Utopia

“Yes! Finally! I got WW2! Thank you Mom and Dad!” I yelled euphorically as I finally laid my hands on my favourite game. I had to work extremely hard and pass my examinations with flying colours for this game. Once I returned from school, I kept playing WW2 for more than 4 hours. My parents nagged at me for playing WW2 too much and warned me that I would get nightmares. However, their advice fell on deaf ears. I enjoyed the game too much and was addicted to it, playing every waking moment. I thought it was a utopia, a place where I could escape from the harsh world. As the sleepless nights wore on,  I scored significant progress in the game. However, the lack of sleep soon caught up with me…

When I woke up, I was not at home. I was in an army base in WW2. It was a dream come true. Finally, I could escape from the constant nagging from my parents and the endless boredom in real life. When I entered the army base, I was greeted by my platoon mates. We had a friendly banter about life in the army base. As it was late, we decided to  hit the sack. I was excited about tomorrow, unaware of the impending dangers lying ahead.

At 3am, my platoon sergeant barged into our bunk and thundered, “Prepare for battle now! Faster! We have no time to lose! The Germans are going to attack!” I was rudely shaken from my slumber. I picked up my AK-47 rifle and other gear and reported to my platoon sergeant. “Go to the German border now! We have no time to spare! Move! Move!” he roared at us. I followed my platoon mates carefully and prepared for an ambush. My platoon mates whispered to each other, “Good luck! We hope that you live to see your family!” We waited for the right moment to attack. I tried to hold my nerve as the fear of dying coursed through my veins. My heart started to palpitate wildly. 

“Attack!” my sergeant screamed, signalling us to attack the opposition troops. We shot the enemy soldiers with immaculate precision. Even though they retaliated, I felt that we were winning. My platoon mates started punching their fists in the air victoriously. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a grenade was thrown into our direction.  “Take cover!” our platoon sergeant bellowed. His shout was too late as the grenade exploded. After the explosion, the front line was strewn with countless dead corpses, gorily buried in rotten blood and broken bones. Traumatised, I ran a quick scan through my body –  my legs were temporarily incapacitated.

To escape the harsh terrain, I crawled past my platoon mates using every ounce of energy I had left. Is this how harsh it should be? This is certainly not a utopia! I miss my parents and my friends who care for me! I thought.  After crawling for what seemed an eternity, I finally caught a glimpse of the army base. 

Yes I’ve reached it! Unfortunately, it was not the case. I turned around to see a German soldier pointing an AK-47 rifle towards me. Is this it? Is my life over? Existential questions raced through my head in the final minutes of my life. The German soldier then pulled the trigger…

I jolted up from my deep slumber. “Phew! It was an awful nightmare!” I remarked, heaving a heavy sigh of relief. 

In retrospect, video games are no utopia and life is incomplete without friends and family. Sometimes, we might get bogged down by the stresses of life; even then, we should learn to cope with them. 

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