I have to seriously do something now. I can’t just sit and stare at...what is it called again? Oh right, a prism! Or maybe it’s a tetrahedron if I remember correctly from math class. Countless questions are swirling around my mind: How did I even get in here? Who brought me in here? What exactly is happening? Why is this happening?
Confined in a small, dimly lit room, I can feel my claustrophobia kicking in. Neither windows nor switches are in reach of my sight. The only thing different from the cold granite of the room is the small tetrahedron and four eerie doors chiselled into the walls. Unable to control myself, I run to the door to my right. As the door doesn’t unlock, I bang it vigorously and a panicked shout finally escapes my throat, “Hey! Is anybody there? Please get me out of here.” There is no reply. I run to the other doors, doing the same, probably looking like a headless chicken. All the doors look the same with a slight difference; each had one of the letters, V, C, B, and S engraved into it.
After a while, when I have shouted my throat hoarse, my panic turns into helplessness. But I refuse to just give up. I reach out for the tetrahedron with the intent of finding a clue that can release me from this nightmare. As I pick it up, a tiny torn piece of paper about the size of my pinky finger, falls onto the floor. I bend down to take the paper in my hand. In the dim light of this room, it seems almost impossible to make out the tiny words printed on the paper. But after concentrating properly, I can make out a faintly discernible title, “CHOOSE or DIE.”
It suddenly all makes sense to me, the four doors and four faces of the tetrahedron. “Eureka!” I shout, “I have found the way out!” Full of excitement, I suddenly jump up, but the four spooky doors take all the excitement away. I can hear my heart racing as I read further: The sole way to escape is to open the CORRECT door. Good Luck.
Wait. That’s it?
“Oh come-on! What do you mean the correct door?” I yell in frustration as this situation starts getting on my nerves, and throw the paper down. I stamp on it and twist my ankle till I can feel it under my foot, crushed.
Heavy breaths in and out, I calm myself so I can think. Then I examine the tetrahedron even more closely. All of a sudden, four images appear on it. The sudden occurence of these vague images make the situation even weirder than it already is. “That’s not important right now!” I try to get back to focus, so I can get out of here as soon as possible. Assembling all my attention together, I finally figure out the blurry images: a mountain, a jasmine, a beach, and a music note.
Connecting all these images forms a strange picture in my mind: a person playing a music note while doing aromatherapy on a beach on a mountainside. But that doesn’t make sense. Then, maybe it means: a person listening to music, on a beach near a mountain, while doing aromatherapy. This doesn’t make sense either. Realizing the foolish thoughts in my head, I start thinking aloud, “Wait a second, the paper says to choose one. So, there is no point of me just combining them.”
Again, my brain experiences an overload of questions: What’s the difference between these? What can be dangerous in these beautiful, relaxing things? Should I just choose randomly? But it doesn’t seem safe to be fickle here; it’s a matter of life and death.
Maybe each item displays what’s behind the door. If that’s true, I can simply choose the music note. I can’t imagine anything being wrong with a music note. Actually, never mind, a beach, a mountain, or a jasmine don’t seem dangerous either. Unless, it’s a species of jasmine that is very poisonous, and the mountain and the beach are in isolated islands. What if I get teleported to those isolated mountains and beaches after I open these doors? But there might also be a problem with the music note; what if it hypnotizes me?
“Arghh! This is so confusing! I would rather die than solve this!”
Wait, what if the first letter of each image indicates something? MJBM. That doesn’t mean anything though. After spending what feels like an hour on rearranging these four letters, I hear myself saying, “What if it says, ‘Make a Jump Behind the Mountains?’ Oh my God! That make sense.” I sigh in relief. I decide to press the mountain side of the tetrahedron.
I can feel my fingers trembling as it gets closer to the tetrahedron.
I scream at myself, “Aditi, just trust yourself!”
I make the move.
I press it but not hard enough.
Something else strikes my mind, mountains and music notes. What’s common in them? The letter M. “This means the only letter that is repeated is M and it’s repeated twice,” I have started speaking normally now. So, does that mean the second door is the one that can potentially help me escape?
“This is my final decision. That’s it! My brain can’t think anymore,” I whisper-screech so no one can hear me. I pick the second yogurt and one glance away from the shelf full of yogurts gives me the sight of a worker shaking his head in disappointment at me. As usual, I give him an awkward smile. He should be used to it by now; this happens every week. After giving a final goodbye to the vanilla, butterscotch, and strawberry yogurts, I reach the counter. I pay the bill and walk back home enjoying the taste of cold chocolate yogurt running down my throat on this sunny, humid day.
iStock_77843591_MEDIUM.
Confined in a small, dimly lit room, I can feel my claustrophobia kicking in. Neither windows nor switches are in reach of my sight. The only thing different from the cold granite of the room is the small tetrahedron and four eerie doors chiselled into the walls. Unable to control myself, I run to the door to my right. As the door doesn’t unlock, I bang it vigorously and a panicked shout finally escapes my throat, “Hey! Is anybody there? Please get me out of here.” There is no reply. I run to the other doors, doing the same, probably looking like a headless chicken. All the doors look the same with a slight difference; each had one of the letters, V, C, B, and S engraved into it.
After a while, when I have shouted my throat hoarse, my panic turns into helplessness. But I refuse to just give up. I reach out for the tetrahedron with the intent of finding a clue that can release me from this nightmare. As I pick it up, a tiny torn piece of paper about the size of my pinky finger, falls onto the floor. I bend down to take the paper in my hand. In the dim light of this room, it seems almost impossible to make out the tiny words printed on the paper. But after concentrating properly, I can make out a faintly discernible title, “CHOOSE or DIE.”
It suddenly all makes sense to me, the four doors and four faces of the tetrahedron. “Eureka!” I shout, “I have found the way out!” Full of excitement, I suddenly jump up, but the four spooky doors take all the excitement away. I can hear my heart racing as I read further: The sole way to escape is to open the CORRECT door. Good Luck.
Wait. That’s it?
“Oh come-on! What do you mean the correct door?” I yell in frustration as this situation starts getting on my nerves, and throw the paper down. I stamp on it and twist my ankle till I can feel it under my foot, crushed.
Heavy breaths in and out, I calm myself so I can think. Then I examine the tetrahedron even more closely. All of a sudden, four images appear on it. The sudden occurence of these vague images make the situation even weirder than it already is. “That’s not important right now!” I try to get back to focus, so I can get out of here as soon as possible. Assembling all my attention together, I finally figure out the blurry images: a mountain, a jasmine, a beach, and a music note.
Connecting all these images forms a strange picture in my mind: a person playing a music note while doing aromatherapy on a beach on a mountainside. But that doesn’t make sense. Then, maybe it means: a person listening to music, on a beach near a mountain, while doing aromatherapy. This doesn’t make sense either. Realizing the foolish thoughts in my head, I start thinking aloud, “Wait a second, the paper says to choose one. So, there is no point of me just combining them.”
Again, my brain experiences an overload of questions: What’s the difference between these? What can be dangerous in these beautiful, relaxing things? Should I just choose randomly? But it doesn’t seem safe to be fickle here; it’s a matter of life and death.
Maybe each item displays what’s behind the door. If that’s true, I can simply choose the music note. I can’t imagine anything being wrong with a music note. Actually, never mind, a beach, a mountain, or a jasmine don’t seem dangerous either. Unless, it’s a species of jasmine that is very poisonous, and the mountain and the beach are in isolated islands. What if I get teleported to those isolated mountains and beaches after I open these doors? But there might also be a problem with the music note; what if it hypnotizes me?
“Arghh! This is so confusing! I would rather die than solve this!”
Wait, what if the first letter of each image indicates something? MJBM. That doesn’t mean anything though. After spending what feels like an hour on rearranging these four letters, I hear myself saying, “What if it says, ‘Make a Jump Behind the Mountains?’ Oh my God! That make sense.” I sigh in relief. I decide to press the mountain side of the tetrahedron.
I can feel my fingers trembling as it gets closer to the tetrahedron.
I scream at myself, “Aditi, just trust yourself!”
I make the move.
I press it but not hard enough.
Something else strikes my mind, mountains and music notes. What’s common in them? The letter M. “This means the only letter that is repeated is M and it’s repeated twice,” I have started speaking normally now. So, does that mean the second door is the one that can potentially help me escape?
“This is my final decision. That’s it! My brain can’t think anymore,” I whisper-screech so no one can hear me. I pick the second yogurt and one glance away from the shelf full of yogurts gives me the sight of a worker shaking his head in disappointment at me. As usual, I give him an awkward smile. He should be used to it by now; this happens every week. After giving a final goodbye to the vanilla, butterscotch, and strawberry yogurts, I reach the counter. I pay the bill and walk back home enjoying the taste of cold chocolate yogurt running down my throat on this sunny, humid day.
iStock_77843591_MEDIUM.
That ending! I did not see it coming at all. Beautiful ending with a very relatable message. We have all been there before, trust me.
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