"To awake, you have to open your eyes ."
A lovely breeze blows across the face. Medium-length , deep-black hair sails gently with the wind.
THE MAN finds himself standing high in the sky — getting a bird's-eye view of a soft green forest glade circled by thick bushes and lush trees. The breeze flows again, in harmony with a laughter — a very comforting laughter.
Bright red strands of hair dance with the wind.
THE MAN calms down — to his last bone and muscle — a peaceful surrender...Until, in the very next second, a chill grips him.
He remembers.
The horror that 'could' happen here.
"This has happened before. But why… is it happening again?"
He wonders.
A girl sits — radiant , carefree — laughs without restraint at the sight of an abnormally large frog sitting before her making hilarious faces . She cannot stifle her amusement for even a moment, oblivious to the grave threat that creature hides within.
And so, the next hour in this glade becomes the first piece of a massive puzzle.
Hidden within some bushes — Mesmerized charming azure eyes gaze deep into beautiful soft, green pupils on the young girl's face dressed with even more beautiful laughter… and even more beautiful and delightful red hair.
The azure eyes belong to a boy of similar age. His gaze fixed on the girl in the glade. But then, a glimpse of something ugly — a plot — falls upon his eyes.
In a sudden rush to protect, the boy dashes forward. The frog tries to step away, but it turns out — the boy was not after it.
He leaps — pushing the girl away . Both fall to the ground, the girl lies flat — the boy atop her with a bit of space between them. He quickly creates some more space between them.
Flustered and embarrassed, the girl commands, "Get OFF me! What are you trying to do ??"
The boy, under a similar chaotic swirl of emotions, retorts, "Stay PUT! I'm trying to save you here!"
The frog, however, enjoys this unexpected blessing — both prep time and distraction at once— and accepts it with glee. It wrings out its tongue — long, slick, dripping with a deadly beverage known to man as POISON.
THE MAN, desperate to intervene, holds out his index finger and thumb. Between them, a paper plane of light emerges. He launches it towards the frog.
But instead of stopping the scene, the plane — as fast as light — passes right through the frog…and the boy…and the girl…and the air..... and faded away.
THE MAN was shocked by the fact that — Somehow, none of them took notice. No one inside the glade saw it.
Now, THE MAN is truly terrified — not of what's happening inside the glade, or even outside it…
…but of what is happening within him.
He shouted out in fear with a voice so loud and scary that each creature in the forest would want to run away : "HEY YOU FROG GET AWAY FROM THEM !!!".........
But...to his expectation, not even a single creature in the forest responded to the scream,
He now understood what was happening ,
He was now in line with his fate ,
He realizes what this place is.
The hardest test of all:
THE TRIAL OF THE PAST.
And in this trial, THE MAN is powerless. He appears only as an illusion — unseen, unfelt by any of the five senses. He is like a character of fiction surrounded by reality.
Still instead of his fate , he frets over the fate of the young pair in the glade.
"Come on, where are you!? — You should have reached till now!" he cries out loud, as if calling to someone.
The frog flings its tongue.
The boy shields the girl with all the courage and manhood he can muster.
THE MAN screams...The boy screams...The girl screams...
But silence conceals all.
Then —a resounding thud. The frog's tongue halts mid-air, frozen in an arc —struck square in the face by the sheath of a sword.
The blow launches the oversized creature flying backward, crashing into a bush.
Hair sails — deep black hair. Brown Mesmerising Eyes so dark you could lose yourself in them.
A third figure now stands beside them — seemingly the same age as the stunned pair lying on the grass.
There's a speck of arrogance and menace in him. With a calm presence…and the just to come of a smile.
THE MAN, breathless, finally stops shouting. He watches, silent.
The dark-haired boy looks down at the pair — and with a playful grin(sarcastic playful smile), says:
"I don't even want to know what decisions put you two in that situation. ;) "