Mere haath hawa mein the, 'No' buttom ki taraf badh rahe the. Magar jaise hi meri ungli us badh virtual button ke qareen pahunchi, ek teekhi si jhanjhanahat mere poore jism mein daud gayi. Office ki deewarein aur tezi se dhalti ja rahi thi, aur neeche ka kala gadda ab zyada bada aur gehra lag raha tha.
"Faisla karo, Anaya", us robotic awaaz ne dobara kaha, ab usmein halki si impatience
Thi. "Samay tezi se guzar raha hai."
Mere dimag mein hazaron khayal daud rahe the. Prank? Hallucination? Ya sach mein meri boring life ka end aa gaya hai? Par jab maine us void ki gehrai dekhi, toh 'prank' wala option khatam ho gaya. Yeh bilkul real tha. Agar ye sab sach th, toh 'No' dabane ka matlab tha––
Khatam. Poori tarah se.
Aur 'Yes'? 'Yes' ka matlab tha anjaan ka safar, ek ajeeb sa 'Trial'. Kya main ek game ki hissa banne wali thi? Kya ye mujhe koi superpower dega ya kisi aur mushkil mein phansa dega?
Mujhe kuch nahi pta tha.
Lein jab mainey us roz ki Metro kibbheed, subah ki thandi chai, aur manager ki dant yaad ki, toh ek pal ke liye mujhe laga––kya fark padta hai? Is life se zayada bura aur kya ho sakta hai? Kya ye 'glitch' meri life ko ek naya mod de sakta hai?
Ek gehri saans li maine. Meri mutthi bhinch gayi. Darr tha, par usse zyada ek ajeeb sa excitement tha. 'Yes' par mein ungli tezi se chali gayi.
[Choice Confirmed : Yes]
Jaise hi maine 'Yes' press kiya, poora office ek chamakti neeli roshni se bhar gaya. Woh
Kaala void gayab ho gaya, aur deewarein wapas apni jagah aa gayin. Sab kuch normal hogaya th––laptop screen, office desk, sab waisa hi.
Par is baar, meri screen par kuch naya dikh raha tha.
>[Welcome, User Anaya. Your trial begins.]
>[Congratulations! You have unlocked your System Interface.]
>[New Skills: Unlocked]
>[Stat Points: Allocated]
>[First Quest: 'The Morning Grind ' - Survive your next day at the office with maximum efficiency.]
>[Reward: (Hidden)]
>[Note: Your current reality is now a 'Game'.
Failure to complete quests wil result in severe penalties, including 'System Reset' or 'Existence Deletion.']
>
Meri aankhein badi ho gayi. Ye kya tha? Office ki deewar par ek virtual 'level Up!' notification chamak raha tha. Maine jaldi se apne phone mein time dekha. Subha ke 6 baj rahe the.
Main office mein hi so Gaya tha!
"Ye sab sapna tha?" Maine khud ko pinch kiya. Dard hua.
Meri screen par ek naya icon flash ho raha th
––ek Chhota sa question mark, aur uske neeche likh tha: "Tutorial: How to use your System."
Ab meri zindagi sach mein badal chuki thi. Ye meri 9-to-5 ki job nahi thi, ye meri survival ki game thi. Aur mujhe abhi bhi ye samajh nahi aa raha tha ki System Reset aur Existence Deletion ka alsi matlab kya tha. Kya main kal tak survive kar paunga?