The Gateway to Curiosity

By Sreega Krishnan

“Welcome Nate, Sarah, Adam, and Emily. You have just entered a game where you can overcome your phobias. Good luck surviving!”

It was the summer of 2021. The sibling duo, Nate and Sarah Kays decided to go to the beach with Adam and Emily Rivera who are also a sibling duo. They went there around just after sunrise.

The sandy yellow beach was not so crowded since it was still quite early. Sarah could feel the sand tickling her toes as they sank into the soft sand, and Adam could feel the warmth of the sand on his feet. It was quite windy. The wind almost swept Nate’s cap. Emily's curly hair covered her face every time the wind blew. She quite enjoyed the interruption actually and paused to rearrange those curls.

Right after they found a spot under a shady tree, Sarah and Adam went to a 7-Eleven which was located right in front of the beach to grab some refreshment. Adam surprisingly took a can of coffee.

“What’s up with you?” Sarah asked Adam.

Nah, I just didn’t get my beauty sleep yesterday. I need caffeine to survive throughout the day. I saw some reviews about this coffee, it’s not that bad,”Adam answered.

“What a weirdo, no wonder no one asked you out,” Sarah whispered to herself.

The four of them went to The Rivera’s penthouse after having fun at the beach. They were bored at night, so they decided to go for a ride in one of The Rivera’s yachts. The moon was irresistible to be ignored.

While they were admiring the moon, Adam spotted an island. “Uhh, guys. Look over there. Am I the only one who is seeing this?” he said in a confusing tone.

“We gotta check out what that place is,” Sarah continued.

“We can do that tomorrow. It’s dark right now Sarah,” Nate told her.

“I think Nate is right.” Emily agreed.

“NO, this is like The Gateway to Curiosity. I’ll rather hang myself than living with this curiosity. Can we please just go and set foot on the island?” Sarah pleaded.

The three of them pitied Sarah and decided to check out the island.

Once they set foot on the island, they heard locking sounds as if they were trapped on the island. Then, they heard an echo saying, “Welcome Nate, Sarah, Adam, and Emily. You have just entered a game where you can overcome your phobias. Good luck surviving!”

They were all confused but knew the only way to get out of the island was by playing the game.

The four of them walked further. After a couple of minutes, Sarah started screaming from the top of her lungs. “Oh no! This field is so full of snakes!” Sarah has ophidiophobia which means she has a fear for snakes.

“We got to work together if we wanna get out of this island,” Nate told them. Emily suggested Nate carry Sarah and she instructed Sarah to close her eyes.

Just as Nate was picking up Sarah on his back, he suddenly realised that a cobra appeared out of nowhere. It was ready to attack. And being a venomous snake, it would mean death to its victims. It was either Nate or Sarah, or both.

Nate knew that if he made a wrong move, the cobra would attack. Meanwhile, Sarah was screaming frantically and struggling to get onto the ground to run for her life.

Just then, a mongoose appeared. Within minutes, the mongoose and the cobra had a battle. The four teenagers backtracked and took a different path. They finally managed to cross the field unharmed. Apparently, the cobra was the king of the snakes. Once it was defeated by the mongoose, all the snakes disappeared.

After walking for a few minutes, Adam closed his eyes and said, "I hate holes." Then, they knew the second challenge was for Adam. Adam has trypophobia which means he has a fear for holes. In front of them was a door to enter a semi-circle room full of holes. Nate took his bandana and told Adam to blindfold himself.

"Hold my hand, I'll guide you out," Emily comforted Nate. The four of them found the exit and survived the stage.

"This is a nightmare, we are not overcoming our phobias. Instead, this stupid game is making us suffer. I wonder who had the guts to create this with the wrong soul purpose," Sarah said indecently.

Adam gulped right after hearing Sarah. Emily and Nate laughed softly.

"Yeah, laugh out loud. I'll see how you survive when it's your turn!" Sarah said, feeling annoyed.

After walking further, Emily almost fainted when she saw a garden full of flowers. This is because she has anthophobia. Emily has a fear for flowers.

"Well, we gotta blindfold her and Emily, hold your breath," Nate told her.

"No one will carry you to the exit if you faint,"Adam joked. The four of them managed to find the exit of the garden.

They went further and saw a big chocolate company. The four of them went in. A lady, who was believed to be Nate's assistant, announced: "Sir, the ceremony is about to start in a couple of minutes. Here is the text."

"Well, they always save the best for the last,"Emily giggled.

Adam and Sarah gave her a stern look. "Well, don't make any eye contact with the people in front of you, just read the text and we will be out of this god damn game," Adam told Nate.

Nate walked to the podium and did what Sarah suggested. Right after Nate ended his speech, the four of them woke up on the yacht. To their surprise, the yacht was parked back at the Rivera's penthouse.

"We did not die at least but, who will believe this nightmare that we faced?" Nate asked them.

"Why don't we tell my dad about this," Adam suggested. So, the four of them took an Uber to Mr Samuel's office. They told him what happened on the island.

"How did you survive?" he asked shockingly as if he saw a ghost.

Nate replied, "We helped each other!"

"But who opened the book?" he asked confusingly.

Nate, Sarah and Emily had no clue what Samuel was talking about.

"I did but, I didn't expect that whole thing to happen. I am sorry for dragging you guys in the mess," Adam admitted.

The three of them stared at Adam. Sarah's stare was the deadliest as if she was gonna murder him. "What happened has happened. Moreover, we were bored that night," Nate cooled them.

"Yes, Nate. Now, the four of you, do me a favour. Don't tell this to anyone because they will think you are crazy," Samuel told them. They promised not to.

"Well, I can sip a cup of coffee right now, my treat," Adam offered to the three of them. They laughed and headed to the nearest coffee shop.

(Sreega attended our CreatifWrite workshop in June 2021)