The Maze Of Lost Hope

• Chirathi Korottage Dona, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2020

Do you know the feeling, when you are losing hope in yourself because you do not know what to do next?
‘Well, that is what is happening to me, ‘Felix Trace’ right now.’

I am stuck in a maze that I have no intention on completing. This maze is the weirdest place I have ever been to. The walls are a solid white which mess with my mind, and the area has an intolerable malodour, almost like my dad’s jeans on a Friday night. The last thing I remember before came into this nightmare is my dad, wearing his Friday night jeans, while offering me some hot chicken soup.
I am pacing around the maze now and starting to lose hope in myself.

Suddenly, I can hear a faint grunting noise in the distance. I hope its not Roger my brother in an angry mood, because he can be a real pain in my back, at these times. I pace towards the grunting noise, but to my surprise, I see something worse than my angry brother Roger….

There is a legend in the castle, the which my family stopped by with an accident on the new year day, on our way to a long hike in the mystery forest. I remembered my frenemies telling me not to fall asleep, or else I will end up in ‘the Maze of Lost Hope’. They ended the conversation with a quiet snicker before leaving me totally paranoid. It is apparently, anyone who falls asleep in this castle on the 1st day of the 1st month shall be cursed into a deep sleep dreaming of ‘the Maze of Lost Hope’ and would never return.

…. Finally, I found the exit… blocked by the wall full of previous victims who has now crushed into lost hope.

I should go through the wall full of lost hopes and it would break the curse of everyone who is stuck and relive them back to be alive, was written on the wall. Seems easy. I jump up high to go over the wall but fall with my face first on the ground. After standing up on my feet with a grunt and getting ready to run forward, I witness a miracle on my left. There are plungers everywhere! I grab a plunger and start plunging the wall sucking out all the lost hopes, revealing the exit.

Walking through the exit, I find myself awake in a hospital bed next to a bunch of flowers and ’Take your time in the maze’ cards. I have no idea for how long I have been in the maze...

My friends, family and even my frenemies have arrived to see me awake. After blinking a thousand times through the tears, I smiled back to everyone showing my gratitude for being concerned about me.

Being exhausted by the mind maze, I wanted a rest with peace in my mind and I closed my eyes, thinking of never to be stuck in a nightmare again…