A not-so-happy birthday

 

     Youth is full of excitement and many young people want to prove their strengths. But these circumstances can sometimes prove to be fatal. And that's exactly what happened to me and my friends.

     Steve and Alex were those friends who'd often challenge us to go and use the toilet blindfolded. But that day, they took things up a notch. It was Alex's birthday and he had planned a picnic in the National Park. Our entire group included our other friends – James, Katy and Xialing. We had all planned to go together. Alex had strictly said that it would only be us, no one else.

And the day came. Steve, Katy and I took an auto-rickshaw to the place. I had my dog Sir Riñiçholás with me. We reached, bought tickets and entered. Alex, Xialing and James were already waiting for us. "You're late," said Alex. "And you're a complete idiot at planning," said I. "Just look at the weather." Dark clouds had started forming in the sky, looking down upon us intimidatingly. "Chill, bro," Alex replied. "We'll be done with our party quickly. Let's go!"

     He led us deep into the forest. We walked for ten minutes when Katy asked, "Dude, where are you taking us?" "Just a bit further," answered Alex. "My dad used to bring me here when I was a kid. It's a secret location." My feet were killing me and my dog was panting badly. But before I could complain, the forest opened, revealing a beautiful sight. There was a clear field, where multi-coloured flowers bloomed. But my focus was somewhere else.  There was a waterfall, right in the middle of the clearing, throwing water into a river that ran by our feet. We picked a place and sat down to eat. We played games, ate snacks and gossiped. All this lasted for twenty minutes, after which, in a selfie, I saw Steve's face light up in a way that, I knew, could not mean anything good. "Hey, let's climb up that mountain," said he. I looked up to see that he was pointing to a cliff on top of the mountain, from which the waterfall fell.

     "Are you out of your mind?" I asked. "Come on pussy," Alex joined him. "It's not a difficult climb." "It's not about the climb," I reverted. "It's the weather. Just look at the sky." Dark clouds were forming in the sky and looking intimidatingly down upon the cliff. "Pfft! Fine, stay here. Steve and I will go and be back in a jiffy…" "No." James interrupted Alex. "We all stay together. When you two are left alone, you are prone to some mishap or the other." "Exactly!" Katy exclaimed. "And we ain't going to stand here, as a matter of laughter. We all come." I knew that was final.

And so it began…

     The first few minutes of climbing were good. Then the exhaustion kicked in. My arms were silently giving me the curses. Alex was right above me. Steve the athlete was almost at the top, and the rest three were below me. Sir Riñiçholás, my energetic, always ready-to-get-up-and-jump-around Shiba dog, was climbing adjacent to me. He'd quickly jump high and wait for me. At home, he climbs on any surface available. I'd even name him Spider-Dog if he could also shoot webs out of his paws.

     When we finally reached the top, I thanked God more heartily than ever. I stood up. Sir Riñiçholás was already there, licking at my legs. I picked him up and looked around. There was a thick band of greenery around us and then there were buildings far away. The clouds had cast over them, the gloom is even darker than before. Alex smiled at me. "Beautiful, isn't it? See what you were going to miss?" Five minutes passed. The rest of them were up by now, and clicking selfies. Suddenly, there was a loud crash from above. It nearly shook the ground and illuminated the mountains. Lightning had struck. My dog whined. And then, the first raindrops fell down on us. We started looking everywhere for shelter. James pointed out that he could see a hotel in the distance. We all followed him and ran inside.

     We were drenched by now, and it was pouring outside. I went to the receptionist and explained everything to her. She quickly gave us rooms and some clothes to change into. When I entered my room and finished changing, I could see through the window, that the rainwater had flooded the roads by now. The cliff we had climbed, now resembled a really large fountain of water. I thought dreadfully that the river beyond it would be flooding by now. All our belongings were lost… I hugged my dog, both of us unable to take our eyes off the sight outside. "Thank God you came with me, Reeney."

     I tried calling home, but the heavy rains wouldn't let the calls work. I decided to send an SMS, then an email home, but in vain. I felt stranded, lost, completely hopeless. I never imagined some silly shit done by my friends would result in this. I decided to get to the reception and got out of my room, Riñiçholás following me. Before I could enter the main entrance hall, I figured out that they were there. Because loud voices of teens arguing were echoing in the walls. Could it be that we were indeed alone in this gloomy hotel? "None of this would have happened if you kept your mouth shut." James' sharp voice interrupted my thoughts. To that, Steve replied, "Well, it was just gonna be us, but you asked the others to come too…" "You provoked them! You called them words!" James did not want to lose this time.

     "Will you two shut up?!" I shouted, arriving at the stairs. "We are all stranded. There is no mobile data or range here. And to top it off, there is a flood outside. We should be thankful that none of us…" I stopped mid-sentence. Something was not right. "Where's Xialing?" I asked. "Is she, is she in her room?" But from the key-shelf, I could make that only five rooms were occupied. Me, Steve, Alex, James, Katy… oh shi-

     The receptionist's desk was empty. We had to search for her ourselves. We shouted her name in all the corridors, and Xialing emerged from the darkness of the last one, completely drenched and soaking wet. "What is it?" She asked. "Where were you," I asked her. "We were so worried." But at that moment, the receptionist showed up behind her. "It's done," she said. "Thanks a ton, madam," Xialing said to her.

     "You didn't change yet?" I asked. "No. I didn't get a room." She said. "I tried sending an email to my dad, as the mobile data is not working here. But then I realised, neither is the internet. So this kind madam," she pointed to the receptionist, "helped me send an email home, using her computer and the hotel Wi-Fi. I've asked my mom and my dad to send this message to your families. They know we are here. Safe."

     Three days later our parents arrived. Alex's mother was on the verge of tears. Steve's father slapped him the moment he came in range. Xialing's mother was definitely proud of her for helping us all. My dad was silent, and that suspenseful stare was boring into me, sharper than any blade or needle in the World. No one had come for Katy, as her parents were out of the city. "It's fine," she told my worried face. "I've assured them I'll go home alone. Don't you think I'd be able to go home on my own? We just had a big adventure." "Yeah," I replied. "We did." I watched my dog hugging my dad's ankles joyfully. "I'm never going to these guys' birthdays again."