Roller Coaster Ride | Creative Nonfiction

The school authority has announced a study tour that is going to be held next week. Short time notice but all of us got excited, I was in class six, and all of my friends were dreaming about that tour. The park was filled with many rides and stuff like that for kids to enjoy. One of my friends had already visited the place, so we were doubly excited after hearing his exciting stories.

I reached home and told my mother; she listened to me and said, "Your father is out of town, so let him come and decide." He would come after three days, and I was super excited about when he would come back and confirm the tour for me. My days were not passing; every day, the whole classroom used to be filled with conversations about the upcoming study tour: a new day, new tales, and new plans on how we will spend the day.

Unfortunately, I got sick four days before the tour; my father also returned on the same date. I was taken to the doctor, and he instructed me to take bed rest. No way I am going to miss my study tour; everyone will be going, and I don't want to be left behind—so many plans and so much fun that we had planned for. I was so weak that I couldn't attend school for the next two days, the third day was a holiday, and the fourth was scheduled for the tour.

My mother started to calm me with an assurance that we would visit that place once I recovered from my sickness on a family tour. No way I am accepting this, I have planned with my friends, and I want that; I wasn't even seeing how weak I was to attend that tour. Just a day left between the study tour, and I wasn't healed; I was weak and suffering from a mild fever; I started to accept that I was going to miss this; my friends would have all the fun that we had planned for. I was sad and didn't talk to anyone.

📸 JC Dela Cuesta

In the evening, we revisited the doctor, I wasn't healed properly, and he did advise me to rest just like before. But I was in a better condition and was recovering fast. Returning home, my father handed over to me the booking receipt for the study tour. Yes, he confirmed a seat for me; that was the moment when I felt like I had fully recovered from my sickness and was ready to rock. That was a moment that I couldn't express in words how happy I was. To be honest, I was sick and quite weak physically, but mentally I got thousands of times stronger. I was dancing with joy; no one would guess that I was ill. I immediately called my friends and expressed the joy that I was joining; the plans were on.

Well, my mother was tense as it was a good idea to send me in that condition or not, but she was convinced by the fact that I was too much sad and I was recovering fast, so it wouldn't be much trouble.

Actually, my father had a talk with one of my teachers who would look after me on tour personally. I was instructed to stay close to him all the time, and I was also forbidden from taking a few rides that might not be suitable for me in that condition. The tour went on as it was supposed to. I couldn't enjoy it to its fullest, but yeah, I did participate and came back home in good condition, and I was super happy. From the top of my excitement, I had to embrace sadness, and surprisingly my father made that lost excitement come true. So yeah, it was the biggest surprise like a roller coaster ride that I had ever had.

Trust me; I have had lots of surprises on my birthdays and other occasions, pleasant and unpleasant ones. But that was something special, something that I will cherish forever. The prompt says the biggest surprise; I can't measure that by quantity. Here I have presented the most special and satisfying one that has given me the most joyous moment.

Join this week's Creative Nonfiction in The Ink Well: Prompt #23