Shattered Dreams

A Story by Divas Parashar

A heart touching story.

Shattered Dreams

“Tighten your seat belt, Phil”. Phil acted immediately and Sean followed. We were all ready for the take off. We could feel the engine start and soon after, our plane started moving. As the buzz grew stronger, Phil clutched my hands and with the charming and excited smile, he said, “Excited for Switzerland? You know what, it had been my dream to visit Switzerland and today my dream is gonna come true. I am just too excited.” Oh, anyone would easily fall for that smile. “I am dying to talk to Swiss girls,” Sean said with a naughty smile. Afterall men will be men.

Phil was my best friend. More than a team-mate, he was a brother to me. Sean too was as close to me as Phil was. Well, let me tell you about the situation in details. We all belong to the state cricket team. After winning the State Cricket Champions’ League, we are now on our way to Switzerland; a victory tour indeed. After months of hard work, a recreation was required and winning the SCCL was an icing on the cake. Right now we are on the mini-plane booked by the team and on our way to Switzerland. Sitting beside me are Phil and Sean, me on the aisle, Sean beside the window and Phil between us. All around us are our very own team-mates and the team support staff. Sir Duncan, our stern coach, sat right in front with our team captain Michael. Poor fellow Michael!

The plane took off and with that our excitement level as well. Four hours and we land in Bern, oh, I just could not believe. Our food arrived and all of us jumped onto it. It was our day afterall. With time, our noise levels grew. Everyone was busy talking about their fifties and centuries and hat-tricks. No one listened to anyone, everyone just spoke and spoke. It seemed as if all deserved the Man of the Series title. Fun and laughter was all that prevailed except for poor Michael. But me, Phil and Sean were in our own world. Beside me, Phil was talking of his new found love. The happiness and joy in his voice added to the fun. After he had finished his story, it seemed as if he had just finished telling us the long history of mankind, right from the time of the poor cavemen, who had not yet discovered clothes. Yet, he refrained from telling us her name. “I’ll tell you in Switzerland. Afterall, special names should be taken in special places,” he said. “I don’t wanna know her name. There’s nothing special in her. Afterall, there is nothing special in you Phil and unfortunately, she is your girlfriend,” Sean replied and immediately the two wild cats broke into a friendly fight followed by smirks and ultimately laughter. It was a joy to watch the exhilaration in them. I hope by now, dear reader, you can imagine the environment on the plane.

I leaned over Phil and Sean to see the scene outside and what I could see was breathe taking. We were flying so close to the Swiss Alps that we could almost feel the ice. Sean started,” Hey! Look at the …………” and then almost all of a sudden, it seemed as if the engine was coughing and the plane started to, kind of, dance in mid-air. The environment inside the plane changed all of a sudden and utter silence prevailed. All I could remember after that was a loud “THUD”, followed by the feeling of immense heat, as if the sun had gulped down the earth. I fell unconscious.

After what seemed like years, I could finally feel something; it felt cold; yes, it was the ice �" white Swiss Alpine ice. As the darkness over me started to fade, I could see the plane, a few metres away from me. But hold on, it was not the plane I had boarded along with my excited group of friends and Sean and Phil, or was it, I certainly needed a closer look. I tried to stand up, but I couldn't; as many tries, that many failures. My left leg hurt miserably. After a while I realised that my left leg was completely burnt. I could feel a pang in my heart. Were the rest alright? I certainly needed to find out what happened to the plane and to my pals, to Sean, and to Phil. I certainly wanted to know the name of Phil’s new found love. With such thoughts clouding over me, I pushed and dragged myself through the ice. It was damn cold. With the last push, that drained me off all of my energy, I could touch and feel the duralumin, the body of the plane. It was then that I saw the most dreadful sight of my life, the plane was reduced to pieces and I could figure out the bodies scattered around. A strange fear enveloped me.

No it couldn't be, it just couldn’t be. I went on shouting everyone’s name, hoping that someone would shout back, but no one did. The fear grew stronger. There was utter silence, nothing moved. I could only hear the hush of the icy breeze. But I went on shouting, calling for everyone, but again the same unwanted result. I could feel the tear well up in my eyes. Clutching on to whatever I could, I stood up and limped to the figure closest to me. I turned the body over and what I saw was horrifying. In front of me lay the mutilated body of Sir Duncan, his eyes wide open, staring right into my eyes. I broke down. I couldn't bear it and now I was expecting the worse. I kept my hands on his eyes and peacefully shut them. “Rest in peace, coach.” I will forever miss the way you held my hands and taught me to play the cover drive. I moved on and the same scene greeted me everytime. I found Michael peacefully sleeping for eternity. “Rest in peace, captain”. Adam, Ricky, Matthew, no one had survived. Tears flowed down my cheeks. Their laughter, their words, all flashed through my mind and that started pecking at my heart. My hopes were slowly burning out. But I dragged myself on. There was another body that lay facing the ground. I turned the body over and another shock awaited me. It was Jason, our star bowler, who lay dead with his arm chopped off. “Rest in peace, brother,” a sentence I said for the tenth time.

I moved on and then I saw two bodies lying side by side. I moved closer and what I saw was……oh, I just can't explain. It was my dearest Phil and Sean sleeping peacefully as they used to do in the hotel room. I shaked Sean’s head expecting him to open his eyes, but he didn’t. I held Phil’s hands and called out to my dear brother again and again, but he didn't call me back. I longed to see his charming smile again. I kept on calling out to them, but they didn’t move. “Phil, Sean, wake up, we got to see Switzerland. Phil, you got to tell me her name. Please don't do that to me.” I kept on speaking to them, though I knew that they couldn't hear me any longer nor could I hear them again. They had left for their journey to heaven without me. Phil left me without telling me her name. But all I could do was cry. I held their hands to my heart and I cried and just cried. Phil’s smile, Sean’s last unfinished sentence, their friendly fights, all flashed across my drenched and tired eyes; tired of seeing death all around, death of my own people. I just cried and cried. I still couldn't believe my eyes. I still felt that the very next moment, we would all be in the field, practising for the next tournament. Sean’s dreams of talking to Swiss girls lay unfinished. Phil’s dream life with his new love shattered. Everyone’s dream of becoming great national-level cricketers shattered. I sat among the bodies, waiting in vain, for someone to call for me. I just sat down and cried, maybe for hours, until I heard the faint sound of a chopper. It grew loud. Finally, I saw it and they saw me. It was a rescue helicopter that had come around looking for the missing plane. I just wanted to sit among them and cry, I didn't want to be rescued. I wanted to die with them.

But the rescue team pulled me up, the lone survivor of a tragic crash, a crash that claimed the lives of an entire team, or rather an entire family. The helicopter rose up into the air. In the distance below, I could see rescue teams clearing up the bodies, the lifeless players who had, not long ago lifted the SCCL cup with joy and pomp. As those memories started clouding over me, in one corner, lay two bodies sleeping beside one another, for eternity.

By Divasjyoti Parashar, Age- 14 yrs