THE YEAR 2124

 THE YEAR 2124

 

I woke with a thud; sweat dripped from my forehead, and my mouth felt dry. I glanced at my watch: it was 6 AM. But wait, my watch showed an extraordinary date.  It was revealed as April 19^th, 2124. How could this be? I distinctly remember going to bed last night on April 18^th, 2024. Could it be that I had slept for a hundred years? This thought seemed unthinkable, so I deduced that my mind was playing tricks on me. I pinched myself hard to make sure I was not dreaming. I decided to investigate. As I stepped outside, I felt a strange sensation, a shift in the air, and suddenly, I was no longer in the familiar 2024, but in a futuristic 2124.

 

I stepped outside my apartment building in New Delhi to investigate my surroundings. There was no hustle and bustle that I was accustomed to. There were no sounds of hawkers screaming in the streets below selling their wares. No more sounds of the elderly locality ladies bargaining with them for a good deal. There were no more sounds of birds chirping, dogs barking, or children playing with gay abandon in the streets and bylanes. The horns and the sounds of cars revving up were all gone. In their place was deathly silence. The silence was so eerie it was almost scary. This was no mistake, I realised suddenly; it was indeed the year 2124.

 

As I made my way outside, I was in for a shock. There was a sleek concrete jungle all around me. Huge glass and steel skyscrapers surrounded me, their surfaces reflecting the sunlight in a dazzling display. Small, compact flying vehicles powered by clean energy sources were ferrying people overhead. They travelled noiselessly, and their advanced technology ensured minimal environmental impact. The air was cleaner, the skies bluer, and the streets devoid of the usual traffic chaos.

 

Despite the concrete atmosphere, some natural flora and fauna were predominant. Shrubs, bushes, creeps, and trees sprouted and grew in whatever little space they could occupy, a testament to nature's resilience. Jungles, forests, and gardens that once stood had been cleared to make way for this concrete mass of urban madness, but pockets of greenery still persisted, providing a stark contrast to the urban landscape.

 

Some dilapidated buildings and houses remained a stark reminder of a bygone era. The walls of these houses had caved in, and their window panes were shattered. Shrubs grew out of them. There were more antique pieces and relics now.

 

There were signs of life, though. People still moved around the neighbourhood. But wait, their mannerisms, gait, and movements were entirely different. They had lost look on their faces and were moving around like zombies. Their laboured steps were mechanical and robotic. They seemed to be in extreme hurry.

 

The streets seemed unfamiliar. Old had made way for the new, and everything seemed digitally and technologically advanced. But the remarkable thing was that human life still persisted, a testament to human resilience in adversity. I suddenly felt like Captain America, who had slept for a hundred years, had woken up and suddenly found himself in an entirely modern world. The world has made rapid strides in 100 years. As I moved around the ruins and remnants of the past world, I couldn’t help but wonder what more surprises the year 2124 had in store for me.