Another brilliant piece from a GUNNAS WRITING MASTERCLASS WRITER
The first time I was turned on was during a family holiday in Hong Kong. I was 13 at the time.
I remember it was the final night of our stay at the resort and my parents left me, along with the other teenagers, alone at the Teenage Retreat. There were children, mainly English-speaking, from all over the world; American, English, Swedish, Australian, and Dutch and, of course, a few locals were thrown into the mix. I, who was always shy, sat down in an armchair alone whilst the others played ping pong, watched Anime, or danced on the disco floor.
There was this one boy on the dance floor who was so mesmerising; I couldn’t pull my eyes away and he made me feel tingly between my legs. He was a tall young man with rugged elf-like features and blond hair. He danced like an angel. I found myself fantasising about kissing him when, suddenly, the door opened beside me and a short stocky Asian man walked into the space. I remember thinking ‘why the hell is that old man in here’. He walked in a very determined and direct fashion over to the dance floor, past the dancers and towards a metal box on the wall. Within moments it was pitch black in the room and he yelled maniacally, ‘unless someone gives me ten Hong Kong dollars no one will ever see the light of day again!’
A din filled the room as children panicked; screaming and running towards the exit, bashing into other people and obstacles along the way. I could hear them trampling over other children who had fallen over in the rush to get out. Someone reached the door but it was locked. More panic ensued. I couldn’t see a thing; petrified by the situation I remained where I sat, frozen.
Until I sensed a person alongside me. I felt his hand gently reach towards mine and a young voice whisper for me to follow. The sound of his voice made me imagine the blond angel on the dance floor and strangely, given the traumatic situation, as his fingers clasped mine he made me feel safe and excited. So I stood up, and let him lead me.
‘Stay close’, he said. And then, as I clasped his hand tightly with my right hand and used my left to feel for any obstructions, he led me away from the chaos.
Suddenly there was a flash of green light in my eyes and I found myself in a different world. Greeted by a rainforest, a waterfall beckoned me to proceed whilst my hand continued to clasp the hand of my golden prince. Birds chirped, water gurgled through the reeds, and fish leapt upstream as we journeyed towards the waterfall. A rainbow framed it and wanderer butterflies fluttered by. It was surreal.
Finally it hit me. In confusion and anxiety I fell to my knees weeping ‘where am I’?
In my desperation I looked up asking ‘where have you taken me?’
It was the wrong one! The face looking down at me was not the face of my god-like elven king. He had blond hair but had an ugly face, filled with anger and a mischievous stare. He laughed menacingly, almost crying in his own mania.
‘Where do you think you are my princess’, he said. ‘Do you think that you have been rescued by your knight in shining-armor. That he will take you to another world where you can live in love and safety forever more?’
‘That is not how the world works’, he said between fits of laughter. ‘. I saw you sitting alone in the corner of the room and knew that you would be an easy target. So when my master turned out the lights I had to take you. I have stolen you so that I can torment you.’
In fright I screamed, and the next minute there was a red flash of light. The rainbow, fish, babbling brook, waterfall and scary boy had transformed into a desert. I was alone in the sweltering heat. Shocked by the sudden displacement I froze once again; this time scanning the horizon. It was almost dusk and the rust-orange sky was merging into the grey-blue night sky. It would soon be night and this meant it would be freezing.
I then felt a rough tongue probing between my toes. I looked down yelling ‘this is not my dog! Why the fucken hell am I am a desert with a strange dog? Will someone get me out of here?’ I felt as if I was going mad. I fell into a ball and wept.
The veil was lifted. I was in the teenage retreat sitting in the armchair. The disco ball was spinning, the ping-pong game was still going, and the elven angel was still dancing in the centre of the dance floor surrounded by his friends.
I stood up and removed myself from the room convinced that I was, indeed, mad. Leaning against the wall outside the room, I broke down once more. Would I ever be normal again?
The door squeaked as it opened to revel the blond angel exiting. He looked hot and exhausted. Embarrassed by my tears, I hastily wiped them. He saw me, his face softened as his arm reached out for me and he said, ‘are you okay?’
The end.