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Silent Trap


The click-clack of my heels on the wooden floor board of the library sounded majestic. I held my head high and walked ahead, clutching a novel. I found a cosy spot and settled down. The smell of old books and the rustle of pages were enough to unwind on weekends. With a wide grin, I was ready to get lost between the pages of the novel. Suddenly, the drilling of big machineries startled me. It was from the construction site of a new mall, a few blocks away. I grabbed my book and went to the farthest end of the library. Though I could still hear the noise, it was manageable. 

I resumed my reading and this time, the loud speakers blared from a political meeting nearby. I closed the book in exasperation and decided to put it back in the shelf and head home. My hands touched upon something rectangular. It was a remote with a small digital display and a button. I pressed it and voila! There was pin drop silence around me. I pressed it again and the noises resumed. I wanted to make sure it wasn’t a coincidence. I opened a window and pressed the button. I couldn’t hear a single noise from the busy road. I immediately ran to the librarian and showed her. But every time I resumed the noise, she forgot everything that happened. I couldn’t believe my own eyes. I raced back home and tried it on every possible sound. It worked!

For the next two weeks, I made the most out of it. I used it on peak hour traffic, blaring loud speakers, office meetings, houseflies and what not. I felt like God.

I tucked into bed and as I was drifting off to sleep, the loud snoring of my father woke me up. Sleepily, I reached for the remote and pressed the button. The snoring still didn’t stop. I switched on the night lamp and noticed that the remote was pointed at me. I rubbed my eyes and yawned. But I didn’t hear it. I pressed the button again and sighed, but my speech was not back. I shouted in horror. I pressed the button hard and long but it still didn’t work. I slapped the remote and shouted in vain. Nothing changed.

Tears rolled down my cheeks and I tried again. The digital screen displayed “YOU RAN OUT OF BATTERY” and vanished.

Comments

  1. Janani2 September 2019 at 20:11

    Woah..something engaging and diff from you!! Expecting like this..best wishes!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous2 September 2019 at 20:34

    Great to see you back at it. You've written it lucidly and in an uncomplicated way, but I can understand the time that must have gone into working out the events. Well done.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Chandra Moulieeswar T2 September 2019 at 20:35

    QUITE Interesting...!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Varun3 September 2019 at 00:39

    Playing God is always dangerous! Haha! Wonderful story! Excellent

    ReplyDelete
  5. Varun3 September 2019 at 00:41

    Great! A wonderful twist does the magic! Enjoyed reading it!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Unknown3 September 2019 at 07:35

    Writer is impatient and intolerable with the happenings near the surroundings.

    ReplyDelete
  7. PadmaVenkat6 September 2019 at 13:49

    What a wowww! Imagination. But I wanted Archana to talk back soon. Expecting the part 2 soon💕

    ReplyDelete

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