THE DAY I MET MEDUSA

I stared at the big black threads of ink like hair sprouting out in all directions. Their serpentine like movement hypnotized me. I couldn’t look away. My brain screams out at me, “Look away Priyanka, look away!” But it was like my mind was disconnected from my body. I knew the repercussion. I knew I would soon face the wrath of the monster. Despite that I was unable to pull my eyes away and inevitably turned to stone. Yes, I met ‘The Medusa' and I am happy to say that I live to tell the tale. Friends, it is only out of concern for you that I write this tale. So let’s start the horrifying tale about the day I met Medusa.For all the people who don’t know who Medusa was I’ll let you know. Medusa was a monster in Greek mythology. She was identified by her hair which were serpents instead of actual hair. For those unfortunate souls who looked directly upon her, a second later they would turn to stone. She was killed by Perseus, who beheaded her. (Reference: Wikipedia my Ramayana.)Now let’s start with the unfortunate event. It was 7:00 pm IST. I reach the station from college, tired. The trains are packed with women. My claustrophobic friend and I look at each other. We are used to it. We get on the train and find a spot for us and our bags. We talk. We laugh. We fall silent. The next stop arrives. I get an eerie feeling that something is going to happen. Suddenly she arrives. She looked human. She smelled human, a stinky human but that’s moving away from the story. Suddenly she raises her hand to catch hold of the handle for support and finally reveals her true form. Her armpits are filled with a bouquet of black, serpentine hair. About an inch in length the hair aka serpents were a centimetre away from my face. I know what will happen when someone will push her towards me, the serpents would ‘bite’ my face. I try to squirm out of there but there is no place to budge. I now know my fate. I know the serpents will eventually turn me into stone out of shock when they ‘bite’ my face. I can’t help it anymore. The serpents lure me into their trap. I keep on staring at them. Time stops all of a sudden. I try to save myself but the process of my turning into stone had already begun. My face was static and I could feel the rest of my body turning into stone. The only thing I could think of at that time was “What would Perseus do now?” and the answer echoed into my mind, “He would bring a razor and shave off the hair.” “SHIT!” I thought, “I wish I had a razor with me”. Defeated I started thinking about my maa, my dad and my sister. “I’ll miss you guys!” Then suddenly something miraculous happened. The monster sympathized with me and put her hand down immediately after which two things happened. One, I turned back to normal. I felt like I had been thawed out like a block of ice. Second, someone pushed Medusa hence making her fall on me. Pissed, Medusa glared at the culprit and raised her hand to turn her into stone. I couldn’t believe my good luck. I could live. Though I felt bad for the woman, I was too happy to care. I finally got down from the train before warning my claustrophobic friend to be careful. The world never looked so beautiful.So friends this was my short but terrible tale. I have done my part. Now it is your turn. If ever you meet Medusa, though I pray you don’t, please use your razor (which I hope you will carry everyday) to shave off the serpents. Please be the hero of 2009. Please be the Perseus of 2009.