Illusory Cave

Once upon a time, there lived a king named Akbar who ruled the city with sheer valor and righteousness. The clever king took decisions keeping in mind the health and overall wellbeing of people. The people loved him for his modesty and compassion. One day he planned to conduct a peculiar competition to determine the minister of the court. Birbal, Kanwar, and Lal were selected to take part in the event as they outsmarted others in the preliminary tests. There was a magical cave in the city which was named “Illusory Cave”. All three participants are to enter the cave together. Once they get into the cave, the door gets closed so they will have to go through various tests in the cave before emerging out. They gave each one three survival caps, the one who comes out of the cave with a maximum number of caps would be crowned the minister. The catch here is, as the name shows, the cave will create inside a lot of illusion, and every time a participant gives in to the trick played by the cave, he will lose one cap from his kitty. If they lose all three caps before the tests conclude, they will be eliminated from the competition. If none of them survives, then Akbar would come up with another competition to determine the winner. In case any two or three has an equal number of caps post the competition, then a tie-breaker would be conducted to judge the winner. 

They unveiled the illusory cave in front of three of the participants. The king wished them good luck. Kanwar and Lal had a great platform to outwit Birbal. The beautiful twilight took over the city. Massive doors of the cave wide opened. Everyone cheered the participants as they moved in before the door shut closed. Birbal wished others good luck but received a solemn look from others. All three stood sweeping their eyes around, admiring the stunning beauty of the opulent cave. Their awe-struck faces turned serious the moment the reality of the situation sunk in. They were not here to have a pleasant time rather go through a series of chilling tasks to save their caps. A huge red door made strange sounds, grabbing their attention. All three strode towards the door. They looked minuscule in front of a gigantic door. Lal knocked on the door only to see the door disappear. They were now locked in a room with a continuous lashing of rain. The freezing water clung to their skin, threatening to numb it. Kanwar and Lal screamed on top of their lungs, unable to handle the pressure of water that kept lashing at them mercilessly. Birbal asked them not to give in to the tricks played by the cave. He donned the hats of meditation and didn’t allow the lashing rain to control his mind, whereas his competitors had given their minds remote control to the illusion created. After some time, Kanwar and Lal collapsed, unable to take the beating anymore. They failed to break the illusory boundary created around them. All three quickly got transported to a deserted land in the cave. Birbal still had three survival caps on his head, whereas the other two had just two survival caps each.

“I can’t believe I lost a cap,” Kanwar cried.

Lal donned a puzzled look on his face. “How come Birbal is having three caps?”

“I didn’t yield to the trick played by the lashing rain,” Birbal responded.

Suddenly, their ears were pierced with anklet sounds behind. They turned back only to see a gorgeous woman dancing on an erected platform. Her gleaming eyes energized the atmosphere around; her red lips competed with the color of an apple. When she smiled, her lovely face manifested the beauty it hid. Her slender arms peeled the beauty within. Kanwar and Lal felt a joyful sensation in their hearts, triggered by the gorgeous lady who seemed to have descended to earth from heaven. Their ugly faces broke into a weird smile, exercising their facial muscles. Birbal stifled his laughter, glancing at his competitors, who indeed had been seduced by the lady.

“Don’t fall for the trap,” he warned.

His words disappeared into oblivion as the enchanting presence of a dancer transfixed the two men. They continued to scroll their eyes from top to bottom, drinking in the dancer’s beauty. Her dancing moves finally subsided. She stood, glancing at the three men in front of her. She virtually killed Kanwar and Lal with her coy smile. The dancing beauty motioned them to touch her.

“It’s a trap,” Birbal muttered.

Kanwar and Lal neglected Birbal’s warning and, wasting no time, they walked towards her. The moment they touched her, she turned into a turning mist and disappeared.

An air of astonishment prevailed. “Where is she?” Lal asked.

“Why couldn’t you control your mind? She took a survival cap along with her. Can you touch your head?” Birbal said.

They placed their palms over their head. They each had a cap left. Fear of losing the competition bubbled through their stomach. By chance, if they lose the last cap, their desire to become the minister in the king’s court would quell. They shared apprehensive glances at each other. Three survival caps were still intact on Birbal’s head, making him the favorite to win the competition. They slapped their forehead for having fallen to the deception of the cave. Still, the game was not over, which made them heave a sigh of relief. One dangerous move from here onwards would cease their dreams. They took a conscious step forward, fearing what may go wrong. Birbal furtively smiled, gazing at their anxiety-ridden faces. As they strode front, the sight of a giant dinosaur dropped their heart to the stomach. 

“Better be careful. I believe if we get caught by this dinosaur, probably we may lose the survival cap,” Birbal said. You guys have just one cap and you got to be cautious.”

The behemoth creature bellowed, feeding on a carcass. Three of them swiftly hid behind a stranded boulder, evading the creature. Dinosaur took authoritative steps towards the boulder. Its every step cracked the earth, depicting its phenomenal strength. Lal nestled his arm on Kanwar’s shoulders; he gestured to push Birbal, who was in front. They combinedly pushed Birbal, allowing the dinosaur to catch hold of him. He closed his eyes, frightened as his instinctive nature took over, and, just like that, he had lost a survival cap over his head. Birbal wanted to save his participants from losing their survival caps, but they showed their true colors by betraying him. Both gave a high-five, looking at the pathetic face of Birbal. The land behind Birbal collapsed in a surreal and silent way. Kanwar and Lal realized it was another significant chance to drop Birbal into the trap as he wasn’t aware of what’s going on behind him. They sprinted towards Birbal and pushed him hard. His body jerked back; inevitably, his body momentum acted backward, and he fell deep down into the river. One more survival cap on his head had disappeared. All three of them now just had a solitary survival cap on their head. None of them can afford to lose their cap now. Birbal, who was a firm favorite to win the competition, had quickly become the favorite to get eliminated first as his competitors were working together.

“We ensure you will get eliminated first,” Kanwar asserted.

Fogs settled on a nearby mountain quickly accumulated together at the base, taking the form of a ghost. The startling devil squealed and the deafening sound penetrated through the mountain, crushing it into a pile of rubbles. Birbal wisely pushed himself behind Kanwar and Lal, that refused to take their eyes off the ghost. He pushed Lal upon Kanwar. 

Kanwar was taken aback. “How dare you push me towards the ghost?” he said, staring at Lal.

“I didn’t. I swear by God,” Lal replied.

“I thought Birbal is smarter, but you are smarter than him,” Kanwar slapped Lal on his face.

They held each other’s collar, letting their inner demons take control of the situation. Their minds didn’t sense the ghost that was fast approaching them. The ghost held them by the collar and dangled them like an oscillating pendulum in the mid-air. The only survival cap on their heads disappeared, so the competition drew to an end. Birbal, the sole survivor in the competition, was judged the winner. Kanwar and Lal blamed themselves for their stupidity. 

Akbar looked elated seeing Birbal survive the competition. They erected a platform on open ground to crown the winning minister. They gave Birbal a grand welcome as he was the center of attraction in the crowning ceremony. Akbar gave a warm hug to Birbal and crowned him as his minister. People of the city cheered them with a resounding round of applause. Kanwar and Lal, bereft of joy shared the disappointment with a gloomy face.