“I am about to nuke Hawaii. That’s right. I, Krishna the Merciless, am going to massacre Hawaii. Not a single thing will survive my attack. If they do, they’ll soon be sorry”
Krishna is a young kid, living in Northern London, with two of his friends, Angus and Feargal.
They have been playing all summer, a game they call Nuclear War, which they invented at the start of the summer holidays.
We start the short story in “in medias res”, directly into Krishna and his friends game. The tree is their safe spot, away from everything and everyone. The tree is welcoming and it is the place that represents safety and comfort, the place where Krishna feels relaxed. Furthermore, the tree is an important symbolic element because it reminds Krishna of the importance of making a decision and staying faithful to it:
”I love that tree. No matter what, it’s always there for me, always within reach, and as I imagine myself clinging onto its branches, I feel something surge through me. It’s clear what I must do. There is no other solution. It’s the only way to make the madness stop.” (ll. 148-151)
The story is in 3 parts, if you can say so, with the start of the story introducing us to most of our characters, including Krishna’s mother, who yells at him to get his butt home at once.
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