Short Stories School Years 6 to 7 Runner-up: Krishaa Lakhiani with ‘The New Reality’
My mother adjusted the oxygen cylinder on my shoulders like a backpack. There was nothing unusual about it. We have been living like this for centuries now. I am filled with so much disgust and consternation for my forefathers. How could they be so callous and selfish?
You know, all the kids my age are tied to their seats playing games. They say when you stay indoors and don’t move around much, you consume less oxygen. But movement is mandatory for my health. I have to walk out of my house every day. Luckily, my parents are rich, they can afford a great deal of oxygen for me.
There was a time when oxygen was free. Yes. Free!! There were plants on this planet. There were lakes, seas, rivers, natural water bodies, and vegetation. I saw it all in the lost archives. There are files that speak about men and women who used plastic. Plastic was taboo then. Well, now everything is plastic. Our planet is getting crushed by the burgeoning plastic waste. We cannot even imagine breathing freely without these oxygen cylinders.
Why didn’t our ancestors listen to nature and save us from this doom? What is human or natural in our body? Most of us are born with a bad heart and get a pacemaker attached to us within a few weeks of our birth. Medical science has advanced but the human body got crushed in this ambitious race. Our lifespan has increased miserably. We live like the mopping robot of our house. Charge - recharge- and go.
Centuries ago people loved rainfall. Tales of romance and love were attached to rainfall. In a generation of acid rain, rainfall is one’s biggest nightmare. All the stars have also died. There was a picture of a beautiful constellation in one of those files. Now there is no starry light to guide us through the night.
It is 18:00 now. Time to go home. There is no sun to tell me about day or night. This is the new reality. This is how we “live” now!
Adjudicators Comments:
‘Good use of language and structure allows this dystopian tale to resonate with readers. The questions posed and the looking ‘back’ at our choices in our present day is impactful. The story delivers an important message from a speaker a few centuries in the future suffering the effects of climate change.’