Monster in a Metro

He firmly believes he is a little clever monster. He loves to think he is fearsome. He lives with his parents in a dark green forest where he hardly meets people. So what? He dreams of travelling to a place where he can frighten people, especially children.

But the little monster’s parents do not allow him to go far. His father says, “Search for food near the tree where you live. There is plenty of food balls here. If you go elsewhere, you may lose the track of this tree.” But the little monster doesn’t want to listen to him. He thinks he is smart enough to do anything he wants.

One fine morning he pops his head out of his home. It’s a bright sunny day. He decides, “Papa and Mumma aren’t here. It’s time to scare a child I meet on the way.” He hops on the ground and runs through forest path as fast as he can.

He stops in front of a large cemented wall. He has never been here before. “What’s there on the other side?” he asks himself. He will find that out. He has magical power. The little monster phrases a chant, “KROOM…. BROOM….. PROOT!” With those words he finds himself climbing up the wall and reaches the top.

Now he can see a huge building. There is a red and white signboard which says it is a metro station. But the monster can’t read or write. He decides to enter the building and find what people are doing. He leaps out of the wall and perches on the branch of a large gulmohar tree that covers one side of the station. There are men and women entering the station to catch trains. The monster finds a train arriving. He says, “That’s a smart large car moving very fast. Wow! People are getting into it. Where are they going to?”

It is a busy hour of the morning. Nobody has time to notice that a monster is staring at them from the tree-top. The little monster cries, “It’s boring! They don’t even care about me. Don’t they know what I can do to them?” But he gets no response from the travellers.

Suddenly he spots a little boy in the concourse. He is wearing a red sweater and black jeans. Wait, he isn’t alone. He is travelling with his parents. The monster takes a quick decision, “Let’s frighten this boy. Others may ignore me, but this little one can’t.” He jumps from the gulmohar branch to the platform where the boy is walking to.

The monster keeps a watch on him. Holding his mother’s hand the boy asks, “When is the metro train coming?” The mother replies, “Look at the hanging electronic board. It says it will arrive in just two minutes.” The monster is so small that he easily crosses the automatic doors unnoticed. He hides himself below a seat in the platform.

The train enters. As soon as the doors open, travellers rush into the coach. The monster follows the boy swiftly. It rings “DING…DONG” and all doors close together with a “GHAANG”. The boy sits in the blue benches with his parents. The monster feels cold inside the metro. He says, “That’s strange! It’s hot outside, and cold inside. How do they do it?” He finds a nice corner in between the coaches and crouches there quietly. He has to wait for the right time to act like a monster.

The train starts running with a slight jerk. The boy is looking out of the window on his opposite. He seems to be enjoying this ride. The monster slowly crawls near his feet. He looks at his black socks tucked into the grey shoes. He has to do something to frighten the lad. He opens his mouth as if he will swallow him. But the boy totally ignores his presence. How will he know that a little monster is roaming near his feet? The monster tries his best to draw the boy’s attention. But the boy doesn’t look down to notice him. The desperate monster raises his voice, “TA…TA… TA…TA… Hey, the small fool, here I'm!” Still the boy doesn’t care as he can’t listen to a monster's voice. He makes one final attempt. He keeps his front feet on the boy’s right boot to climb on. Finally the boy glances over him and shrieks, “Oh my god! What’s that Mumma?” The eyes of his parents also fell on the creature. The monster thinks, “Now they will realise me and cry in fear.”

But the mother tries to calm her son. She says, “Don’t worry, Raja. That’s a chameleon. It won’t harm you. I think it has come from the surrounding forest to travel with us.” The father adds, “It is a type of lizard which can change its colour to match what surrounds it. It’s a funny animal, isn’t it?” The boy agrees, “That’s true, Baba. Can we catch this chameleon?” The father replies, “No, Raja. We shouldn’t disturb him. Let him go back to his place in the next station.” They hear an announcement, “The next station is Ramnagar. Doors will open on the right.” The chameleon bows down his head. The boy and his parents found him funny! He declares, “That’s disgusting! I don't want to see them again.” He decides to get down at the next metro station. He will find his way home to join his family.

Picture Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto