Hard Work Pays Off

There were twelve of us in all. When the elevator arrived, we instantly stepped into it.

Arsh noticed, “Hey, read this, the maximum limit is of eight persons, we are twelve. Some of us should step out of it, otherwise, it could be risky for us.”

“He is our girl, always afraid of small things. Be a man, boy.” Jay chuckled.

All started giggling.

Srijan pushed the 23rd-floor button, and the elevator started moving. Some started talking about the girls.

“Don’t say these things about her. She is not like others, she is classy.” Daiwik forced himself to look away from them.

“Oh ho! Look at his eyes. He is blushing, man. She is classy, hmmm… “Jay winked.

Suddenly, the elevator stopped. It was somewhere between the 16^th and 17^th floor. We tried our phone but had no network inside the elevator. Darkness prevailed everywhere.

“I told you guys, but you were not listening. We are likely to die soon, and nobody will get to know about us”, Arsh started panicking.

“Don’t think negative Arsh. We won’t give up so easily.” Daiwik tried opening the doors, but they were jammed shut.

“Someone out there? We are stuck inside the elevator. Please help, help.” A continuous loud sound was made.

We tried pushing all the buttons, but nothing looked operational. The elevator was already overcrowded with twelve of us in it, soon we started feeling breathlessness.

“Help, please help, can anyone hear us, we are inside the elevator, somewhere between 16^th and 17^th floor. Helloooooo…. Are we audible… anybody?” Neither the door was opening, nor would our voice reach anyone.

It was suffocating, with no trace of air inside. The panic increased. We were trapped inside it, with no clue, about our survival.

But Daiwik didn’t give up, kept trying to pull the doors apart. With great efforts, he could just move those an inch apart, put his mobile in between the doors. Seemed as it was the waste of all the efforts, an inch gap was not sufficient for moving out. But hard work always pays off. That small opening paved the way for air to flow in and it turned out as our only hope of survival. It brought back a smile on our faces.

Now we were audible, our voice was answered soon. “Yes, we can hear you. Don’t worry, help is on the way. You will be out soon.”

We had never felt such a relief in our lives.