to the field. As usual, today, the moment the school bell rang for dismissal, I ran home. As quickly as I could, I washed my hands and face, ate, and hurried off to the field to play.
There are six of us who play: me, Arghya, Piku, Arindam, Raj, and Shreyam. I won the toss, and Arghya and I went out to bat. In our cricket matches, my batting (not to brag or anything) and Piku's bowling are the main highlights. Whenever it's my turn to bat and Piku's to bowl, a crowd always gathers. Today was no exception. I took the striker's position, and Arghya took the non-striker's. Piku ran up to bowl, but unfortunately, his first delivery was so fast that it missed the line and went wide. We got a run without even facing a ball! Seeing this, Piku gritted his teeth like a monkey, which made me laugh. Anyway, Piku came back to bowl again, delivering a high-speed ball – a real over-bounce attack. But I wasn’t going to back down. I hit it hard. The ball was so fast, and I swung with such force, that it flew straight to the jungle at the far end of the field. Everyone started shouting, Six! Six! But now, a problem had arisen. The ball had gone into the jungle, and no one wanted to retrieve it. So, of course, I had to go in and get it. Everyone came to me and said, 'Go, get the ball!' I wasn’t about to give in easily and replied, 'I’ll go, but someone has to come with me.' Since I was the one who hit the ball, it was obvious I had to go. As we argued, evening was approaching. The jungle was known for snakes and other creatures, not to mention the fear of spirits lurking around. But if I didn’t bring the ball back, they would tell my mom, and I’d be in trouble. So, I had no choice but to grab my cricket bat and head towards the jungle. The jungle was at the very edge of the field.
I started running because if I walked, it would take at least 15 minutes to get there. After a short run, I reached the jungle. As soon as I stepped inside, a chill ran down my spine. My whole body shuddered. I ventured deeper into the jungle but still couldn’t see the ball. Now, fear really started creeping in. I had come out of stubbornness, but now it was getting dark, and I was truly frightened. Suddenly, I heard laughter. My heart skipped a beat. It must be the spirits laughing! My legs started shaking uncontrollably, and my cricket bat fell from my hands. The sound of laughter continued for a while. In terror, I screamed, 'Mom! Mom!'
I woke up and sat up in bed. Oh! So, it had all been a dream. I was breathing heavily. I took a sip of water. My mom had woken up too but didn’t say anything. After all, everyone has dreams. I curled up under my blanket again. Suddenly, I glanced at the clock—it was dawn. I had heard that dreams seen in the early morning come true.