Labyrinth de María Camila Badillo Montoya

“Remember to rest well t ry to not stress too much and do not eat too much the day before. But also, don’t go with an empty stomach. D on’t rely on what you think you know read carefully all the questions, and relax”. Those were some of the recommendations that our beloved character received the week in which he would take the admission exam of La Universidad Nacional. “The best university in the country” some relatives would say with pride, while our main character fell into the anxiety and stress that this test generated on him. 

 He woke up that Sunday at three in the morning. He couldn’t really sleep. After checking his phone, he decided to have a cup of coffee which by the third sip made him feel nauseous. Without eating anything else, our character proceeded to take the backpack he had left perfectly packed the day before and left his house when it was still dawn. 

He decided to go on foot It wasn’t that far anyway which was an advantage so he could walk around the university for a while, search for the building and classroom he had been assigned to, and try to pretend that he wasn’t as lost as the rest of the applicants, or even more. 

 “Building 24, classroom 302”, he repeated as if he were conjuring a spell, “Building 24, classroom 302, classroom 3 0 2” It was still dark, and he was the first to arrive at the university He stopped in front of the building, confirmed that it was the correct number and proceeded to sit in the chairs of the huge cafeteria that was located a little bit further down building 24. Now seated and comfortable enough, our character finally fell asleep. Two hours later a deafening sound woke him up. Not knowing where it came from and worried about the abundance of light and the lack of people, he fearfully checked his watch. 8:02 AM. “Damn it, I'm late!!”, he yelled as he grabbed his things and headed for the classroom. 

He climbed up the stairs and encountered a huge wall that prevented him from passing through. “What the he murmured before going down again. He turned back and down the staircase again and ran to the closest exit, but another wall fell in front of him. He looked at his watch again; 8:25AM. "What's going on!?”, he screamed in the middle of the desolated cafeteria that was starting to get filled with walls and stairs that now made it look more like a labyrinth. 

He was looking for any sign of light Wherever the light comes from, that's the way out of this hellhole" he thought. Looking up, he found a small hole in the roof. He looked to the side and saw a staircase that was close enough to the hole in the roof so he climbed the stairs, threw himself against the walls, jumped and overwhelmed by the fear slipped right when he was about to reach the hole, and he fell. He fell, like a feather, like a lea f but also like a rock. 

He fell to the ground and screamed with all his force. A harsh light and a pair of arms from someone else forced him to open his eyes. There he was on the floor of his room, next to his bed, waking up at 3:02 in the morning.