The Ultimate Prize

There he sat, with twenty others just like him, waiting… Waiting to begin what would be his first and hopefully last quest for the ultimate prize. Squatting on his haunches, he checked whether the Object of Requirement was secure in his pocket of his extremely uncomfortable attire. This was essential to his attaining his goal. He kept his breathing measured knowing not to allow the gravity of the situation overwhelm him. And he waited… Oblivious to all else about him. Waiting… for the signal.

And then in the distance could be heard the shrill toll of the signal. This was it. Like Olympic athletes, they burst out of the blocks as one, dashing out into the wide space. Our protagonist was fortunately the ones out front or else he would have been crushed to smithereens. He knew he had to be quick, for the ones that had escaped weren’t far behind. He quickly looked around, weighing his options, as he spotted the only and quickest way out. For out there was the prize. The ultimate glory.

He raced through the roofed corridor, for corridor it had now become.  He squeezed into the narrow opening as from the corner of his eyes, he saw challengers fall, many his dear friends. But now was not the time to mourn losses.  For he had now arrived at or should I say ran headlong into the first obstacle: The Stairs.

Now rushing madly down the stairs is never a very good idea and here he had done just that. He mentally kicked himself for not counting in so trivial, yet so crucial, a matter. He struggled to maintain his balance on the steep slopes of … not death … probably serious and life crippling injury, thankful for all the training he had received.  A sideways glance revealed the fact that his competitors were not lagging far behind but just far enough. This was turning out to be too easy.

All this was obviously before he encountered the second speed breaker, bigger than most, but it, rather she, did the job. He had just come face to face with the Enforcer. There she stood with her usual long, thin, razor sharp sword. He tried put on the brakes but his forward momentum took him just a tad too close. Not one for mercy, she lunged at him with the deadly weapon… just as he danced out of her reach. Giving up wasn’t an option now nor was going back. And the only forward was through her. He looked past her to see the sunshine glinting against the tiles, beckoning him and something clicked in his mind. And he did the unthinkable, he jumped back into the fray.

Ducking and weaving through the flurry of attacks, like a ballet dancer cum samurai warrior, he avoided most of the blows. The ones that did hit him were glancing but they did sting badly. He saw off most of her advances but he soon ran out of luck. The sword zoomed out of nowhere and our protagonist, reflexes a little slow after all the battering, wasn’t fast enough to dodge it. He caught a blow straight to his face, turning it all red as if he were blushing. Holding his face in agony, he saw the weapon bear down on him for its final blow. He deftly sidestepped causing her just to lose balance momentarily. That was all he needed. Vaulting over her bent back, he dodged a desperate swing and … he was through.

He landed out into the open on both feet, like a cat, dusting off his clothes as he stood up. Shading his eyes against the harsh sun he saw that his destination wasn’t far off.  He ran with an easy loping pace, looking around to see that none of his pals had got past her yet. He savoured the moment as the lovely feeling of victory washed over him. 

Slowing down as he reached his approached his goal , he beheld a sight for sore eyes, the ultimate prize!! He slipped his hand into his pocket marvelling at the fact that the Object of Requirement hadn’t fallen out through all those adventures. He stared greedily at the mouth-watering treasure. Looking at aproned man ,standing behind the counter, in the eye, he took out the one dirham coin. Sliding it across the counter with a sense of relief, the student said,” Uncle, please can I have a samosa?”