Alia Mohammad is back with a new piece for our August theme “Madness” titled (in)sanity! We hope you enjoy it ^^

It has been a week of mind-numbing routine; the exact same routine that the week before had acquired and the weeks before that too.

It starts with the sound of the alarm being dismissed into yet another round of snooze. The last one, goes the usual promise, yet, the last snooze happens to be the third one after the one promised to be the last. Energetic-less walk in the early hours of the day became a habit acquired by the knowledge of what is about to come. The lack of change, surprise and that same old routine, repeatedly, softly kills the passion within.

The drive to the office became partly the responsibility of the subconscious mind. One minute the car is leaving the house and somewhere along the way you find yourself thinking about the places to see in Rome, the delicious In and Out burgers in Cali, whether the lights in the room were off or on as you closed the doors and then suddenly the car is there parking at the main office.

The clock tick tocks slowly once you’re on the desk, the screen of the computer seems too bright and not enough black tea can remove the weights off your eyelids. The same people pass by, the same tasks are given out, plans of the weekend are exchanged and just as patience is wearing out, the sound of finger taps on the table begin to grow louder.

“Its weekend!” starts to echo the walls of the building when its time. The pace changes. The view becomes of papers being lifted, things getting picked up and the same exhausted people, who once walked on an eggshell, walking hurriedly out of the office.

“Your turn miss,” calls out the Wild Wadi lady supervising the game, waking me up from the thoughts of the week’s endless routine. I smile excitedly at what is about to happen. I take steady steps into the box and watch her as she closes its doors. I cross my legs and arms. Hello Adventure, I thought to myself happily and took a deep breath to hold it in.

3… 2… 1…

And the trapdoor beneath my feet slides open to throw me down at a speed of more than 80km/h.  Six seconds of total madness refueled me to endure the coming up weeks of total routine.

“Did you enjoy?” asks my mother and I describe the thrill of the slide. “Are you mad?” She adds. I smile and nod, yes I am, and it is in these moments of insanity that I restore my sanity.

Author: Alia Mohammad