The GORILLA from the MIRROR

THE NIGHT BEFORE

My elder brother and I were slouched on the couch, with our eyeballs glued to the television screen. The Donkey Kong movie was being shown on TV. Dark circles were beginning to form under my eyes, but I ignored them. I would’ve gone to sleep right away if I had known what was to come the following morning. The Donkey Kong movie had been a huge mistake.

THE STRANGE MORNING

I itched and scratched my eyes until they unexpectedly turned tomato-red.

Tomato red? How did my eyes turn bright red?

I looked down at my hands, which looked enormous, and slightly fuzzy…

I sprinted to the bathroom. This has to be a dream!, I hoped as I tried to squish in through the bathroom door. I had trouble going through the door- I was wondering what had happened! CRASH! The bathroom door was knocked down onto the slippery bathroom tiles. I stepped over the door and glanced into the mirror. 

My jaw dropped and my body went cold. In the mirror, I was looking at a gorilla!

Droplets of water began to fall from my eyes to form sad tears, but I wiped my eyes with my mammoth-sized elbow. To my surprise, I heard loud footsteps coming from the other side of the house. IT WAS MY MOTHER! The thunderous footsteps were beginning to come closer, and I desperately needed a place to hide. If my mother saw me in this state, she would blast out. I frustratedly stomped to the back of the living room couch in panic hoping that she won’t discover me.

I remained seated behind the couch, praying that I would go unnoticed. It was like an intense game of hide-and-seek, except there was no fun at all. Just as my mother stepped into the living room, I thought that all hope was lost. She went and latched the main door after my father who had left for his office. Subsequently, she started coming towards the couch. Almost on the verge of having a panic attack with sweat dripping all over, I did not know whether to shout for my father or to jump out of the window. As my eyes were flickering rapidly to find something larger to conceal my voluminous body, my mum jumped onto the couch and cuddled up inside a warm blanket. She breathed in and out, and within moments she started rumbling like a mountain. She had dozed off!

Zzz.. Zzz…

The Escape

I sneakily attempted to exit the room without being caught. It was quite challenging, since my big toes kept clapping on the wooden floor. My brilliant scheme involved quietly treading on the soft carpet before leaping into a different room. My plan was almost successful until my final leap. How was I supposed to know that gorillas could jump so far at such quick speeds? When I jumped, I flew across the house for about six metres crashing into the dining table. The table exploded and tiny specks of debris flew across the length and breadth of the room. And then, my mother exploded. She shouted from the room next door.

The moment she sighted me, she screamed like a howler monkey who had been caught in a trap.

The Mighty Weapon

‘WHAT IS THIS BEASTLY CREATURE DOING IN MY HOUSE?!,’ my mother boomed. She was furious, unsure and terribly mad at being roused from her peaceful slumber. Not seeing anything else around, she eyed her secret weapon while keeping a strict vigil on me. My mother almost never brought out the secret weapon. I knew what was to come. I was in grave danger and there was no place to run. My mum slowly began taking hold of her secret weapon, she was about to release the mighty CHAPPAL.

My Indian mother chased me around the house at a sonic speed with the deadly chappal. She slid like a cheetah on a hoverboard; fast and swift. She cried with rage and spit out funny curses in the most astonishing manner. But I intended to outdo her. There was no way that she was going to know that in the skin of the mighty gorilla was my feeble soul. I ran with all my might cursing the Donkey Kong. As my mother started falling behind, she took aim. I looked behind and saw her dangerous chappal coming for my face in slow-motion…

SLAM!

The chappal hit me and its mighty blow knocked me out of the house.  

Th

         e

                Wor

                           Ld

                    Was

                          Bec

                                  oming

                                                   A

                                                          Blu

                                                                    r…

Reality Check

I woke up from my sleep, dazed.

“Hurry up! You’re going to be late for school!  Don’t make me mad, else…!,”

The voice of my mother startled me. I quickly leaped out of bed before she could launch her secret weapon and landed straight inside the bathroom. Looking at me in the mirror was my usual funny face and I heaved a sigh of relief!

Writer : Harman

Grade : 6 (Year 2023)

Place  : Sydney, Australia