A Strange Voyage

Have you ever been on a strange voyage? I surely have!!

You might find this strange but this actually happened to me. Actually, it was like this:

     One day after preparing the lunch, I was sitting with a book out in the garden. The sweet sunshine was making me doze. Suddenly, I heard someone call out to me. I looked around but, couldn’t see anyone.

      “Here Zara,” said the squeaky voice, “I am on the arm of your chair.”

       “Wh- what?” I said and looked to find a tiny Black Spider. I rubbed my eyes for surely it couldn’t be the spider talking to me!!

        “Hello Zara” said the spider raising a pair of arms – or was it its legs??- As if it was trying to shake hands with me.

        “I am Spindrift and I have come to take you to the planet, Jupiter with me” it said.

        “Jupiter-me-go to Jupiter-Jupiter, the planet with you?!”I asked. The idea seemed ridiculous to me.

       “Yes, to Jupiter. You see the Jupiterites want to see an Earthling and the scientists want to conduct some experiments. You were chosen for this. We conducted a raffle draw and you got selected. So get ready to accompany me” it said in its best ‘spidery voice’.

        I was very scared but, my curiosity got the better of me and in a shaky, nervous voice I asked, “But, how do I get there? I don’t even own a space shuttle. Besides, our scientists haven’t even reached as far as Jupiter. We are still stuck on the moon and fortunately sort of on Mars too.”

       “Well, sit on me. I will take you there” replied the spider. “How on Earth is that even possible? You are so tiny!”I exclaimed.

        “Oh! That is what is bothering you” saying this, the spider blew some strands of web over me and I found myself shrinking till the spider was a giant to me.

          I sat on the spider and held on to it. Soon, we were airborne. I hung on to it for my dear life. Higher, we rose till the Earth was a mere speck. Strangely enough, I didn’t feel the lack of oxygen. The outer space was so beautiful as if things like stars, dust, and masses of different shapes and sizes and shapes were hanging from nowhere. Then, I saw the GREAT RED PLANET. It was so huge. I tried to think of the Geography I learned at school a few days back. My mind was blank because, I was too excited to think about anything else.

 Soon, we landed upon Jupiter...

 

The Jupiterites came to welcome me. All of them were different colors like magenta, fluorescent, purple, pink, and they had contrasting eyes. For example, a green-colored person had yellow eyes. They all had a pair of antennae and were no more than 3 ft tall. They were all dressed in silver and golden clothes.

           I was led to a dome-like building where the spider said, “The experiments will be conducted over here”. All of them chatted noisily. It sounded like a fish market over there. Realizing I couldn’t understand them, they pressed a button on their head which allowed them to speak in English.

         “Hello!” said one of them. “We are Jupes—Jupiterites to be precise. Please relax, we won’t hurt you.”

         They gave me a purple speckled yellow liquid which I drank and came back to my normal height. Then I was made to sit on a chair. My hair was pulled, my cheeks were pinched and readings of my screaming were taken. I was asked to sing, clap, jump, and stick out my tongue. Then they invited me to a party. Strange colored tablets were passed which I was told was food. I ate them. The last one tasted exactly like my favorite chocolate. Then, I was asked to join in their auspicious dance of well – being. We formed a circle, held hands and took two rounds. Then it was hop, jump, turn about, slap the person in front of you, rub noses with the one behind you, sit, stand, and repeat.

        After some time, I thanked them and said, “I am very happy that I got to come here. But, now I have to go back to home. Can the spider take me back?” They said yes and then gave me a test tube full of this blue liquid which made me shrink. I journeyed back to Earth on the spider’s back. But the spider dropped me off at the wrong place. It dropped me at the Pacific Ocean (there was a signboard in the ocean). I swam back to the shore. I was feeling a bit funny around my neck. Then I remembered, my head was detachable. I unfastened all the nuts and bolts and lay my neck (along with my head of course) for drying. Suddenly, I saw a cute little squirrel approaching me with a little piece of paper in its teeth. I took it from him and opened the paper to find a note. The note read:

“STOP THIS NONSENSE ZARA OR ELSE YOU WILL DRIVE EVERYONE CRAZY”

And then suddenly, my head hurt. I closed my eyes in pain. When I opened them, I had fallen off my bed!! I realized that this adventure was just a dream...