PROSE FICTION (SHORT STORY)

"UNO”

One day, a boy waves at me from behind the door of his class. I give him a return wave and flash him a bright grin. The kid and his pals are constantly nudging one another in my direction. I'm sure they're contemplating whether to come up to me or not. After a little nudging here and there, he finally makes his way up to me with a puppy-like eyes and asks, "Teacher, do you want to play with us?". Seeing his bright and expectant eyes, I can’t help but give him a slight nod in response.

Thus, here we are, gathered around the table while holding the UNO cards. A few minutes has passed as we played, as my eyes feels itchy all of sudden. I tried to rub them gently, when suddenly someone pat my arms and said, “Eyf, it’s your turn. Come on!” I open my eyes, and the sight that hit me shocked me to the core. Although I'm still seated with the cards in my hands; the setting of the place has changed to the elementary school I attended at that time, and the people that surrounded are now my former classmates rather than the school's pupils.

 I was taken aback, and I didn't know what to make of the situation. Could it be that I actually went back in time? Or am I just imagining this? It's not like I'm so stressed out that I start having hallucinations, am I? I tried to smack my face as hard as I can to wake myself up from the dream.

Ah, this must be a dream. So, let’s just play along with it. I tried to put the matter out of my mind and focus on examining my cards before throwing out the appropriate card. Throwing down cards one by one, we're almost done with the game as I'm down to my last card already.

Card by card been thrown out, we are almost at the end of the game as I have only had one card left. “UNO! HAHAHAHAHA, I WIN!” I shout as I throw the last card in my hand. When I looked at my friends' shocked expressions, I couldn't help but chuckle. I laugh and I laugh, as I boasted about my victory.

“Teacher! Teacher! Ms. Eyf!” The shouts snap me back to the reality. I was actually still there sitting with the kids with cards in my hands. And, there I was, still actually playing cards with the kids. As it turns out, I became so wrapped up in remembering the past that my mind started to go back in time. Truly, the games do really bring back my fond memories and reawakens my own inner child. Oh, to have the innocence of a kid once again! I really wish I could go back in time and experience the joys and wonders of being a kid again. Where life is about having to give up sweets as your sole major life difficulty and are able to play every day rather than worrying about how to put food on the table.