LIFE
The heat was hotter than ever. A loo of swooshing air was blowing across the road. It was that kind of hot where sweat glands get too dry to produce any kind of perspiration. The fact he was on a bicycle riding on a thick concrete road which was clearly melting on the sides all the pavement did not help. On top of it he was carrying all the books and copies prescribed in the syllabus of 4th standard did not help. He was always too lazy to manage his school bag every night according to the daily schedule at school and carried the entire lot of books thinking he was too clever. Well that smartness clearly was proving costly on an exceedingly hot afternoon like that day.
He had stayed back after the classes got over to play cricket with some of his friends. The heat at that time did not seem to bother excited lot of boys who had just grown old enough to start playing properly by dividing themselves in proper teams and competing with some spirit.
By the time the game got over and he was returning home, the streets had cleared off the usual traffic comprising largely of the crowds of parents and guardians and rickshawalas and tempos who had come to collect their wards. The high temperature further had contributed to fewer people and vehicles on the road.
As he had reached half way he realised that the remaining half would require all his energy left in the body which did not seem adequate after a long haul of a cricket match in a weather which was just not suited to be outdoors. The time was around 4pm and home was still 15 mins away which seemed much more to his skinny dangly legs which were toiling hard to paddle the cycle to its destination. I was thinking that he would attack the refrigerator as soon as he would reach home and drink the cold cold water in large gulps finishing the entire bottle on one go. This thought made his already dried lips and throat itch more for the icy cold refrigerated water.
That is when he heard the thud behind him. He realised his big bulging bag over loaded with the entire knowledge of standard 4th had escaped from the clutches of the steel carrier of his cycle. As the bag was falling and he was peddaling he felt the cycle much lighter and he immediately regretted his plans of taking a full bag to school everyday.
He was so exhausted that for tiny miniscule of a second he had considered leaving the bag behind. However he applied the brakes. Parked it where he was riding and with heavy dragging gait lifted the load of wisdom and as he was mounting it back on the carrier something happened. Something profound which changed the boys life then and there.
A big truck had swished past him and his cycle with considerable speed honking hard and loud. Now in reality the truck wasn't dangerously close to the boy. Even the most curious bystander would have not give it a second look but the boy had not seen the truck approach. It's passing by him with its heavy weight and sound had given a jolt to the boy which he had never experienced.
It stumped him kicking his adrenaline to shoot up the sky and without anyone telling him and without him knowing it himself he experienced fear. Fear of death. The most inherent scare which any being gets to feel on his own reminding him of his mortal and fragile existence. He felt his entire body, all muscles and bones and blood and nerves, getting tensed and shaken in unison. He was shaken in that moment so much that the bag fell out of his grip and his heart skipped a beat or two.
All that he had known of accident or death was from the movies where if some one is shot or gets run over from a vehicle, they die after giving a long monologue to their loved ones and it was his perception that dying was not that big of a deal. But this incident, where the beastly truck was not even too close to him made him realise the might of it all. That death was real and it just whispered in his ears leaving his body icy cold in the heat. His 10 year of life experience wasn't mature enough to make him realise then that this incident made him realise the true worth of life and later in his day and age to enjoy it all whole heartedly. But not in that moment. That moment was horrifying and bone chilling.
He immediately took control of himself had let out a big gush of air from his mouth and looked around him. There were no witnesses of his life altering revelation. He immediately caught hold of the bag, wore on his shoulders, mounted his cycle and started peddaling with an unusual vigour thanks to the rush of the adrenaline. The remaining distance was covered in little awareness and the next thing he knew he was home. He immediately rushed inside and grabbed a cold bottle from the fridge and as decided, gulped it down in one go.
He had stayed back after the classes got over to play cricket with some of his friends. The heat at that time did not seem to bother excited lot of boys who had just grown old enough to start playing properly by dividing themselves in proper teams and competing with some spirit.
By the time the game got over and he was returning home, the streets had cleared off the usual traffic comprising largely of the crowds of parents and guardians and rickshawalas and tempos who had come to collect their wards. The high temperature further had contributed to fewer people and vehicles on the road.
As he had reached half way he realised that the remaining half would require all his energy left in the body which did not seem adequate after a long haul of a cricket match in a weather which was just not suited to be outdoors. The time was around 4pm and home was still 15 mins away which seemed much more to his skinny dangly legs which were toiling hard to paddle the cycle to its destination. I was thinking that he would attack the refrigerator as soon as he would reach home and drink the cold cold water in large gulps finishing the entire bottle on one go. This thought made his already dried lips and throat itch more for the icy cold refrigerated water.
That is when he heard the thud behind him. He realised his big bulging bag over loaded with the entire knowledge of standard 4th had escaped from the clutches of the steel carrier of his cycle. As the bag was falling and he was peddaling he felt the cycle much lighter and he immediately regretted his plans of taking a full bag to school everyday.
He was so exhausted that for tiny miniscule of a second he had considered leaving the bag behind. However he applied the brakes. Parked it where he was riding and with heavy dragging gait lifted the load of wisdom and as he was mounting it back on the carrier something happened. Something profound which changed the boys life then and there.
A big truck had swished past him and his cycle with considerable speed honking hard and loud. Now in reality the truck wasn't dangerously close to the boy. Even the most curious bystander would have not give it a second look but the boy had not seen the truck approach. It's passing by him with its heavy weight and sound had given a jolt to the boy which he had never experienced.
It stumped him kicking his adrenaline to shoot up the sky and without anyone telling him and without him knowing it himself he experienced fear. Fear of death. The most inherent scare which any being gets to feel on his own reminding him of his mortal and fragile existence. He felt his entire body, all muscles and bones and blood and nerves, getting tensed and shaken in unison. He was shaken in that moment so much that the bag fell out of his grip and his heart skipped a beat or two.
All that he had known of accident or death was from the movies where if some one is shot or gets run over from a vehicle, they die after giving a long monologue to their loved ones and it was his perception that dying was not that big of a deal. But this incident, where the beastly truck was not even too close to him made him realise the might of it all. That death was real and it just whispered in his ears leaving his body icy cold in the heat. His 10 year of life experience wasn't mature enough to make him realise then that this incident made him realise the true worth of life and later in his day and age to enjoy it all whole heartedly. But not in that moment. That moment was horrifying and bone chilling.
He immediately took control of himself had let out a big gush of air from his mouth and looked around him. There were no witnesses of his life altering revelation. He immediately caught hold of the bag, wore on his shoulders, mounted his cycle and started peddaling with an unusual vigour thanks to the rush of the adrenaline. The remaining distance was covered in little awareness and the next thing he knew he was home. He immediately rushed inside and grabbed a cold bottle from the fridge and as decided, gulped it down in one go.
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