Short story - MADHAV'S DAY IN THE LIBRARY!

- Subha Rajagopalan

Madhav was a charming kid. His naughty and curious eyes, fanlike ears, dark complexion and mischievous laughter reminded one of Little Krishna. He loved playing or riding his bicycle - all the time! He would pick up lizards by their tails while other kids cowered in a comer. While his antics were exhausting, he was equally endearing.

It was a Monday morning. His dad dragged him out of bed and dressed him up for school. His mom packed his favourite lunch. At school, Madhav was his usual naughty self. The teacher was annoyed. "Madhav, come with me”. She took him to the library and picked up a big red coloured book from the shelf "Sit here and read this. I shall come back in an hour”.

Bored, Madhav looked around. He found a peculiar shaped key under the cupboard. He kept the key in his pocket. He started flipping through the book without any interest. Reading was a punishment for him, indeed! He stared at the page in front of him. There was a huge iron door with a rusted metal lock with a peculiar design on it that vaguely resembled a dragon. Our naughty hero pulled out the key from his pocket. He fiddled with the lock and pretended to unlock it. Suddenly the lock gave away. Mighty impressed, Madhav removed the lock and opened the rusted creaky door. He safely placed the key back in his pocket again. Suddenly, he was pulled into the open door through the book.

The other side was pretty dark and slippery. Madhav heard some strange noises. Bravely but cautiously, he found his path that lead to an archway. There he saw a dozen rats. They stared at him as he moved forward. He found a flight of narrow stairs made of rocks. He started to climb the steps. As he went closer, he saw a dim light and heard some sniffling sounds. He reached the entrance to a small cave.

A small girl lay crouched in the corner. Her pink dress was smeared with mud. She was crying and wiping her tears on her frock. A plate of untouched food was before her. On hearing footsteps, she jumped up, scared.

She was surprised to see a kid, although older and taller than her. "Who are you? Were you also brought here by the big blue giant from the garden? He has locked me up here He has gone out to bring some firewood and plans to cook me tonight for his dinner!"

"Oh! Don't cry. My name is Madhav. What is yours?" She stammered" I… er.. I am Myrah. Please, help me get out of this place".

"Hold my hand", Madhav said and gently led her to the narrow stairs. They reached the iron door. Madhav and Myrah leaped out and through the book, stepped into broad daylight.

"Thank you my friend. Now, let me rush to my home. My parents would be searching for me. Madhav smiled victoriously while Myrah skipped away happily towards her home.

"Madhav get up! Are you sleeping?" He woke up and saw his teacher. "No Miss, I was saving Myrah, he said opening his eyes wide "Good boy. Let us go now. That evening Madhav narrated to his parents about how he saved Myrah. They laughed but at the same time, marvelled at his imagination. When his mother took his uniform pants for washing... Lo, what's this? A dragon shaped key! The key fell from his pant pocket!

Was it really a dream? Was Madhav a real hero? We will never know! Such is the power of books! Books open up a world of magic and wonders for you!