Magic

Father had left around 6:45 pm this evening for a late meeting at his office. Mom & Riya had gone to Mohali for Riya’s Spell Bee Competition. Granny was busy with her scriptures on the ground floor. Beside her sitting on a divan was me, reading a novel. I was reading the last part of the Harry Potter series. I had recently caught the ‘Harry Potter Bug’ and I had been hooked ever since.

 

All of a sudden, a string of strange events took place. There was a power cut and just at that point of time I heard Mama’s voice, talking to Riya. But Riya’s quiz was about to start in a few moments. How could it be possible?

Bewildered, I bookmarked my novel and got up, going near my old Granny. I whispered to her, “Did you hear that, gran?”

“Hear what?”,she asked looking from side to side.

“Mom’s voice”, I replied.

“Don’t be silly, little boy. You know very well that your Mom and Riya have gone to Mohali for her quiz.”, she chided and went back to her work.

I could still hear voices, much louder now. I looked at granny. She seemed unaffected and carried on her work, oblivious to the voices.

I looked at the window, the source of all these voices. The sight outside the window puzzled me more. Hovering in midair was a white ball of pure light. It seemed that it was the ball which was emitting the voices.

I remembered Ronald Weasley and his adventures with Dumbledore’s Deluminator. But it was in the book, and the book being completely fiction, its existence was impossible. But here it was, glaring at me.

Looking around to see if anyone was watching, I began extending my hand towards it. If it was the same ball I was thinking about then it would transport me to—-

 

All of a sudden, as my fingers made contact with the ball, my whole body got sucked into it. My body twisted & twirled, my mind whizzed & whirled. All around me was pure light. It is the same, I thought as a smile spread on my face.

Out of nowhere, I was dropped into a seat of what looked like a school’s auditorium. As I took in the surroundings, I was further puzzled as I found myself witnessing the Spell Bee my sister was about to participate in. It was just beginning.

With a bated breath I sat, for about an hour Riya answered one question after another. Finally, it was result time. Naturally, my sister won. I cheered and applauded with the crowd.

As I stood up, I saw next to me a hovering ball of light. This time I knew what I had to do.

As I reached back, I entered the room where my granny was sitting, full of joy at what I had witnessed. I told gran that Riya had won her quiz and would be getting the prize. With a reproachful look she chided, ” Quit playing games, boy. Look at the time. Her quiz is just about to start.”

As I looked at the clock, with its pendulum swinging, I was stunned. It had been just 30 Seconds since I had gone out! But-

Filled with disbelief, I went back to reading.

 

About an hour later, an ecstatic Riya called to inform me that she had won the quiz.

“I know already”, I replied.

“But how could you?  The quiz just finished. And the whole time you were here while the quiz took place in Mohali.”, she asked, clearly puzzled.

“Magic”, I replied, winking at The Harry Potter illustration on the book I was reading.

–END–