On a bright Friday afternoon, as kids were heading back to their homes from school, Zayn was also sitting in his van. When the driver announced that they have reached his home, he was quick on his feet and rushed towards his mother who was waiting right in front of the main door.

“Good afternoon, mother!” Zayn greeted her as she kissed him on forehead and took his school bag in her hands. As soon as they entered the lounge, Zayn immediately ran towards his grandfather, who was reading the newspaper.

“Hello grandpa, I missed you!” Zayn said as he sat on his grandfather’s lap.

“I missed you too, dear. How was the school?” right when his grandfather asked, Zayn’s mood changed and he looked upset.

“Hey dear, what happened?” his grandfather asked in a worried tone.

“Today, we had a discussion in our class about the dinosaurs. Our teacher told us that they existed long ago but not anymore,” Zayn told him with an angry pout.

“I don’t understand what’s the problem here, darling. You have always loved dinosaurs so much then why are you mad after knowing that they existed?” his grandfather asked, confused.

“I’m not upset because they existed. I’m upset because when I told my teacher that I want to see the dinosaurs in real life, my friends started laughing at me, saying that it was impossible,” Zayn explained sadly. His grandfather looked at him with fondness.

“Do you really want to meet them?” grandfather asked, knowing the answer already.

“Yes!” Zayn nodded aggressively.

“Aww, okay then! Study hard and when you’ll grow up, we both will go in the search of dinosaurs. Who knows we might come across them, someday?” his grandfather joked, patting his head.

“I think they still exist in someplace that we don’t know of. I’ll make sure to find them, then I’ll have my name in the newspapers as the guy who found the dinosaurs again,” Zayn said enthusiastically.

“Okay buddy, don’t forget your old grandpa when you become famous,” his grandfather laughed at his cuteness.

“Zayn, go change your uniform and come to eat, honey. You have to take a nap then,” his mother called from the kitchen and Zayn slipped off his grandfather’s lap to go to his room.

Zayn’s room was filled with posters of dinosaurs. No corner was left empty. Even his pillow, school bag, pencil case and water bottle had dinosaurs on them. After changing his clothes and having lunch with his mother and grandfather, he went to bed for a nap. He was tired so he immediately dozed off.

Hours passed and Zayn was still asleep. Suddenly there was a loud thud somewhere in the house and Zayn woke up. At first, he was confused about what woke him up but then there was another thud. Zayn jumped from his bed and opened the door of his bedroom. The lights were dim in the lounge and the house was unusually silent. Normally, when he’d wake up, his grandfather would be watching the TV and his mother would be busy in the kitchen. But right now, there was no one and it felt so weird.

“Mum? Grandpa?” Zayn called out, but got no response.

Zayn was worried now. Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the main door. Zayn got scared. Fighting the thoughts of whether to open the door or not, he wondered what to do as his elders weren’t home and he wasn’t allowed to open the door for strangers.

“But what if it’s dad?” Zayn wondered to himself and slowly walked towards the main door.

“W-who’s there?” he asked.

“Zayn! It’s me, your uncle! Open the door please!” as soon as he heard his uncle’s voice, he opened the door immediately.

“Uncle? What are you doing here? Do you know where mum and grandpa are?” he hurriedly asked.

“Your mother went grocery shopping with your grandpa. They were in the store, which is located near the forest, when suddenly a dinosaur attacked the store,” his uncle told him worriedly.

“Wait, what? What are you saying uncle, how is that even possible?” Zayn’s eyes were wide with confusion and fear. How could a dinosaur suddenly appear out of nowhere? They didn’t even exist anymore!

“Haven’t you been watching the news? It’s been reported for days that dinosaurs still exist in some parts of the world and they are hiding themselves from people,” his uncle looked so scared as he disclosed. “But don’t worry my child, they are hiding in the store’s kitchen.”

His uncle hugged him. Zayn started crying loudly. Fear evident on his face as he asked, “How do you know they are hiding there?”

“Your mother managed to contact me. She told me to take care of you. Your dad is also trying to reach home safely,” his uncle explained while taking him inside the house.

Zayn was so scared. What if the dinosaur hurt his mother and grandpa? He sobbed loudly at the thought. His uncle turned on the television and switched to the news channel. The anchor was explaining how the forest near the grocery store had been a safe place for dinosaurs for a long time. The forest was so large and nobody ever went deep into it for years. That made the dinosaurs think they were safe, so they came out. The whole city was in a state of great panic now.

Hours passed by, his father still didn’t come back, and his mother and grandfather were still stuck in the store. It was midnight now and, far away, they could hear the loud bellowing sounds similar to a horn. It was the dinosaur’s roars, Zayn thought. That was what he had seen in movies. They sounded exactly like that.

“I hate the dinosaurs. Why do they still exist? They should disappear like they did back then,” Zayn kept crying and sobbing loudly. He badly wanted his family to be safe, but they had no idea what was going to happen.

“Ring! Ring!” in the dark silence, the ringtone of his uncle’s phone sounded so loud and scary. They both jumped in fear.

“It’s your mother,” his uncle put the call on speaker.

“H-hello?” Zayn’s mother sounded so scary, so afraid.

Zayn cried, “Mum, mum! How are you? Where is grandpa? Are you safe?”

“Zayn, my child, listen to mummy carefully, okay? We don’t know what is going to happen to us. It is so scary, the animal is so huge, it has eaten so many people. Your grandfather is injured. It seems like we can’t get out of here. We love you so much. You have always been a perfect son, Zayn,” his mother was crying so hard, her voice trembling from the fear of death, from the sadness of not being able to see her son again.

“Mum,” he cried. “Please, come home! Please, I beg you! I love you so much, I can’t live without y…” he was in mid-sentence when he heard a scream from the other end. It was his mother who was screaming.

“Mum?” Zayn stood up. Eyes going wide and more tears pooling in them. Her mother was screaming so loud when suddenly the call was disconnected.

“Mum!” Zayn jolted up from his sleep with a piercing scream.

“Zayn! What happened?” his bedroom door burst open and his mother rushed in. His whole body was drenched in sweat.

“Mum,” Zayn cried, hugging her tightly. “You are back! You are safe. Oh God, thank you! I love you mum,” he said as he hugged her so tightly.

“What happened? I’m here. Was it a nightmare?” his mother asked in a soothing voice, hugging him back softly.

“Nightmare?” Zayn asked confusedly. He looked around; arms still wrapped around his mother. He was in his bedroom. The clock on his study table was showing ‘5:15’.

“Oh,” he sighed loudly in relief. So, it was all just a nightmare.

“I love you too sweetheart. Now just wash your face and come out. Your father is about to get back from work, and grandpa is waiting for you in his study,” she planted a kiss on his forehead and left the room. Leaving the door open.

Suddenly he jumped off from his bed, going towards a wall. He stared at the posters of giant dinosaurs. Slowly, he stood up on his tiptoes and peeled a poster off. Then the other and other. The last remaining poster was a bit high so he dragged his chair and climbed up, hands reaching to peel it off as well.

“What are you doing, sunshine?” he heard his grandfather and turned his head to see him standing at the door.

“They disappeared for good, grandpa! I don’t want to see them in real life anymore,” he said with a smile.

Published in Dawn, Young World, April 17th, 2021