Since I was a kid, I had dreamed about the possibilities of what might be buried under the ice in Antarctica. It must be a graveyard of lost civilizations—valleys and canyons older than time itself, hidden away under the flat and featureless Southern continent. That’s why I became a scientist and an explorer. It had always been my dream to uncover the treasures of the past buried beneath the icy surface.
Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined I would find the truth. I was stationed at one of the research centers at Antarctica, working alone for a few days before the rest of my team arrived. Working in the harsh environment wasn’t fun, and yet, I enjoyed my work. It was what I had always wanted to do, and I had jumped through many hoops to make this a reality.
On the third day of my stay at the research outpost, it happened—an earthquake that shook the icy floor under my feet, and before I knew it, the geography of the site altered drastically. There had been various cave ins. I found myself buried under the rubble of ice and scientific equipments.
I was no longer above the ice. Somehow, I had ended up below it. That wasn’t the surprising part, though. The real shock was the city I ended up in. Who would have guessed that an entire world was thriving below the surface?
I stood up, trying to fight the disorientation. Buildings lined my vision. As far as I could see, there were man-made structures. I wasn’t sure what to do next when someone approached me.
“Are you alright?” the stranger asked in a gentle voice, checking me from head to toe.
“Where am I?” I asked the first question that popped into my head. A thought occurred to me, perhaps I was dead, and this was the afterlife.
“In Antarctica, of course,” the guy said, as if that should have been obvious.
“You are saying this is Antarctica?”
“I should take you to the elder. She’d know what to do with the situation.”
“What situation?” I looked at him curiously.
“Come on,” he extended his hand, which I took. “I can’t deal with the outsiders.”
I was a little dizzy but followed him anyway. As we walked down a paved road, I noticed people coming and going. There were no vehicles and everyone was walking to and from their destinations. It was a small community, but it had everything a modern civilized city would have. I could see tall trees in a distance.
We stopped in front of a small house. The guy knocked at the door and a woman dressed neatly opened it. She ushered us in and offered me tea. Her name was Ada. After hearing about my arrival, she gave me a choice; stay or die? It was obvious what I’d choose. Because how could I pass up on an opportunity of exploring the world beneath the ice?
© 2020 Fizza Younis. All Rights Reserved.
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Between The Pages Of A Book 