Switch Off

John lay on the bed and was busy playing on his play station portable. He was lost in the game shooting at intruders who were trying to block his way. "Take that Dr. Nefario!" he screamed in joy being successful in deactivating the bomb that could have annihilated any minute. His room was filled with sounds of shooting guns and huge cannons spitting cannonballs to far off distances. "Boom!" he screamed marking his victory. The play station now reads - PLAY LEVEL 23. LEVEL 23 can wait. I really need some cookies. My stomach is rumbling like archers without their arrows he thought and ran down into the kitchen. "Hey, mum! Saved some cookies for me?" he asked. "I didn't save any, I made many." his mother said with a smile and held out a metal tray with freshly baked cookies placed on it. Each cookie had risen to a perfect height with melted chocolate chip slipping from the top. There was a wide smile on John's face. He was really lucky that his mother was a baker. Nearly every day he could smell something delicious being taken out from the oven and being served after a sumptuous meal. John stretched out his hands to grab some cookies but his mother quickly pulled them back. John was confused. He looked up at his mother. Uh oh! Now, what did I do? His mother's face was plain but John knew it wasn't a good sign. "I have got several things to ask Mister. What was all the yelling up in your room?" she asked with a stern face. John gulped and stammered out the words," Well, I was um... you know mom... playing? on the PSP?" he gave a weak smile. 

Now he could sense the big fierce volcano that could erupt at any moment. He could feel the fire and anger in his mom's eyes. His mom never appreciated the fact that all he could do was play on the PlayStation but you couldn't blame John either. If he went out to play with his friends, he would fall ill as he was allergic to any kind of mud. He was a boy who suffered from dyslexia so reading was not his thing to do. He was clumsy and messy so any sort of creative work like cooking or painting would end up in a disaster. His mother, trying to control her temper, asked," There are several other things for you to do. Having dyslexia does not mean you don't practice reading. Up to your room now!" 

John tried to explain that his exams just got over the previous day and that he had practiced enough reading in the morning but his mother never listened to him and kept saying that he was irresponsible with his studies and would become nothing but a blacksmith's apprentice in the future. John's blood started boiling. Steam poured out of his ears. His rage was unbeatable and unstable. He yelled at the top of his lungs," Why don't you ever listen to what I am trying to say?" He turned his back to his mom and ran to his room with heavy footsteps. He opened the door and banged it on the wall. He then walked towards his study table, ripped off a piece of paper and tore it apart vigorously. Now, he felt better. He decided to change the atmosphere around him. He sat on the bed and grabbed the PlayStation beside him. He started pressing the small buttons on the PSP. After a couple of minutes, John felt uneasy. He felt butterflies in his stomach. He felt queasy and tried to get some pills from the top shelf of the showcase. He had often felt uneasy for which the doctor had described some pills but he knew that the pills would not work as this uneasiness was a different kind of uneasiness. He clutched his stomach and in a state of horror, he watches his hand. What is happening to me?! he thought.

John could feel his hand digitize. His hand was no longer made up of cells. Rather it started getting diffused in zeros and ones, just like a binary code. The binary code flowed in the air and was sucked into the PlayStation. He felt dizzy and fell hard on the floor. The next moment he opened his eyes and realized that he was sucked into the PlayStation in the same game he played. He tried screaming out for his mother but it was of no use. The PSP was muted. He never unmuted his PSP because he likes to play in silence and solitude. His mom knocked on the door. No reply. His mother pushed the door and was surprised to see that John was not seen anywhere in his room. John saw his mother and started screaming loudly for help but again it all went in vain. His mother saw that the PlayStation was on. She gently took it in her hands and murmured to herself, "I am so sorry dear. I really am." When she realized that John wasn't to be seen anywhere, she moved towards the living room. John, on the other hand, was crying and weeping. No one could hear him and he was stuck in the game of war and battle. Before leaving the room, John's mother clicked a button on the PSP. Switch Off. John felt everything around him growing darker and darker till he could not see anything and soon he felt his body lifeless. It was all blacked out...