Hey there!
A couple of months ago, I took part in a creative writing contest held at Stanley Medical College. There were two topics to pick from - a) I’m an Indian spy on a space mission and b) My flight got hijacked. We had to write a story on either one of the topics. But since I didn’t reserve much knowledge about space or rockets, except from watching things like The Big Bang Theory, Interstellar, Geostorm, etc., I chose the second option and did my best. Sadly though, my story did not get selected, which made me crabby for nearly a week. I mean, I’m sure that it’s not the best story ever, but considering the facts that the time limit given was only an hour and that I had not written many short stories prior to this event, I felt that I had done a pretty good job. Maybe the judges felt different, though. Still, I would like a second opinion. But who else would I turn to, if not for the wonderful people who know me and my writing better than those strangers, and at the same time, also value and care about the things I have to say? So here I am, kindly asking you to read the story below and give me any thoughts you might have.
Fight or Flight
Dear gang,
When I woke up on Friday morning, I had multiple things to cross off my to-do list. The most important item was written in big bold letters - DO NOT MISS THE FLIGHT. But now that I think about it, it strikes me that maybe I should have skipped that part. Maybe missing my flight, for once, might actually have turned out to be the best mistake of my life. The one mistake that would have saved me a lot of trouble, like that of getting trapped in a plane with a bunch of terrorists and many, many terrified passengers. Which is exactly what ended up happening!
I wish that I had been prepared for what happened. I wish that the universe had given me some sort of insight, a warning perhaps, about all of the bizarre things that would happen if I boarded that stupid plane.
A nightmare the night before would have been nice. Something that involved me getting shot in the head by an AK-47 or me falling through the sky or me exploding to bits in a bomb blast with the hundreds of other people, all strapped safely into our seats in a fancy aeroplane.
But no such warning came prior to the trip. All was fine from the time I started packing up my suitcase and up until the moment I settled comfortably into my window seat on the plane.
I didn't burn my dinner or misplace my ticket anywhere. No black cat crossed my path. No pervy uncle ogled at my chest. My uber ride to the airport was a smooth sail through a series of green lights. The driver didn't even demand an extra 50 bucks, like cab drivers usually do. Maybe that was my sign from the universe? You know I can be pretty dumb like that sometimes, right?
But I never received any obvious signs and even if I had, I could never have prepared myself for what ultimately happened - the hijackers jumping out of nowhere and taking over the entire plane within a matter of minutes!
You see, all was fine for a while. But after about twenty minutes since the takeoff, one woman got up to use the restroom. On her way to the loo, she pounced on a flight attendant walking by, and tackled the poor guy until he came unconscious. Five other women joined the attacker and soon the entire air crew was bound up and gagged. Two passengers tried to fight these strange women and ended up getting tied up too.
Then, while four of the terrorists stood guard and made sure that no one else made any sudden moves, the other two entered the cockpit.
At first, no noise came from inside, which was worrying. Then, after what seemed like an eternity, one of the pilots’ voices came over the speakers. In a strained tone, he announced that we were about to land at the nearest airport, under the current circumstances. There was some turbulence during the process, but the aeroplane managed to stay in one piece even after we had landed, with no explosion or collision with the ground.
The atmosphere inside was very tense. We were all bewildered. Some of the passengers were furious beyond limits. They protested and demanded that this injustice be put to an end. Some even tried to fight off the hijackers like they show in those action movies.
I would like to tell you how I was one of those brave souls who cared less about her own life and chose to fight valiantly for the welfare of the other people on board, how I raised my voice and brought the wrongdoers to submission with my heart melting speech about justice, fairness and humanity.
But unfortunately, my bum was stuck to my seat, refusing to get up and fight like the furious girl I was. I’m guessing that someone had previously put glue all over my seat. That must be it.
It wasn’t at all because I was terrified of the fiery terrorists, their mean faces and their big guns. That is NOT why I had tears running down my cheeks, or why I wanted to crawl under my seat and lay there until the whole situation had gone away. No, it was not like that at all.
Maybe just a little bit, but SHUT UP!
Anyway, after the first 12 hours on board, a bunch of us decided that relying solely on the government and the cops to save us would be the stupidest thing ever, and that we had to save our own skins. In this case, we would also need to save our bones, flesh and the luggages under the 13 kg weight limit.
By the end of day one, we came to know all about the hijackers’ demands, in exchange for letting us all go free. It included a HUGE amount of money and some sports cars. But it did not stop just there. The crazy women had also demanded equal pay for all women in the workforce and a no tax policy for all sanitary/hygiene products for women.
The nerve of these women!
That's when I knew that we would never get out. We were all going to be stuck in this plane forever and die, waiting forever for the officials to do something! The only thing that was unclear at that time was whether our deaths would come from starvation, boredom or gunshots.
So along with some other teary-eyed-yet-super-valiant-hearted passengers, I conspired a foolproof plan for our escape. We passed messages back and forth throughout the next day, using hand cricket signals, song lyrics and TikTok dance moves that we were allowed to do one hour each day to keep us from going insane.
Once the entire plan had come together on Sunday, we distracted the hijackers with our fiery feminist debates and attacked them. We neutralised their weapons and tied them up. Then we released the pilots who informed the police.
As usual the cops arrived at the scene super late, after all the real work had been taken care of, and obviously took all of the credit. No surprise there.
After a quick interrogation, we were all sent home. Some passengers praised me for my valour but I told them that it was no big deal at all. But I may have left them a few autographs here and there.
Then, I hopped on the next train and got back home. No more flights for me. Not for a very long time.
So anyway, this is the story of how I got caught up in an aeroplane hijacking situation and had to literally fight for my life. It is also the reason why I had to miss out on my plans to meet you guys in Goa over the weekend.
Unlike what you had already assumed, it definitely had nothing to do with my social anxiety or my super uptight boss refusing to give me a few days off from work. Totally believable, right??? Yeah, that’s what I thought so too.
So anyway, I guess I will see you during the next trip? This time in Maldives, maybe ? Unless I get kidnapped by a bunch of gay people demanding marriage rights and fair treatment from our society. In that case, you may not be able to see me for a long, long time. Meanwhile, don’t you dare go on having too much fun without me.
But seriously, I miss you all. Take care!
Much love,
A.
Moral of the story: Don't be too quick to judge a story until you've read it fully. (You hear that, Stan?)
Also, how was it? 🙈 Do let me know!
okay!! I am in a class rn, trying real hard to hold back my laughter!! Its funny and really great
This is funny, sarcastic, interesting and entertaining! 🤌😂